Usually I wouldn't start a blog entry with a photo of a detail… but let me tell you… THESE shoes were QUITE the show stopper!  VERY much Laura's favorite element of the day. 

 She waited until I photo'd the shoes to put in the "foot petals"  Though, upon further examination… their shape (sitting on her knee) is quite interesting…

 This is SOOOO Laura… and I adore her!   You see, they had to do some SERIOUS teasing to get her hair to have a good poof…  I've never seen hair teased up that high! (which would explain why her hair didn't BUDGE the entire day!)

 She had this hanger made by an Etsy artist… Pretty cool, huh?!

 Chuck is a journalist… Laura gave these vintage typewriter key cufflinks to him the morning of their wedding.  One of the many things I learned about Laura that day… she's an incredibly good and thoughtful gift giver!

 …. SEEEEEE… he likes them!

 On the way over to the church, we were all on the bus when Laura snuggled in to his neck to smell for Chuck's cologne… "Are you wearing the cologne I got you?!"

He responded… "I put it on!"

She sweetly moved in to smell his neck…

"WHERE?!"

Maybe you had to be there… it was super funny. I told Mike about it later and he said… "I watched him put it on!" I thought to myself… Mike never remembers little things like that… weird!  Then I saw this photo… and realized why he remembered! That's quite the memorable expression for the application of cologne! Chuck is so expressive/animated!  I'm a fan

 ABBBBBBSOLUTELY our FAVORITE part of the day… this was THEEEEE best first sight we've ever ever EVER witnessed.  Chuck turned around to see her and with THE most genuinely astonished look on his face he exclaimed, "WOW!!!! You look like a model out of bridal magazine! You're so beautiful!!!!" Meanwhile Laura is wiping tears.  MAN OH MAN I'm giving this ZERO justice as I'm not good at telling stories… but I assure you… it was one of the most perfect and genuine moments we've seen.  Mike's favorite photo

 BRING IT IN TIIIIIGHT!!!!!

 Cleveland in January = COOOOLD! these two were TROOOOOPERS! Laura said, "cold is temporary… these photos we'll have forever" Yeah… told you I adore her

 OH how I wish more guys would wear fun socks! (hint hint hint…)

MY favorite!!!!!

 Laura did ALLLLL of the calligraphy… and it was beautiful (and properly bobbi+mike branded!)

 AHHHH!!!!!! SO FUNNY!!!!!! Right as she was getting ready to feed him the cake… she faked him out and took the first bite

 I cannot get over the perfection that is this photo… Chuck, I love how you love her.

 Then we went out for a few minutes to get some nighttime downtown Cleveland amazingness.

 Dontchya wish you were invited to that party?! BOOOYA!!!! WE WERE!!!!!

 The most amazing ending to an awesome day.

Notice her bustle came loose? You see… right before the reception, her bustle broke.  Now, I don't mean to brag… but I'm kind of the queen of the bustle.   I'm also the queen of humbleness! Anyway… as soon as it broke, the wedding planner ran over with some safety pins… Laura has been reading this blog for quite a while and has known of my bustling triumphs… "BOBBI! YOU CAN FIX IT!!!!!" So, I went to work and guaranteed its quality… 

"It'll last all night, I promise!"

Well… 4+ hours later… as they were doing their FINAL dance… four safety pins fell onto the dance floor and out came her bustle. As soon as the song ended, she noticed, looked at me and exclaimed "PERFECT TIMING!"

….WHEW!  Close call… Luckily for me, I can still claim my throne as the queen of the bustle

CLEVELAND, Ohio.

The people who made this day happen:

Wedding Planner: Valarie Kirkbride Falvey of Kirkbrides
Hair: Deena Nicely of Sublime Salon, Orange Village, Ohio
Makeup: Ramona Dauksiene
Church: St. Raphael Catholic Church, Bay Village, Ohio
Florist: Grande Designs
Reception venue: Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square
Caterer: Sammys
Band: The Jerry Bruno Orchestra
Cake: Flour Girl
Reception Lighting: Vincent Lighting
Etsy vendor for hanger: LilaFrances (I asked because I knew many of you would want to know!)
Photographers: bobbi+mike, duh.

I emailed Laura a series of questions… told her she could pick out whichever ones she wanted to answer

Favorite moment of the day?

The last dance funky reprise of "Stand By Me" – I think it's impossible to get tired of that song, and the fact that they played it twice – for the first and last dance – makes me happy Chuck liked when we were announced as "Mr. and Mrs." at the reception and I kind of dove onto him and kissed him. ha!

…By the way… see the last photo above… THAT'S the moment she's referring to!

Advice for future brides/grooms?

Other than hire Bobbi+Mike?! Hire a wedding planner! Valarie was phenomenal – I didn't worry about a thing all day.

Would we change anything?

Nope. It was perfect. (other than the broken bustle – Bobbi to the rescue!)

…a quick tip from me… make sure your bustle consists of more than one tie!

Favorite purchase?

Other than my Kenneth Pool gown, my Shannon Britt shoes were a fave. Hopefully they don't look like Eskimo shoes in the pictures – they were just too much fun!

Laura and Chuck…. AHHHHH!!!!! You two are the BEST BEST BEST!  We loved every second of your day. We TRULY felt like old friends with fancy cameras From Chuck's excitement about his gift (a fancy new Canon camera!!!!) and sharing it with us during your first sight… to the trip with just me around the block in the limo bus right after your wedding… not ONCE did we feel like "just your photographers." Usually we try and blend into these private moments as they we're not even there… however, that's not how you two roll… and it was perfect Thank you for being you… 

MUCH LOVE!!!!!!

~bobbi+mike +

PS. blogreaders, could use your help here… is there anything else I could add to the followup questionnaire that you'd like to know?? This new blog format is still so new to me!

Nice photo bomb there Brent! PS. I assure you, I start out the day looking a WHOLE lot fresher… EEEKS!

 first sight…

 My famous dorky winter hat

 Testing the light before they came outside…

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SOOO… we just got back from an AWESOME wedding in Jamaica Hence the lack of twitter updates and blog entries… Can't WAIT to show you THAT amazingness! On THAT note, I would call it a victory that I only gained 1.6 lbs while there… at an all-inclusive no less!

Here's hoping I have GREAT news for you guys in two weeks (as it's Vegas time in 3 weeks… AHHHH!!!!) Though, I am going out of town this weekend for a little friend gathering. As many of you know, traveling gives me some serious anxiety with the healthy train… so wish me luck

How'd YOU guys do?!  The next weigh in is the official END of this round of contests. Last I checked there were two guys who had both lost 16%+!!!!!!! ARE YOU EFFING KIDDDDDING ME?!!??!!!

So, start WORKING THAT SHIZ OUT!!!!! Because it's your LAST CHANCE WORKOUTTTTT BABIES!!!!!! I really hope that ALL of you send in new "after" photos… as I'd LOVE to see the results!!!!!!!

Love love LOVE!!!!

~bobbi

PS. for those who were asking for a reminder on how to figure out your percentage lost… it's SUPER easy!  Take the amount of weight you've lost and divide it by your starting weight.  Take that total and multiply it by 100. So, if you weighed 200 lbs… and you've lost 20… that's 20 ÷ 200 = .1 x 100 = 10% Got it?  GOOD!

 In the HISTORY of bbmk engagement sessions… NEVER and I mean NEVER have we had a couple even 20% as playful & silly as these two.  You're about to see the amazingness that that equals  

Oh, hello bean. (My view)

 Mike's view. ARE YOU KIDDDDDDING ME WITH THAT?! GAH!!!!!! Mike's wins. One of my favorites

 Remember middish January… when we had that winter storm warning in Chicago and Indianapolis??? You know… the one where most schools were canceled? The one where they told us to avoid driving? The one that Chicago accumulated 10" of snow… yeah, that one Well, THAT was when we decided that the PERFECT engagement sessionesque snow would be falling in Chicago… So into our trusty FJ Cruiser we went… AND BOY OH BOY WAS IT WORRRRTH IT!!!! I'm in LOVE LOVE LOVE with every photo from this session. 

YER PURRRRTY!!!!!!

 See, told you they were fun

 Nothing wrong with a couple of snow angels in the middle of Millennium Park!  BTW, usually this park is PACCCCKED TO THE MAXXXX!!! However, THAT day… it was just the four of us and a lonely security guard.

 BRING IT IN TIGHT!

 Another favorite!!!! It really is SO them… Save the dates? Yes.

 HELLOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

 Shooting in the snow creates AMAZING black and whites. I'm in LOVE with the contrast. LOVE LOVE LOOOOOOVE! ANNNNND… ANOTHER FAVORITE! (gosh, what's the point of favorites if you pick them all?!)

Does this make you smile? It should. Because it's fun. Okay? k. NOW are you smiling???

 THENNNNN we went up to their apartment to warm up for a few minutes while they changed into some new clothes… 

 How much do you love those shoes!? BTW, we brought toe warmers and she had them in there (we actually all had them… but I think she needed them most!) Those things SAVED THE DAY!!!!!!

 My view…

 Mike's. And… his favorite He wins… again… hands down… Jerk.

 Hi Chicago

CHICAGO, Ill.

Wedding: August 14, 2010 • Champaign, Ill.

badaboom badabing…

I'm a BIG fan of these two. Duhtown.

~bobbi+mike +

Mike and I looked ridiculous… but we we were warm!

Hello security guard! Not so lonely now…

dedication!

 MY HILAAAAAARIOUS JOKES NEVER FAIL!!!! Though, admittedly… it's easy to make her laugh… Those are my favorite kind of people.

PS. for those who always ask me what my "hilarious jokes" are… I don't really have any…   I'm usually just being goofy or maybe saying something funny… Never any real "joke" with a punchline.   I think I just started referring to them as jokes to be goofy…. who knows. Sorry to disappoint.

 ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THAT CUTENESS!? Dontchya just want to snuggle that husband up?! MAN OH MAN I'm THE luckiest girl in the world! Dont argue with me. He's hot tamales…. even in "bibs" while holding pink shoes. BOOOOYAH!!!!!!

 HELLOOOOO BOBBILICIOUS!!!! RE: the improvement of my teeth… I CANNOT EVEN TELL YOU HOW MUCH BETTERRRRRR THEY LOOOOOOK!!!!! A little over a year ago… my teeth were the definition of snaggle teeth.  Now, I'm (hopefully) almost through with Invisalign… and couldn't be happier.  I'm sure I'll be writing more about that process later… when they're done  

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 Emily, like yours truly, never wears makeup… when she saw her reflection in the mirror… her jaw dropped, "wowwww…."

 …meanwhile… the guys went in for a shave… where they appear to have props

 HA!

Time to get serious folks.

That's Emily's sister Leslie helping with the veil… I called her Katherine all day And why did I call her that?! Because I think she happens to look JUST like Katherine Heigl!

 Are you kidding me with that gorgeousness?!

 One of my favorites

 This photo CRACKS me up… the guys were running pretty late getting ready… so, I'm guessing Nick saw it as more efficient not to unbutton then re-button his shirt, but rather… just put it on over his head.

 waiting…

 This photo = perfection. Mikey's favorite

 It was FAREEEEEEZING outside!!!! As in… -4° windchill.  As in… the COLDEST we've EVER shot in, EVER. As in… we shot these in 5 minutes… GO GO GO GO GO!!!!!! I'm telling you, they were trooooopers!

 Bring it in tiiiiiiight

 Wacky Bobbi!

 I adore you two

 Nick drives a SmartCar… Emily surprised him with a grooms cake shaped as one!

 …right before they were announced…

 piano BLINNNNNG!

 They took lessons Cantchya tell?!  Another favorite

I love love love how snuggled in she is…

side note for photographers: EMBRACE THE GRAIN!!!!!!

 …..and they're off!

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.

The people who made this day happen:

Hair: Heather Price at A Do Hair Design
Makeup artist: Kelly Moffitt
Church: Meridian Street United Methodist
Florist: Pam Avenius at JP Parker
Reception venue: Indianapolis Museum of Art
DJ: Mark Beecher
Cake: Kahn's
Wedding planner: Rayna Traylor

Favorite Moments (according to emily+nick)

too many!! Nick and I could not believe how quickly everything went by!

Emily's:
1. Seeing Nick for the first time at the end of the aisle (duh)
2. When Nick started crying during our vows… ok, so did I
3. Dancing with my dad at the reception
4. Seeing everyone at the ceremony and reception who traveled in 5 degree weather to celebrate with us!

Nick's:
The whole day, there wasn't anything that wasn't perfect! But if I had to choose, when Emily walked down the aisle.

Emily and Nick, your day was truly something I'll carry with me forever… from the fun we had at the salon (thanks for the Tomato soup!) to the first dance… the entire day really was perfection.  Oh, and your friends make me laugh… LOVE me some band-o's!!!!!

MUCH LOVE!!!!!!

~bobbi+mike +

PS. As they were RUNNNNNING out the door… we very quickly tried to grab a photo of the four of us… but it didn't turn out

PPS. So, blog readers… what did you think of the new content???

 I look like I'm wearing one of those Jamaican style hats with the dreads included… except mine is the carrot top version

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