Getting Ready.

I woke up early Saturday morning, lounged around by myself, ate some breakfast and relaxed. I was so calm and relaxed... most of all I was really excited! This was going to be the biggest day of my life. All of our hard work and planning led up to this one day and it was here!

 

At about 9:00 a.m. my bridesmaids came over with their hair products and makeup and we got started. I had so much fun getting ready with all of my girls! One of my bridesmaids, Marcie, was nice enough to do my hair and makeup for me; which turned out beautiful.

All of us were getting ready in my suite.

While we were getting beautiful for the big day ahead, my photographer went around and got some nice pictures of my dress, rings, shoes and jewelry.

Once we had everything done but our dresses on, we hauled into our cars and headed to the church. We ate some lunch at the church and then got dressed. Bouquets and boutonnieres were handed out and then everyone waited for 3:00 p.m. to arrive.



I was just minutes away from becoming Mrs. Lombardi!

Rehearsal.

The Friday before the wedding, the girls and I went to get our nails done. I made our appointment at Ambiane Studio Salon in Mt. Dora and they were pretty awesome! My only complaint was that they were a little slow due to being understaffed but their customer service made up for it. They were ready and waiting for us to get there and once we settled in they brought out drinks and egg rolls for us! That was so kind and thoughful of them! I would definitely recommend their nail salon if you are ever in Mt. Dora, Florida.



After our nails were beautified, we went to the hotel to change and then headed over to the church for rehearsal.

We had our rehearsal dinner at a restaurant called Pisces Rising. I just have to say that this restaurant is amazing! The food is so delicious and the service is outstanding! Nick and I handed out the Bridal Party and Parent gifts and then I surprised him with his grooms cake.

These two cuties just got engaged!! (Nick's Sister, Lori and her fiance, Ken)

 Can you spot the two love birds in the back? So happy for them!

He was so surprised about the cake and really loved it. He didn't even know there was something called a grooms cake! Haha!

Pisces Rising gave us access to our private room for the entire night, so once dinner was over we invited anyone in town to come out and enjoy the drinks, live band and dancing outside.

 

Here are some of our nephews and (ONE) niece. Definitely a family with lots of boys!

After a while, we all started to head back to the hotel; which of course led to hanging out by the pool! We stayed out there for a while and then I decided it was about time for me to head up and get my beauty rest. It was really weird to go back to my room without Nick and knowing that I wasn't going to see him again until I was walking down the aisle... I could not wait!!

Wedding Recap - Thursday.

On the Thursday before the wedding we did some running around Mt. Dora during the day and prepared for the evening that we had planned. We were going to be getting together with everyone that was in town at a local bar called McGregor's! It was a fun little place with pool tables, dancing and karaoke!

Everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves and a surprising number of us even went on stage a sang karaoke! I even got up there and did a song with Nick and Gina!

The bar was nothing fancy but it was perfect for a night of hanging out and celebrating. We had all looked forward to getting together for months and once we were, we took full advantage! There were many people that didn't make it because they weren't coming into town until Friday. We really missed not having them there but they made their appearance after the rehearsal dinner!

 

Once McGregor's closed we all headed back to the hotel...and continued the party poolside! I'm pretty sure everyone didn't get to bed until after midnight every day of that weekend. It was great!

Turkey Meatloaf.

-Ingredients-

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 tbs worcestershire sauce
•  1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup ketchup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop onion and combine all ingredients except ketchup in a large bowl and mix well.

Place mixture in an ungreased loaf pan or shape into a loaf in an ungreased baking pan.

Spread ketchup over the top of the loaf.

Bake uncovered for 1 hour. Your meat thermometer should read 160 degrees Fahrenheit. After baking, let it cool for about 5 minutes before removing from the pan and serving.



Enjoy! We had mashed potatoes and green beans as sides with our meatloaf.