Monday 5 September 2011

The Novak wedding

Round 32: January 2035 (Summer)

Maia is 33 and Ethan is 29.

Given how desperate Mum was to see me get married, I was expecting a lot more butting in from her during the wedding planning process.

Maybe she was worried I'd change my mind or something, because she has mostly refrained from giving her opinion unless I specifically ask for it. She's been a big help, actually.

I gave her free rein with the cake, so she has been in her element designing and baking.

Dad offered to do the flowers just about the second Ethan and I announced our engagement. He did such a beautiful job as well - they're all pink, like I wanted.

On the big day, I had my sister Lia and my friend Victoria serving as my bridesmaids.

Victoria and I were friends as teenagers and then we sort of drifted apart after high school. I've wanted to reconnect with her lately and I decided to just go ahead and ask her to be in the wedding.

I thought I would be more nervous on my wedding day but I wasn't, really.

No one could say I rushed into this and I'm certain Ethan is the right man for me, so there wasn't much reason to be nervous.

I guess I could have flubbed my vows or something but that wouldn't have worried me. It would have just been a story to laugh about later on. We'd still be married in the end, which is the main thing.

I don't think Ethan felt quite the same way; he looked visibly relieved once the ceremony was over with no disasters!

Ethan and I wanted a very casual wedding and that's what we had. Everyone was very dressed up but we also had my parents' dog Daisy running around enjoying the festivities.

I think Daisy mingled about as much as any of us did.

We also decided on a buffet, so people could just eat what they wanted, whenever they wanted. So my niece Georgina made a beeline for the gelatin, completely passing over the turkey and salad.

I guess it's okay for just this once, though I did hear Gordon warning her to eat it quickly before Lia found out what she had for lunch!

It was such a fun afternoon. At one point, Dad got into a pretty serious game of hacky-sack with Ethan's grandparents. Everyone got very invested with that!

The kids especially. You probably don't see hacky sack at many weddings!

It was a very laid back reception but we did include most of the traditional elements as well. I don't think we'd ever be able to get away with Dad not making a speech.

Not that I would have wanted to stop him anyway. Dad's speech was lovely and heartfelt, just like at Lia's wedding.

He just had to include a subtle hint about getting started on grandchildren though. I was expecting that! It's almost like a running joke at this point, my parents' pathological urge for more grandkids.

Of course, we also served the amazing cake Mum made for us. Ethan couldn't wait to dig into it.

She did it all in green, my favourite colour and the colour of my bridesmaids' dresses.

It was strawberry-flavoured on the inside though and it was absolutely delicious.

About the only traditional thing we didn't have at our wedding was dancing. It would have been a tight squeeze in the backyard, with all the tables we had to have set up. It was sort of a shame but it was more important for Ethan and I to have the wedding in the right place for us.

And on the day, I found I didn't really miss it anyway. Instead, we used the time we would have spent dancing to catch up a little more with our friends and family

It was good to see Dad getting to know Ethan's mother Madelyn a little bit. I'm glad the two sets of in-laws seem to be getting along. Madelyn is so, so sweet.

I got really lucky in the mother-in-law stakes, I have to admit!

Ethan gets along well with my parents too, so I guess we both did okay. I've probably clashed more with my parents over the years than Ethan has.

But they're pretty awesome, overall. When everyone had left, Mum and Dad gave us our wedding gift - a night at the Vista in Exeter, in lieu of a honeymoon.

And let me tell you, that was very much appreciated!

We have Connor living with us at the moment and wedding night with my brother-in-law hanging around isn't exactly my idea of romantic.

The hotel room definitely was though and Ethan and I made the most of it.

We checked in as soon as we could and didn't check out until the minute we had to.

Back at home, we've had some happy news; I'm pregnant!

We did decide to start trying once we got married but it's still sort of terrifying, as well as exciting.

I don't really know what to expect with pregnancy, so we're trying to keep it quiet for a while. That's proving challenging, with Connor around to witness my constant nausea.

Plus, we kind of want to start telling people. My parents are going to be thrilled and I can't wait to see their reaction!

Extras:
Just some random pics of the guests at the wedding!

Nick and Sarah almost always stick to themselves at these social events.

And who could blame her? I feel like eating lunch at a wedding with your sister's ex-boyfriend who also happened to be present while you were giving birth is probably slightly awkward.

Magdalena and Jace were really excited!

Connor and Lia were big fat nerds for just about the entire reception and played chess. Remind me to put the chess sets in someone's inventory next time I do a wedding!

And of course, I did a ton of posed shots!



Ethan and Maia with her parents.

And with his parents.

The entire bridal party! Maia's sister Lia and friend Victoria as bridesmaids, her nieces Annabel and Georgina as flowergirls, nephew Gabriel as the pageboy and Ethan's brothers Aaron and Connor as the groomsmen.


Notes:
  • Victoria and Maia were friends when they were really young - like 12 and 13. They buddied up again at the high school reunion I did for an N99 contest though, so I wrote her into the wedding too.
  • I hope you guys enjoyed this one because looking back at the pictures, I think it's one of my favourite weddings. I wanted to work Maia's favourite colour green into the wedding, as well as pink to honour her late sister Tessa and I think they ended up working pretty well.
  • Speaking of, Maia's bouquet is a recolour I did especially for this wedding. It was super-easy, so I ended up doing six more colours this morning. They are only recolours of Adele's textures though and it looks like she doesn't allow those to be shared, so I can't upload them for you guys. Would if I could but I can't. :\
  • Now to the excitingness: Baby Novak! I sent Maia and Ethan on a date to the hotel, where they woohooed three times. They didn't try for a baby the first time but the other two times, they did. Maia is due in October but I like to consolidate the birthday posts when I can, so we won't get her second trimester update until May (when Olivia enters the third trimester). And guess what? Ethan has a red hair gene, so let's keep our fingers crossed that I finally get that red-haired boy! We're in like the 5th generation here - it's about time!

23 comments:

  1. What a beautiful wedding! And I'm super excited about the baby as well! I can't wait. And look at you, Ethan and his red hair receive gene. It would be pretty cool if the baby popped out with red hair though!

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  2. Wow, a baby so quickly. They didn't waste any time I suppose. The wedding was wonderful!

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  3. Riverdale, glad you enjoyed it - I know I did!

    LOL, you know me and my red hair! Dammit, I will get that redheaded boy one day!

    Thanks for reading!

    Apple Valley, no, they're jumping right in, huh? Ethan has had the baby want locked for several years now, so he was definitely raring to go. ;)

    Thanks for reading!

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  4. It was a beautiful wedding and probably one of my favorite Sullivan weddings as well. :)

    I've never really noticed how much Maia and Lia look alike until now that Maia's hair was pulled back. It's not like they're clones but there's a very strong resemblance.

    A baby, yay! It's gonna be hard keeping it a secret for long with Connor living with them.

    Too bad you can't share the bouquet recolors. I guess I'll have to try recoloring it myself then.

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  5. Such a sweet and beautiful wedding, everyone looks like they are enjoying themselves a lot. Baby so soon is a surprise though, I never expected those two to be expecting so fast. Congratulations to them and hope you get the little red headed boy :)

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  6. When I saw Maia with her bridesmaids at the beginning of the wedding I immidiatly thought 'this pictures is missing Tessa', it was so nice of Maia to include the pink in her wedding in honor of her sisters.

    It was such a beautifull wedding, as all your wedddings! Maia looked so beautifull and happy!

    I'm so happy they are having a baby! I really hope you get the red haired boys you want! I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

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  7. I love the posed shots. I haven't figured out how to do that yet with more than one sim. SIGH!!!

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  8. Beautiful wedding! And woot on a baby! That was way faster than I expected, I had a thought that maybe they'd pull a fast one, but then it's Maia, and you just never know. I can not wait to see if it its a boy or girl and who they look like!

    Madelyn is probably one of the best and easiest going Moms out there! Lots of good inlaws here though really. If Maia's parents are the sweetest ever, then I don't know WHO is! I can't wait til she tells them they are expecting, hope you include photos! I think they'll be over the moon.

    Love the picture of her about to ralph with Connor sitting back on the couch, yah, I think he has an inclining! And I imagine he wants to get out of dodge before that little one comes crying into the world. ;)

    I never noticed just how much Lia and Maia look alike until the bridal pictures at the end.

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  9. Great wedding as usual! Congrats to Maia and Ethan on their marriage and little one. I hope you do get that red-haired boy. Fingers crossed!

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  10. Sari, I'm really happy you liked it!

    Oh, yeah, Lia and Maia are very much alike. The only difference between them, I think, is their eyes - Lia has Magdalena's and Maia has Jace's. Tessa looked a lot like Maia as well, except for her hair colour and the fact that she had Jace's nose. They're one of my favourite sibling sets, for the genetic diversity.

    Hopefully Connor will keep his mouth shut, if he does figure out Maia is pregnant. ;)

    The bouquet is really easy to recolour, provided you don't mind only changing the colour of the roses. I didn't quite figure out how to change the type of flower, though I did try.

    Thanks for reading!

    Speechless, yeah, everyone had a heap of fun at this wedding! I'd love to go to a wedding in someone's backyard, actually!

    Neither Ethan or Maia is allowed to use BC and Ethan is has always been pretty keen for a baby, so I was kind of expecting them to get knocked up quite fast.

    Thanks for reading!

    Tanja, yeah, me too. :( I kept thinking of Lia's wedding, with Maia and Tessa as bridesmaids. So I had to include a tribute of some sort. I think it turned out really nicely.

    I'm so excited about this baby too. This will be the first Novak baby born in a while. I think the last one was Malcolm (or Connor, though he wasn't "born", exactly).

    Thanks for reading!

    savannahsims, it really just takes a little bit of patience and some OMSPs. It's not really so difficult.

    Thanks for reading!

    Maisie, yeah, that's true, Maia is a bit unpredictable sometimes! What surprises me is that she's finally pregnant and it's on her own terms. Every single round, I was so sure she'd get knocked by risky woohoo!

    Yeah, Madelyn is lovely. I believe she's one of my 10 nice point Sims, as is Magdalena. Maia's parents are pretty easy to get along with, once you get past a) Magdalena's inherent nosiness and b) Jace's initial feelings that no man is good enough for his little girls! I think he warmed to Ethan pretty quickly, so Ethan didn't have to experience B), fortunately.

    LOL, yeah, Connor's not an idiot, so he probably will figure out Maia's pregnancy. He's not the type to blab though, so it will hopefully still be kept a secret until Maia and Ethan feel secure enough to tell everybody. He will definitely be wanting to move out once the baby comes but it won't be happening - Connor will be there until Josh graduates in January and the baby is coming in October. He's just lucky their play session is coming up while Maia is still pregnant. ;)

    Heh, I thought I'd talked about Lia and Maia looking alike before? But yeah, the resemblance between them is very close!

    Thanks for reading!

    snarkysims, thank you! I love seeing Maia all settled down finally - it feels like she was really ready for it now. I'll be even happier if I do get that redheaded boy though. ;)

    Thanks for reading!

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  11. As usual, a gorgeous wedding! Just lovely! And yay for a new baby! Hopefully a red headed little boy *figures crossed*. And I always love your posed pictures......I always find myself to be pretty lazy after setting up all the other shots that I usually don't do too many posed pictures :).

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  12. Beautiful wedding! I love the pink flowers to honor Tessa. And LOL at Lia and Connor playing chess!

    Yay, a baby! I can't wait to see what their baby looks like. Fingers crossed for a red-haired boy!

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  13. Mizzgin03, a redheaded boy would be the icing on the cake for Maia and Ethan, in my eyes. Perfect wedding, then a perfect child. ;)

    That's funny, because I'm kind of the opposite. I find the posed photos almost relaxing! I take them when I've deleted all the unnecessary Sims off the lot, so I no longer have to worry so much about a crash! I loved doing the posed pics. :)

    Thanks for reading!

    Shana, thanks! The pink flowers worked with the green surprisingly well. And I loved that it was Lia and Connor who decided to play chess, over everyone else at the wedding! Just perfect.

    I'm so curious about this baby baby already! I'm dying to know what it will look like. :D

    Thanks for reading!

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  14. This is so lovely...nobody does weddings the way you do! I love the wedding dress, and the bridesmaids' dresses, and the cake and LOL everything. The pink roses are especially beautiful.

    And the chess set deal was so funny! Have to admit I've never seen that happen at a wedding.

    I hope you finally get your red haired boy!

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  15. S.B., oh, thank you so much! That's so sweet of you to say. I think everything came together pretty nicely this time as well. :)

    I have to admit, I have never seen anyone playing chess at a wedding either! It would be a first in real, for sure, but it seems like such a Sim thing to do, lol!

    Fingers crossed! I don't know what my game has against redheaded males! I didn't know how lucky I was when Tate and Zelda adopted Jack as a newborn and he had red hair.

    Thanks for reading!

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  16. I've been waiting for this wedding for a long time, and I'm glad it's here. Maia's had time to grow and mature and Ethan's so sure of himself; my only thought was now they're ready. As always a beautiful wedding. And I'm so glad that she and Victoria were able to reconnect; I remember how close they were. I'll keep my fingers crossed for your red-headed boy. :)

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  17. Fini, heh, you and Maia's parents, lol! I was glad to finally get these two hitched! It was an enjoyable day for everybody and it seemed like it really suited the kind of people Ethan and Maia are as well.

    Thanks for reading!

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  18. Awwww... Weddings at Sullivan! *swoon* I'm always such in awe with your wedding pictures, Carla!
    Everybody was so lovely! Magdalena did a great job with the cake, it looked somptuous!

    Pregnancy again! I begin to understand why you have these flu epidemies! ;)

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  19. Sandy, thank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed the pics! I think I said in the notes but Ethan and Maia's wedding was definitely one of my favourites. I just love Maia's whole family unit, really (I have a soft spot for sister relationships in the game, because I'm so close with my own sister).

    LOL and yep, another baby! I have two due now and I am so excited to finally meet them!

    Thanks for reading!

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  20. Aww, what a lovely wedding this wedding. Maia looks so pretty and Ethan looks handsome in his suit. And so did Gabriel *swoon* I really love all the pink flowers. It gave a nice background to the bridesmaids green dresses. And wow! They didn't waste any time getting to the baby making! I'm happy for them and can't wait to see what they have and who it looks like. Fingers crossed for a red haired boy!

    I had to use Firefox to finally get my comments posted. So it's something weird going on with IE and Blogger, for me at least.

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  21. Danielle, heh, Gabriel is such a cutie, isn't he? I liked this wedding a lot but have decided it's now time to give those bridesmaid dresses a rest - I've now used them in every single colour I have them in!

    And LOL, yeah, Maia and Ethan got right to it! I knew Ethan would be keen, because he's had the baby want for a while now. It should please Jace and Magdalena, at the very least. ;)

    Weird about IE! Hope Blogger sorts out all these issues soon.

    Thanks for reading!

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  22. What a lovely wedding! I especially like the round of hacky sack, lol! It fits in with Maia's laid-back style. I can't wait to see their baby!

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  23. Rachel, it all did seem rather perfect for Maia and Ethan, hacky-sack included!

    I can't wait to see their baby either. I still have a few Sim months to go. :)

    Thanks for reading!

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