A wonderful collection of pictures taken by my dear friend Charlotte... Thanks you for sending me the pictures.. You're the best! Click on Ava to see more pictures...
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| Wedding Party - Charlotte |
Dancing Shoes
Some interesting shoes on the dance floor... Can anyone name the owners of the shoes? Click the shoes to see a couple more beautiful pairs...
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| Wedding Shoes |
The Tarentella
What Italian wedding have you attended without dancing the Tarentella? We actually played it twice! Enjoy.
Heavenly Day
Our wedding day was truly a Heavenly Day. Alice asked for the song to be sung at the wedding, here is the end of the song played after Holy Communion.
Wedding Vows
Here's a video of our wedding vows... If you were not able to attend the mass, I started to cry during my vows and Alice needed a little nudge during hers.
Pictures from Denise
These pictures were taken by Alice's friend Denise. Click on Alice to see the album. Thanks Denise!
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| Wedding Party - Denise |
Wedding Dancing
I posted this video on youtube to see if I could get the video larger, hard to see the smaller video with my aging eyes... Press the icon next to the speaker icon at the bottom of the video to see the video in full screen mode.
Picture's from the Mass
Here are some pictures from the Mass, if you click on the picture it should open up a web album.
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| Alice and John's Wedding Mass |
Back from the Honeymoon
Alice and I returned from a wonderful stay in Newport, it's such a beautiful place. I wanted to quickly post a video and picture from the wedding this evening, tomorrow I will post more. If you have any pictures, please send them along to Alice or I.
Time for the honeymoon
Thank you everyone who made our weekend special. Alice and I are truly blessed with such a wonderful family and group of friends, we are both overwhelmed by your kindness and outpouring of love.
Due to technical difficulties (of all days), I am unable to upload any pictures this morning and I really don't have the time to figure out why. After Alice and I return from our honeymoon, I will update the blog with pictures and video. Check back at the end of the week.
Alice and I love you very much.
Rehearsal Dinner Video
Our rehearsal dinner was held right down the street from the church at studio 275. Leo Moscato does a wonderful job. If your ever in the need for a place to do a small private party, studio 275 is the place.
Amazing Grace
The hall looks Amazing... Thanks to the hard work of my brother David, Jay, Jody, Paul, Margaret, Nancy, Meg, Marci, Liz and I'm probably forgetting someone. My bad for not bringing my camera to take pictures. Thank you everyone, Alice and I are very fortunate to have such wonderful and talented friends, your talents will be appreciated by all. Off to the rehearsal. I'll post pictures later.
First Home Video
This is a first, I never used a video camera before. I shot some video at my brothers house after dinner and then again at my cousin Laura's house. I hope it works. I'm planning on posting some video from the weekend here on the blog.
Gobble Gobble
I found this on a Yankee beat writer blog, I thought it was fun so I copied it. Happy Thanksgiving to all, may your bird be tender.
Giving Thanks
Tonight I baked my traditional pumpkin cheesecake, and as always, they cracked. If anyone has the secret to keeping a cheesecake from cracking, please pass it along. Don't let the cracks fool you, my pumpkin cheesecake is one of the best around. One of my secrets is that I cook my own pumpkin, no canned pumpkin in these cheesecakes. Then I use organic eggs, and create my own pumpkin spice from 4 spices.
The wedding stuff is winding down, I believe Alice and I are going to make it to the finish line. A couple of loose ends still to tie but for the most part, I would say we are 95 percent complete. Not bad for starting only seven weeks ago. Friday will be an interesting day setting up at the Scandinavian club. If anyone is just hanging around on Friday, feel free to stop by, we can use all the help we can get.
Alice and I wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels to those who will be traveling during the weekend. Remember to save room for dessert! Ciao.
Under the Weather
On a rainy day like today it's easy to feel a bit under the weather. Alice has been fighting a cold since last Saturday, last night she really looked like she had a cold. If you have a cold remedy that works for you, send it along to Alice, alice@liptrot.com. Grazie!
Pre Party
With a little less than a week to go till the big party my mom had a party at the house for Alice. All the girls looked like they were having a good time when I arrived. Alice is pictured here with my cousin Carl's wife Michelle and my cousins Karen and Sandy. I'll be posting pictures from the big party over the weekend so be sure to check back.
If you need directions to any of the events next weekend, please email me at johndedonato@gmail.com. Ciao!
Cheers
Alice and I spent the afternoon shopping for items for the wedding, we managed to get a few things but still need to find glass holders for the votive candles. Alice's sister Liz found some glass holders at target which we were trying to match but had no such luck at the target store around here. Alice and I took a break from our shopping and stopped off at one of our favorite places, the windmill in Stratford. Alice and I have become friends with several people at the windmill but Toni is our favorite, a wonderful person and waitress. Toni knows Alice and I are getting married next weekend so she was full of questions about the big day. We talked for over an hour and when we asked for our check Toni said that lunch was on her today. Toni gave us a big hug and while Alice and I were walking out she announced to a full bar that we are getting married next weekend. The reaction from the bar was quite interesting, several folks were yelling out "don't do it" and "we still have time to call it off", the funniest one I heard was someone was yelling the name of a law firm.. The windmill to Alice and I feels a lot like Cheers in Boston must have felt.. Everyone knows our name...
Elking it up
A picture of my cousin Carl and brother Joe at the Elks last night. I managed to take a couple of pictures early and then again late in the evening. I had an awesome time last night. Many thanks to brother Dave for arranging the dinner and for everyone who attended, it meant a lot to me to see all your smiling faces! I'm looking forward to seeing them again at the wedding.
The Land of Oz
Alice's house has been turned into the Land of Oz.. Alice, her sister Liz and friend Nancy went to East Coast Wholesale flowers this morning, I believe they have a plan, now the plan just needs to be executed! The girls have it under control.
I managed to visit Romeo, the caterer, this afternoon, looks like we are all set with the food. I also visited DelPrete's bakery, that's where the italian pastry will be coming from for the wedding. I talked with Nick about the hall and Charlie about the linens. Looks like everything is coming together. Keep your fingers crossed! Only a week to go...
I'm off to the dinner, wish me well. I'll be bringing a camera so check back tomorrow for some interesting photo's. Thanks again Liz for coming up to help, it meant a lot to me and Alice!
Ciao!
Liz is in the House
Alice's sister Liz came up today to help Alice with the flower arrangements. Liz and Alice went down to Norwalk to visit the wholesale flower guy (Steven) while I stayed behind cleaning (what's wrong with this picture). Tomorrow the girls will return to the wholesaler to pick up potted plants.. Who new making the flower arrangements would require such an effort? I believe there will be a small army of people over the next week involved in creating the arrangements.. I'm sure the flowers will be beautiful come the day of the wedding... If I remember tomorrow, I will snap a couple of pictures to give you a sneak peak... Thanks Liz for coming up to help, your presence is an early gift.
Music update.. The new mixing board works great.. we now have music!
Tomorrow night there will be a dinner in my honor at the Elks club in Derby, I'll try to update the blog before the dinner, I'm sure I will be moving slow on Saturday!
A Little Help from our Friends
Today was a bit of a crazy day.. Alice made an appointment with East Coast Flower Wholesale in Norwalk, we made it down there around 11:30, what an amazing place. I've never seen so many beautiful flowers. Steve, the owner, gave Alice and I the tour, he imports flowers from all over the US and world, truly an amazing operation. After checking out the flowers, Alice and I stopped in Westport to pick up shirts and ties for the boys in the wedding. When we returned home, Alice prepared for class while I worked with Victor from IDJNOW trying to get our music system working. We are still having issues, I am hopeful to have the music working in a couple of days.. Keep your fingers crossed.. A note for Alice's friends... Alice is feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the wedding plans. Add on top of that her class work and her businesses she is trying to start and you can see why Alice is feeling overwhelmed. Please give Alice a call or send her an email with positive energy, thoughts and prayers. I love you honey.
Lunedi 17 Novembre
Even in Italian, the wedding is getting close... Alice and I are hopeful to travel to Italy in the spring to visit with her Aunt and my niece who will be studying in the Florence area. I practice a little Italian every day..
Several wedding items accomplished today... Alice talked with the woman who will be doing the music at the church, she also talked with the florist who will be doing the flowers for the church. I managed to meet with the rental people today to take care of all the items needed for the reception.. I'm still in search of the elusive perfect tie... hopefully we will find the tie tomorrow.
The weather is getting a tad colder, I worked outside at Alice's house for part of the day... We are hoping for nice weather on the weekend of the wedding.. I enjoy snow but I'm hoping for a green wedding! Buona Notte!
Yesterday Once More
On Saturday Alice and I attended her 30th high school reunion, Montville High School class of 1978. It was a fun time and nice to meet the people Alice hung out with during those formative years.. A very nice group of folks, I'm looking forward to the 40th! My high school celebrates all the years of the same decade together so I'm not sure when the next 70's decade reunion is.
The wedding is starting to fall into place, we received our rings from Japan, Alice's cousin sister Chie made the rings, they are truly beautiful. I've never wore a ring, something I'm looking forward to. Alice met with her friends to go over the flowers for the hall on Saturday while I attempted to get the sound system tested. Houston we have a problem, I'm hopeful to resolve the issue on Monday. Today we will be going over the list of people who responded to get a better number of how many people will be attending the wedding.
If anyone is in need of directions, please email me, johndedonato@gmail.com, we did not include directions in all the invitations. Enjoy your Sunday. Ciao!
Girls Night Out
Alice headed into New York City to meet up with her girl fiends for a girls night out. Not sure what happens on a girls night out.. What happens in the city... stays in the city... so they say... If any of the girls who are with Alice tonight just happen to snap some pictures, please send a few my way so I can post them here on the blog... johndedonato@gmail.com... I'm sure Alice will have a slow morning tomorrow.
Off to Mass we go
Alice and I are off to Massachusetts to pick up the planters for the flowers at the church and hall... should be a beautiful day for a trip, no pets this time, we need all the room for planters... more later. Enjoy this beautiful day.
Well we made it back from Massachusetts. Compo De Fiore is in Sheffield MA, it took us about an hour and twenty minutes to make it up there, what a nice place. The planters for the flowers are beautiful, Alice did a wonderful job finding the planters. I'm sure the arrangements will look awesome.
House stuff.. Well I installed a new washer and dryer.. Alice's washer finally died after many years of service. I'm sure the old Maytag washer and dryer were from the 70's... We can only hope we have half as many years of service from the new machines.. Isn't that a sad statement with all the new technology.. Products just are not built to last...
Suits Me
A busy day today running errands for the wedding. Alice and I covered a lot of territory, from New Haven to Westport. Alice and I visited New Haven to check out a couple of men's clothing stores, I'm still in search of a suit for the wedding. Alice talked with Machie today about our rings, they are ready, we just need to work out the shipping details. Alice designed the rings with Machie, they look beautiful from the drawings, I can't wait to see them. We talked to Charlie in Norwalk about the linens for the wedding and my friend Jeff about people to help server the food. We also talked to Leo the grape about the details for the rehearsal dinner. Leo runs a place called studio 275 right down the street from the church where he teaches culinary instruction classes and cooks for private parties. Many of the pieces are starting to fall into place... Today I turned 48, a good age to be getting married for the first time, it just took a while for the right girl to cross my path..
Weekend Update
Another weekend has come and gone. Sorry for the lack of updates but it's been another hectic weekend. Leaf wars were waged at both Alice's house and my parents house. Alice and I managed to pick the the leaves in her yard on Saturday before the rains came with a little help from her neighbors. One neighbor let me borrow his leaf blower which was a bit stronger than the one Alice owns. I used the neighbors leaf blower to clean the leaves from the road in front of the house. While Alice and I were bagging the leaves, Jay, a neighbor two houses down stopped by with a gas leaf blower and offered to blow the leaves in the back yard into a pile for us.. Thank you again Jay, you were a life saver, and a back saver. Very nice neighbors on Lee Drive, it's going to be fun living there. On Sunday, my brother David, dad and myself picked up what we hope are the last of the leaves at my parents house. After the leaf war, my mom made an awesome Sunday dinner, ravioli with sausage and meatballs. You just can't beat homemade gravy (sauce for you non Italians). Mom also made a cake to celebrate my birthday, Monday I turn 48. Not much news on the wedding front, this weeks needs to be a very productive week, there's too many items still on the to do list for my comfort. Keep those fingers crossed. A prayer or two for Alice's mom who is still in the hospital recovering from her surgery. Alice said her moms humor has returned which is a good sign.
Dog Tired
Alice and I headed out to East Hampton on Wednesday with Rose and Olive to visit Alice's parents. Most of the time was spent at the hospital visiting Alice's mom while the dogs hung out in my car. Keep up the prayers for a quick recovery for Alice's mom, she may be in the hospital for about a week. This was the first time I have ever been in East Hampton, a very nice place, even in the rain. I look forward to returning soon to pick up a mirror Alice has been wanting to bring home for a long time plus I have an eagle to retrieve for Alice's dad.
Several more responses today, so far only 1 person is not able to attend the wedding. We still have several wedding plans to iron out, keep your fingers crossed.
A Time for a Change
Today will be a day of change.. This presidential election has been too long for me, I grew tired and stopped watching and listening to the news months ago. Each candidate wore me out. We need a strong leader, I'm not convinced either candidate will do well.
As for the wedding, today our invitations started to arrive in home, it is very exciting to get responses. The first person to respond to me was my uncle Fran, Alice's first phone call was from her friend Mia.. A prize will be waiting for both of you at the hall for being the first to respond. A note about the brunch on Sunday at our house, it will start at 9AM and go till we run out of food, so please stop by when ever you can, even if it's early in the afternoon. The football games will be on for the guys!
An update on Alice's mom, she will be having surgery on Wednesday morning, please keep her in your prayers. Alice and I will be heading to Long Island to spend time with my future (very near future) mother and father in law.
Welcome November
November is here, only 27 days till the wedding. A lot has been going on already in November, some good news and some not so good news. For the good news, Alice's cat schnoopepe has returned. Seems that schnoopepe is smarter than the coyote, maybe she has a little road runner in her. Schnoopepe was hiding out a couple of blocks away. On Saturday night Alice's neighbor Margaret threw a welcome to the neighborhood party for me, a very nice time. I'm looking forward to my new home and neighbors. Thank you Margaret. Today, Alice and I spent time with Deacon Bob reviewing the results of our FOCUS questions, 156 in all. Alice and I managed to be thinking along the same lines in 14 out of the 16 categories, maybe we are not as opposite as we think we are honey. Some sad news, Alice's mom is in the hospital on Long Island. She was taken to the hospital on Saturday and today they were going to do a procedure to see if they can find out why she is having pains in her stomach and bleeding. Keep Alice's mom Patricia in your prayers. Some wedding news, Alice and I managed to complete our invitations, they will be in the mail on Monday.
Happy All Hallows Eve
Halloween is also known as All Hallows Eve and here is our flower girl Ava dressed up as mini mouse this year. Ava is definitely a treat. Ava's mom Sue is in the background, she is a treat too!
Wedding update... Well, it looks like our invitations will be in the mail on Saturday. The printer did an awesome job as well as Alice, the coloring, look and feel of the invitations are all Alice's creation. Please respond as soon as you can, we need to have a head count by November 15th. I posted a link to mapquest and the addresses of the church, hall and house in the right hand side of the blog, give it a try if you need directions. Tomorrow is November 1st, only 29 days to go.
Congrats to the Phillies
The 2008 baseball season officially ended tonight with the phillies beating the rays 4-3. The seaon was over a long time ago for me, I'm a die hard yankee fan. I'm sad to see yankee stadium being replaced, I'm looking forward to the yankees returning to the playoffs in 2009. LET'S GO YANKEES!
Today was filled with errands for the wedding. Alice and I picked up several white and red wines to taste, we stopped by the hall to talk about seating and rentals, then we stopped by the florist to talk about flowers for the church. Tonight Alice managed to finish off one of the white wines while working on the music for the wedding while I worked on the information that will be included with the invitations. Our readers are all set for the wedding ceremony, Alice's God child Allison and my God child Kara will do the readings, now Alice and I just have to finish choosing the readings.
A Rainy Tuesday
Well, the lawns are covered again in leaves and branches from today's rain and wind. Alice's yard was looking good till last night, such is the time of year. I managed to find Alice and I a place to stay after the wedding. We talked about going to Newport RI for a couple of days, then onto Providence and Stonington. I booked us a couple of nights at the Hotel Viking in Newport, I've read nice things about the hotel, if anyone has stayed there, drop us a comment. I also booked a night at the Providence Hilton, I have a ton of points from all my nights staying in Freeport ME so the night in Providence will be on the house. Another plan made, the list is getting shorter...
A step back in time
Today Alice and I took a ride to New Haven to check out a possible caterer for the wedding. After mass on Sunday Alice and I were talking to several people from church about catering, they told us to check out Romeo and Cesare's in New Haven. Alice and I first walked around the store looking at a variety of amazing food. We asked a very friendly person behind the counter if there was anyone we could talk to about catering our wedding. A few minutes later, Romeo came out of the back of the store. Alice was busy in the front of the store ordering food while I started to talk to Romeo. One of Romeo's first comments to me was that if we did not like his food, we wouldn't have to pay him, he never wants an unhappy customer. Romeo talked with a broken english accent, he has been in business in New Haven for over 35 years. Alice joined the conversation and we started to pick out some food. Romeo went behind the counter and made a sample dish of several foods for Alice and I to taste and told us to go out side and enjoy the food while going over the catering menu. Romeo joined us several minutes later, we reviewed the menu, he made some suggestions, several times going back inside to bring Alice and I something else to taste. While sitting at the table, an older Italian gentleman stopped at the table to thank Romeo for the prosciutto he recommended over the weekend. If anyone is looking for good Italian food, check out Romeo and Cesare's on 771 Orange Avenue in New Haven, you're in for a treat.
Another week flies by
Boy time flies when you're having fun.. or when your scrambling to get your wedding plans done. This weekend Alice and I spent a good part of the day on Saturday at our Engaged Couples Deanery Conference, previously known as Pre Cana. St. Thomas Church is Oxford did a very nice job with the Conference. There were three couples plus the parish priest leading the conference, thirteen couples attended. One of the couples Alice and I sat with are getting married on the same day.. Dan and Liz have been planning their wedding for a year.. Alice and I are down to a little over four weeks. Invitations will be going out this week, we also plan on picking a person to do our food. There's still plenty of time left... Say a prayer for us!
Now Appearing
A picture taken today of Alice on stage at the Scandinavian Club, she is just about to start her growing up Liptrot routine. We stopped by the club today to take a second look around, need to start planning on how to decorate for the wedding. We also stopped by town hall and picked up our marriage license. I think Alice is more nervous than I am, as we were walking out of town hall, Alice let out this heavy sigh. Tonight we are planning on tasting some food that will be served at the wedding.
A Crazy Monday
A busy day on my first day not working for LLBean. Alice lost the very sweet and lovely Schnoopepe to a coyote over the weekend. This is very sad news. Alice loves her pets very much and in return they love her also. Please keep Alice and Schoopepe in your prayers.
Wedding stuff. Alice and I worked on the menu and talked to one person about getting a price. The wording for the invitations was given to the stationary folks today, hopefully we will have the invitations by the end of the week. Alice and I also stopped by the jewelry store to look for bands and her bracelet. Much more to do for sure, if feels good to be making progress.
Best Friend
Adele pictured here with her third child. Adele is Alice's best friend, the two met while in college.
Wedding Update
This week more progress was made with the wedding plans. Alice, with the help of her neighbors and friends found a dress which is big, now I need to find a suit. I believe the girls in wedding will be wearing gray, I need to ask the boys if they have a gray suit. We also decided on the invitation, they will be printed this week. We hope to have the invitation in the mail early the last of October. We still have a number of plans that are still in progress, check back later in the week for more wedding plans update.
Rose and Rafta
Alice's Pet Family. Missing from the album is the lovely and sexy schnoopepe, a second cat, and the Olive. The Olive is pictured in a separate posting. To see all the posting which have a picture, just click on the label picture at the bottom of any posting. Clicking on Rose will show you other pictures of Rose and Rafta.
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| Legs |
Signs from Freeport
Working in small town America has many benefits, one being you really get to know everyone in town. The shop keepers become like family. Here are the signs from the shops I spent most of my money at.. Enjoy the tour.
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| Freeport |
A week of lasts
This week is full of lasts for me given this is my last week in Maine. Tuesday's for the past 2 years have been spent for the most part at the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Freeport listening to the Tony Boffa Trio. Virgil, Paulie and Shaneequa are very talented people and if you ever have a chance to see the Tony Boffa band, do it, they are one of the best bands around today.
Being that this was my last Tuesday night with the trio, I was convinced to join them for Frank Sinatra's great hit, The Summer Wind. I managed to make it through the song thanks to Tony.
Thanks to everyone who made tonight special, Delta Dawn and White Cloud for the gifts and arranging the cake, you are the best and will be missed. Champagne, thanks for dinner, you are a very kind person, I have been very fortunate to know you. H, CB, Juanita, Syd and Lucy, I will miss you, you've made my stay here a very enjoyable experience. Cookie, thanks for coming out the past couple of Tuesdays, you are a special person to me, I wish you well with everything that is going on in your life. More on lasts in another post.. Thanks again everyone, you are the best, I have been truly blessed. Jack.
Trick or Treat
A picture of our ring girl Ava DeDonato from last halloween. She looks like the cookie monster!
Hotel Arrangements
Today I signed the contract with the Trumbull Marriott for our guests who will need to stay locally during the weekend. The rate is $99 dollars and the rooms are under Liptrot and DeDonato. If you need a room, the phone number is 203.378.1400. Reservations should be made before Novemeber 14th. Alice and I are working on providing transportation from the hotel, not sure how this will work yet. Stay tuned...
The plans so far
The plans so far are
Hotel reservations for guests traveling from away can me made at the Trumbull Marriott, phone number is 203.378.1400.
The Wedding will be held at St. Mary's Church on Elizabeth St. Derby Connecticut at 2PM on Saturday November 29th.
The party after the wedding will be held at The Scandinavian Club, South Pine Creek Rd. Fairfield starting at 4PM.
The party will last till 11PM so please feel free to come at any time, there will be plenty of food and beverages.
We may have a gathering at the house (only a couple of minutes away if we want to continue the party).
On Sunday, please feel free to stop by the house at 55 Lee Dr. in Fairfield for brunch, any time from 9AM on.
More details to follow.
Plans are starting to come together
Well our plans are starting to come together. Today we were able to find a place to hold the party after our wedding. Alice and I wanted to have the party at her house, with the number of guests that may attend we decided there may not be enough room at the house. We looked around and found the Scandinavian Club on South Pine Creek Road in Fairfield. The club is only minutes away from Alice's house which will be very convenient.
Seven weeks to go
we made progress today, we may have found a hall and a hotel for our out of town guests to stay. Tomorrow will be a big day, we should have a lot of answers. Alice told me today she is starting to freak out. Please feel free to pass on any words of encouragement to Alice in the comments of this post.
Here are a couple of pictures...
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| Olive |
Boys in the wedding
Here are the boys that will be in the wedding. The groom with brother Joe and brother David.
T Minus 52 and Counting
Busy day here in the great state of Maine. I only have one week left here at LLBean, work will be crazy.
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