Avocado Wedding Randomized

Hello again everyone! I couldn't resist this opportunity to stop by and revisit our wedding in a really unique way. Several of the photos below are ones I never would have shared (because I liked others better), but they all highlight really happy things that I love talking about.

First, our exit from the temple. If you read my posts when I was planning my wedding and recapping, you may recall that for LDS weddings the ceremony is held inside with no video cameras or photography. This photo shows our public debut as husband and wife!

 

Our full wedding party, minus one junior bridesmaid. Out of my bridesmaids two are married, and one will be married this March. I haven't been a part of many wedding days lately and I miss it (and let's be honest, I really want to help someone with their wedding planning :) ). 

 

While the boys played golf, we walked around the neighborhood (just a few blocks from Pike's Place) and did bridal party photos. 

 

I hadn't seen many wedding photographs featuring suitcases back when I was planning. Now I feel like I see them used all the time. 

 

See more of our bridal party photos here.

 

Two very similar shots of our ring ceremony. 

 

My non-vows to him. I still mean every word:

Growing up I called myself a princess and hoped to find Prince Charming and live happily ever after. Reading C.S. Lewis taught me that marriage isn’t a fairy tale, and I’ve grown up enough to know that ours won’t be. You aren’t perfect, and I am most certainly not anywhere near it. Our relationship works because we are both able to acknowledge each others imperfections, love each other despite our differences, and work together to make improvements in our attitude and behavior. Thank you for helping me improve every day. There are so many reasons I am a better person because of you.

Our love isn’t flowery, simple, or easy. It is rooted in practicality, common goals, and a deep respect for each other. I will be working each and every day to seek forgiveness for my faults and praise you for your achievements. I know that in choosing to be sealed in the temple we created a union that will last for eternity.
I have always known the temple is the right place to be married. On October 10, 2001, as a 16 year old girl dreaming of true love I wrote you this letter:

“To my sweetheart,
We are finally getting married. I am so excited. I have been excited for this day as long as I can remember. I know that as long as I am getting married in the temple, we are right for each other.”

Thank you for taking me to the temple to be married today. When I stopped looking for my perfect happily ever after, I found my forever.

Kocham cię

I love you

 

Our escort cards displayed in the suitcase my grandma used throughout high school. I loved all of our wedding details, but I admit if I could do it over, I'd do it completely different. More personal, more us. 

 

Still the best cake I've ever had. Ever.And I think cake buffets are my favorite wedding trend and I hope they never go away. 

If you'd like to see more of my wedding, you can visit the links at the bottom of this post and see the day from beginning to end. 

If you're already married, would you do your wedding details differently? For those who are currently brides, I don't even know what the latest trends are! Can you tell me what all the cool kids are doing now? 

Carousel Sighting

I know it's been a long time since you've seen my icon pop up, but I've got a crazy story that I just had to come back and share with you!

Back in March a writer getting married in Italy was announced. Miss Carousel, remember her? I know I was really excited to hear all about her wedding, and I decided to send her an email letting her know we would be coming to Italy to find out if she had any advice regarding where we should stay and what we should see. She didn't just write back a few ideas, she composed an extensive spreadsheet brimming with resources and an itinerary complete with estimated costs!

I wrote back a BIG thank you, and asked a few more questions, but never heard back from her. I stop by Weddingbee every so often, and I noticed she wasn't showing up here either.

After months of waiting and planning, our Italian vacation (minus our 18 month old son, so I deemed it our second honeymoon) arrived. We started in Bologna, moved to Florence, stayed out in the Tuscan countryside, saw the Cinque Terre, and ended in Lake Garda. By this point I had completely forgotten that we were staying in Lake Garda on Carousel's wedding day. We were eating breakfast in the hotel lobby when a woman walked up and asked if I was a writer for Weddingbee. I was stunned when she told me that she was Carousel's wedding planner and that Carousel would be arriving shortly from the hair salon. She wasn't just staying in the same hotel, we were literally staying in rooms adjacent to each other! Somehow, the bride-to-be and myself had managed to book the exact same hotel for the weekend, without even knowing it. I found out when she would be arriving, and went over to surprise her and say hello. It was so fun!

She was waiting for her mom to get there before stepping into her dress, and after we talked for a few minutes (and got over the shock of seeing each other in person!) she was kind enough to invite us to the ceremony and cocktail hour held later that afternoon. The ceremony wouldn't work with our schedule, but I sheepishly agreed to stop by at some point, feeling a little bit like a wedding crasher. Ha! Carousel said she is very sorry she fell away from blogging, as a job change combined with wedding planning overwhelmed her. I assured her we all want her back, and to see pictures from her beautiful wedding! Her dress was handmade in Germany and just stunning. I took some pictures of her in it, but she asked me to save the "big reveal" of her wedding day for her own posts. So I'll just show you a few pictures and we'll have to keep our fingers crossed she makes her big return soon! Here I am showing off the yummy appetizers they had at cocktail hour. We didn't go to the ceremony or reception, but the guests just coming from the ceremony were all remarking how beautiful it was!

 

In the middle of the cocktail hour some guys in period costumes came over and started a sword fight right in front of the guests. The hotel where they held the cocktail hour was located on the lake right next to a Medieval reenactment castle and they wanted us to come over and see some of the fights. Carousel wasn't around during this so I didn't get a chance to see whether she thought this was an interesting development or any annoying one. :) I couldn't resist posting this one photo that shows a bit of the wedding details/style. I'm not sure if this little boy was acting as ring bearer for the day or some other part of the wedding party, but he was SO CUTE. I need to get a church outfit just like that for Babycado.

 

Enjoy your honeymoon, but come back soon Carousel! It was so fun to meet you on your wedding day, halfway across the world!