Mr & Mrs Prendergast

As of August 8th 2010 around 5:30pm James and I officially became Mr & Mrs Prendergast!!! It is hard to believe that it took 1 year and 8 months to get to this day. At one point I remember it feeling like the day was a lifetime away, the next thing I knew it was right around the corner. I can honestly say I have enjoyed every minute of planning our wedding. Even though it was a tough road to get to the big day (both of us losing jobs, moving to Pittsburgh and back, etc) it was all worth it and I wouldn't change a thing.
For me the wedding celebrations began on Wednesday August 4th, as that is when Mum, Paul, Steven and Grandma Smith arrived. During the day I picked up my wedding dress, which seemed unreal! Once everyone had arrived we had a nie BBQ with all of our family and got a chance to catch up. I hadn't seen Steven and Paul since 2008! We even introduced them to RockBand.
Thursday was a busy day, as was everyday leading up to the wedding. We picked up Becca, one of my oldest friends and my maid of honor first thing in the morning, and then headed to Mens Warehouse to pick up the guys tuxes. Needless to say that was an adventure all in itself, mainly because Chris' pants looked like clown pants, think pants hemmed to the knees and the crotch down to his ankles, it was a disaster. The guy PROMISED us a smaller size on Saturday. The next stop was checking into the Doubletree hotel in Plymouth Meeting. The place was sooo nice and the staff were amazing our entire stay there. The afternoon bought another airport pickup, this time Grandma and Grandad Banfield and Leona, one of my matrons of honor. It was so nice to have all of the family together again! Thursday night, the guys took James out on a boys night to Ocean City, MD. Meanwhile Becca and I ran up a $150 bar tab in less than 2 hours. Do not ask how we did that lol.
Friday was our bachelor/bachelorette parties and I was so excited. First us girls (Leona, Bec, Tara, Mum, Grandma and Grandad) went horseback riding. Grandad was made an honory woman for the morning as he has always wanted to ride a horse and at age 73 I thought it was about time that happened. Minus me loosing my sunglasses we all came away uninjured and had the best time! After getting cleaned up myself, Bec, Leona, Tara and Kim went and had a relaxing afternoon by getting manicures and pedicures. James and I had decided from day one that we wanted a joint bachelor bachelorette party so James came up with the idea of having a house party as when he thought of the best times with his friends they were always at a house party versus going out. Beforehand though we all (bridal party plus their dates) went to dinner at Iron Hill Brewery. It is one of my favorite restaurants and the food is beyond amazing. The party was at our house and Tara did an awesome job of bringing games like bago, and setting up beer pong and flip cup. I know both James and I loved getting to spend time with our closest friends. Some of us, hmm Dave & Steven, did not feel so well in the morning:)
Saturday, the day of our rehearsal and rehearsal dinner was probably the most stressful day from the past year and a half. To being, we had major problems with our bank and them freezing all of our money due to an error on their behalf. Secondly, we went to Mens Warehouse to pick up Chris' pants that were supposed to be the correct size. The smaller size made no difference at all and resulted in my Mum and Grandma buying Chris black dress pants. By the time we got to the rehearsal and dinner things had calmed down and we got to enjoy ourselves with all those that we love so much.
When I woke up on the morning on the wedding I was so calm, all of the stress from the day before had disappeared. That may have something to do with the fact that Leona gave me a muscle relaxer before I went to bed:) I spent the morning hanging with the girls getting our hair and makeup done. The morning felt like it dragged but from the second I stepped into my dress the day flew by. Before the wedding everyone kept telling us to take time to enjoy the day, and even though we did we felt like it went by in a blink of an eye. I remember being so antsy to see James and when I first saw him as I was walking down the aisle it felt like everyone disappeared and everything else stopped. I know I had the biggest smile on my face as did he. And my goal of making him cry was met. The whole ceremony I was giddy and Rob, the officiant did an amazing job of stressing the importance of marriage, yet making it personable. Saying those vows to the person you love more than anything in the world is incredible and is beyond anything that you can imagine. When we were announced Mr & Mrs Prendergast we both had tears in our eyes. The entire wedding was a fairytale for me, it was beyond anything I had imagined when I pictured my wedding day. The florist blew me away, she nailed exactly what I had envisioned. My dress was beautiful and looks gorgeous in the photos. I could keep gushing about the day forever but I would like to say thank you to EVERYONE who was involved in our wedding day. Each and every one of your are so important to both James and I and the day would not have been as special if you all weren't there.
We have a million photos from people, and we dont even have the professional pics yet. Here are the links to see everything about our amazing day!

Wedding Photos I
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044843

Wedding Photos II
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044845

Wedding Rehearsal and Dinner
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044840

PreWedding Festivities
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044837