Four Years!! {The Bride + Groom}

These photos by Brandy J Photography really need to introduction - just me and my incredibly handsome husband :o)

Yes, this house really is leaning the far to the right. . . it's actually no longer standing, so our photos will remain unique and memorable!  Incredibly memorable because we were screamed at shortly after taking them. . . that's a story for another time though ;o)

Since we were married Halloween weekend, the Halloween Parade was going on downtown.  We were lucky enough to get some really awesome shots in front of one of the vendors - they thought were clinically insane, but they are honestly some of my favorites!!

Four Years!! {The Bridal Party}

I'm going to keep the Amanda and Ilario Wedding Par-tay going for a little while longer :o)  Right now its some of my favorite photos of The Bridal Party then we'll finish it up tomorrow with some shots of just the two of us and The Reception!!

I love, love, love the photos of my sister and I - we have the middle one framed on our gallery wall in our home because I love it so much!

My hubby is so handsome and our fathers look just as dashing in the photo to the right.  We have the photo of the men walking down the street framed on our gallery wall as well - love it!

There was never any doubt that our photographer, Sticky, was going to be an amazing father after seeing these photos of him and our flower girl,  Hannah. . . also, no doubt Hannah is going to grow up to be a stunning beauty!

The corn field may have been a bit messy, but the results were well worth it!!  Love, love, love :o)

Sunday Funday, #11

How Fun!!! They used buttons on old books for table numbers!!

{Image: Dawn + Anthony on bobbiandmike.com/blog}

Four Years!! {The Ceremony}

Today I'm continuing Ilario and I's Four Year Wedding Anniversary by sharing some beautiful details from our Ceremony - enjoy!

I love how beautiful my mom looks in this photo below and I can't get over how little my baby brother is!! Four years later and he's a handsome and strong young man, towering over all of us :o)

Now to explain the blue tongue that I walked down the aisle with - lol!!  Minutes before, I took a dissolvable mouth strip and it was the culprit - I love that the moment was captured because I probably wouldn't have remembered such a funny, random occurrence :o)

I can't express in words how talented my family members are when it comes to singing - my Aunt Sherril, cousin Sophie, Uncle Frank and Aunt Deb sang so beautifully on my wedding day, it's one of my most cherished memories!

I love my daddy!!  These photos can make me smile even when I'm having a bad day :o)

When I cry, I laugh - so throughout our vows I was simultaneously bawling and giggling :o)

Ilario and Uh-mana-dah Cursaro (yes, our priest said my name wrong because he was concentrating so much on Ilario's) - lol!!!

All of the photos captured of the children involved in our wedding are amazing - below our flower girl, Hannah, looks so sweet with her aunt Sarah (who I grew up next to) and my gorgeous nephew, Grant, is having his tie straightened. I LOVE IT!

Fall Inspiration Board on Oh Lovely Day!!

I'm super excited to announce I have another Guest Post featured on Oh Lovely Day today - it's a heavenly Fall-inspired board!!  Thanks to Chandra for having me :o)

Four Years!!! {Getting Ready}

Can you believe it?!?!?!  Ilario and I have been married FOUR years today!!!  I couldn't be more blessed to have found such an amazing man to spend my life with!

And since reliving that very special day is one of my favorite things (EVER!), I'm going to spend today and tomorrow showing you all some of my favorite details.  Right now, it's all about the ladies (and a few of the handsome men) getting ready.  All photos by Brandy J Photography :o)

My bridesmaids, flower girls and mom spent the morning of October 27th getting ready at a salon in my hometown, which unfortunately is no longer open :o(  My dear friend and hair dresser, Jen, flew in from Charlotte to do my hair while my cousin Kristie and another stylist at the salon helped out with hair as well.  I also was lucky enough to have the talented Jordanne Clyde doing my makeup and an Arbonne specialist working on the rest of the ladies!

I adore the moments captured in these next few photos - my sister is obviously making fun of me while helping put on my jewelry (lol!!), I'm assisting my cousin's little girl, Alivia, put the finishing touches on her flower girl dress and then Alivia and our family friend, Hannah, twirling in their gowns - LOVE!!

The photo of my garter is a very special one - my grandmother, mom and aunts have all worn that garter on their wedding days!!  Jami even wore it earlier in this month :o)

Once again, a few more of my favorite moments - I was having a little fun while the ladies were fluffing my crinoline and then my mom making my brooch (which I purchased in Charleston - where we were engaged!) look just perfect.

Stay tuned for photos from our ceremony!!

Wedding Wednesday | Engagement Session - The Future Mr. + Mrs. Kyle Richards

I recently got the opportunity to look at Mr. and Mrs. Kyle Richards' engagement session and the pictures were beautiful!! So I instantly thought showing the rest of you would be a great idea!!

They had their engagement pictures taken by Mirage Graphics and Design out of Malinta, Ohio. 

Facebook website: http://www.facebook.com/miragegraphicsanddesign

Web page: http://miragegraphicsanddesign.com/

If I could have a sexy serious look like Katy---life would be made!!!

Aww!!!!

Kyle is a volunteer firemen. I love how they incorporated that into their pictures :)

I just LOVE that the photographer captured the kiss in a mirror, how awesome!!

Katy had this to say about her photographer, "Our engagement picture photographer, Sheena with Mirage Graphics and Design, was great! She not only allowed us to schedule our session on semi-short notice, but also had a great price, which is a good thing for brides-to-be on budgets.  Every time I saw a new one of our engagement pictures, I fell in love. The colors and effects she was able to accomplish with them were phenomenal!"

Be on the lookout in the future for a True Bride post by Katy :)

baci's baking | Chocolate Marble Cheesecake

This recipe is from Wilton Recipes and is the perfect combination of chocolate and original cheesecake flavor. It's absolutely perfect, please enjoy!

Chocolate Marble Cheesecake

(Printer-friendly link)

Ingredients:

Crust
20 creme filled chocolate sandwich cookies (2 cups ground)
2 tablespoons Melted butter
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Filling
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese , softened
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract Easy-Add vanilla extract
3 squares (3 ounces) semi-sweet baking chocolate , melted

Makes:
Serves 16.

Instructions:
1) Preheat oven to 325º. Place a large shallow pan of water in bottom of oven. For crust, lightly grease 10-inch springform pan with vegetable pan spray. In food processor, grind cookies until fine. Combine cookie crumbs with melted butter and sugar; press into bottom and up sides of pan. Bake 8 minutes; cool completely.

2) Lower oven temperature to 250°F. In mixer bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping often. Beat in sour cream, vanilla and cornstarch until mixture is smooth. Place 3 cups of the batter in a small bowl; stir in melted chocolate until well blended. Using large scoop, alternately scoop plain and chocolate batters over crust. Use a wooden pick to swirl together, forming a marble effect.

3) Bake 1 hour-1 1/4 hours or until filling is set but still jiggles slightly in center when pan is gently shaken. Turn oven off and with door closed allow cheesecake to remain in oven for 1 hour. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight.

Benefit for the Abbey Rose Fund

My cousin's dear friends, Sam and Suzi Kudrin of North Royalton, suddenly lost their four month old baby girl, Abbey Rose, earlier this year.  While the pain will not subside, Sam and Suzi have decided to start the Abbey Rose Fund to honor their beautiful baby girl with the hope of helping other families experiencing the same tragedy.  You can learn more about The Kudrins story here on the Abbey Rose Kudrin site.

On November 12th from 4:00 - 10:00 PM at Northeast Ohio College Preparatory Academy {2280 Professor Ave, Cleveland} in Tremont, the first Benefit for the Abbey Rose Fund will be held.  Money is being raised to help the Kudrin Family with their large medical expenses, as well as to help other families who are going through the same situation. Sam and Suzi were given a book to help them through this difficult time, and are returning the favor to anyone they hear about that has lost a young child. The Kudrins also plan to donate to Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, as well as SIDS awareness.  So mark your calendars and come support the Abbey Rose Fund - attendance is free!

Benefit activities include:
- Great prizes, like an IPAD 2, gift cards, Lake Erie Crushers tickets, jewelry, a flat screen TV and many many more!
- Come for dinner and enjoy the atmosphere of family and friends helping others!
- There will be games, raffles, auctions, music, food, baked goods and much more!

If you can’t make it to the event, here are other ways you help:
- Make donations for a bake sale
- Make a donation (baci will be donating a shirley|edith package!) to be auctioned off (there will be a silent auction and a Chinese raffle). The Kudrins have letters prepared to send to businesses, so contact them if you would like a copy or if you think they should send it to someone!
- Sell and/or Buy 50/50 tickets or IPAD 2 tickets
- Advertise the Benefit for the Abbey Rose Fund at your jobs, churches, etc. The Kudrins also have fliers prepared.

If you have any questions about the Abbey Rose Fund or have a donation item that you would like to have picked up, please contact Suzi Kudrin at 419-366-4208 or suzikudrin@gmail.com or Sam Kudrin at 419-366-4318.  Thank you in advance for your support of a wonderful cause!!

Susan G. Komen - My Current Wish List

In Honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I picked out four things you can buy to help the fight against breast cancer!

Go to Susan G. Komen Website for more great products :)

1) Impact Make One Tee - $22

2) Full Zip Panda Fleece Jacket - $55

3) 24oz. Stealth Water Bottle - $12

4) Tote Bag - $16

Go to the webpage and make a difference!!

25% of your purchase price will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure® in the fight against breast cancer.

True Brides {Lisa + Mike}

Happy to present another True Brides Feature - Lisa and Mike!!  They were married on October 15th (but because of how crazy it is in October with weddings, I didn't get to check my email until after the honeymoon---so I apologize for it being late).

They were married at Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church in Mogadore, Ohio and their wedding colors were wine, peach and pale pink!  And they were baci stationery clients as well - yay!

When I asked Lisa about her engagement, this is what she had to say, " I had an idea that it was coming, but I had no idea that he was going to propose on the day that he did!"

Lisa said one of the first things she did when she got engaged was interview locations for her reception!

Photo swiped from the bride's Facebook Page. Image by Rick Smith.

Wedding Questions

One thing you were worried about when planning your wedding?

Making it all look cohesive.

What was the easiest vendor to book?

The photographer, we had tons of recommendations and they were all for the same man.  The first time I met with him, I knew he was perfect for our wedding!  (She's talking about Jamie Jansen Photography!)

What was the hardest vendor to book?

Reception hall.  There were so many choices and so much work to do in order to evaluate each site based on location, food and beverage cost, overnight accommodations and service.  (They eventually decided on the beautiful Ramada Plaza in downtown Akron!)

Is there anything special that has been done for your wedding?

Everything :)

How was wedding dress shopping?

I went to one store and found my dress that day.  It ended up being a dress that I would have never tried on if my Matron of Honor and the sales associate didn’t persuade me, but it’s absolutely perfect!!

What’s been the most stressful part about the wedding?

Making sure that all the little details are completed and making sure that everything flows smoothly.

What’s been the best part about the wedding?

Seeing all the support and love from all of our family and friends.  We are truly blessed.

Was choosing your wedding party hard or easy?

Easy, I’ve had the same core group of friends since kindergarten and Mike’s groomsmen he’s known almost the same amount of time.

Have things gotten any easier as the wedding day approaches?

The last few weeks have been hectic meeting with all of our vendors for the last time and finalizing everything.  I think the easiest part of the wedding process was after we had all our vendors booked until about a month before the wedding. 

A Huge Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Bezbatchenko!!!!