Our rehearsal and rehearsal dinner made everything feel really real. After all of the planning and coordinating and nitpicking of details, the first "official" events of our wedding weekend were upon us, and I was completely excited. Our rehearsal at the church went smoothly (and was actually really fun, I thought!), and afterwards everyone made it to the Ship Inn in time for a delicious dinner and a lovely time with our families and bridal party, hosted by Mr. Cupcake's parents.
All photos by the lovely, talented and delightfully sweet Alison Conklin (who also shot Momma Cupcake's wedding in February!)
I love this artsy shot that Alison captured of the restaurant
Of course there had to be a ship at the Ship Inn!
We love the atmosphere at the Ship Inn — it was warm, cozy, and bursting with conversation. Of course, that had a lot to do with all of the wonderful people surrounding us.
My cousin and bridesmaid, Coleen.... so glamorous! 
FIL Cupcake... always smiling and laughing! I love this shot of him.
Bridesmaid Chrissy (my favorite dance partner... sorry, Mr. Cupcake!)
Mr. Cupcake's little cousin, who was a little pooped at this point in the evening!
Our friend, Beth — her husband was a groomsman. They both went to college with Mr. Cupcake and Beth and I have become great friends, so I was so glad she could join us at the more intimate setting of our rehearsal dinner. (I first met Beth at her wedding four years ago... at The Desmond, the same place where we had our reception!)
A great candid of SIL and Brother Cupcake
Stepdad Cupcake
Cousin and bridesmaid, Michele. She and Coleen (sisters) both live in New Orleans.
SIL Cupcake looking fab!
Daddy Cupcake
MOH Nicole and her boyfriend, Thomas. They live in Austria and came home to Philadelphia just for our wedding. We were touched!
Mr. Cupcake's Uncle Kevin. He was a groomsman and has always been more like a big brother to Mr. Cupcake (who is an only child). He wins the award for trekking the furthest for our wedding — he lives in Bangladesh!!
Mr. Cupcake's parents, my new in-laws. I love this photo of them... I am a very, very lucky girl to have such wonderful in-laws who love me so much!I helped out a little bit with the visual details, because you know I just can't help myself ;-) MIL Cupcake had asked me to make little tags for some favors she was working on, but she wouldn't tell me what the favors were. I made the tags to coordinate with the invitations I had also made, and at the size that she had requested. I punched holes in the top left corner and sent them off to her to work her magic!
The favors were so sweet and clever! Each guest got one of the cute little packages above (wrapped in teal or green tulle) that contained a Zagnut bar and a KitKat bar — Mr. Cupcake's and my favorite candy bars. (Can you guess whose is whose??)
I had also helped MIL Cupcake come up with a seating arrangement, so I made place cards for each guest as well (which you can see at each place setting above). I always get into a little bit of a tizzy when I go somewhere that has limited seating and I don't know that many people, so we thought it would be nice to ensure that people could sit with the people they knew and/or people we thought they would have a lot in common with (as some of our bridal party didn't really know our families or other friends).
Alison also captured a few nice shots of our invitations.... much better than the shots I took a few months ago!
The night went by so quickly, and it was hard to believe that it would be my last night as a Miss... surreal and very exciting!
Don't I look excited?
Mr. Cupcake... I like him :-)
Awwwwww
A good shot of my ring!
My dad gave a very sweet toast before dinner.... although I'm usually very emotional, I enjoyed listening and didn't get too emotional that night (and even on the wedding day). I was just so happy and I think I had anticipated being so emotional that I had over-prepared myself! It was really nice to just be able to listen to such kind words without getting emotional and risking missing anything. Mr. Cupcake, on the other hand, did not lose sight of his sensitive side ;-)
You can see him starting to well up a little bit here!
...Then we were able to laugh and the tears cleared up a bit
A nice moment with my dad after his toast
I love this shot of Mr. Cupcake.... I think it has a very vintage, old movie vibe
A sweet shot of Brother and SIL Cupcake
My mom and I with one of her sisters/my fabulous aunt (bottom left) and my two cousins, all from New Orleans. I'm the pale brunette, if you can't tell ;-) I obviously look more like my dad's side of the family!Alison stole us away for a few moments to get a few shots in some booths at the Ship Inn. We were just talking and laughing and she captured our personalities perfectly!
This one is just so "us"Brother Cupcake also gave a very sweet toast. True to form, he read it from his iPhone :-) We are both designers and Mac nerds at heart!
SIL Cupcake admiring her man
I don't remember what it was, but he made some joke at Mr. Cupcake's expense!
I really love this shot of me looking up to my big brother... someone I've always looked up to my whole life. (And not just because he's older than me :-) He is extremely talented and generous, and he is now a very successful menswear designer!) He said some very sweet things about looking up to me, even though I'm younger than him. It was so nice!
Cheers!Then it came time for gifts. We had something for our parents, Mr. Cupcake's grandmother, and everyone in our bridal party.
MOH Nicole reading the note I included with her gift
I got each of the girls one of these makeup bags that can also double as a clutch. They are super cute and made of a very durable canvas material.
A little glimpse of the jewelry that I had custom-made for the girls (more details and pics to come once we have our pro wedding photos!)
One of Mr. Cupcake's groomsmen opening his gift... a bottle of fancy Scotch
We also got each of the guys a tie and argyle socks to wear at the wedding (which Brother Cupcake is checking out here)
We got Momma and Stepdad Cupcake a few tokens, including this glass pear ornament. It is from Simon Pearce, where they got married in February and had a "perfect pair" theme, so it was perfect!
Mr. Cupcake and his mom got a little teary-eyed when she opened one of her gifts — a vintage handkerchief that we had embroidered with her monogram and our wedding date
Mr. Cupcake's grandmother also got a vintage embroidered handkerchiefWe had such a delightful evening, but it flew by way too quickly. Not that we weren't excited for the next day to arrive (!!!!!), but we tried our best to savor each moment and enjoy the company of our closest friends and families, since the following day would prove itself to be overwhelming (but fantastic) and filled with many more people to see.
Our last night as fiances.... soon-to-be husband and wife!
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