Wedding Post #2

We had our reception at a small restaurant called Nola. The food was delicious, the service was stellar and I couldn't have been happier with how laid back and fun it all was.

It was nice to be able to expand our guest list a bit more to include some of the people who couldn't come to the ceremony. A bunch of my favorite co-workers came and they are always such a blast.

The girls went crazy over the Mardi Gras beads... I still have a basket full of them at home.

Our favors were plantable paper hearts... seeds that are embedded in recycled paper that you can literally put in soil and watch grow into a beautiful mix of flowers. I hand stamped the envelopes and decorated each little flower pot with ribbon or adhesive borders from the Martha Stewart craft line. I still have yet to plant ours at home but I am excited to see how well it works.

 

 Our cake was a mix of layered Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting and chocolate cake with dark chocolate, hazelnut ganache. It was SO good.

This was my failed attempt at warning Chris not to shove cake in my face....

it obviously didn't work. Silly boy. He's lucky I love him so much.

The toasts were given by Ami and Chris' dad. We were given a beautiful wedding prayer by him that brought tears to my eyes. It was so touching and so thoughtful. I am thankful to be surrounded by so many people of faith and wisdom. I know our marriage will be better because of it.

So that's it. I am now a married woman. Who would have thought? Just a short time ago I was convinced that I would be single for the rest of my life. And while I think that life can be very well lived single or married... I am very glad that I met Chris and I am so thankful to be sharing my life with my best friend. 

<3

and we're back!

Hello Friends!

I'm officially back and ready ( I think) to start blogging again. Life has been full of a lot of stuff... for lack of a better word. There are many adventures to catch up on but as promised I will start off with a wedding recap post.

Let me just say that I think I am the luckiest girl in the world because I got my dream wedding. It was small and easy (in comparison to most weddings). It was fun and I can honestly say that the day was perfect and let's face it... how many brides can actually say that nothing... and I mean nothing went wrong on their wedding day?

I was lucky enough to have my wonderful friend Tenley Clark as a photographer and she did a phenomenal job... plus it was just fun having her around for the day. <3

The day started off a little rushed since we had to be at City Hall early in the morning and it is an hour away from our house but that was really the only slightly stressful part of the day. We even ended up getting to our ceremony appointment 30 minutes early!

 

I was lucky enough to have my bff Ami and her entire family in town which is quite a feat and it absolutely made the day. I consider them to be my family and I was so glad they could be there.

My shoes were awesome but probably the most uncomfortable things in the world... guess that's what happens when you order things online without trying them on first.

My family :) These are my girls and they truly mean the world to me. When Chris and I dropped them off at the airport at the end of the weekend I sobbed like a baby the entire way home. It was just so great having them meet everyone here in California and I loved creating such awesome memories with them here. Love them <3

San Francisco City Hall is absolutely gorgeous. People come from all over to get married in this building and I cant believe I was able to get married there for less than $100!

 The gang. Some folks are missing because they were out of town but I was so glad I was able to have my bff's from Cali there. The limit for city hall ceremonies is small... 6 guests only and we were able to sneak in 20! Sadly I had to really limit the amount of people we invited but I was so thankful for those that could come.

Mom and Dad. :) I am so lucky because I have the best in-laws ever. They truly are a godsend because I didn't grow up with a very strong family and in so many ways they have been such a blessing to me. I definitely feel very loved by Chris' entire family and am so thankful for that.

Our county clerk was so cool. He saw how many people we had with us and just goes "Ok everyone crowd around!" He was so laid back about everything... it made the whole ceremony fun and easy. That day there was a large group of school kids on a field trip and they ended up just crowding on the stairs behind us and watched the entire ceremony. When we turned around they all yelled out, "Congratulations Chris and Andi!!!" Later one of the little boys walked up to me and handed me a white rose. It was incredibly sweet and it were the small moments like those that made the day special.

Of course we have to give credit to the guy who introduced us... my old roommate Sam (who I miss dearly btw... so weird not living with him after all these years!)

 

I really can't believe everything went as well as it did... I am a lucky girl. I love being married and I have the most thoughtful, caring, crazy, loving husband in the world.  :)

Next post I will have pictures of the reception which was awesome as well. Happy Friday friends!