Saturday, March 17, 2012

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




Thursday, March 15, 2012

Oh hey! We're famous!

http://thechive.com/2012/03/15/daily-afternoon-randomness-48-photos-64/dar-thursday-19-7/

My coworkers are ridiculous.

...and I love them :)

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.



















Saturday, March 10, 2012

Wedding: Getting Ready

The me and the bridesmaids (minus the one who got stuck in a snow storm in Seattle) stayed at the M Resort the night before the wedding. The M is one of our favorite places in Vegas and is also where we hosted our rehearsal dinner. 



View from our room at the M

The morning of the wedding the girls and I went to the hotel gym for a little bit.  I wore my Bachelorette sash and Hottie Whistle (thanks Lindsay :)

Please excuse the crappy iPhone pic :)

I was super upset about J's ENTIRE FAMILY still being stuck at the airport in Seattle and the good possibility that they would be missing our wedding. After working out for a little bit I just wanted to leave and get some fresh air. I drove to Einstein's Bagels to get breakfast/lunch for everyone and before I knew it, it was time to start getting ready.  Around this time I got word that J's family were en route to Vegas.  THANK YOU GOD!!

Hair and makeup was underway and our photographer arrived shortly thereafter to take some fabulous photos of me and my favorite ladies :)





My sweet grandmother


hey girrrrl



my lovely sister gettting beautified by the very talented Jamie from MAC :)



It literally took a village to get me into this dress.  It was obscene and almost wrecked my hair!

Oh heyyy Mom!



Remember when I said getting into my dress nearly wrecked my hair?  Was. Not. Kidding.
Before I knew it, we were being loaded into the limo and heading to the church!

BFFS!  (this just happens to be one of my favorite photos of the day :)

Monday, February 20, 2012

The Makings of a Good Night

Every once in awhile when we run out of ideas or are just plain bored with our usual dinners, J and I have "tapas for dinner".  Basically all this means is we get a bottle of wine and a few odds and ends that may count as an appetizer of some sort and make a meal out of it.  It gives us an excuse to drink and we get dinner out of the deal. 
This is what we had tonight:

  • A couple of types of meat (salami, pepperoni, whatever works)
  • Crackers/bread (we had pretzels and cut up slices of Naan)
  • Hummus (we are piggies and had 2 different types on hand)
  • Cheese (feta is our fave)
  • Olives
  • And if you are feeling particularly health conscious (which clearly we were not), serve with veggies like carrots, bell peppers or cucumber slices
Then basically you turn your table into a buffett and voila, a simple and delicious dinner!

We also have been trying to make en effort to turn off the TV and spend more time together.  Sometimes we read, sometimes we play games.  This all started last year during Lent and is something we are attempting to make a part of our normal routine.

Last night we played scrabble.  J is rediculously good and it's kind of annoying.  Regardless, sometimes it's nice to have some quiet time.

 

I'm not going to lie, I don't know what some of these words even mean...

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

First Kiss

Even though it is no longer Valentine's Day, I saw this video and had to post it.  So sweet :)