I'm Married Ya'll!

So we had a wedding....boy did we have a wedding...
What started as a beautiful week in Carolina; 80 degree, sunny days, walking around in shorts on the beach, pig pickins and basking in the sunlight....

Friday:
Became the coldest, windiest days in recorded weather for our rehearsal and wedding day. The rehearsal was MISERABLE: most of us wrapped in quilts (including one Floridian bridesmaid shivering audibly and sitting in the heated car in between practices), my father showing up 30 minutes late (thanks daddy!), and a lovely argument about the lack of Jesus in our ceremony between our dearly beloved non denominational internet ordained friend/officiant and stressed out (highly religious?) wedding coordinator...it was, did I already say it?...miserable.

The dinner on the other hand.....omigod the dinner. Chef Clarke Merrell at Circa 81 in Morehead City knocked the socks off everyone in attendance with course after course of amazing tapas. Every plate was a favorite, but the highlights for this fat girl: steamed mussels with wine, lime and cilantro, a North Carolina cheese and charcuterie board (all LOCAL!), and two special creations: chorizo and cornbread corn dogs (YES!) and beef short ribs (which didn't make it to the table because we were all SO FULL but was wrapped up for the groomsmen to take care of later that night). It was a much needed, amazing ending to a weird day and we all left full and happy...

Saturday
7:30am
I wake up to a breezy, overcast picture outside the window and an uneasy feeling, nerves maybe?

11:00am
Matt let's me know he is going over to the wedding site to "check in" with the coordinator..."check in"=hover and make sure things are going ok.

1:30pm
All hair and makeup complete, we are congratulating ourselves on how much free time we have before the wedding! Oh, and even the sun is coming out!

1:42pm
TEXT from Matt: "Wind Disaster Here"

1:45pm
A phone call from my betrothed:
Matt: "Uh Meg?.....Uh....there's a disaster over here?"
Me: "What are we talking about dear?"
Matt: "THE TENTS ARE IN THE TREES!"
Me: "Oh?"
Matt: "We need to move the wedding...the TENTS ARE IN THE TREES!!!"
Me: "I need 5 minutes. I will call you back. I love you"

I hang up. Apparently my uneasy feeling this morning was a premonition of this very phone call. I calmly look at my mother and best friends in the world and say, "We need to move the wedding. Any ideas" Everyone looks at me like I'm insane. We go through all the alternative ideas...who has a big beach house? How many people are around on a Saturday to let us in their big beach house they don't mind 120 strangers partying in? Is this really happening? And come to the conclusion....we are moving the wedding to the Creek.

1:47pm
We launch into FULL attack, split up into teams. I'm calling vendors. Mom and Dara are on thier way to the creek to start cleaning bathrooms, enlisting family, calling invitees, bribing teenage cousins for help, mowing lawns, drinking...ect... Team Bridesmaid is making lists, signs, leaving voicemails, whatever is needed. Matt's sister Kara is putting a straw in a bottle of Pepto Bismal for me and trying to delicately break the news to the Northerners that there is a "slight change of plan".

1:50pm:
I confirm with the Groom: The Wedding is moved to Bear Creek.

2:00pm
We are in a car, me riding shotgun with Pepto in one hand, Tums in the other, in route to Venue B: a massive garage (dubbed "THE CAGE") belonging to my Aunt and Uncle built to house a boat (which was in it at this point) and a batting cage for my cousins (also in it). My brian is in overdrive designing our new wedding...

2:25pm
We arrive, I am out of the car standing in the garage, in a bathrobe, with a scarf tyed around my updo, looking at a garage trying to make it happen. Climbing on shelves, I start designing with the direction "Anthropologie windows people!", with shrieks of "Time Check!", "Mustaches on EVERY PLACE SETTING" and "When's half hour?!" I am a mad woman ripping open boxes, handing off tasks and placing props and flower arrangements right up until I am given my call to let go and get dressed...With the help of an amazing group of friends, one hell of a family, and some quick thinking we turned "The Cage" into this:


















4:30pm
A parade of Bride, Hairstylist, Bridesmaids, and Photographer are marching into my parents house greeting our guests on the way to get dressed.

5:10pm
The day ended up being more than we could have ever imagined....the ceremony was chilly, but amazing, I cried trying to say my vows, Matt said something got in his eye during his, our godmothers did beautiful readings, and our dear friend John read from the Velveteen Rabbit (another tear inducing moment). Elizabeth did wonderful as officiant (even with the lack of Jesus), and it made the whole thing very special.














Importantly: THE FOOD. It was great. Sliders: pulled pork and burgers, Tacos: blackened grouper and fried shrimp with a lime slaw (AMAZING), fries, mac n cheese... I loved the food and I ATE IT. Then while toasting tables, I ate off family (Thanks Uncle Mel!) and friends plates!

More importantly: THE CUPCAKES: Were gone. Within minutes. Over 150 cupcakes. GONE. I had one. It. Was. Awesome. Larita Lees at Carolina Cakes and Confections is a buttercream genius and I love her almost as much as I love my husband. Yeah, THAT good.


Most importantly: We had the chance to have a wedding that could not have been more "us". It was built by the love and support of the people who mean the most to us, and who we are sure we mean an awful lot to. I married my best friend, and we had the most memorable, fun, incredible night of our lives... What an amazing beginning to our newest adventure. And what an amazing photograph from our Photographer: Rach Lea Photography...(we love her!)

Getting Closer!

Howdy All,
So with every "friendly" reminder email from theknot I am super aware of the fact that the wedding is 53 friggin days away! I can't believe it. It is so insane to me how quickly the last few months have flown by. All in all, Matt and I feel like we are in pretty good shape. My AWESOME Aunt Linda sent me a song list that was super helpful, and I am still up for suggestions. We have already received RSVP cards (thank you all the punctual people out there!) and are just feeling so blessed to have such amazing friends and families who will travel to a field in the middle of nowhere to see Matt and I's love for each other! CRAZY!

Although no matter how hard we try, we spend 85% of our day discussing wedding stuff, we decided yesterday...Labor Day...to do something fun and NONwedding related. So we went kayaking. However, we did not plan to go kayaking originally, so Matt went kayaking in khaki shorts and a polo. Anyone who has ever kayaked in the rear of a tandem kayak can understand what a HUGE mistake this was, on top of the mistake kayaking for the first time with ME. We spent the first 15 minutes spinning in circles with Matt getting soaking wet from the deluge of lake water my paddle was dumping on him with the conversation going something like this:
MATT: we suck
ME: your negative
MATT: but we suck
ME: WE'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO GO ON THE AMAZING RACE LIKE THIS!
MATT: but we going IN CIRCLES!!!! WHY ARE WE GOING IN CIRCLES!?!
ME: um were gonna hit that tree
MATT: that tree is 30 feet away..
(now 30 feet closer to the tree)
MATT: TREE!!!! PADDLE LEFTLEFTLEFTLEFT
ME: NO RIGHTRIGHTRIGHT
MATT: we suck
ME: yup...ooo look at that pretty tree....
MATT: LEFTLEFTLEFT!!!!

and SCENE.

So in the end, we were able to paddle not in circles, and actually enjoy ourselves. I loved the upper body workout! It was nice to break up the same ol gym/workout video routine. After the kayak experience we went on a soaking wet hike and just took the afternoon OFF from wedding...it was so wonderful to just get back to us and not talk about guestslists and budgets and tablecloths.

Now back to tablecloths....
Not tablecloths exactly, but to tables. We are still looking for dishes and servingware. If anyone has old china they were planning on donating to the goodwill, you can drop it off at my parents' house. We are using them to feed people. It's hard blogging, I want to tell everyone everything we are doing at the wedding, but I want it to be a surprise! So, I'll leave you with a danceparty play list...a little mix of fun, oldies but goodies, and some new stuff too. Enjoy!

2 months....

Holy Moly! We are now at less than 2 months until the big day.

Big things:
The Must Play List for the Reception...Hit me with your ideas guys. Matt and I's big problem is the music we listen to is NOT music you can get your dance party on with....3 hours of Mumford and Sons sounds great to me...but I realize they are pretty difficult to get down to.

The Must Shoot List for Photography...
Have you seen a photo that blew your mind? I want it.

Crafting is a part of my daily regimen at this point. Hot glue and I spend more time together than I do with Matt. The good news is I can see the light at the end of the craft tunnel, at least what I can finish up here. Once I get back to NC there will be a mad dash to the finish....

eeek

I need to burn off some stress....yoga? Bob? Both....all's I know is this FatBride is STRESSED I'm thinking it's a Bob-Rodney mashup kind of night....or maybe I'll Netflix a new workout video. Let's see. "Dance off the Inches: "Tummytone Party Zone"? "Crunch Bootcamp Workout" described as rigorous military style? Sounds painful...maybe Kickbox....

WAIT!!!!

"The Situation Workout" hosted by Jersey Shore's Mike "The Situation"Sorrentino!?!?!? I wonder how much fist pumping it takes to get "The Sitch's Ab Secret"??? How do you understand what he is saying between the accent and lack of vocabulary skills? How many times does he refer to himself as 'The Situation'???? SO many reasons to watch this!

I'm thinkin I will end up sitting and watching him be a douche rather than working out. Crunch Boot Camp it is...

or some underwear dancing....ok definitely some underwear dancing to shake and shimmy this stress out.

kinda like this: http://youtu.be/JfEpfqAR8sQ

SEND ME YOUR SONGS!

Sorry about that

Folks. I am so SO SOOOOO sorry for being a deadbeat blogger and not being awesome lately, but wedding planning takes up ALOT of time....I have been so busy planning, crafting, making my own invites, calligraphy-ing those invites, licking the envelopes of those invites, double stamping those invites and finally GETTING THOSE INVITES OUT OF MY HOUSE!!!

They almost ruined my life, the invites. Matt was so angry at formatting and printing he would go on daily cussing rants to the device that was pissing him off. My hand was cramping from all the calligraphy. My back developed a hunch from leaning over the coffee table for hours and hours paper cutting, glueing and tying tiny raffeta bows. Finally, after 2 weeks, including 4 days of rather intensive Invitation Hell...WE MADE IT! And we STILL LOVE EACH OTHER!!! Matt did not throw the computer out the window, I did not loose a digit from the paper cutter, and we are able to talk about the printer now without inserting an explicative before it's name.

SUCCESS!

After THAT adventure, I went back to what I know...pinwheels! Which are now pretty close to being complete. I still have several projects to work on, bunting, chalkboards, and other DIY's but I feel like I am in pretty good shape going into the 3 busiest weeks of my professional life, pulling off two 4-day theater festivals back to back and opening a play in PVD the following week....all the month before the wedding....what an idiot I am.

The only positive, I will be so busy I won't be able to eat my feelings of stress. Which scares me a little because my wedding dress is perfect. PERFECT. I went to get the alterations, and I needed none. I have never felt as beautiful as I felt standing in the mirror room with two old ladies hovering around my butt for 45 minutes trying to figure out the best bustle option (a single point on both layers of the dress in case you were interested). As I was standing there, and they put the sash around my waist I had my moment of "OMIGOD I'm getting MARRIED!" Which I really did scream in the middle of the alterations department.

My "I'm Sorry Sucking at Blogging"? A new playlist: A tribute to a wonderful summer!
Enjoy and I will try and be a better brideblogger!

I hate exercise

Did you know that? I mean really REALLY hate exercise. But I've been doing it anyways. I now I can't move. My fat hurts. When my muffin top jiggles I feel pain. Hopefully the pain I putting it through will force it to take up residence somewhere else...in my boobies maybe? I have been elliptical machining and cycling and weight lifting and crunching and yogaing and pilatesing...ew. I have been sweating and swearing....ick. I have been wheezing and gasping for air in public....ouch. Me working out is not hot. Me working out is disgusting. And what is more disgusting? Me trying to watch what I eat. Why Meg, do you dislike healthy eating so much? Why? Because IM HUNGRY...ALL the time. And a hungry Meggie is a bitchy Meggie...and a bitchy Meggie is NO FUN. But it will be worth it when Matt sees me in my dress...if he can deal with a sweaty smelly hungry bitchy fiance for the next four months...speaking of which....

I tried on MY dress while I was in North Carolina last weekend. It's magical! It's perfect! I could just stand and stare at myself in it all day. I can't wait until October when Matt finally sees me in it...

While we were in NC, Matt and I had our engagement photos taken...what a weird thing being photographed. Our photographer, Rach Lea was AMAZING. She made us feel so comfortable, and we actually ended up having fun! And she gave us a little preview, and the pictures are unbelievable....Matt and I started looking at them and had a whole "Is that REALLY us?" moment. I mean look at these....
























































I mean, HOLY CRAP these are amazing pictures! I can't wait to see the rest that she took... Matt's fear is these are the only ones we look this awesome in, and the 400 others are all of us looking like mutants. Geez I hope not. That would be unfortunate. I am sure we won't look like mutants though, I only look like that in the morning...

Speaking of mutants...I love the Bachelorette, and I am watching right now as I type on my new Macbook, and am craving Thai food like woah because they keep eating it on the show....like that girl actually eats carbs...lies. I can't help but watch the desperation and crazy with Glee as I watch this chick sob hysterically and yammer on and on about being in love with people she has known a total of 6 on air hours...obsessed with other peoples crazy...OBSESSED. ooo! Thai food....yum.

Might be buying dinner tonight.

Deadbeat Bride

I slept through the "Royal Wedding"...

Does this make me a DeadBeat Bride?

Well if it does, I will OWN THAT SHIT! Fat Bride needs her beauty sleep!

You know what else Fat Bride needs? An intervention. A French Fried Intervention. I have officially fallen off the vegetable wagon. Even as I type I am hallucinating the smell of deep fried dreams and char-grilled magic. I am pretty sure someone is playing a trick on me, pumping Eau de McDonalds into my airvents. Not cool whoever you are, not cool. I had an amazing fat girl moment the other day. I was feeling under the weather, and we had leftovers from the most magical Easter dinner ever...chicken pot pie, Matt's Famous Mac and Cheese (what doesn't make you feel better than these foods?)...and mashed potatoes...so I thought. I had my plate all ready for the microwave, a slice of CPP, a portion of MNC, and a heaping mountain of mashed potatoes. As the food was heating up I noticed the mashed potatoes were...melting??? Huh? Melting??? That's weird....until I realized..."Oh SHIT, that's not mashed potatoes....that's FROSTING!!!!" We weren't sent home with mashed potatoes. I put homemade cupcake frosting on my plate thinking it was mashed potatoes...and then...I ate it anyways.

Hot melting frosting. I ate it. And chicken pot pie. And Mac and Cheese.

And I liked it.

Not loosing any weight this week...

I have still been working on wedding things...not much...but some. We had a blind wine tasting to figure out what type of wine to serve. The wines ranged in price from $4.99 to $14.99. We had some great friends over and drank up!

The wines' labels were covered, only Matt knew which wine was which.













Each guest was given a score card to rate the wine they were tasting.

















Can't have wine without some good cheese! Had some delicious snacks to soak up some of the wine...














Tasting...Tasting...such hard work, right boys?

The winner: Red Bicyclette Shiraz...the most expensive. In a very close second, Fish Eye Cabernet, the CHEAPEST!!!The Fish Eye had better scores from everybody but me, I gave it ALL ZEROS! I guess I have more expensive taste then I thought...whoops. If it weren't for my zeros, the Fish Eye would have taken the top prize.
It was a fun boozie afternoon with great friends. We laughed, watched The Goonies, and ordered pizza (guess we needed more cheese!) Anybody who is looking for a fun way to involve/CON friends and bridesmaids into helping with wedding stuff...THIS IS IT. I have found rewarding friends with booze or food turns them into my little pinwheel and mustache making sweatshop.







HAPPY FRIDAY!

Fat Bride Returns!

Sorry I have been lame. I suck.

So Matt and I enjoyed the hell out of ourselves at my dear friend Katie Huppmann's beautiful New Hampshire wedding. A blanket of snow illuminated the PERFECT day Katie was blessed with, and although whenever she was outdoors she had to wear a big peacoat, I would say she enjoyed and loved every minute of it. I must say, if I can even be half as gorgeous and happy as dear Katie Huppmann on the big day, I'd be the luckiest lady in the world!

One thing this wedding did have....a MAJOR dance party, which is a must for our wedding.

To prepare for such a dance party, a gift to you all. The currant danceparty/workout playlist for Meg Tracy:



It has the perfect amount of uptempo mixed with a little breather music...enjoy! I have been trying to get my fitness on...but sometimes I suck at it. Having a wedding dress that fits perfectly and that I like looking at myself in doesn't help. But I did get in today for some elliptical machine torture and I have been swimming (my nontorture workout) as much as I can will myself to. I have a case of the weekend cheats though. Where I pretend like food doesn't count because it's Hot-Fudge-Sunday. No bueno. No bueno at all.

In wedding world, we are tweaking the menu with our caterer...I can't believe how overwhelming picking food can be. Can we have beets? No, they might stain the tablecloths...greens can't hold up to transport...Matt's allergic to carrots...tomatoes remind me of boogers...it is So ridiculous figuring out food for so many people. I'd be just as happy shucking oysters in my wedding dress, but some people would say it aint classy...classy my foot! Fat Bride is as classy as they come...shit!

While food is in the works, I have been focusing my attention on invites again. I have IJS. Invitation Jealousy Syndrome. Whenever I look at wedding blogs and sites, I see these amazing stationary suites that include a map and unique and magical invitations...I WILL HAVE UNIQUE AND MAGICAL INVITATIONS goshdarnit! SOOOO, I have been working on a Meggie original for the wedding invitation, a custom map of the Swansboro/Emerald Isle area to include with the invite. If anyone has a place they would recommended to outsiders, or somewhere you think a visit to the coast isn't complete without...let me know!

In DIY news: My friend Meg came over last week for some wedding prep fun...not much because I sucked at supplies (meaning I had nothing but felt, scissors and wine), but we still had a great night of mustache cutting and save the date making...thanks Megs, I will need your scissor skills again!

So thats whats up. Again, suggestions on EI/Boro hotspots!

Worst ever.

Omigod! I suck at blogging. Sorry sorry sorry. I feel like a deadbeat bride blogger. The good news is: the wedding planning is going swimmingly...we have all our major vendors found (woohoo) with all but one fully secured! SO excited about our planner, photographer, and baker...the venue, the dress, and the wedding party....it all. I DON'T love picking out bridesmaid dresses.

Bridesmaids dresses are the bane of my existence. I hate them. I find it completely unacceptable to ask my nearest and dearest to purchase a dress they will never wear again, and I refuse to do it! Therefore, I scour website after website looking for dresses that I want to wear on a warm (I hope) sunny (I hope I hope) fall afternoon, in order to outfit my lovely ladies in them. They are all SO different. Different bodies, different fashion, I just want them to look FIERCE.

Speaking of looking fierce. I worked out for 9 million hours today...ok not 9 million. But it was like 3. I found the perfect tv viewing block for myself and the gym...
3:00: What not to wear
4:00: Say Yes to the Dress
4:30: Say Yes to the Dress

BAM...my ass is on the elliptical machine for like an hour, and I hit the bike for whatever I am too tired to finish on that. I figure I would be sitting on the computer at home...so I might as well be entertained and moving my legs. PLUS it's fat bride week on Say Yes! AND it's before the crazy rush at the gym (after 5 there is a 30 minute time limit on machines...rush hour gym style I guess.

I am using a calorie counter on my new phone/the net called My Fitness Pal. LOVE IT. The database of foods is ridiculously big, and it does a net calorie goal after you plug in your workout for the day. I immediately get the payoff of seeing the amount of calories left to eat for the day go up post sweat...and instant gratification is SO helpful when it comes to trying to get healthier...

I promise to be a better blogger. pinky swear.

Suck It Winter.

It's disgusting up here. It's a brown and grey slushy disgusting mess. And it's friggin cold. Ew. I hate hate hate winter. And it's ONLY JANUARY!!! AHHHHHHHHH. On top of that, the City of Providence apparently doesn't think that people walk outside. At least that is how it seems considering not a damned sidewalk has been cleared by the city. It was dangerous. treacherous. it was downright deadly trying to walk to the train station today (a light 1.5 mile walk in freezing water, ice, and massive snowbanks). I busted my ass at least 4 times. And lemme tell you, nothing worse that falling on your ass in front of a line of total strangers in their comfy warm vehicles who you know are laughing and pointing at the chubby girl in a giant brown puffer jacket and skinny jeans with a massive wet spot on her ass who is cursing rather violently at the whole situation. You try it. See how it feels.

Suck it winter.

On a better note. My sweet nephew, Sir Kellum Tracy is coming home from the hospital today, making me hate the whole "Living in New England" thing a little be more. I want to hold him and cuddle him and gush like my whole family is doing down south. I am so jealous I can't take it!

I am so jealous I made a wedding inspiration board to keep my spirits up.

Matt and Meg, evolved:) by meegant

I hope you like it. And it brightens your spirits the way it brightened mine. Now, if my ass would just dry...

I said yes.

To The Dress.

Yup, I officially have a wedding dress! It's pretty and girlie and super feminine...lace... I am so in love with it. I might post a pic, I might not. But right now I am sooo happy with it, and that's all that matters. The best thing is I LOVED myself in the style and fit of the dress just the way I am now, post holiday food frenzy bender and all, so there is no pressure to loose any weight. I can just relax and focus on the 1000's of DIY projects that I have!

And to go with the dress? A wedding band. A lovely jewelry store was closing in North Carolina, so I was able to purchase a beautiful diamond band for a steal (and you know me...) The hardest part is not wearing it now! It looks perfect with the ring Matt picked for my engagement ring...I can't wait to married to him (not just so I can wear my pretty rings...I promise).

We have a baker too! We are doing a small wedding cake for Matt and I, and cupcakes for our guests. La Rita not only has great cake, but she has a big personality as well. Plus she is a Johnson and Wales Alumni, so Matt ok-ed her, even though he missed out on the cake tasting...but as a Fat Bride, I'm pretty sure I know good cake when I taste it, and La Rita got a FBS seal of approval. We have been talking about incorporating the Rustic and Vintage theme into the cake and cupcakes...here's what Matt and I are really digging...

We just love the how beautiful and simple these are...and how freakin YUMMY they look. And isn't that what cake is all about? Being GOOD? I kinda want to lick my computer screen, but a)it would not taste like cake. and b)that would be weird.

But still... they look REAL good

We are hoping to work on the stationary portion of the wedding planning, but I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a site that does photocards? Like if you did a photo christmas card...who did you use? There are SO many, and we want to use a good one...help?!

Sorry it's been so long, I have been all over the place...opening and closing a show, Christmas in NC, waiting on my nephew to get here (yeah Kellum, I'm talking about you, COME OUT ALREADY!!), but now that I am back in my normal world...whatever THAT means, I can get back to bloggin...again, any suggestions on photo card sites, please let me know!

xo!