The Cake & The Dances

Our wedding cake was awesome. It was made by a family friend, who has a true talent for baking and designing all types of cakes. We had 3 different flavors and JJ designed the cake loosely based on the look of our invitations. We had fun with the cake cutting and I went for the cake smashing, making sure some of that tasty butter cream got shoved into places it probably wasn't supposed to go, like up the nose (HaHa)!
The song we choose as our first dance song was "Kiss of Life" by Sade. Some couples have a song that has very special meaning to them through out the relationship. I think this is very cool, to find a song that has such special meaning. JJ and I didn't really have one specific song that fell into that category, but we both love Sade's music and really felt that the lyrics in "Kiss of Life" represent how we feel about finding each other at the right time in our lives.
My Dad and I danced to "My Wish" by Rascal Flats. It was great to have that special moment with him to reminisce on a few childhood memories, hear some words of fatherly advice on marriage, and just enjoy dancing with my Dad. I remember laying my head on his shoulder and singing the words to the song, one that he picked out, which meant a lot to me.
JJ and his Mom danced to a song called "The Man You've Become" by Molly Pasutti. This is a beautiful song with lyrics that talk about a mother being proud of her son, remembering the days when he was a young boy and being proud of the man he has grown up to be.

Our Ceremony

Together, Jeremy and I wrote our entire ceremony, choosing words on marriage and vows that we feel represent what it means to promise to spend our lives together, always working on growing together while respecting each others individuality. Jeremy's long time friend preformed our ceremony, which was very emotional and filled with love. We also choose to have another friend do a reading called The Art of Marriage.

The only way I can describe the day for me is to say that it was the best day of my life! I remember standing with my Dad, before I walked down the isle and taking a big deep breath, while I looked out onto everyone that was there to share the day with us...

As I stood next to Jeremy, holding hands with him and somehow making it through my vows (despite my emotions getting the best of me), it was honestly the greatest feeling I've ever had in my life - knowing I was marrying the right person for me & knowing he was feeling the same way about the moment, it was all very over-whelming, in the best way!


Once we exchanged vows and light the unity candle, our friend announced us as Mr. & Mrs. and I remember letting out a huge smile, throwing my bouquet in the air and cheering out, so excited to celebrate this wonderful moment I've looked forward to for so long!

Seeing each other before the ceremony....

There are lots of different opinions on the bride and groom seeing each other before the ceremony. Some say they feel it may ruin the moment of the bride and groom seeing each other for the first time as she walks down the isle. Others suggest that seeing each other before hand is a great way to have a moment with one another, before all the "chaos" starts.

JJ and I decided to see each other before to have some alone time together and take the majority of the pictures ahead of time. The Nature Center has so many great spots, so we found a beautiful location near a lake that was off the beaten path to meet for our photos. Here are some pics of me walking up to see JJ and us having a few moments to talk about how excited we were for what the day was about to bring.
Once we got all those pictures finished, we headed back to meet up with everyone and grabbed some group shots with the wedding party. We had a smaller wedding party, JJ's two brothers, Tim & Jesse, and two of my best girl friends, Mandy & Wendy, stood next to us as we exchanged vows. On one of our visits to the Nature Center, JJ and I found this old house called The Abner Hollow Cabin and thought it would be a great spot for these pictures.

Rehearsal & Rehearsal Dinner

The wedding weekend was jammed pack with lots of memorable moments for sure. Things kicked off mid-week when we were able to get together with some out of town guests. Dinner on Wednesday at Montgomery Inn with some family, coffee & breakfast with friends on Thursday, and a relaxing massage for a bargain price. (What more could a girl ask for, right?)

The Friday before the wedding was wonderful. I spent the day with Mandy and Wendy, getting manicures & pedicures and sharing a nice lunch. I decided to stay at a hotel that was close to the wedding venue, so I got all checked into my room that afternoon and then we headed off to the Cincinnati Nature Center for the rehearsal.

Things with the rehearsal went smoothly and it was great to see everyone who had arrived in town that day. Everyone was keeping an eye on the sky leading up to the wedding day b/c it was a chilly and raining week in the tri-state. So all fingers were crossed that the rainy weather would pass like the meteorologists kept saying it would.
Our rehearsal dinner was held at Bella Luna, a family owned Italian restaurant. It was a lovely evening shared with family and friends. Beautiful toasts were shared by JJ's mom & dad, my mom, and my best friend Wendy. It was definitely an evening where we celebrated long lasting love and friendship.

(JJ, my Dad Eddie, me and my mom Carole)
(Some group pictures)


After the dinner, we invited those available to gather at BW 3's for a few drinks to toast the night away! I was so excited to see so many people able to attend. Both JJ and I caught up with dear friends from our college years and several family members traveled many miles to be there with us during this special time.

(College roommates: Alina, Me, Wendy, Molly, & Elizabeth)
(Me and my cousin, Dawn)

Mr. & Mrs.

It's official...we got married...
And then we went to Hawaii...

Updates coming soon!!!

Hair & Make-Up

Last week, I had a day off work and enjoyed a fun day of pampering at the salon & a visit to the make-up artist for a trail run for the wedding day up do and make up color selections.

I was past due on getting the works done on my hair. So, I went for it (all but the cut), full color (dark brown) & partial highlight (red). I've become more of a brunette over the past few years, and this visit's color is da 'bomb - I'm loving it, warm brown base color with shiny copper highlights.

I used to always go with blonde and/or carmel brown highlight, but sometime last year, I opted out of the blonde game and made the commitment to the brunette side of life. (It might have something to do with the fact that blonde highlights grow out quicker, showing your true roots, and I'm cheap and go about 8 weeks in between salon visits - and then usually it's only for a partial highlight!) Anyways, my hair dresser has found a great option for me were the base color holds it's nice warm tones and she mixes two red tones, to make this red she uses for my highlights.

Here's a sneak-peak pic of the up do for the wedding hair! I really like what Amy did with my hair. I wanted the simple front swoop to the side and then something nice in the back. Originally I thought I wanted a simple bun in the back, but I opted for pined up curls and I like the outcome. I'm still on the search for some small jewels to add to the back to punch it up a bit, but this is most likely the look I'll be going for on the big day!

Once the hair was set, it was off to see the make up lady! Most people who know me already know that I'm not much of a "make up wearer", but I did want to have my face done for this special occasion, so I enlisted the help of the make up artist who works at the TV station. Lisa has helped me in the past when I've wanted to brighten up my eyes for a nice dinner out and she's also come to the rescue when I've had some seriously bad breakouts going on and has helped by adding a little extra cover-up here and there.

Knowing that I didn't want to not look like myself on the wedding day, I asked Lisa to build a nice foundation with some color on my cheeks and a neutral toned eye with some depth. She did a fabulous job and below is a preview pic of just how much the right eye make up can really open up your eyes and make them sparkle! (Note - the left side is with no eye make up, the right is the wedding day make up!)

I can't post a full "after" make up photo, because I tried on the look with my veil and I know JJ browses the blog every now and then! But I am very excited about how each trial run turned out and I'm looking forward to getting pampered again as I get ready on the wedding day!

Bridal Shower Weekend

I enjoyed a big celebration this past weekend for my bridal shower. Many family members and friends were able to make it to my Aunt's house for a lovely afternoon.

Things kicked off with mimosas and mingling, then a fabulous spread of food - everything from chicken salad crossiants, pasta salad, stuffed mushrooms, veggies and homemade mints. The weather was gorgeous, a sunny day but not too hot. The company was wonderful - grandma, mom, aunts and cousins, friends from various times throughout my life, & several soon-to-be in laws.

I couldn't ask for a better group of women in my life. It was quite a special day for me, several times I would glance at different groups of guests and feel so blessed to know each of them & have them in my life. I can't wait to share the big day with everyone.

Enjoy a few pictures from the day:

Me and Mom...

Our beach themed cake - Yumm....

Me and a few of my soon to be in-laws...

Opening gifts...yes, I did break a few ribbons...

A great group of girlfriends..

If you, dear blog readers, happen to have a few pics from the afternoon, please send them my way ~ Thanks!

Mmmm...Cake!

How good do all these mini cakes look.....

My sister-in-law's Mom loves baking and makes cakes out of her home, so I definitely had her in mind when we started talking about our reception. We met with Michele, of Michele My Belle Cakes, last Saturday afternoon and had the best time! She made us several tasty mini-cakes with so many flavor combination to choose from for our wedding cake.

First we went over the design of the cake. A few months ago when I started talking about different cake options, JJ didn't seem to interested in helping with the look of the cake. I wasn't surprised by this because he's not much of a sweets or desserts person. Me, on the other hand, could eat sweets & chocolate for almost every meal. What I loved about our meeting with Michele is that JJ sat down the night before and looked through lots of pictures with me and then he sketched out a design that helped incorporate several elements from the pictures I'd printed out. He was so cute when he showed Michele has drawing, presenting it in a very business-like manner, saying it was just "something he came up with". In the end, I know we're going to have a very fun cake with elements that tie in the design of our invitations and our wedding colors of brown, green, and burnt orange.

On to the tasting part...check out these flavors & names of the different cakes:

Luscious Lemon Cheesecake
Whole Lotta Pina Colada
Key Lime Time
Heavenly Hazelnut
White Chocolate Raspberry
Banana Dream
Chocolate Cake with Peppermint Patties
Chocolate with Vanilla Butter cream

What a hard job on a Saturday afternoon, indulging in tasting all that cake! Good & tasty are not words that describe how wonderful all these cakes were...I'd go as far to say that they were Out of This World, all of them! We each like different ones, JJ like the White Chocolate Raspberry, I loved the Chocolate Mint with Peppermint Patties filling. We also both really loved the cake with Lemon Icing and Cheesecake filling. They were all such good and unique options. Michele told us to pick 3 flavors, one for each tier of our cake, and luckily we didn't have to decide that day b/c it would have been hard!

I'm betting we will go with the Lemon option for sure, and then we'll each pick a flavor for the other two layers. We will soon find out in a few months....maybe another tasting is in order to make sure I loved them as much as I'm remembering!!

Engagement Pictures

We finally got our engagement pics taken with our wedding photographer, Bryn Weller. We had to find a new photographer about a month ago b/c the original person we booked cancelled on us for our wedding. In the end, I think we've found someone who totally fits our personalities and will capture all the wonderful moments throughout our wedding day.

These photos were taken at Devou Park in Covington, KY. Since Jeremy and I met in Cincinnati and this is our home, I really wanted a few shots with the beautiful Cincinnati Skyline in the background. Enjoy the pictures!And one final "family" picture with our girl, Ella.
We are missing one "family" memeber, JD the cat!

Turning 30...

A few weeks ago marked my 30th birthday. Now, when I was a teenager, 30 seems like really, really old. Like by the time you turned 30, you should have a full head of grey hair and you should have it all figured out with your life "in place".

While I certainly have a few (okay, maybe more than a few) grey hairs, I'm feeling pretty good about my 30's. Life in my 20's treated me to a few unexpected twists and turns, some good - some bad, but still, all guiding me to the place I am right now in my life. Throughout my 20's, I managed to check several things off my life's "to do list".

Finish college with a bachelors degree - Check.
Start my career, in a new city - Check.
Purchase my first house -Check.

All in all, not so bad if you ask me. One delightful thing that happen in my 20's was meeting Jeremy. Many people search their entire life for someone to share it with and I feel completely blessed knowing that I've found that special someone. It is really exciting knowing that my first year in my 30's will be celebrated in a big way - our wedding!

I'm not someone who has always dreamed about what her wedding will look like. This has been good because it has helped me to be flexible in the planning process. I've enjoyed the decision making that goes along when planning the details of a wedding. I am totally excited and thrilled to be getting married this fall. The details are fun, things like picking out my dress, choosing the flowers, and tasting lots of yummy cake!

Having said all that, the thing that excites me more than any of these details is my marriage. That's the part I'm looking forward to the most! Our marriage. I believe that marriages do work and I've witnessed it in my own family. I know that God has guided me through all those experiences in my 20's, leading me to this wonderful moment as I start my 30's, to let me know that I am ready to be married.

So while I spend time making lists of things that still need get done, and I fret over things like the font on our invitations, I know I'm making the best decision of my life. To share it with the person I love, for the rest of my life. It doesn't get much better than that.

Cheers to my 30's, I believe the best is yet to come!