Rachel, Day by Day

Well, it’s time for me to write about our wedding. Be prepared; there are lots of photos in this post! And WARNING: THIS IS THE LONGEST POST EVER. I figured it would be nice to talk about mostly everything through photos. But, I should say that it was one of the most amazing days of my life and I always smile when thinking about it. Everything went perfectly and it was wonderful having all of our friends and family there in one place. I am so lucky to have Scott in my life and that day was full of love!

I started out getting ready in the morning with Maggie and my bridesmaids; we went to a hair salon called K.E. Meridian. I really liked that place! They let us bring in food and drinks, and they did a great job on our hair and makeup. These photos above are from the hair salon! I like the group photo. Kendyl (the flower girl) was so cute while getting her hair done. She just kept staring at herself in the mirror and was silent. She might have been confused! We then went back to my mom’s house to eat some snacks, get dressed, and take some prewedding photos. Here are some!

  From left to right: Curtis, Jeremie, Ray, Caden, Scott, David, and Mickey

From left to right: Renee, Christina, Andrea, Rachel (me!), Stacie, Kendyl, Sydney, and Melissa
 

Scott and his groomsmen got ready and took some prewedding photos at the church. Aren’t all the bridesmaids beautiful!? Sometimes I can’t believe this day is over already. Anyway, my bridesmaid Melissa gave me a white balloon at my mom’s house to send a message to my dad. I REALLY loved that; thank you, Melissa! I want to tear up just thinking about it. Then, we got in the limo and headed over to the church!

We got to the church a bit early, so I sat in the back room with my bridesmaids. I really wanted to take a peak when everyone was walking in, but I couldn’t! I guess I’ll just have to see that part when we get the DVD. The ceremony was beautiful; Ray walked me down the aisle, which was nice. One of my favorite moments that day was waiting in the back room with him. It was hard not to think about our dad and it was a nice moment with Ray. I can’t believe this, but I don’t even remember being nervous while walking down the aisle. And I thought I would be the whole time! I kept staring at that huge smile on Scott’s face. More photos!

Ray walking me down the aisle

Beautiful Saint Domitilla Church

Our first kiss!

My Uncle John read the first reading and my friend Brittany read the second reading. Father Tim had a very nice homily mentioning us and talking about marriage. He did accidentally say, “It’s a beautiful day for a funeral” instead of wedding, but I thought it was funny! He looked embarrassed, though, and mentioned how he had a funeral that morning. It was definitely one of the topics that evening! Scott and I then exchanged vows and rings, and then had our first kiss. My Uncle Tom then read the prayer of the faithful and I then walked over to the statue of Mary and prayed to her. Then the ceremony was over! It really was beautiful. We then took photos after the wedding. Here are some more, of course!

      Scott and me, one of our favorites

Brito family from left to right: Brandy, Michelle, Janet, me, Scott, Ray, and Heather

Fowler family from left to right: Jeff, Kendyl, Barb, me, Scott, Stacie, Caden, and Curtis

I couldn’t resist posting this last photo! Poor Kendyl was having a long day and was tired of taking photos, so she started tearing up a bit. We got a photo of all of us staring at her. I think it’s pretty funny!

After taking photos at the church, we took even more photos at Graue Mill. The limo ride was really fun; we were all a bit crammed in there, but we got to drink champagne and hang out! I really liked it. It was fun being with the whole bridal party.

The bridal party!

I made this photo a bit bigger so you could see awesome jumping skills!

After all of the photos here,  it was time to party at Carlisle Banquets! The reception was such an awesome time. I really had a good time in the receiving line talking to everyone and getting many hugs! We had a cocktail and hors d’oevres hour during the receiving line and I loved our signature drinks. We had a Brito Mojito and Scott Spritzer! I drank a Scott Spritzer during dinner and really liked it. Here’s a photo of the room with the cake.

For our cake topper, Scott had a cardinals logo on his shirt and I had a Cubs logo on my dress. We are standing on a baseball field, too! It’s cute. Our favors were lottery tickets; I think the big winner of the night won $10. Too bad nobody won anything higher! After the cocktail hour, the bridal party was introduced, as well as Scott and me. We then cut the cake and my cousin Kim said the prayer. Ray and Andrea made speeches and both were great! For dinner, everyone had a choice of sirloin steak, salmon filet, or chicken picatta. I ate the chicken picatta and it was great! More photos:

 

For dessert, we had our wedding cake (vanilla cake with chocolate mousse) and vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup. Yum! We played a slideshow during dinner with photos of us, too. After dinner, Scott and I had our first dance, then Ray and I danced, and then Scott and his mom shared a dance together. Guess what? More photos:

The rest of the night was filled with awesome dancing and wonderful company! My cousin Hannah caught the bouquet and Scott’s friend David caught the garter. I can’t believe how many people were out on the dance floor; it was great! We even did some dances like the electric slide and Cotton Eye Joe. It’s insane how much fun I had! Here are some dancing photos:

After the reception, Scott and I walked into our hotel room to see rose petals all around the room and a bottle of champagne on the table! Thank you, Melissa! We visited friends and family members all around the hotel and had a great time hanging out with everyone in hotel rooms and in the lobby area. Breakfast the next morning with everyone in the meeting room was awesome, too!

You know, I didn’t really like the planning part for the wedding, but when I look back on the actually day, it was amazing. Everything went perfectly and I felt happy and loved the entire day. I think I was mostly in awe by the fact that all of those people were there because they love us and we love them. I cannot thank everyone enough for being there and for their generosity. Scott and I are both very lucky people to have such wonderful family and friends. And I personally felt (and still feel) so lucky to have Scott, especially during the ceremony. I felt loved just looking at him and repeating our vows. I could not have asked for a better husband, a better partner, and a better friend. I love you very much!

I also want to thank everyone who helped out with the wedding and who had to listen to me rant about it occasionally. Also, thank you to Barb and Jeff for an amazing rehearsal dinner and for helping us out with things; you are both amazing in-laws! Thank you to everyone who threw bachelor and bachelorette parties, and of course the bridal showers! Thank you to our bridal party; you are all amazing, wonderful, kind, and crazy awesome people and I’m so glad you were part of the wedding! Thank you to the readers during the ceremony; you all did a great job! Thank you to Maggie for finding my inhaler and Scott’s vest! Thank you to everyone who came to the wedding and I hope you had as much fun as I did! And lastly, thank you especially to my mom. This day would not have been possible without you and thank you for all of your help along the way. You did way too much for us and I hope you know how much we appreciate everything you did and everything you do. I love you very much!

I’m finally done with this post now!

Rachel, Day by Day

Hello there! On Friday, April 26, we had our rehearsal and rehearsal dinner for the wedding. Here’s a photo of the bridal party running through the ceremony. I like how happy Scott looks! I like this photo since you can see a lot of the church and most of the bridal party (my matron of honor, Andrea, is walking down the aisle). Friday was such a great evening and night; it was awesome having so many loved ones around. I will say Scott and I got REALLY nervous on our drive to the church. I don’t think the wedding really hit me until that moment with the two of us in the car, and I got extremely nervous. I thought about all the people staring at us that Friday and Saturday. But, while we were at the church rehearsing, I felt better about everything. Both of us don’t really like being the center of attention, so we were nervous about that. Everything went well at the rehearsal, though.

On to the rehearsal dinner! It was AMAZING. Scott’s parents hosted the dinner at Maggiano’s and it was delicious. The appetizers were great, and we ate some awesome salad, fettuccine alfredo, baked ziti, chicken saltimbocca, and tilapia. I can’t even tell you what my favorite was; everything was tasty! There was also cheesecake and apple crostada for dessert. Mmmm. I had a great time mingling with everyone and going around to all the tables. I hope we were able to talk to everyone! I got to meet some of Scott’s friends I hadn’t met before, too. My friend Tom came all the way from England, too! Scott’s dad (Jeff) gave a nice little speech before dinner, as well as Scott. He thanked everyone, especially our parents, for everything they have done for us. Here’s a photo of him giving the speech:

He must have been thanking our parents at that moment! And we really are lucky to have such wonderful parents and family members. It really was an awesome night with everyone and we took so many photos! I got some lemon drop martinis with the Fowler girls, too; that was fun! I’m glad our close friends and family could be there. It was a GREAT start to the wedding weekend! Here are a few family photos:

From left to right: Michelle (my sister), Heather (my sister), me, Scott, Ray (my brother), and Janet (my mom)

From left to right: Me, Scott, Jeff (Scott’s dad), Barb (Scott’s mom), Kendyl (Scott’s niece), Stacie (Scott’s sister), Curtis (Scott’s brother-in-law), and Caden (Scott’s nephew)

I love these photos! We all look so happy in both of these and they turned out well. I love how Caden is wearing his ring bearer security t-shirt, too. And I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I was that my sisters came for the wedding. They haven’t visited the area in so long, and I was so happy they were there to celebrate with us. It really meant a lot to us and it was hard seeing them leave after the weekend. Thank you so much for hosting the rehearsal dinner, Jeff and Barb!! It was a great time!!

After the rehearsal dinner, we visited with some family and friends for a bit, and then I spent the night with my friends (and bridesmaids) Christina and Melissa. It was really hard sleeping that night since I kept thinking about the next day!

Stay tuned to hear about the wedding soon!

Rachel, Day by Day

A few nights before we left for the wedding, I went out with the Fowler and Schnittker ladies!! We had dinner and drinks at Rosie’s Pub. The food was really good; I want to go back sometime soon. We all decided to have a girlie get together before the wedding. I was happy they wanted to do that! They were all too generous and got me some things, including this very cute martini glass! The restaurant even let me use it that night. I also got a bracelet, scarf, and zip-up hoodie that says Bride on the back. It was WAY too nice of everyone! They also got me a bachelorette sash and this cool light-up ring.

I should wear this ring whenever I go out; then people will find me if I get lost! Anyway, it was an awesome night. Thank you for a fun night out, ladies! I can’t believe it was a month ago already. Time has really been flying by. We should do it again sometime soon. And I really like Rosie’s!

I’m glad the weather has been getting warmer lately! It happened all of a sudden. I’m not sure if I was ready for it! We had the heat and air conditioning on one week apart. But, that’s Illinois weather for you.

Well, cleaning house now. Have a good day!

 

 

 

Rachel, Day by Day

From left to right: Brittany, Melissa, Christina, Rachel (me), Renee, Anne, and Stephanie!

I am one lucky girl, because I got multiple bachelorette parties! That just means I have awesome friends. My matron of honor (Andrea) and bridesmaids were kind enough to plan a bachelorette party for me in Naperville. My friends Brittany, Melissa, Christina, Stephanie, Anne, Renee, and Andrea were all there. And guess what else?? Renee (one of my bridesmaids) flew from France to be at the bachelorette party! I’m so happy she was there. We started out by getting pedicures at a salon and we got to drink champagne as we were getting our nails done. That was great. I got to wear a sash and a tiara with a veil on it all night! We then went to Heaven on Seven for dinner where Vincentina, Sarah, and Nicole joined us! The restaurant has Louisiana-style food; I ate a vegetarian po’ boy and it was delicious!

After dinner, we headed over to BlackFinn for some drinks and dancing. It was a cool place; I definitely want to go back sometime. I drank a lot of Sex and the City martinis and we tried a shot that tasted exactly like fruit loops. Strange! Apparently there were seven other bachelorette parties there that night! Renee had a game planned called How Well Do I Know Scott? If I answered a question incorrectly, I had to take a sip of my drink. If I answered correctly, the person who read the question had to take a sip of their drink. I did really well! I guess I know Scott. Our friends Wade, Amit, and Jessy randomly showed up later, too; it was awesome! I had a great time dancing. I then stayed at Melissa’s house for the night and we had muffins the next morning. Here’s a dancing photo for you:

What a great bachelorette party!! I want to thank Andrea and everyone else for putting together the party and everyone who went! It was amazing hanging out with all of you. I’m tempted to have another bachelorette party so we can all hang out again!

Have a good night!

Rachel, Day by Day

Hello there! Near the beginning April, my work friends threw a bachelorette party for me! It was a great time. We ate pizza and snacks at Kate’s house (and had some fun girly drinks) and we played some fun bachelorette games, too. Anne was kind enough to make some awesome cookies (some lovey dovey and some a bit risque), and they were delicious! I got to wear a sash and tiara, which was fun! We then went to Boltini for some drinks. A lot of people came up to me and congratulated me. I forgot about the fact that I was standing out with my tiara and sash! I got a free shot at Boltini and it tasted exactly like a lemon cake. Mmmm, my mouth is drooling just thinking about it. Thanks, Boltini!

After that, we headed over to C Street for some dancing. I have never been there before, but it was great! All of us danced for a while and it was a lot of fun! Kate took me on the stage for a bit, and then another guy asked me to dance with him on stage. I was a bit embarrassed, but went along with it! I really want to go back there sometime. Kate was kind enough to let me stay at her place, and we had a nightcap with Graham before heading to bed. What a great night!

Thank you to Kate, Jillian, Anne, Laura, and Liz for throwing an awesome bachelorette party!

Rachel, Day by Day

Hi, folks! If you are still following my blog, I applaud you. Sorry, I haven’t had much time to update lately! Life has been very busy and completely awesome lately. So much has happened that I need to tell you (my close friends and family probably know most of everything, though). I can’t update right now, but I will leave you with this photo in hopes that you’ll still read my blog! And I promise to update soon, from the very beginning.

Enjoy your weekend!

Rachel, Day by Day

Rabbits are back!!! The weather is getting warmer and the sun is out a lot longer. I LOVE SPRING! Scott and I sat outside for a little bit and he happened to walk to our backyard. He suddenly ran up to me and told me to follow him. I then see these two bunnies sitting in our grass. I had to take a photo! Of course, they ran away as I got closer to them, but they looked so comfy in our grass for a while! Awww, I wish I could pet them. OK, I’ll move on now.

I’m now watching 500 Days of Summer. I love this movie, mainly because I also love Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. The movie feels real, like I feel a connection to both of them as I watch it. They both work for a greeting card company, and I keep thinking that it actually sounds pretty awesome. I might like writing greeting cards! Maybe I’ll try it at home as a side job.

Lately I’ve been sentimental and emotional about having a new last name soon. I’ve had the same one for 26 years; how can I suddenly be OK with a new one? It’s a big change! And I will be moving down in the alphabet. I love my last name and always have. I do like Scott’s last name a lot, but had trouble figuring out the capital F for a while. Anyway, I think I will write my last name a lot this month since I won’t be able to soon.

Have a good night!

Rachel, Day by Day

I guess I never really thought about this until now, but I think I love Easter! I made these bunny cakes for my family and Scott’s family over the weekend; I love them! They turned out so cute and I keep smiling when looking at them. Can I make these anytime during the year, or does it have to be just for Easter? I hope not just for Easter! If you can’t tell the ears are made out of pink icing and the whiskers are made out of black icing. The eyes and nose are jelly beans and the mouth is icing. Everything worked out well! I’m proud of myself.

Easter was a good day! I created a scavenger hunt for my mom, Ray, and Scott (and I called it the Amazing Easter Race). They each had to find 10 clues hidden around the house and the first one to find them all won an extra prize! I’ve been doing this for a long time, even when my dad was around. I guess I stopped doing this for a while, but decided to bring it back these past few years. My mom won this year and got a Pez dispenser, some Peeps, and an Easter basket full of candy. Ray and Scott also got Easter baskets for participating. And it was a non-elimination race. The Easter bunny also brought me an Easter basket! That was nice of him. I also had my first glass of wine since before Lent. Mmmm. We then hung out with Scott’s family later, which was a good time! I had my first beer since before Lent, too. In case you didn’t notice, I gave up beer and wine for Lent. It was a good one! What a great day; we got to see our wonderful family members.

My mom and I also colored Easter eggs over the weekend. Here’s a photo:

I like the colors! How do you avoid those white spots, though? I see them every year! Oh well. It was fun and I will never be too old for this.

Hope everyone had a nice Easter!

Rachel, Day by Day

This past Friday, I had a fun shopping day with my cousin, Sydney! I count it as bachelorette party #1 since she’s a junior bridesmaid in the wedding. We shopped all day at Woodfield Mall and had a great time. I first gave her a gift for being in the wedding, which included a Blackhawks shirt that says Mrs. Toews on the back. She loved it! Then we walked around the mall and went in a million stores. We both got some fun clothes and nail polish. I got a blue mint color that I’m wearing right now and like it! I also got a salmon color I’ll probably wear soon. Yay nail polish! We went to Red Robin (yum!) for lunch and got some Starbucks drinks later in the day. We were there for probably 5 or 6 hours! It was great day, just the two of us. I love this girl! I’m so glad she’s part of the wedding.

This past week, I watched the movie Hunger Games with Scott and Mickey. I haven’t read the book, so I didn’t know too much about the plot. I thought the movie was… disturbing. Just a little bit. OK, maybe a lot. Everybody loves the book and the movie, though… why don’t I? OK, the whole idea that these boys and girls in the hunger games were between the ages of 12-18, and had to kill each other, just bothered me. I know there are probably other crazy movies like this that I like, but this one I just couldn’t love. Or like much. And those giant animal dog things near the end that started eating Cato, I almost cried! Ugh, yeah, that was bad. I need to move on.

I’ll update on Easter soon! Stay tuned!

Rachel, Day by Day

Hi, folks! Its been a while, yet again. I have some updates for you! My cousin Emily had a baby boy on March 12. As you can see from the title of this post, his name is Myles! Here’s a photo of the two of us. He was pretty out of it when I visited and slept the whole time. He’s a cutie, though. So many babies around lately; it’s been great! I’m not so nervous holding babies anymore now, too. Anyway, I was hoping he’d open his eyes for me, but I’m sure he will next time I see him. The first few weeks of life must be tough! Here’s another cute photo of him:

Aww, sweet sleepy baby. It was good meeting you, Myles! And congrats to Emily! Welcome to our crazy awesome family.

Life has been cold, but good! I’m ready for some spring weather. I’ve been doing a lot of wedding things the past few weeks, as usual. It’s coming up fast! Lately I’ve been thinking about my dad and how I wish he would be there. I know its going to be hard for me that day and I’ll probably try to fight back tears sometimes. I had a really hard time without him at my college graduation, so this might be a bit more difficult. I found this poem on the Internet the other day and it made me cry:

Dear Lord please clear a spot for him;
He should have the perfect view.
His little girl’s a bride today,
And I am counting on you.
Let me feel his presence;
As I journey down the aisle.
But let me notice his absence;
If only for a while.
Let me stop to think of him;
As I am given away.
And know that if he could;
He would be here with me today.
Dear Lord please clear a spot for him;
He should have the perfect view.
And if he should get sad today;
Dear Lord I count on you.

Ok, I teared up again just typing this poem, so I’ll stop now and change this subject. It’s almost the weekend. Yay!

Yikes, it’s late! Have a good night, everyone!