Picture Preview!

They've arrived!!

Right now, on my dining room table there are discs containing every tidbit of photographic evidence of our wedding day.

The only problem : I'm on second shift at work and can't get to them until tomorrow! Ack! But in the meantime, lovely lady that she is, Dana posted some on her blog for the world to see. You can see the full blog post here, but I'll drop a few down below this paragraph too (full disclosure : all snaked from Dana's Facebook page).

More to come!

Tough Stuff

Here's the thing.

In the midst of happy-go-lucky, lala wedding-land bubble, there's real life happening. Now, I wasn't so self-involved that I thought the world was all about me on the weekend of April 7th, but when real life intervened it kind of surprised me.

Without infringing on any too-personal details, something devastatingly sad happened to my oldest friend and bridesmaid Rebecca. Something so big, so crushing, that her husband called me Friday night to tell me Rebecca wouldn't be able to be a part of the wedding the next day.

Tears. Lots. But the thing was, they weren't for me at all. And I kind of thought they would be.

One of my dearest friends, the girl I would stare at in church as a little kid, hoping I'd look like her when I grew up, and she wasn't going to be a part of my big day. Looking back now, I almost feel like I should have been more thrown for a loop, more selfish, and more chaos should have been created.

But I wasn't. And chaos wasn't even in the equation.

And I know the reason.

These girls, the four I chose to stand next to me when everyone I know and everyone I would be related to in a matter of minutes was staring at me: Those girls are my truest, deepest, best friends. When one's heart breaks, mine breaks. And it goes both ways.

As for the wedding party, the three remaining girls - Emily, Paula, Melissa - just picked right up and took over. They figured it out. They told the groomsmen what was happening. They told our pastor what had happened. They told the DJ to skip part of the introduction. It was handled in an instant. I even had a moment after the ceremony of saying "Oh! So that's how you guys walked down the aisle? Great!"

And you know what? Rebecca was there anyway. And not just in the text of the program. She's a part of me as much as I'm a part of her, and we're already dying to pour over the photos together.

I'm the luckiest girl alive to have friends like these.

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Two From The Pro

I've seen only two of our photographs from our pro, but they've both made me even MORE excited to see the entire haul.

There was this one, that I already blogged about, and now this one on Dana's blog post about how busy she is with weddings in April.

It's Dana!

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DYING, I tell you. The truth is, she's such an amazing talent that everyone wants a piece of her, and I can't blame 'em. So lucky to have booked her, what a gem!

P.S. Dana brought a co-shooter, Jenny, who was equally wonderful. Check out her work here. Dana stayed with us girls while Jenny wrangled Nate and his groomsmen. Can't wait to see what she captured!

It's Jenny!

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Moments Remembered: Friday & Saturday A.M.

There will be a few of these posts, especially once I get pictures to trigger little tidbits in my memory...

I just want to list up a few little things I don't want to forget... It's all about those little moments, right?

*Friday: A day of mani/pedis (hilarity due to violently aggressive massage chairs), ring cleaning (and the scary clerk who warned me to not wear my ring because "anything can happen before a wedding"), snacking, a phone call with crushing news and tears (at sadness for the caller, not for myself, and all involved will be okay), and then a relaxed night spent with three of the best girls in the world (the boys did a 100mph bachelor party for Nate complete with paintball, brewery, bar hopping, and hotel-staying).

*Waking up an hour before my alarm on Saturday, forcing myself to stay in bed, and finally snapping a screen shot the moment my feet hit the floor to document the kickoff to my wedding day!

*Packing up (two FULL cars, one an SUV) and heading out to Lord Hill in the SUN!!!

*Arriving, setting up, and reveling in the fact that the parasols I made wouldn't have to come out to protect us from even a drop of water. SUN!! Did I mention? SUNNY WEATHER IN WASHINGTON. Crazy amazing. I couldn't have ordered better.

Like I said, more Moments Remembered posts to come - After all, that's only the day before and the morning of! I'd rather say things with pictures than just type a list, so I already have a few tidbits taken note of that will come out when I have some more photo documentation.

In the meantime, our first married day fell on Easter, and the glorious weather continued. So a belated happy Easter to all! Hope it was as gorgeous as ours.

Mini-Moon, in Pictures

Because we're planning a more extensive Hawaiian getaway around Christmastime to REALLY celebrate our marriage (I didn't have enough vacation built up to take one right away), we managed to escape just over the mountains to the town of Leavenworth for a couple days post-wedding.

It was the perfect get-away, and we completely scored on hitting the first flawless weather weekend of the year. Here are a few pics to give you an idea :

Got to order our complimentary brekkie each morning at our hotel (Alpine Rivers Inn)

Local Brewery Fare

'Backyard' Wildlife

Weather Perfection

Too Tired : Pizza and Wine for Easter dinner

Nate fitting in with the locals...

Whistle Pigs (aka marmots) Everywhere!

Rehearsal Rehash

We had our rehearsal on the Thursday before the wedding (April 5th), and what a kickoff it was.

 Click the image to view larger.

Highlight Reel :

*Heading north to Lord Hill Farms with Emily and Kyle (groomsman) in the backseat trading barbs and keeping us in stitches. Stopping for beer at their behest at a drugstore on the way since we were early. ...For the record, I had water. With no hops or barley involved.

*Walking upstairs to the ceremony space to the sounds of thundering kid feet racing up and down the aisle above my head. All of my extended family had arrived when we walked in, and it made my heart so happy to walk in and see them all live and in person!

*Waiting and waiting for 'Maid Melissa and her hubs, groomsman Brett to arrive. Finally deciding to start and after a couple run-throughs getting a phone call from poor, sobbing Melly saying they had punched in the rehearsal DINNER address into the GPS from the airport, and were half an hour away in a different town completely. I found this pretty funny, Melissa not so much. All was soothed with wine and a waterfront view at the restaurant, and we met them there once rehearsal wrapped.

*INCREDIBLE food at our rehearsal dinner. French chef - as in, from France, not just trained in, - plentiful wine and beer, and a room full of love. I call that perfection.

*Capping the night with 'Maids and 'Men at the Mukilteo Lodge, a local cabin-chic sports bar. Pool, jukebox tunes, drinks and laughs. Everyone was tired, but ended up being glad we rallied and spent some more time together that night. Inside jokes were solidified, and referenced throughout the weekend. Love me some bridal party!

The Dress, Revealed!

I can finally post pictures of THE dress! As mentioned yesterday, I've yet to see very many of myself in it, but here are at least a few from the ever-magical Google Image to paint'cha a picture :

It hit everything I love in a dress : Non-poufy, light, lace, small amounts of beading, interesting back. The fact that I didn't have to deal with tugging on a strapless all night or sweat-liy suffering in an underskirt was just icing on the cake!

Not me, but an idea of what it looks like with a human (instead of dress form) wearing it.

For anyone interested, the official title is "Lace Cap-sleeve Trumpet with Keyhole Back and Sash" Style VW9768, from the David's Bridal Collection. It's a winner and I LOVED wearing it.


And a special shout-out to MOH Emily - She pulled it off the rack and brought it to me when we went dress shopping. I may never have seen it if not for her!

Preview Pic

While I'm waiting chomping at the bit for our photos from our photographer Dana, she sent me a little preview shot to help tide me over.

Photo by Dana Pleasant Photography

DYING to see more, and hopefully we will very soon. I'll certainly post some here!

In the meantime, I've had a few candid snapshots trickle in, which is just the biggest tease ever. Can't wait to get the full scope from the pros!

Alive.

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I'm back.

I'm alive.

And I'm exhausted.

...But utterly and completely happy. Everything was perfection. Pictures and tales to come, but cut me some slack - Reality kinda bites!

Talk soon.

It's HERE!

TODAY IS THE DAY!!!

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I cannot believe it's finally here... All the hard work is sure to pay off (right?....RIGHT????) and come what may, I'm marrying my best friend in the whole world.

My day is perfect no matter what.

Practice Makes Perfect

It's rehearsal day!

Our Pastor, Marty, has been out of the country on a church mission trip and is making the drive back from Mexico yet today, so I'll be running the show.

Luckily he gave me great instructions, so here's hoping I can bark out orders and everyone will listen!

Also, wonderful Nancy Lang created this for me as I unwrapped gifts at my bridal shower :

I'll be carrying it during rehearsal - Chock full of happy memories and well wishes from lovely ladies.

Then it's off to eat, drink.... and soon be married!

Prep

Officially off work for a week and time to get pretty!

Hair? Check.

Tan? Checking off tonight.

Probably just a few shades lighter than these guys.....

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Nails? On the docket for friday with 'Maids Em and Melissa.

We are close to Easter and all.... But probably NOT getting this...

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Let the prettification begin!

Made For 'Maids

As promised, a little trip into the packaging and gifty fun for my 'Maids today.

Of course again I won't be showing too many details, but who doesn't like to see a pretty package with their name on it? I figure it only ups the happy anticipation factor.

I did a little printing and some a lot of paper cutting :

...A few extra special bits to tuck into the package (blurred for prying bridesmaid blog-reader eyes!) :

...And after some more paper cutting, a little ribbon tying, and yes, a little 'how-cute-is-that!' gloating, I got this :

Can't wait to hand 'em out!

Laura Bee Love

I know I normally only post once a day, but this just came up in my blog feed and I had to add it to this, my virtual journal. Love, love, loving the Laura Bee love!!

Click the link below to read the post in full, and be sure to visit LauraBeeDesigns.com to check out my old stomping grounds.

Laura Bee Designs: It's a Special Saturday in Laura Bee Land: Ashley's getting married this Saturday. The store will be closed from 1-6 pm on Saturday, April 7 so that we can attend the wedding. I k...

Treats & Treasures

It's so fun to be to the point where I finally feel like I'm putting the finishing touches on things.

And one of those things is wrapping little presents for the wedding party peeps. Blame my years in retail, but I'm such a sucker for cute packaging.

Now of course I can't tell you what's tucked inside, but some ah-DOR-able mini velum takeout boxes were just the thing to show a shadow of some turquoise tissue and a little gift for my junior bridesmaids and flower girls.

Those stencils I picked up for the flower girl flag project have paid for themselves many times over already - That's them in use again for the little initial 'tags' to show who's gift is who's.

Here are all the little nifty gifties ready to be packed up and taken to rehearsal / rehearsal dinner on Thursday :

Those little paint cans are for the groomsmen, the coffee bags a little something for our moms, and the large corrugated cardboard take-outs.... Well, you'll just have to wait 'til tomorrow!