weddings, anniversary and a ton of boxes

first off, Google, don't ever switch things around on me again. it took me 10 seconds longer to figure out how to get to my own blog. no bueno.

second, we've already begun the packing process so i'm constantly looking for where i've put something.. only to realize it's been boxed up. grrrr.  at least i'll be ready when it comes time to load up, right? fingers crossed. i feel like our lives are going to be in orderly chaos for the next three weeks. moving day, come quickly! PLEASE!

third, wedding season for the year is finally over.  we ventured to san diego, asheville and charleston in the past month for three amazing weddings. i love getting to see the sweet details and touches that each couple adds to their day. it's so cool to see how they tailor their day to their personalities, experiences, culture. i love it. and i am soooo glad we are done with weddings for the year! ps. i forgot my camera to all but one wedding. oops.

last but not least,  we celebrated our anniversary at the end of the last month. we were already in asheville for a wedding so we decided to stay a tad longer. we got engaged in Asheville on Oct 31, 2010. it was sweet to be back and relive the day. we hiked and had a picnic at the same spot where mike popped the question. ventured back to Grove Park Inn and walked around (we stayed the weekend here when we got engaged). dreamed about the day we'd come back and relive the experience of the spa, cocktails, etc. stayed at a B&B and walked downtown, grabbed a coffee at Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar, a beer at Ben's Tune Up and dinner at Curate. A taste bud explosion. dear asheville, i love you. we will be best friends. someday soon.

 san diego. tom and christie tie the knot. a cultural explosion made this wedding so unique and fun. ps..there was a moment where 90% of the men were topless and dancing (or jumping) all over each other on the dance floor. hilarious.

one of my favorite moments in a wedding is seeing the look on the groom's face when he first sees his bride. priceless.

they couldn't be any better looking, seriously.

 next up, asheville. mark and lindsay make magic happen. we danced so hard our hips and knees were aching the next day. i'd relive this wedding over and over again.

a little rehearsal dinner fun

Claxton Farms, quite possibly the most beautiful setting in the world

one cute husband

 

a little tribute to our anniversary (which could have been it's own post)

and wrapping up in charleston, where the grits were delicious and i was drooling over the flower arrangements

recognize that dress. yes i wore it to two weddings in one month.

 now back to drowning myself in packing supplies. adios amigos!

the deats

So I totally did not finish my post for the last day of the wedding linkup last week but already had all the photos uploaded, content written, all the jazz. I just didn't finish it. Arg. I still want to share it with you though.

Most of our details were handmade by my mom, myself, and a few close friends. It was a good excuse to get together, drink some wine and craft away.

The grounds were decorated with wreaths like this one and signs galore. My mom made all of the signs and is actually now making them and selling them here. So proud! She also handmade over 100 fabric flowers that were used in centerpieces and as little details here and there. Each girl involved in the wedding had one to wear, put in their hair or carry. And, the moms' wrist corsages were white fabric flowers all made by my precious mommy.

guests were greeted with a 'stroll down memory lane' where we hung up photos from our youth and pictures of the two of us. At the end they received a handmade program - we used paper lace doilies, cardstock and craft sticks.

My dress was Pronovias - Finisterre. I was obsessed with it. It was so lightweight and comfortable. It had a form fitted mermaid style under layer with a ball gown style layer of lace over top it. As or my mom claimed, it was sexy underneath and innocent on top. That works too!

In honor of my grandparents, I carried a piece of jewelry they had given me: a locket and engagement ring. 

One of my grandmothers was able to make it to the wedding and BOY was she shaking her thing on the dance floor! 

The boys all wore socks representing the college they went to. Mike is a HUGE college sport fan.

 Go NC STATE!

We did the tree thumbprint guestbook, which I recommend. It makes a great piece to hang up in your house! Mike and I actually had our own little 'wine and design' day and he painted the tree while I drank wine and painted something that wound up in the trash, ha. Regardless of my lack of talent, it was so much fun to do together and use in the wedding.

little jars of honey were our take away. To be honest, this really had no significance but it was cute, matched the look and was super inexpensive!  I really wanted to do candy apples but that just wasn't in the budget.

I found the cake topper in a random shop in Germany when we visited the January before our wedding. It was ONE euro. Pricey. I know. I couldn't resist. It had our coloring AND they were on bikes so it was perfect{Mike and I love to bike. I used to bike to his house when we first started hanging out and he would carry my huge red cruiser up three flights of stairs to his apartment. true. love.}

Our rings were one of my favorite decisions to make. We went during some event so there were tons of jewelers, free flowing wine and awesome apps. I fell in love with the white and yellow twisted look. They were simple but unique and she sold me when she showed me how pretty they are without the engagement ring {traveling or babies sometimes calls for no big bling}. Mike chose a rose gold ring that has a hammered, beveled and smooth finish to it. AND its made in the big ol US of A.

Oh, wedding stuff. So much fun. What were some of your favorite details in your wedding? I've got a few more wedding posts that will make their way out over the next week or so. Is there ever too much wedding reminiscing?? Never.

eat up, shake down.

Today, I'm linking up with the sweet Natasha to relive the life of the party - the reception! Our cocktail hour {which I sadly have no photos of but you can find some here} and reception took place at the same location as the wedding.  It started out with cocktails, cheese and Vitamin String Quartet on the lawn, followed by stuffing faces and dancing butts off. 

after the ceremony, we took off for some fun photos. I've decided to do a separate post or two on all the group photos and photos of mike and I. Otherwise, I'll wind up with a 600 photo blog post. As much as I would love that, I'm sure it's a bit easier to digest broken up.

this photo was taken by Amanda and is one of my favs .. more wedding photos by her here

After some photogs, we headed in for the first dance...Ray Lamontagne You are the best thing

yes i pulled out some horrible moves..fishing being one of them..and some bumping and grinding (see below)

and then there's cake...

in your face

my dad giving his welcome 

 the best men giving their speech. My MOH conveniently 'went to the bathroom' and missed her speech ..hmmmm. ;)

two peas in a pod... 

we had a rockin' band from Raleigh {Scarlet}. We saw them at a bar one night and fell in love. After traveling around NC listening to some pretty horrible 'wedding bands,' we were set on having Scarlet the night we heard them at The Oxford {a local pub}.They kept the dance floor packed all night {and they even kept the crowd going after we left}. They made the party a PAR-TAY!

 we snuck away for a 'steamy' night session with our photographer....

 and, of course, all good things come to an end. We left the party and headed to the Ballantyne resort in Charlotte for the night before our escape to Hawaii. 

Leaving this night, I never could have imagined the amazing time Mike and I have had together in just six months. I underestimated how amazing this 'new' life was going to be. I know we will have our bumps in the road but we'll survive and, boy, what a beautiful mess we will make. I can't wait. For those of you that aren't married yet, the best is yet to come. You imagine the wedding as the best day of your life... but it gets even sweeter.