Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Our Wedding

**This post is comprised of candid photos taken by my guests as well as some professional pictures from a dear family friend. Her pictures will be denoted with her photography business name.**


Well, we did it! The Fiance is officially The Hubby now!! We got married July 18th, in a mid morning ceremony in Cypress California.  When I woke up, bright and early that morning, there was thunder and lighting outside! Holy cow!! Who would have thought we would have to worry about rain in a mid-July wedding in So-Cal?? We had an outdoor ceremony planned,  so this was a bit disconcerting. However, someone up there must like us, because it cleared up BEAUTIFULLY and our ceremony was absolutely GORGEOUS! If I do say so myself!

My AMAZING Aunt did ALL of the beautiful flowers for our wedding.  She even constructed the arch which was the centerpiece of our ceremony. 


I ADORED all of the little aisle details! I mean, grass aisle lining!! And the gorgeous tree stump-bouquet pieces?? GORGEOUS! 



It literally took my breath away! (I did not see the finished product until I walked down the aisle.)

Our ceremony started with The Hubby and our officiant walking in together.  Everyone walked in to a beautiful, instrumental version of Elvis' "Can't help falling in love". My AMAZING brother in law was our DJ and did all of our music to absolute perfection! 


Our officiant is our dear friend! He and his wife introduced The Hubby and I, and they have known The Hubby since he was about 10 years old!  We felt so honored that he was the one who married us! Our parents' followed them down the aisle to their seats in front. Our Bridal party followed, consisting of our best friends and The Hubby's former military buddies. Next, came our ring bearer, son of our officiant and his wife, one of my bridesmaids. (Sorry y'all...I have no candids of the other entrances, you will have to wait for our official wedding photographs to be back from editing.)

Following them came my three adorable nieces, the flower girls! (Special thanks to my mother in law and my sister for the ADORABLE dresses!) They were just so darn cute!


Last, but certainly not least, was yours truly! We had a music change to an instrumental version of the song "The Final Countdown", Yes, that famous 80's song.....It was an incorporation of The Hubby's sense of humor, which I (at first) reluctantly agreed to.  When he found the pretty,instrumental version we used, I gave in, under one condition. (Which we will discuss later.) 



As some of you may know, I get very nervous with all eyes on me. (I know, a perfect fear for a day when literally everyone is watching you...ALL DAY!)  So, drawing inspiration from a wedding my mother in law had told me about, I walked halfway up the aisle and The Hubby met me halfway and we walked the rest of the way up the aisle together!



We thought it was a wonderful tribute to our relationship and symbol of our journey together!

My Maternal Grandfather offered a lovely prayer to open the ceremony.


The ceremony was perfect and beautiful! Our officiant made it so personal and amazing! 





We exchanged rings and "I do's" and then had our first married kiss and were introduced as husband and wife!


We walked back down the aisle to the Throne room song from the Star Wars a new hope soundtrack! Yup, you guessed it, my condition to our walk up the aisle song. I'd say that's fair, wouldn't you?


Our wedding reception was held at the same venue, inside their ballroom. It started pouring rain approximately 30 minutes into the reception! Whew!! Talk about perfect timing! Here is a quick tour of our reception decor.
*photos by Thru Andi's Lens*







*other candids*



We started the reception with introductions of the wedding party and then went into our first dance to Elvis's "Can't Help Falling in Love".
*photo by Thru Andi's Lens*


After that came the toasts. We toasted with handcrafted Honeyblonde beer made by The Hubby!

*photo by Thru Andi's Lens*


My sister, and MOH, went first, followed by the Best Man.  Then, my best friend, and second MOH, gave her toast.  My Father in law went next. He had a very special toast to make!  The Hubby's maternal Grandfather had gifted him with a bottle of cognac,when he was born 30 years ago, with instructions to open it at his wedding for a special toast.  His Grandfather was very well loved by the family and tragically passed away when The Hubby was young. The Hubby's Dad gave a wonderful toast to him, and the people who are no longer with us.  It was beautiful!

*photos by Thru Andi's Lens*



The Hubby then, in part as further tribute to his late Grandfather, danced with his Mother to his Grandfather's favorite song, "What a Wonderful World". It was a wonderful tribute to an amazing and well loved man, as well as a beautiful moment shared with The Hubby and his Mom!

*photo by Thru Andi's Lens*


After that, my Father in Law gave a toast just from him, followed by a toast from my Dad!


My Dad then gave a blessing on the food and dinner was served! We had Chicken Piccatta and Tri-tip with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies.  After dinner, and a round of "hellos" around the room, it was time for the bouquet and garter toss! My Mom made my beautiful garters, but unfortunately I don't have pictures yet, Stay tuned! My 3 year old cousin, and flower girl, caught the bouquet. My other cousin (I think he is 25, Shane correct me if I am wrong) caught the garter.

After a little dancing, it was time for the cake cutting! The Hubby's cousin, handmade our GORGEOUS cake! I absolutely loved it!!

*photos by Thru Andi's Lens*





She made a small "top layer" carrot cake for us to cut. My favorite!!! She also made chocolate, strawberry and vanilla cupcakes, each with a different style of frosting and sprinkles! They were just gorgeous AND delicious!! We got compliments on them all night!


After the festivities, The Hubby and I headed outside with our "principal photographer" (and amazing, long time friend) for our couples pictures. You all will have to wait for a special post for some of those! It was raining a bit again at this point, but we didn't care. We just got married!!!! We can't wait to have our finished official pictures to share, and are SOOOO grateful to everyone who helped us have a glimpse into our special day in the meantime! We treasure ALL of the memories we have from the day! In the meantime, I hope you all have enjoyed a little glimpse of the details of our wedding.

 Our wedding was an absolutely beautiful day filled with so much love!  We can't thank our family and friends enough for all they did to help us pull off such a fantastic day! It was certainly a day to remember and we will treasure not only the memory of our wedding, but the endless love that surrounded us as we entered our journey as husband and wife!



Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Our Wedding

**This post is comprised of candid photos taken by my guests as well as some professional pictures from a dear family friend. Her pictures will be denoted with her photography business name.**


Well, we did it! The Fiance is officially The Hubby now!! We got married July 18th, in a mid morning ceremony in Cypress California.  When I woke up, bright and early that morning, there was thunder and lighting outside! Holy cow!! Who would have thought we would have to worry about rain in a mid-July wedding in So-Cal?? We had an outdoor ceremony planned,  so this was a bit disconcerting. However, someone up there must like us, because it cleared up BEAUTIFULLY and our ceremony was absolutely GORGEOUS! If I do say so myself!

My AMAZING Aunt did ALL of the beautiful flowers for our wedding.  She even constructed the arch which was the centerpiece of our ceremony. 


I ADORED all of the little aisle details! I mean, grass aisle lining!! And the gorgeous tree stump-bouquet pieces?? GORGEOUS! 



It literally took my breath away! (I did not see the finished product until I walked down the aisle.)

Our ceremony started with The Hubby and our officiant walking in together.  Everyone walked in to a beautiful, instrumental version of Elvis' "Can't help falling in love". My AMAZING brother in law was our DJ and did all of our music to absolute perfection! 


Our officiant is our dear friend! He and his wife introduced The Hubby and I, and they have known The Hubby since he was about 10 years old!  We felt so honored that he was the one who married us! Our parents' followed them down the aisle to their seats in front. Our Bridal party followed, consisting of our best friends and The Hubby's former military buddies. Next, came our ring bearer, son of our officiant and his wife, one of my bridesmaids. (Sorry y'all...I have no candids of the other entrances, you will have to wait for our official wedding photographs to be back from editing.)

Following them came my three adorable nieces, the flower girls! (Special thanks to my mother in law and my sister for the ADORABLE dresses!) They were just so darn cute!


Last, but certainly not least, was yours truly! We had a music change to an instrumental version of the song "The Final Countdown", Yes, that famous 80's song.....It was an incorporation of The Hubby's sense of humor, which I (at first) reluctantly agreed to.  When he found the pretty,instrumental version we used, I gave in, under one condition. (Which we will discuss later.) 



As some of you may know, I get very nervous with all eyes on me. (I know, a perfect fear for a day when literally everyone is watching you...ALL DAY!)  So, drawing inspiration from a wedding my mother in law had told me about, I walked halfway up the aisle and The Hubby met me halfway and we walked the rest of the way up the aisle together!



We thought it was a wonderful tribute to our relationship and symbol of our journey together!

My Maternal Grandfather offered a lovely prayer to open the ceremony.


The ceremony was perfect and beautiful! Our officiant made it so personal and amazing! 





We exchanged rings and "I do's" and then had our first married kiss and were introduced as husband and wife!


We walked back down the aisle to the Throne room song from the Star Wars a new hope soundtrack! Yup, you guessed it, my condition to our walk up the aisle song. I'd say that's fair, wouldn't you?


Our wedding reception was held at the same venue, inside their ballroom. It started pouring rain approximately 30 minutes into the reception! Whew!! Talk about perfect timing! Here is a quick tour of our reception decor.
*photos by Thru Andi's Lens*







*other candids*



We started the reception with introductions of the wedding party and then went into our first dance to Elvis's "Can't Help Falling in Love".
*photo by Thru Andi's Lens*


After that came the toasts. We toasted with handcrafted Honeyblonde beer made by The Hubby!

*photo by Thru Andi's Lens*


My sister, and MOH, went first, followed by the Best Man.  Then, my best friend, and second MOH, gave her toast.  My Father in law went next. He had a very special toast to make!  The Hubby's maternal Grandfather had gifted him with a bottle of cognac,when he was born 30 years ago, with instructions to open it at his wedding for a special toast.  His Grandfather was very well loved by the family and tragically passed away when The Hubby was young. The Hubby's Dad gave a wonderful toast to him, and the people who are no longer with us.  It was beautiful!

*photos by Thru Andi's Lens*



The Hubby then, in part as further tribute to his late Grandfather, danced with his Mother to his Grandfather's favorite song, "What a Wonderful World". It was a wonderful tribute to an amazing and well loved man, as well as a beautiful moment shared with The Hubby and his Mom!

*photo by Thru Andi's Lens*


After that, my Father in Law gave a toast just from him, followed by a toast from my Dad!


My Dad then gave a blessing on the food and dinner was served! We had Chicken Piccatta and Tri-tip with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies.  After dinner, and a round of "hellos" around the room, it was time for the bouquet and garter toss! My Mom made my beautiful garters, but unfortunately I don't have pictures yet, Stay tuned! My 3 year old cousin, and flower girl, caught the bouquet. My other cousin (I think he is 25, Shane correct me if I am wrong) caught the garter.

After a little dancing, it was time for the cake cutting! The Hubby's cousin, handmade our GORGEOUS cake! I absolutely loved it!!

*photos by Thru Andi's Lens*





She made a small "top layer" carrot cake for us to cut. My favorite!!! She also made chocolate, strawberry and vanilla cupcakes, each with a different style of frosting and sprinkles! They were just gorgeous AND delicious!! We got compliments on them all night!


After the festivities, The Hubby and I headed outside with our "principal photographer" (and amazing, long time friend) for our couples pictures. You all will have to wait for a special post for some of those! It was raining a bit again at this point, but we didn't care. We just got married!!!! We can't wait to have our finished official pictures to share, and are SOOOO grateful to everyone who helped us have a glimpse into our special day in the meantime! We treasure ALL of the memories we have from the day! In the meantime, I hope you all have enjoyed a little glimpse of the details of our wedding.

 Our wedding was an absolutely beautiful day filled with so much love!  We can't thank our family and friends enough for all they did to help us pull off such a fantastic day! It was certainly a day to remember and we will treasure not only the memory of our wedding, but the endless love that surrounded us as we entered our journey as husband and wife!