i really can’t believe it’s already been a year since codi and joe’s wedding – the most talked about wedding on the heidzillas’ blog. codi and joe’s engagement on may 12, 2006, kicked off my personal interest in the local wedding industry. i was as excited to help plan their wedding as they were (maybe more at some times ). with house buying, and raising an amazing daughter, they put their wedding on the back burner for a couple of years. they even helped for the 7-8 months that my husband and i were planning, and once we were off and married, set their final plans for their may 16, 2009 wedding. and it was a great day – there are dozens of memories we’ll always have from their day. a few fun to note: codi and joe selected 80′s power ballads for their cocktail hour music which we all sang along to, they smashed more cheesecake in bridesmaid nicole’s face than each others, codi’s brother eric filled the room with laughter and tears with a brother-sister dance, and we danced the night away to more 80′s power ballads.

time flies when you’re having fun – one year already! happy anniversary codi and joe! we love you guys and can’t wait for this upcoming year – with baby #2 on the way!!!

previous posts:
mission moh recap
vendor preview
codi & joe – part 1: rehearsal
codi & joe – part 2: getting ready
codi & joe – part 3: pre and post ceremony
codi & joe – part 4: reception

Heidi goes above and beyond! She is very creative, organized, efficient, and passionate about planning her events. She researches great deals, she knows her “stuff” and carries out her plans with great ease and precision.

I especially love how you take pictures along the journey and blog about information that will help others who may need your help. We love you Heidi! You really came through for us. Everyone I talk to say that it was the “most fun” wedding they have ever been to!!!

thanks deena! it was so fun to get to help throughout the planning and the wedding day! <3

the limo dropped us off at massimo da milano at 7:00 pm on the dot, right when corey ann‘s second shooter, thomas matthews was all done setting up the photo booth in the foyer area. it was such a big hit all night. when dj spencer reynolds announced “last call” for it later in the evening, a long line RE-appeared once more and guests begged thomas and corey to stay longer

the bridal party was able to pop in for a few photos before announcements. codi got some hilarious props for guests to use.

although the life-size faces i made for them were my favorite… : )

i have to interrupt my reception recap to show you a few details… here are their cute cocktail table arrangements.

codi also put together bathroom baskets — i love the shallow basket: so much easier to arrange!

here’s the gift table! i have NEVER seen THIS many gifts at a wedding!!!

there were so many gifts, guests didn’t always see the card box

the sunshine messed with this photo, but one thing i definitely can say about massimo da milano is no guest went hungry! i love me some chicken parm, too. 

massimo’s also provided a lovely display of assorted desserts.

codi and joe’s cutting cake was a cheesecake from giant eagle in rocky river. and it was SOOOOO good. 

they also did cake centerpieces. if anyone is looking for 20 or so clear cake stands, let me know!

codi and joe’s cake cutting was one of the most perfect cake cuttings i’ve ever seen. 

they cut it all nice and pretty…

and fed each other so nicely!

then they proceeded to get bridesmaid nicole in the face too.

(c) corey ann photography

it was awesome. (see how amused i am in the background?)

(c) corey ann photography

i don’t have photos of the toasts… while we were all crying AGAIN… but later in the night, it was sob-fest part 3 when codi’s brother eric, talked about their father, greg, who passed away 01.31.09 and how he was so missed but had chosen a song he was going to dance with codi with that eric danced with codi to instead. :*( tear. very emotional, special moment.

once we dried our eyes, it was time to do the bouquet toss! always fun.

and MAN were these single ladies SCRAPPY!

then the fun garter removal and toss.

the boys weren’t as animated as the ladies… no “boxing out” or anything.

after that i was too busy dancing to the awesome tunes provided by jerry bruno’sdj spencer reynolds (i LOVE to dance…) and socializing to take too many more photos but you can see more reception highlights on  photographer corey ann’s blog about codi & joe.

to summarize: the whole day went off without a hitch! well maybe one, but we’re still not sure… it was a happy but oh so bittersweet day! an emotional roller coaster for me personally! (in a good way.) i was so honored to be there as matron of honor, best friend and co-planner like i told you codi and joe, i love you both and devin and i can’t wait to grow old with you!!! congratulations again. and thanks to everyone for the well wishes for them and the comments thus far. <3

previous posts:
mission moh recap
vendor preview
codi & joe – part 1: rehearsal
codi & joe – part 2: getting ready
codi & Joe – part 3: pre and post ceremony

the women of the church had left a gift for codi. she opened it in the beautiful guild room where we maids waited after taking several pre-ceremony formal photos. 

meanwhile, here’s another action shot of corey ann getting some fun shots of codi, gracie and joe’s grandmother – i saw some sneak peeks of the photos she was taking right here, and they are preeeeeeetty!

it seemed like we were in the guild room forever………

but finally it was time for codi to put on her veil and start lining up!

the little style diva gracie gave herself one last look in the mirror

and man of honor eric and codi shared a special moment before we headed upstairs to the naive.

(ceremony)

so somewhere in THIS SPACE is where the ceremony took place. being MOH and all, i didn’t exactly get any shots during the ceremony or the bell exit from the church… or during formals after the ceremony. you can see some of those shots on photographer corey ann’s blog!

moving on, we got in the limo and headed to the superior via duct for some photos. here’s my first photo of the new mr. and mrs!

and codi’s new brother and sister-in-law who will be celebrating their fifth anniversary in just a couple of months!

had to sneak in a shot of my handsome husband, devin, and me (look for him on the last shot of photographer corey ann’s blog. it’s one of my favorite photos of him ever lol!)

here’s our half of the limo

the other half was busy watching the horse races… 

it had rained when we were entering the church, but stopped for codi and joe’s church exit. by the time we got downtown about an hour or so later, the sky had cleared up JUST perfectly for our formal shots at the superior via duct. look at this view! again… see the photos of codi and joe that were being taken right then on photographer corey ann’s blog…

coming up next: the reception recap!

previous posts:
mission moh recap
vendor preview
codi & joe – part 1: rehearsal
codi & joe – part 2: getting ready

three of the four of us bridesmaids had our nails done. i didn’t get the photos of myself from everyone else yet but here’s bridesmaids nicole and jenn getting purdy:

codi, bridesmaids nicole and jenni, and codi’s mom deena got their hair did, too. codi went for the lower chignon look:

jenni got some fun curly pinups:

nicole went with a simple pull back of her short ‘do:

and deena got this fun criss-cross up the back up-do with foofs on top (yes that’s my technical terminology…)

while we were all finishing up, codi had her makeup done allllll pretty.

then, we headed back to codi and joe’s house where codi’s cousin jessica, who is a stylist, finished up the hair and make up that needed tending to:

somewhere in the middle of all the primping, flower girl grace dressed like a fairy and announced to everyone that she wanted to wear THIS outfit instead of her polka dot flower girl dress. we were luckily able to talk her into the original dress although this is pretty darn cute

i think this is my favorite photo during the getting ready session: whose big day is it?

although i can’t talk much, look who did my make up! 

fiiiiiiiiiiiiinally we were allll ready and the time came to put on The Dress!!!!

i always have to get in photos of the photographers here’s corey ann catching a few shots of the dress hanging in the window.

i was a little busy helping codi get into the dress and tying her sash and such (so you’ll have to wait for corey ann’s photos…) to take photos of the putting on, but i got a couple of cute shots of codi allll ready to go. i was really excited i got to lend codi the pearls and earrings i wore on my wedding day for her “something borrowed.” they matched *perfectly* with her beautiful ivory gown.

quick photo opp of codi’s mom deena, brother eric and codi before we left!

then we got her into soon-to-be sister-in-law jenni’s suv…

as well as the entire girls-side of the bridal party – jenn and me, then gracie and nicole

…and by 2:45 pm we whisked her away to the church for our scheduled 3:00 pm formals at the church. plenty of time before the 4:30 pm ceremony.

by the way, if you were wondering, we jammed to o.a.r.’s crazy game of poker for the short ride from codi’s house to the church

coming up next: pre and post ceremony recaps!

previous posts:
mission moh recap
vendor preview
codi & joe – part 1: rehearsal

being that 7 of the 11 bridal party members are married and the rest have been in weddings before, everyone was raring to go at the rehearsal.

meanwhile, codi’s friend tim, who sang during the ceremony on saturday, got a guest singer (gracie!) while warming up:

the reverand got all of our attention to get things going…

and ushered the bridal party to the back, just long enough for a couple of photo opps:

L to R: man of honor eric, groomsman mike, best man jon, groomsman joe, best man jason, groom joe, and groomsman devin (my husband) - missing: groomsman sandor

L to R: matron of honor heidi (me!), bride codi, bridesmaid jenn, bridesmaid nicole, flowergirl grace and bridemaid jenni

i couldn’t resist, i had to post this adorable photo of nicole with svetlana. i day-of coordinated at the wedding of svetlana and her husband (and codi & joe’s groomsman) sandor last november. they are expecting a baby boy this august!!!

okay back to the rehearsal: this is the view of the long walk to remember!

i think this is my favorite photo of the night: who will carry the rings?

joe’s aunt practiced her reading.

followed by codi’s cousin who was unsure if she was willing to read or not

and here’s a practice of the moment we’ve all been waiting for! the “husband and wife” announcement!

following the rehearsal, joe’s parents graciously hosted us at sullivans irish pub & restaurant in lakewood.  we had great food! (i love fish and chips!)

they also hired an irish band to play that the entire restaurant got to enjoy!

this isn’t the best photo of codi and joe dancing, but i love the moms and family members enjoying the dance and being paparazzi!

following dinner and dancing, codi and joe (and grace) presented gifts to the parents and bridal party.

being the cleveland lovers that they are, codi and joe bought us all these great cleveland-related t-shirts from c.l.e. clothing company. everyone loved them, be sure to check their site out!

coming up next: the big day!!!!!!!

(c) corey ann photography

here’s the all star cast and crew:

salon: revelations salon & spa
bride & bridesmaids attire: the perfect bride
groom & groomsmen attire: american commodore tuxedo
ceremony: church of the ascension
reception: massimo da milano
photographer: corey ann photography 
florist: blooms by plantscaping
dj: spencer reynolds of jerry bruno productions
cake: the bake shop at giant eagle, rocky river
transportation: a1 mr. limo
decor: bff codi and heidzillas

check back next week to hear all about how it went!

i made a quick stop to pat catans for my favorite paper mache boxes and to michaels to get the right color of ribbon. codi had given me the rest of the material she had left from her escort card boards (about 1 yard), so i had everything i needed tonight to whip together a quick card box. actually i think it took longer to write this post than it did to make the card box, but it turned out cute none the less and will definitely match!

1. here’s what the boxes look like for when you go to pat catans looking for them

2. i only used the largest box of the set

3. cut two slits

4. make it a square hole

5. wrap around material and tape. (i used packing tape. i think masking tape actually works better…)

6. cut side panel at an angle…

7 then fold in the corners nicely

8. tape to seal, then repeat other side

(all done with wrapping part)

9. cut the material where the square hole is (yes i use henckles and not scissors or xactos)

10. okay… here’s the tricky part: affix masking tape on the edge of the material

11. slide the masking tape into the hole…then tighten the material past the hole and wrap the tape underneath. repeat for both sides.

12. tape ribbon in hole

13. and repeat

14. wrap another piece of ribbon around the box and make one big bow on top (how to tie the perfect bow)

15. to cover the unfinished material that is hard to wrap inside the square, use a loose roll of tape to secure the ribbon right at each corner

16. that’s it!

not too shabby for the night before the rehearsal and such

here’s the recap of the entire super fun planning process for codi and joe!

introducing codi and joe (and gracie too)
their reception venue, massimo da milano 
finding The Dress (part 1)
finding The Dress (part 2)
photo/magnet save the dates
searching for birdcage veils in north east ohio
bridesmaids dresses avec model: yours truly
decor inspiration/color theme
dj and cake update
bird cake toppers
save the dates in the mail
paper sale
flower girl dresses
a letter to actux/groomsmen tuxes
the bridesmaid shoe search
the final shoes selection for bridesmaids
a daisy themed bridal shower
jingle bells/alternative exit ideas
invitations and hanging escort cards
photo table numbers
stalking mother nature
finishing touches
man of honor shoes

last minute card box
coming up tomorrow: codi and joe’s wedding day preview! 

you can pick the kind of shoes, outside colors, rubber sole colors, racing stripe colors…

inside lining and tongue colors, the back flap color…

…AND even words stitched in the back or on the side!

after 10 quick steps (and 2 to 4 weeks delivery time) you’ve got custom sneakers.

here are the final pair that codi customized – in cactus, white and black!

and the word “brother” on the back

love love love this gift!

reminds me of the unbride’s groom who wore chuck taylors for their wedding: awesome. and these bride and bridal party shots i saw on wedding paper divas. LOVE LOVE LOVE!