Friday, November 30, 2012

Sneak Peek of Wedding Photos

Our photographer put together a compilation of his favorite photos from our wedding day here:

Jim Harris- Garfinkel Wedding Photos at the Old Mill


Enjoy!

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Stay Tuned for April 2013...


Indonesia here we come!

Our "real" honeymoon will be in April 2013 
when the Indonesian rainy season is over...

We are thrilled to be planning such an exciting adventure 
for our first trip abroad as husband and wife!






Saturday, November 17, 2012

How could Brian not fall for me after this??

Thanks to my good friend Hadas Kuznits, the night we met is best captured in the following video...


Video of "Allison Shoops"


if you weren't there, hopefully this will help make you feel like you were :)


Meet the Bridal Party...


the Girls...



Jacqueline 
Allison's big sister and maid of honor

Julie Ann 
Allison's little sister and amazing seamstress 

Kate 
Brian's sister

Carly
Allison's "almost" sister

Staci
Allison's friend and personal yogi

Brooke
Allison's friend and artistic director


the Boys...



Greg 
Brian's friend and best man

Joel
Brian's brother

Jesus
Brian's brother-in-law

Joe
Allison's brother

Conlen
Brian's friend

Dave
Brian's friend




and the Little Ones...



Koen
Brian's cousin and ring bearer

Beza
Brian's cousin and flower girl

Jada
Brian's cousin and flower girl

Bridesmaids Dresses...Check!


I was face down and sound asleep in my pillow when I was startled by Adele screaming the lyrics to "Rolling In the Deep"...it was my phone ringing: it was Carly. She wanted to know if I was almost to her house to pick her up. "What??!" I sat bolt upright in bed and squinted in the blur of the morning sun to check the clock..."but it's only 9AM!!" Apparently, I missed the pre-game breakfast memo. I overslept on bridesmaids dress shopping day! :(

To save time, Carly saved the day and (thankfully) agreed to pick me up instead. I threw on some clothes and was ready in approximately 20 minutes...not even long enough for the pillow creases to fade from my complexion. It was a bright and beautiful sunny day...it's amazing how quickly perception changes with sunglasses and a few sips of freshly brewed vacuum coffee. Off we went to Cherry Hill NJ, the shopping mecca where Jackie's tightly packed agenda was to commence!

We met the other girls (who were already seated and served with drinks) at the Bistro in Haddonfield (at Staci's suggestion)...it was a great little brunch spot with outdoor seating close to our first appointment at Country Way Boutique. I had the homemade maple pecan granola and full fat Greek Yogurt (mental note- diet starts tomorrow). We set a place for Julie Ann (who also overslept) but she never made it to breakfast...guess it runs in the family!


Country Way was just a short, scenic block away. We entered the boutique and an older woman asked who we were and how she could help...soon enough we were flipping through dresses and tossing them at our dress consultant who was more than happy to line them all up on the metal rack. The nice older woman even encouraged us to try on a beautiful, runway worthy dress that was well out of our price range despite the disapproving daggers being shot at her from her coworker as she informed us that the dress was "far too expensive". The bitter and overly botoxed woman insisted on throwing a few more insults our way before we left the dress shop empty handed.

They tried on strapless and single strapped and mermaid and A-line and ballgown bridesmaids attire...some were bedazzled and some were plain jane. None were for us...except of course for the ones that were "far too expensive"...so we moved right along.

Jay's Bridal was across the street and we had an hour to kill so we hit that store up as well. The girls snuck iPhone pictures despite signs everywhere saying that photos were "strictly prohibited". Nothing was really note worthy though...

We continued on to Alfred Angelo. Josephine was our sales consultant...who was dressed for the part. Her look was complete with measuring tape dangling around her neck, thick reading glasses, pinned up thick black hair and the air of an Italian grandmother. At 67 years old she admitted she loves what she does far too much to retire. She helped us pick out several different styles and led us over to the best dressing suite the store had to offer...Brooke and I settled in while the other girls piled into the extra large dressing room as Jo helped them squeeze, zip, clip, clasp and jump into the variety of dresses...

Now this is much more like it!

Jackie tried on this beautiful, asymmetrically ruched ball-gown with a subtle sweetheart neckline...but....Carly didn't like it.



Staci tried on this elegant one-strapped, crimson, fit and flare gown...



But then Carly tried to eat it.


Was today going to be an all out wash?? We tried on one more dress that everyone seemed to love. Even our biggest critic Carly :) But were we ready to commit? We still had one more appointment to get to at Macy's!

Jo was disappointed to see us leave but encouraged us to come back before her shift ended at 4pm. We thought it was unrealistic but promised we would try our best.

Off to Macy's where Julie Ann finally decided to join us :) Just in time for the rest of the girls to give up the runway. Jul tried on every dress we threw at her but none surpassed the navy one we all loved from Alfred Angelo...

It always helps to consider these things more over a meal so we headed off to Nordstrom's cafe to visit Staci's mom and to grab a healthy bite to eat. The table soon turned into an all out call center while the girls called around to research the dress pricing and color availability in the tri-state area:



Lunch was fabulous. Even Brooke thought so :) We schlepped (yes I am learning Jewish jargon) all the way to the opposite end of the mall where we piled in her car for the trek back to the other side of Cherry Hill...approximately three right turns, but no lefts later. Back at AA, not quite an hour before closing time, we were surprised to see Jo still there well beyond when she was supposed to leave. She really must love this job. She quickly grabbed the dress for us again and Jul tried it on for everyone once more:


We all couldn't agree more...this was it...

Well, except maybe in a different color. After much debate and review of far too many fabric swatches, Mahogany was decidedly the chosen color and the only color (it seemed) that they didn't have in the store. 

Jo hugged me. I wasn't sure if it was because she would be getting a hefty commission out of this sale or if it was because she was just truly happy that we found what we all considered (Josephine included) to be the perfect dress. It felt pretty genuine so I'm sure it was the latter...

She added a broche (at Brooke's suggestion) and it just completed the look. 



Mission Accomplished! Thank you everyone for coming and for helping me find the perfect bridesmaids dress! Kate- we wish you could have been with us to experience the blood, sweat and tears in person...but know that we at least chose the color in your honor :) 

Dress shopping!


Originally Posted Monday, April 23, 2012


I thought it might be too early (considering we are mid-move!) to begin the Quest for the Dress but wanted to be able to include Brian's sister Kate before she headed back to California so sped up the process. My mom scheduled an appointment and together with my sister Julie Ann and Brian's mom Judy we headed out for our first excursion...

We arrived to the dress shop around 6 pm and waited patiently for Natalie, my dress consultant to squeeze me into a corset and a "bridal slip". (Note: I think "bridal slip" is dress store slang for "thorn bush"). I spent most of my time in the dressing room while Natalie picked out dresses she thought I would like...let's just say she's wasn't as intuitive as Lori's staff ("Say Yes to the Dress" reference). She would then come into the dressing room with me and instruct me to "dive into the dress" after which she would zip, button, tie, squeeze, pinch and clip the back to fit. Phew! Who knew it would be this involved?? I would then walk out (on a 'stage' in the middle of the store...in front of other customers: whose idea was this??) only to see myself lost in the middle of a big puffy cloud of tulle! It was kind of hard to imagine wearing any such thing for upwards of 8 hours. Some were just so intricate and heavy with trains longer than my body! Thankfully Jul and Judy had my best interest at heart and filled my dressing room rack with dresses I might actually like (strategically placing them ahead of Natalie's picks). Never the less I tried on an assortment...Some dresses were white, some were beige...some were frilly some were poofy...some were elegant...(some felt more like Halloween costumes)...and in the end, while entertaining (and simultaneously exhausting) we left the store 2 hours later empty handed...eh, but we still had fun!



The second excursion was out to Paoli. My sister Jackie picked me up early that morning and we stopped for breakfast before meeting up with my mom, Julie Ann and my friend Staci at the salon. My new consultant, Joy, told us to go around the store and turn the hangers on the dresses we liked so she could gather them up for me to try on...we all went to work and pretty soon Joy had collected a massive pile of dresses. The girls took their seats around a mini stage to wait for the show to begin! Fortunately this time there were no thorn bushes or corsets to be squeezed into...Joy helped me step into the dresses and then clipped them to fit. I had a chance to see if I liked it myself before walking out to the cat walk to model...where everyone snapped photos and ooohed and aahed at me...I could really get into this! :) The fabrics here were really nice...shiny silk organza, silk charmeuse, fine lace and carefully beaded bodices...I tried on everyone's picks and surprisingly liked the ones that were chosen for me better than the ones I chose myself!



There was one dress I kept coming back to over and over again...I think Joy let me try it on 3 times! I wasn't sure if I was ready to commit so we headed out for a drink to mull it over. We ended up at a bar called "Alba" and I enjoyed the Alba special which was conveniently my favorite wine (Moscato) blended with a divine liquor (whose name has escaped me) and topped off with a glistening orange slice. We clinked out glasses to almost saying yes to the dress! and Staci and Jackie promptly got to work negotiating prices on either side of me...my mom, Jul and I just laughed at them while we debated whether to go back or not. Jackie and Staci seemed to have called all the dress shops in the tri-state area until they found the best price (fortunately we were Alba's only customers)! Jackie then called Joy back until she agreed to honor the price and encouraged us all to come back over. We climbed back in Jackie's car and Joy let me try it on again (yes a 4th time!). She poured us each a glass of sweet white wine to celebrate saying Yes to the Dress!



(Disclaimer: Though embarrassed to admit this, I think I may have spent more time watching "Say Yes to the Dress!" than I personally spent shopping for one! Not sure if that's a good thing?)

Our Engagement Story


Originally Posted on Friday, April 13, 2012


Brian and I traveled to Switzerland to visit my good friend Yetta and her boyfriend Patrick...and of course for the opportunity to gallivant around another country ;) Little did I know Brian had a big surprise in store for me that came in a small (and carefully hidden) package: a beautiful engagement ring!



We were staying in the small mountain village of Leukerbad, Switzerland...a town so surreal it felt like we were miniature people living in a holiday winter village display at the mall! Outside of the Ikea showroom we were sleeping in (thanks to Yetta!) was a bordering backdrop of rocky mountains and cottages piled high with thick layers of snow at least four feet deep. After our second full day of skiing and snowboarding, a relaxing evening spent soaking in the hot springs and a hearty Swiss dinner complete with healthy portions of cheese and wine...I found myself relaxing in my pajamas, hair still wet from my post spa shower and settling in writing my blog with a cup of steamy hot chocolate. It was then that Brian asked if I wanted to go for a walk...?? "Do I look like I want to go for a walk?!" was my quick witted response! He went on to say that he wanted to take some night time pictures...after all it was our last night here. I suggested he go by himself and to that he replied "It's ok, I guess there's really not that much to see here" and with that wandered back into the bedroom. I continued blogging for a few more minutes but the guilt set in like a brick. How could I let him miss out on our last opportunity at night time shots in this picturesque village that we had to take approximately 9 modes of transportation to reach?? I sighed, pulled my boots over my sweat pants, tucked my sopping wet hair into a hat and (with a deep sigh) proclaimed I was ready...

It was quite cold outside with a few snowflakes falling. The sky was clear and the stars bright. Brian led the way down a narrow moonlit path and wasn't even taking any pictures!!! I had to prompt him to take every single one...It was so cold I was starting to lose feeling in my fingers! We continued walking and my irritation was building...did he really drag me all the way out here on this frigid night and then have the nerve to not even be taking any pictures?!  We approached a stream and a small bridge and I suggested he take a picture there when instead he calmly stopped, turned, held my hands and told me that he didn't really bring me out here to take pictures...

He went on to say how much he loved me, cared about me, how he couldn't remember a time not knowing me, how he wants to spend the rest of his life with me...I felt the tears welling up (how could I have been so difficult tonight??!) as he went on and on and then reached into his pocket and pulled out a beautiful, sparkly ring...and then he then said the words..."Will you marry me?" and of course I said Yes! as he attempted to get the ring on my (freezing cold) finger...it would only go on half way when I insisted it would fit and pushed it on only to realize he wasn't down on one knee! (Good God how difficult could I be???) He then knelt down and asked me once again, and again I (of course) said Yes!


I couldn't believe that he still proceeded with his plan even though I was being so cranky! Now that is true love :) I also couldn't believe all the preparations that went into this that I hadn't noticed over the past few weeks! Brian went on to tell me that he'd spoken with HIS family and MY family (which brought on more tears) and then went on to explain all the tiny omitted details of his whereabouts over the past few weeks...instead of lunches with friends and getting his driver's license photo taken...he was really inspecting diamonds and custom designing an engagement ring (that didn't yet exist) and even stealing a ring from my apartment for sizing...to have all the stars line up and culminate on Leap Day when a FedEx package was delivered just in time for our trip!

We stood there on the bridge for a while just talking and hugging and me crying while a few people gave us strange looks as they walked by and as Brian snapped a few more shots of the location we will remember forever...

We couldn't wait to get back and share our news with Yetta and Patrick who had snuggled up on the couch to watch a scary movie just as we headed out...against my better judgement, Yetta insisted on taking this photo to document the momentous occasion:

We were fresh out of champagne but we made do with a round of shots of Patrick's infamous schnapps to celebrate! Patrick and Yetta couldn't believe Brian had kept this secret from them after 2 full days on the slopes! I also couldn't believe that Brian managed to keep the ring box hidden from me when we were even sharing luggage! It was cozily tucked away in a neoprene camera case...so sneaky! We made a few excited phone calls to family back home and both of us had a hard time falling asleep on all the excitement...I kept asking if this was real life or am I dreaming? Brian just kept pinching me as we talked about officially starting our life together :)