the wedding & jamaica

Hey y'all! 

I got married! 

The wedding was gorgeous and absolutely perfect. 

I will post the professional pictures when I get them. 

All of the ones in today's post will be cell phone pics. 

As great as the wedding was I am so glad it is over and I never have to do that again. 

This introvert was on people overload by the end of the weekend. 

The one thing people keep telling us is that they have never been to a sweeter ceremony or seen a wedding that "just fit" the couple so well. 

So, I call that a success. 

D and I wrote the entire ceremony, 

including our vows. 

We wanted to make the entire wedding as personal as possible. 

focal point of the ceremony ... i was stringing lights for 5 hours

my bouquet 

wedding party selfie ... right before showtime

we FINALLY got to sit down at the reception

my guest globe instead of a guest book

you know your photographer loves you when she agrees to a selfie 

end of the day ... we were both happy & exhausted 

sneak peek from our photographer
j. leigh captures

D and I went to Jamaica on our honeymoon. 

We stayed at the Couples Tower Isle resort in Ocho Rios. 

Let me tell you, all-inclusive is the way to go. 

The resort was really great. 

It had something for everyone. 

You could sit on the beach or by the pool for an entire week. 

Or you could stay busy the entire time with activities. 

We mostly sat on the beach with a few activities thrown in. 

Exactly what we need after the craziness of the wedding. 

view from our room 

Linking up with Amanda. 

weekend recap: bridal shower

My bridal shower was this weekend and it was fabulous! 

My best friend & maid of honor hosted and organized the shower. 

The Bestie! 

She went above and beyond anything I expected. 

Her decor was super cute and fancy. 

She had the shower at a local inn and they catered. 

I loved celebrating with my friends and family 

and getting to introduce D to a few people that he had not met yet. 

My Bridesmaids! 

Future Mother-in-Law & Sister-in-Law 

Hope y'all had a great weekend as well! 

----- Linking up with ----- 
-- B Loved Boston -- 
-- Life of Meg --

life lately & wedding update

I have not posted in ages. 

So, what better time to link up with Kristen! 

Life has been busy, busy. 

Between the normal 40-50 hr work week and wedding planning, 

I am also taking two grad courses this semester. 

What was I thinking?!?!?!

I briefly contemplated taking this semester off. 

But that would have put graduation a semester off as well. 

And I will only miss finals week for the wedding. 

I have already cleared that with my profs. 

But, man oh man, the workload is killer. 

That is life lately! 

Work, school, and a little wedding planning thrown in. 

Now for the fun stuff, wedding planning updates. 

We have DRESSES!!! 
All of them. 
Mine and the bridesmaids. 
Woo-Hoo! 

As I have mentioned in the past, 
I was dreading the wedding dress part. 
We did do the "go try on dresses" thing. 
I did not find anything I liked for my dress. 
But all of the bridesmaids did. 

I wanted each of them in different dresses in the same color. 
I just do not think there is a single dress out there that looks great on everybody. 
And I wanted my girls to feel as pretty as possible on my wedding day. 

Here are their dresses: 

I really want to show y'all my dress. 
It is completely non-traditional. 
But D does occasionally read my blog and I do not want to spoil the surprise for him. 
I did find it online and not in a store. 
I can let y'all know that it has pockets! :D 

We are on the downward slide of things now. 
Only 84 days to go! 

engagement pictures

Y'all, I am so lucky to have such a talented photog friend. 

Jess and I have been friends for almost ten years now. 

I was a bridesmaid in her wedding. 

And encouraged her when she was contemplating starting her own photography business. 

She has been a professional photographer for several years now 

and she has mad skills. ;) 

At the end of October she came out to mine and D's house and did our engagement session around our property. 

They turned out way better than I thought they would. 

I am not comfortable AT ALL in front of the camera. 

But Jess knows that about me and she worked to make me as comfortable as possible. 

I never should have doubted Jess. 

Lesson learned. 

Everyone should check out Jess's website: 

http://www.jleighcaptures.com/

Now let's get to the good part ... the pictures. 

I narrowed it down to eleven.
It is so hard for me to pick a favorite.
Which one do you like best?

You can also check out Jess's blog about our session here:
http://www.jleighcaptures.com/?p=5919.