The Honeymoon!

Aloha!

Two days after the wedding, J and I flew to Maui for a week.  To the people who are thinking about putting off taking a honeymoon following the wedding: DON'T!!  J and I both agree that having a week long vacation after the wedding was a total necessity.  I never realized the extent of the stress leading up to the wedding until I was living it.  Having 7 days of laying on the beach, sleeping in, drinking girly drinks poolside and eating fancy dinners out every night was such a luxury.  We turned off our phones and did whatever we felt like all week long.  If we wanted to sleep in, we did.  If we wanted to do nothing but lay out at the pool all day, we did.  It was WONDERFUL.

We stayed at the Fairmont Kea Lani on Wailea Beach.  The pictures just don't do it justice.  I have never seen such a beautiful and well maintained property.  The lobby overlooked the pools and the ocean.  The hotel had it's own private beachfront and there were plenty of lounge chairs.  It was so quiet and peaceful and never too crowded.

View from the hotel lobby

View from our private patio

We decided not to splurge on a room with an ocean front view and we definitely didn't regret it.  The grounds were so well kept and we spent all day outside at the pool and on the beach anyway.  It would have cost us almost double to upgrade to a room with an ocean view.

I believe our hotel had 3 pools, one of which had a swim-up bar

We spent most of our time lounging at the pools, but we made sure to schedule some outtings too. 

We went on a whale watch and saw a ton of Humpbacks!! 

We also made sure to go to a Luau one night.  If you ever find yourself in Maui, go to the Old La Haina Luau.  It was great!

One day we drove up to Haleakala.  The drive itself is crazy and beautiful.  You drive through the clouds and eventually wind up ABOVE them, looking down on the whole island.

We were so sad to leave Hawaii.  We really fell in love with the laid back culture and hope to return someday to explore the other islands.

Wedding: Reception

After getting a few pictures at the church and outside the reception site, it was time for us to be announced as husband and wife!

For our first dance, we choose Ben Folds "The Luckiest". This song has been one of our favorites since high school, before we even knew each other, and pretty early into the wedding planning process we knew we wanted this to be "our song".

After dinner, we were called up to the dance floor, and our parents and bridal party made their speeches.  They were all so sweet.  I remember being so happy and feeling blessed to have everyone we love together in one room.  It was an incredible feeling and probably one of the best parts of our day.

After crying my way through my mom and my sister's speeches, our Best Man lightened the mood.  (Thanks Hal!)

The rest of the night is a blur of eating and dancing.  Our DJ was AWESOME and came highly recommended to us.  (DJ Tony Johns if you live in Las Vegas and are looking for a reputable DJ...)

Finally it was time to cut the cake and the reception came to an end shortly after.  We promised each other that we wouldn't smoosh cake into each other's faces, and thankfully J kept his promise :)

 When I look back on our wedding day, the the thing that sticks out most in my mind is how genuinely happy we were.  Two months later, I can honestly say that even though the wedding was amazing, married life is just so much better.  Ruthie over at The Chronicles of Ruthie Hart summed it up best when she said how fun it is to get all dolled up and have a party with all of your friends and family, but life gets even better after the wedding.  Marriage has already been such a blessing in our lives and J and I both agree that we had no idea how different it would feel to be married.  It is a different kind of comfortable and while I don't disagree that it's work, it is so worth it.

Wedding: The Ceremony

Our wedding was held at a large Catholic parish in Las Vegas.  This church is particularly special to us because it is the church that we have attended since we moved to Nevada.  It really has become our home over the last 4 years.  We particularly love Fr. Mike and immediately after getting engaged, we set a date with the church and requested that he be the priest to marry us.

Fr. Mike

After a year of marriage preparation, meetings with Fr. Mike, completing the FOCUS exam and Engaged Encounter, it was time to get married!!

Our Flower Girl and Ring Bearer got the party started with a tantrum about 1/4 of the way down the aisle (which was hilarious).  I think my sister was horrified!

Jonathon waited patiently as everyone processed into the church

I was a nervous wreck at the rehearsal, worrying about the long walk down the aisle in 3 1/2 inch heels.  As I walked with my Dad into the church on the day of our wedding, all I could think of was seeing Jonathon looking so happy at the end of the aisle.  It really was such a special moment.

Our Best Man, Hal, said the first reading.  Coincidentally, he is also a priest, which is always a good trait to have in a Best Man!

Tobit 8:4b-8

On their wedding night Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife,
“Sister, get up. Let us pray and beg our Lord
to have mercy on us and to grant us deliverance.”
Sarah got up, and they started to pray
and beg that deliverance might be theirs.
They began with these words:
“Blessed are you, O God of our fathers;
praised be your name forever and ever.
Let the heavens and all your creation
praise you forever.
You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve
to be his help and support;
and from these two the human race descended.
You said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone;
let us make him a partner like himself.’
Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine
not because of lust,
but for a noble purpose.
Call down your mercy on me and on her,
and allow us to live together to a happy old age.”
They said together, “Amen, amen.”

My sister and Matron of Honor, did the second reading.

Hebrews 13:1-4a, 5-6b

Brothers and sisters:
Let mutual love continue.
Do not neglect hospitality,
for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.
Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment,
and of the ill-treated as of yourselves, for you also are in the body. Let marriage be honored among all
and the marriage bed be kept undefiled,
Let your life be free from love of money
but be content with what you have,
for he has said, "I will never forsake you or abandon you."
Thus we may say with confidence:
"The Lord is my helper,
(and) I will not be afraid."

Next came the gospel

John 15:9-12

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.¹⁰ 

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.¹¹

I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

12 ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.'

And then he put a ring on it :)

...And I cried my way through my vows

The priest then said something to the effect of "well that's it, you're married" and Jonathon took this to mean "you may now kiss your bride".  There was a little confusion as we both started to lean in and then I realized it wasn't time yet so I hissed "NO!!  NOT YET!!" 

And then we laughed and were announced husband and wife and were given the cue to kiss :)

And then it was over just as quickly as it had started!

Wedding: First Look

Pretty early on in the planning process, J and I decided we wanted to do a first look.  I had seen other first look photos and loved the idea of capturing both the bride and grooms faces the first time they see each other on their wedding day.  I also wanted to have a minute to spend together before the hustle and bustle of the wedding.  These photos turned out to be our favorite of all of the wedding photos.