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.

Redecorating

I'm not sure who decides to redecorate 2 months before moving, but I am in the process of re-doing our bedroom.  It all started when we got a fabulous new down comforter as a wedding gift.  We also received several gift cards which had been burning a hole in my pocket.  So here we are, 8 weeks before moving 2500 miles across the country, redecorating...

If it were completly up to me, I would have all white bedding.  I think it's so simple and elegant...however not realistic since we plan on having kids at some point in the next couple of years.  I found a gray duvet cover and decided on a teal and gray cover scheme. 

At this point, I am only purchasing new bedding.  I found these pillows at Pier One and fell in love with them (they actually are less blue/darker teal in person).  They are satin and SO fluffy and plush.  

We bought this DKNY duvet from Bed Bath and Beyond

I also would like to get a ruffled bed skirt at some point because I think they are girly and adorable.  Not sure how the husband will feel about this, we may need to do some convincing on that end!

Not sure how it's all going to come together yet, but I like the challenge and I can't wait to see how it turns out

Newlywed Game!

Megan over at Mackey Madness started this fun little link up for newlyweds.  Being married for 2 months clearly means we need to participate in such activities :)

HIS:

1) What do you think my best quality is?
Your motivation to be the best at whatever you do.

2) What would be your ideal date with me?
To go someplace relaxing for the evening.  Some type of place where we can have a drink and to chat and not be bothered.  We don't get a lot of time to spend alone, so it'd be nice to do that.

3) What was your first impression of me?
She's pretty cute ya know.... haha.   

4) What is your favorite memory of us?

Our first real "date" at Nodding Head in Philadelphia.

5) What do you see for us in the future?

Working hard, raising a family together, and doing our best to do right in the world with the gifts we've been given.

HERS

1) What do you think my best quality is?

You have such a kind heart.  You are the type of person who always does the right thing, even when no one is watching.  You are strong in your convictions and not easily swayed by others. I love that you are a rule follower :)

2) What would be your ideal date with me?

I would go back to Hawaii and re-live our honeymoon.  Even just for one day!  But if that weren't an option, I would want to get all dressed up and go to one of our favorite fancy restaurants, followed by a show.  Because we do live in Vegas after all.

3) What was your first impression of me?

I thought you were quiet and kind.  You seemed very serious about school and your career, which I appreciated and could relate to.

4) What is your favorite memory of us?

My favorite recent memory is our wedding night.  (He had a Rolls Royce pick us up and take us to the Mandarin Oriental where we spent the night.  Our room was on the 22nd floor and overlooked the Strip.  It was beautiful).

The bathroom was HUGE

And J had breakfast delivered the next morning and was was SO GOOD

My favorite old memory is when we spent the weekend in NYC after being apart for 3 months over summer break. 

It was our first weekend away together and we had only been together maybe 6 months.  We look SO YOUNG in these pictures...this was 2007!

5) What do you see for us in the future?
Lots of exciting things.  Advancing in our careers and hopefully having babies someday (soon?)

Post Wedding Chop

I did it! I chopped my hair off! While maybe it doesnt look SUPER short, it is the shortest it's been since like Middle School and I love it. I am a little nervous to see how it holds up in the Philly humidity (we are going back to visit in 2 weeks) but for the time being I am happy with it :)