Honeymoon

A year ago we were laying on the beach in Mexico soaking up the sun and loving life. This year we're still loving life, but we're wishing we were still on that beach in Mexico!

Instead of just sharing pictures, I'm sharing the video of our honeymoon. I'm obviously not a professional, but I figured this would be a little fun and different.

We ended up not leaving for Mexico until the Monday after our wedding. I loved having Sunday to relax and get everything together. Rather than just staying at our apartment, James surprised me and booked a reservation at the Intercontinental Hotel in Buckhead. That night we went to dinner at my favorite restaurant, Bistro Niko. Our sweet waiter brought us dessert to celebrate one day of being married :)

We woke up early Monday morning and headed to Excellence Riviera Cancun. We went the all inclusive route and could not have been happier. Couldn't recommend going for the all inclusive resorts more!

We spent a week relaxing. A lot of people suggested going on excursions, but the only things we ended up doing was getting a couples message and going kayaking. It was just what we needed.

Okay, enough talking... just watch :)

A Look Back on 2013: Part One

It's hard to believe 2013 is coming to a close. This time last year, I was overwhelmed with anticipation of what the year would bring. I knew 2013 was going to be big! I was sure that the year would last forever and June would never come. Now, here I sit at the end of December wondering how it all went so fast. For obvious reasons, 2013 will always hold a special place in my heart, but it will for not so obvious reasons too. It was a year of firsts and a few "lasts," and I can honestly say I laughed and cried more this year than I ever have.

I apologize for all the instagram photos. Before this little blog was born I took most of my pictures with my phone. I'm annoyingly obsessed with deleting pictures right after I take them, so the only ones I have now come straight from instagram.

{JANUARY}

-Even though I didn't want to {I was afraid I'd ruin them} I took Sis and Micah's engagement pictures. I have lots of critiques about the pictures, but I'm glad I did it. Still waiting to get paid for that one ;)

 -We spent New Year's on Hilton Head Island in matching t-shits...

...and celebrated my sweet momma's birthday with 60 letters written by everyone who loves her.

{FEBRUARY}

-We did a lot of wedding planning

Vanilla cake with raspberry fillings and almond icing was the jam!

{MARCH}

-Sis and I had our first wedding shower. It only made sense that it would be a "sister's shower."
Check out those glasses!

 

{APRIL}

-Celebrated James' birthday with a Braves game and Holman Finch burgers. Seriously, there aren't words for all the wonderfulness in that burger.



- James' parents threw us a couple's shower at their house

-Sis and I {and friends} studied, took, and passed our licensing exam. We never have to open that purple book again!

{MAY}

-After 3 years of classes, studying, and internships we graduated with our Master's!


-My sweet bridesmaids threw me an "around the house" wedding shower

-My sister {and mom} planned an incredible Bachelorette weekend for me and my bridesmaids; complete with surprises from the "Bachelorette Fairies," a sunset dinner, and oh so much fun!

-We took our last "family of four" trip to Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC

{JUNE}

-Oh, I don't know... we just got married!

-Then we spent an incredible week in Mexico on our honeymoon

And there is the first half of the year! Those first six months hold some incredible memories. Looking back on it all I'm overwhelmed with how wonderful our friends and family were during those months of preparation and planning. I leaned pretty heavily on my family and a few very special friends as I got started on my career path and prepared my heart for forever {thank you, you know who you are :) }. The next six months are focused on learning about marriage and beginning our life together, but more on that later :)  

Five on Friday, Vol. 11

I took the week off blogging because I've been crazy busy with work, but I'm back linking up with Darci, April, Christina, and Natasha.
Even though this has been a crazy week with work and getting sick, I've got to be honest, it's been nice taking a few days off. Something about this season makes me want to put my computer down and spend more time with James and family. Kelsea is doing a great series over on her blog about being intentional this Christmas seasons. If you haven't checked it out yet you definitely should!

{O N E}

Our wedding was featured on Grey Likes Weddings!
It's was so exciting to see our wedding and our story in print!

{T W O}

Target has some awesome chalkboard gift tags! While they may not be super practical, I think they're adorable! I don't know about y'all but wrapping Christmas presents makes my heart so happy!

{T H R E E}

April posted this incredible looking dinner earlier this week. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to try it. It did not disappoint! I've struggled finding a kale recipe I can really get excited about, but this is it! The only time I ever eat black-eyed peas is on New Years for a year of good luck. Even though I love them I've never thought to make them any other time. I couldn't stop eating these and will most definitely make them again soon! Oh ya, and the chicken was super yummy too. This one will be added to the dinner rotation.

{F O U R}

We got this Nativity Scene as a wedding present. I didn't realize how awesome of a present it was until I set it up last week. I absolutely love it and will have a hard time taking it down after Christmas.

 Note: Baby Jesus stays hidden until Christmas day!

{F I V E}

She Reads Truth really nailed it this Advent Season with their Emmanuel study. I've really enjoyed it so far, and love being reminded about what this season is really about.

Happy Weekend sweet friends!
We're going to a Tacky Christmas Sweater Party tonight. Normally I'm super lame and don't dress up for things like this, but James made me I picked up a semi-tacky sweater  this one time. I'll be rocking it with pride... hopefully!

DIY: Story About Doors

I've received a few emails asking about the wedding doors. Rather than answer each email individually I figured I'd answer as many questions as I can here. I received question like: how did we put the frame together, how did we stabilize them, and did the doors actually open and close? 

Before I answer what I can I should preface this post. My dad owns a construction business; he builds things. I don't and I most definitely didn't build these. However, I spoke to mom and dad about how he build this and what materials he used. He used a bunch of words I didn't know, but I tried my best to keep up.

So, here is the wedding doors how-to as I understand it!

Here is the diagram I drew based on what he told me:

• To build everything "we" used 2x6 boards i.e. these
• The doors definitely opened and closed (that was the whole point for us). We used black hinges that attached to the doors and the frame
• We attached handles to one side of the door and not the other. They swung out, so we attached them to the outside side. 
• For extra stability we drove cut rebar (15 inches) into the ground. Your local hardware store will probably have other stakes in various materials that would work.
• We placed large ferns in front of the A-frame so you couldn't see it. You can see that better in the picture below.
• The platform 2x6 boards on both sides of the frame (that laid flat on the ground) are important to keep the doors and frame upright preventing them from falling over on your guests!
• To attach the sigh above the doors we used metal brackets (can see better below)
• The frame was built and assembled beforehand. The doors and sign were attached at the venue.

The three pictures below may give you a better idea of the frame, hinges, and how we tried to camouflage the ugly important stuff.

I hope this helps at least a little bit! Good luck!

Wedding Wednesday: Our Video

The last wedding post!

I'm so excited to share our incredible highlight video by White Dress Media. 

I was so happy they were available when I contacted them a month before the wedding.

 Initially, I wasn't sure if a videographer would be worth the money or if I even wanted a video at all. Ever seen those corny wedding videos? Me too, I wasn't interested.
However, after watching a ton of really well done wedding videos and learning James' great grandmother wasn't going to be able to be at the wedding, we changed our minds. After talking with mom and dad about budget stuff and getting the go-ahead, I immediately began researching. I was worried we weren't going to find a good videographer only a month out, but after sending out a few emails I was led to Kaye and Jon. Not only were their videos exactly what I was looking for, but they were so sweet and easy to work with. By far the best last minute wedding decision ever and totally worth every penny!
Not only did they capture the wedding perfectly, they also captured the overall feel of the wedding!

The video pretty much sums up James and I in real life. He makes me laugh and I just make funny faces :)

James + Taylor Rae // Highlight Film from White Dress Media on Vimeo.

Wedding Wednesday: Reception

After a fun time getting ready and a beautiful ceremony we were so ready for a fun and beautiful reception! It didn't disappoint! Everything looked even better than we hoped for and we had a great time dancing with friends and family.

Our reception site was only a walk up a small hill from our ceremony site, and just as pretty. My 90 year old grandmother sewed all 12 of our linen table runners. She's pretty much the coolest person ever!

Family tree and flip flops for dancing!

The only bite of cake I got all night was what James fed me. I'm pretty sure it was vanilla cake with raspberry filling and almond icing. It was great when we tried it at our tasting. I only hope it was that good at the wedding!

The one thing we've heard consistently from guests is how incredible the food was. I would pay serious money to eat it again. It was that good!

Planning two weddings for the past year was difficult, but mom and dad handled everything so well. I could not be more thankful for everything they did for our wedding. It was the perfect night and we couldn't have done any of it without both of them!

First dances:

James and I danced to "Sea Breeze" by Tyron Wells; the same song he played the night he proposed. I was so uncomfortable dancing while everyone was watching, but he did a great job distracting me and making me laugh

 

My dad, sis, and James' best man, Taylor, did a great job with their speeches. They made us laugh and cry at the same time.

Random fact: the husband is freaky good at handstands. My first friend/bridesmaid Cara is a former gymnast. There was smack talk before the wedding as to who was better. What better time to test this out than at the wedding? 

James won form and Cara won length. It was probably my favorite part of the reception!

Off to our Mexico honeymoon!

 

 That's it for the wedding recaps! Thanks for sticking around as I relive the best day of our lives.
Next up, our wedding video!

Happy Wednesday!!

*All photos were taken by Amy Arrington Photography*

Ceremony and Then Some

We started with getting ready. Next up the ceremony, but first the details. I know all weddings are personal and ours was no different. We tried to add personal touches where ever we could and our family helped in making our wedding feel like us.

The cross will hang in our house one day. We decided against traditional programs and instead my sister painted the program on a big chalk board.

My uncle was our pastor. He did an incredible job making our ceremony Christ centered and personal to us. 

       My dad and I rode in on a horse and carriage. When I first heard the idea I thought it was a little corny, plus I'm allergic to horses! After it was all said and done I'm really glad everyone talked me into doing it. They rang a bell then there was silence and all you could hear was the carriage. It was pretty cool.

Random fact: I'm 95% sure that this picture was taken I while telling my dad "Oh my gosh! I can't believe there are people here! Everyone actually showed up!" I was really excited we had guests!

The doors.

The picture below captured my favorite moment of the day. 

Due to timing and not wanting to rehearse the ceremony we decided not to have a rehearsal the day before the wedding. Since we hadn't practiced how anything we weren't really sure the details of what was suppose to happen. After my dad walked me down the aisle James thought it was time for him to take me from my dad (it wasn't). There was an adorably awkward moment when James shook my hand and just stood there waiting. I'm sure he thought my dad was having second thoughts about giving me away. My our pastor/uncle had to pull him backing telling him it wasn't his turn yet. My uncle joked about how eager James was to marry me and commented on how it reflected his excitement for life. It was an genuine and sweet moment. Although not having a rehearsal made me incredibly nervous it ended up being one of my favorite parts!

The picture on the right is my cousin reading the Bible verse we've chosen to base our marriage off of (James 1:17). Aside from joking before hand that he was going to tell an embarrassing story about me he did a great job!

I think the picture on the right really captures the whole feel of the day: relaxed and fun.

We rode off in the carriage and did a lap around the farm. It was the perfect way to spend our first few minutes as husband and wife!

And just a few more of my favorites:

Happy Wednesday!