Couples Photoshoot!

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to our friend Kevin Lee and with him the best with Kozmo Photography.  He's just getting started and asked for volunteers to photograph.  My husband and I volunteered and here are the results.  We should be doing a second round of pics with our puppy, so stay tuned for more!

If you like what's below and want to see more, you can check out his portfolio here.

First Free Weekend in Forever

Ok, so I REALLY need to start blogging again - sorry that it's been so long.  A lot has happened in the past few months.

1)  As may or may not know - we got a puppy.

2) I had my 5 year college reunion.

3) One of my best friends got married!!!!

4)  Before she tied the knot we threw her a magical Harry Potter themed shower (I'm waiting on pictures, but I will definitely post about that one).  And a fun bachelorette weekend too!

5)  We started building a deck for our house!  We're almost done - pictures coming soon!

6)  We did a couples photoshoot with a friend of my husbands!  More pictures to come - I promise!

7) I discovered Jamberry nails and signed up to become a consultant!

8) Another great friend of mine is getting married in October and I also in that wedding.  We're working on planning her shower and her bachelorette weekend now!

Cutest Puppy?

As I mentioned, not too long ago my husband and I added a new member to our family - a rescue puppy named Lilly!

Well, she was recently selected as a finalist in a cute puppy contest.  Voting for the  contest ends tomorrow morning (they didn't give an actual time, but the winner is being announced at 8:15AM, so sometime before then).

If you'd like to help us out and vote the link is below and she's #13!!!

http://popcrush1057.com/tulipup-contest-vote/

Our Newest Addition

We've had a busy few years!

July 2012 - got engaged
March 2013 - moved from Michigan back to NY
July 2013 - bought a house and moved in
September 2013 - got married
October 2013 - honeymooned
April 2014 -  added a new member to our happy family!!

Her name is Lilly and she's a rottweiler mix (at least according to her paperwork) that we rescued from our local Humane Society.

We've had her for a few weeks and our so happy that she has joined our family.  Here's one picture for now!  Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be adding more later.

Do you and your significant other have pets together?  If so, at what point in the relationship did happen?  For us, a dog is such a commitment, we couldn't consider adopting one until after we were married and settled into a house.

Pro Pics are In

Pro pics are in, so I wanted to share a few of our favorites!

Sneak Preview Pics

My dad's friend is a photographer and he worked our wedding as a favor to my dad.  However, my dad is also a photographer and couldn't resist taking MANY pictures himself.  I'm still waiting on the ones from the official photographer of the day, but I did get a few sneak peaks from my dad.

That's All Folks

After tomorrow, I will have been married for 2 weeks!  With the wedding and honeymoon over, I decided to recap a little on the day.  (More on the honeymoon later).

Things about the big day:

1)  I gave myself lots of "extra time" in the schedule and was extremely thankful that I did.  I used all of it!  Here's the schedule that  my bridesmaids and I used and I think it was the perfect amount of time (I had 5 bridesmaids and 2 people doing hair and make-up).  

6 AM- Everyone showering

7 AM- Breakfast at hotel

7:30 AM - Hair and make-up in bridal suite

9:15 AM - Getting dressed

10:15 AM – Dads first look pics

10:30 AM - First look pics

11:30 AM - Bridal party pics

12:15 PM - Family pics

1:00 PM – Light snacks

1:30 PM- Get ready for ceremony 

2 PM - Ceremony

2) I'm crazy and I made a day of binder - I put my MOH in charge of it for the big day.   Here's what it included:  

• Contact info for all immediate family and wedding party members (in case someone was missing for pictures, etc.)
• Day of schedule for everyone with a few extra copies in case anyone lost theirs (I gave them out at rehearsal dinner)
• Contact info for each vendor with notes on when they should arrive, what they needed to do and if they were owed anything or if they were paid in full
• Envelope for each vendor that was still owed money with money inside it (for MOH to distribute as needed)
• Section for each vendor - each section included the contract/proof of payment and any forms or important info vendor might need (copy of ceremony for reverend, song choices for DJ, hair/make-up pic for stylist, etc.)  I pulled several things from these sections throughout the day.  

3) I made a hanger for my dress (Mrs. ______) and hangers for my bridesmaids dresses with their names on it.  I LOVED this for the pictures and so did the photographer.  She said it really pulled it together.

4) My bridesmaids and I shared a room the night before the wedding and stayed up almost all night chatting (especially me and my MOH).  It kept me relaxed.  

5) We did a first look and I am SO glad that we did.  It was literally the best part of the entire day (husband agrees). We did out first look pictures, exchanged gifts and then just sat together and talked.  It helped us both to relax.  

6) I didn't get nervous until the ceremony started  and I realized that everyone was watching us.  After a few minutes though and my fiance grabbing my hand, I was relaxed again.  (Also, I definitely cried and did not care at all).  

7) We tried to see everyone during the cocktail hour (that way we didn't have to "visit" every table during the reception).  

8) We did the hora (since husband is Jewish) - it was a great way to open up the dance floor and everyone loved it.  

9) We had a photo booth which everyone loved and we got a flashdrive and scrapbook with all of the pictures in it afterwards which we really enjoyed looking at.

10) After going back and forth, I did end up doing bathroom baskets.  It turns out they were well-used and we received several compliments on them.

11) My dress had a corseted back (instead of a zipper) which I became more and more thankful for as the day went on.  I was able to tighten and loosen it as necessary (which was great for after I ate way to much during cocktail hour and then for when I wanted to dance and not have my dress fall down).  

12) Things went wrong - dresses didn't fit right, buttons popped off jackets, we had no idea how to cut the cake, the reverend used the wrong version of the ceremony, we forgot to do pics with just the groomsmen during the wedding party pics, and I'm sure there was more.  But it really just doesn't matter.  Have fun and celebrate!

13) The one thing that really surprised me was how fast everything went - the day was over so quickly.  I was both sad (because we were having such a great time) and relieved (because we were SO tired) when it was over.