The Bridal Shower:
On Sunday, July 11, 1999, Dawn's bridesmaids threw her a lovely bridal shower held at the Paintertown Fire Department Social Hall. Hosted by Jeanie, bridesmaid and sister-in-law of the bride, it was a lovely afternoon attended by 35+ guests. The food was great [see the food page of the site!] and the decorations beautiful. Done in the wedding colors of cream, dark blue, hunter green and ruby red, the hall was bedecked with balloons, ribbons and crocheted lace doily hearts that coordinate wonderfully with the bridesmaids' bouquets for the actual wedding. [In fact, the extras from the shower were incorporated into the wedding decorations!] Each table featured cream-colored stoneware bowls and mugs decorated with hearts in red, green and blue. They held nuts, chips and pretzels and were given away as door prizes. Everyone had a wonderful time and Dawn was and is touched by how beautiful the whole thing turned out. Major thanks to Jeanie and the other bridesmaids [April, Betsy and Helena] as well as Dawn's mom and everyone else who chipped in to throw this wonderful party!!!!

The Rehearsal Dinner:
In lieu of a restaurant or catered deal, we had a laid-back rehearsal dinner picnic. A very casual affair, the fathers manned the grill and the mothers & aunts whipped up treats in the kitchen...though everyone pitched in. [Our family picnics are like that!] While not an elegant, formal affair, it was a lot of fun. Even though it was almost warm enough, no one wanted to swim so no Pool Party!

Location: The home of Dawn's parents in North Huntingdon, PA.

Date: Friday, August 20, 1999

Time: After the 7:00 p.m. rehearsal

For: All members of the wedding party and their guests, Pastor Dorothy and her family, the immediate families of the bride and groom and a bunch of out-of-town relatives who were there!

The Wedding Reception:
Our reception was a huge hit. All of our friends and guests from Maryland have raved about what a great time it was, while all of the Pennsylvania relatives raved about how nice it turned out and how fun the Maryland contingent was! Basically, the food was delicious, no one lacked for libations and the dancing was tremendous. Most of the event was captured forever on video, as was a special "Harry and Dawn Project" Blair Witch parody that our friends shot in the parking lot after a few too many. Aside from that and the utter joy of seeing so many friends and family members for the first time in a great while, other highlights included: Jenn catching the bouquet and Vince catching the garter and the hilarity that ensued. [Ask to see Vince's "mating dance" on video or the *ahem* up-close footage of Jenn putting the garter on HIS leg!] JPQ, professional bitter divorced guy, turning into a Player. Hey, we thought Vince was supposed to be the slut groomsman! (All is well though...the wedding may have helped JPQ shed that bitterness...he now has a live-in girlfriend. Way to go!) Jeffy assisting with the Bridal Dance. [15 shots?!?] And the list goes on.... In short, it was great and folks back home are STILL talking about what a nice wedding it was, some 7 months later!

Location: Paintertown Volunteer Fire Department Social Hall.

Date: Saturday, August 21, 1999

Time: Following the wedding ceremony - around 6:30pm

For: All guests at the wedding

Music: Heidi and Russ Winslow of H&R Disc Jockey Services in Jeannette, PA - the Pittsburgh area's best DJs

The Post-Wedding Blowout:
Since our wedding was being held in the Pittsburgh, PA, area and we live and work in the Baltimore/DC area, many of our friends and coworkers could not travel to share in our joyous day. To celebrate with them, we threw a big post-wedding bash at our house the weekend after the ceremony. We erected a pavilion style tent in the backyard for shade and a smaller tent for the "DJ" - our Best Man, our stereo and a huge borrowed speaker! The food was great (see the food section of the wedding pages) and everyone seemed to have a great time, visiting and socializing. [And, no: We were not fishing for gifts...it was just a really good excuse to throw a party!]

Location: The home of Harry and Dawn in Eldersburg, MD

Date: Saturday, August 28, 1999

Time: 3 p.m. until everyone was gone...around 3 a.m.!

For: Our Maryland/DC/Virginia friends, neighbors and family that couldn't make it to the wedding or just wanted more partying.

Details:We've had a stereo, 3 grills, a bar in the living room, a big back yard and tiki torches - what else could we possibly need?