Wedding Week Recap in Photos! Pt.1

So, we are  finally home and settled in from our whirlwind Texas wedding and Spain/Transatlantic honeymoon (yes, i said Spain…eppp!). It’s the weekend so i have a little time to sit down and recap all the sweet madness So here we go….

Saturday – On the Road

We headed out for Texas on Saturday October 13th and made it about halfway through the drive when we hit major traffic in Louisiana…i’m talking nearly three hours in a dead stop-inch by inch crawl on the long LA bridges…ugh! Not fun anytime, but especially when you’ve already been driving 9 hours.

(Boo traffic, you get a thumbs down!)

Sunday – Texas, baby!

After stopping for the night, we got to TX on Sunday morning and made it in time to attend my home church, i can’t tell you how great it was seeing my family and church members again! I missed them like crazy!! After service we had a family dinner for the first time with my family and Chason’s parents…it was pretty great to have them all together! The rest of the week included lots of walks at my sweet bay, family dinners, lunch with friends, and wedding crafts! Probably one of my favorite moments was making Mr. & Mrs. signs with my mom, my sister and Chason’s mom…so fun!!

(we kind of messed up on the first try lol )

(Lunch with my sweet friend Damaris! Missed this gal! You don’t realize how rare good friends are until you live away from them)

(Family :)

In the middle of the week my cousin Candise flew down all the way from Pennsylvania to be with us…i hadn’t seen her in 6 years!

(after the wedding getting ready to say goodbye)

Thursday – Tuxes, beaches, and bridal showers

On the Thursday before the wedding Chas and I went with his parents to pick up the tuxes and made a little stop through Matagorda Beach to show my mom and dad-in law they’re first TX beach! We had a lovely lunch at this new-ish little place called “Poco Playa” where we enjoyed some seafood and then headed out to the sand and the waves of my sweet Texas <3

(mom and dad-in law enjoying the beach)

(me and my baby <3)

That night my sister and my cousin Candise threw me a wonderful and fun bridal party! It meant so much that they went to all the trouble to have this party for me, i wanted to cry! My church ladies, cousins, and friends were there and well as my mamma and mamma in-law…i was a very happy gal!!

(me with my sweet church ladies)

My sister surprised me by making my favorite drink, bubble tea, and some yummy cupcakes! And my cousin made the super good food!

We played fun games like the toilet paper wedding gown challenge, and a version of the “Newlyweds” game that my cousin put together, so fun!! She interviewed my husband on video and then asked me the same question to see if our answers matched…we did pretty well The party was held by the bay outside of my town and decorated so cute, it was definitely a day i will remember! <3

(my cousin Nikki and my sista Krystal modeling their “bridal gowns” lol) 

Friday – Decorating and Rehearsal Dinner

Friday was filled with finishing wedding crafts, rehearsing  decorating, and finally a fun rehearsal  dinner…whew, long day for sure! Thankfully Chason’s sis and her husband arrived that day and really helped out! We had both our families, my cousins, and my friend helping at the rehearsal…gosh how i love them for that, they really put they’re backs into the work…literally…everyone was sore after the wedding! I have good peeps! <3

(me and my mum and dad…awwws)

(my mom and dad-in law posing with my brother in-law)

I have to be honest the stress kind of got to us that day…there was just still so much to do and it was pretty head spinning (anxiety meds to the rescue!!). But, thankfully by the end of rehearsal we were back in a happy mood and ready to eat!

We held the dinner at a nice steakhouse in Bay City (where the wedding was) and all my sweet wedding party and family attended…twas a great time having them all there!

By the end of the night we were so out of it, but even still  my awesome preggers cousin and her hubs came to my hotel to help me decide on my wedding makeup…she is kool like that! I barely remember that night because if all the stress and happenings but it was fun having them there hanging while we chose my wedding day look

Whew! Sooo, that finally leads us to the big day!!! Stay tuned for part 2 of our wedding recap!

- C & C

Our Wedding Day 11-20-11

Today is a very special day…it is the anniversary of the day i married my love and vowed to spend my life alongside him, so because of the occasion i thought i’d take a moment to reminisce about the happiest day of  our lives. We eloped so most people don’t really know many details of our day, and because it was such a happy day for my husband and i we think it’s important to share the details. So here we go

It was a weekend in mid November and Chason and i were both fighting really bad colds and coughs.  At this point we had been engaged about a month and I was visiting him in Georgia  for a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving and then he was to come back to TX with me and spend the holidays with me and my family. On Friday the 18th we were talking and one thing lead to another and “let’s get married this weekend!” came up. Both agreeing,  we went out and got our marriage licence and started looking for a minister to marry us on short notice. We thew around ideas and even thought of getting Chason’s friend ordained, but then Chason thought of a minister friend he had met one day while shopping for a razor in a store. He pastor’s a little Methodist church not far from here, so we called him up and he said yes right away, no questions asked So we wrote our vows that night while on lots of cold meds lol.

Sunday morning we woke up and i put on my little black dress and my Grandma’s pearls and Chason wore jeans and his “Bubble Gum” t-shirt which is the one he wore the day we met…and is his nickname for me, and we drove out to the church on the chilly morning with “Going to the Chapel” playing the whole way (now every time i hear that song i think of our wedding day lol

After service, Gary (the pastor) took us to a room to talk a bit and plan the way it was going to go, and then we walked into the empty sanctuary to get hitched. I remember being so nervous i was shaking, and popping a mint before hand to counter the Halls cough drop aroma lol.

For the ceremony Chason surprised me by having the pastor read the “marriage poem” from The Princess Bride…so fun! The pastor then read 1 Cor 13 and then, finally, shaking and trying not to cough, we each said our straight from the heart, cough syrup vows before each other and God and tears were definitely shed.

Then it was time for the best moment, he pronounced us man and wife and Chason and i shared our first kiss as husband and wife…that was a special kiss…my gosh, my heart soared at that moment! The ceremony was so intimate and sweet with just us and the pastor. We were so happy that we both couldn’t stop giggling after!

The pastor was kind enough to take our wedding photo outside of the church before we left…i love this photo so much! It shows how happy we were

(this is one we took ourselves lol)

After we tied the knot we had a lovely wedding dinner at Outback and then went to Starbucks to enjoy our wedding cake…cake pops!

(yummy wedding blooming onion)

(Rock Road and Peppermint wedding cake

It was the happiest and best day…we were on cloud nine! Now one year later i can still say that every time Chason looks at me my heart does cartwheels and my tummy gets butterflies! I’m such a blessed woman to have such a special sweet soul to spend my life with! From the moment we started writing letters to each other states away i knew he was going to change my life. Last month when we had our “official” family wedding we danced to “I knew i loved you” by Savage Garden because it is so fitting for us…we really did know we loved each other before we met face to face…and what a feeling that is! No matter how crazy it feels you know you can’t deny it. I truly believe that Chason was meant for me and i for him and i am so happy that God brought him into my life in the time and way He did! God truly does make things beautiful, and i could’t be more excited to see what this future holds for us!

Happy 1st anniversary my love! Here’s to many many more! <3

~Cecily

Weekend catch up

Hello all! What a lovely Sunday it is!

This past week has been filled with loads of wedding planning and work and sine i could use a wedding break I thought it would be a prefect time to catch up here on all we’ve been up to these past few weeks.

Trip to ATL DragonCon and Chattanooga, TN

A couple of weekends ago we joined Chason’s long time friend and his family for a trip to DragonCon in ATL. I knew nothing about this other than it’s a, um, gathering of geeks…but once there my oh my, it’s like a whole other world! almost everyone was dressed in creative and bazaar costumes and there were many, many tables and exhibits to browse. The art show was my favorite, saw some amazing and odd art I would love to add to our future home…just not the naked Mario Brothers…yes, there was someone who painted that…yep.

I have to give major props to those who dress up, they really go all out and it’s quite fun to see! From steam punks to ghost busters and a bubble man it was fun checking out the sights, though I think we all freaked when we saw Sloth from The Goonies! So fun!!

After our experience there we headed out to Chattanooga for the rest of the weekend.

“When you hear the whistle blowing eight to the bar
Then you know that Tennessee is not very far”

I should mention i have a deep love of The Andrew Sisters (they make for great baking music!) and one of my favorite songs is Chattanooga Choo Choo, so while on the 1 1/2 drive to TN I was signing the song in my head. We stayed at the Chattanooga Choo Choo and had a room in an actual train car! I was sooo jazzed about this! I can’t begin to tell you how much I love this place! The lobby is very vintage and beautiful and so is the dinning room. I loved walking out to our room passing by all the train cars…twas so cute!

“Hey, there, boy, yes, yes, yes
I want a one way ticket on the
Chattanooga choo choo train”

Our room was so adorable i fell in love right away! Very vintage and romantic, i told hubs we must go back from time to time :) I loved waking up in a train car, looking over and seeing a baggage rail and peeking out the windows and see the pretty court yard view!

(view of the courtyard)

The hotel houses a coffee shop (pretty good mocha!), ice cream parlor, shops, and an arcade…which we all took advantage of the next morning

I will say, there are a few things i didn’t like…the room doors have to be slammed shut to actually close and our bathroom door didn’t stay closed. But, seeing as it old i guess you get what you pay for.

We decided to do some exploring so we took a trolley to downtown and walked. Best way to see a city! We stopped by Big River Grille, a local brewery, for some appetizers. Quite a cute little place with some tasty snacks, and you can see into the area where they brew which is pretty cool!

Next we took in the lovely sights at the bridge

Then made our way over to Ross Landing and played around in the water fall steps! So fun, and the cool water felt so good after a long day! The kids seemed to really envoy this part too! While there Jon and Erin took some sweet photos of me and Chason!

Love the photos they took!! Thanks guys!

After all the exploring we chose to have dinner at Easy Bistro, a very classy and sleek place in downtown. As soon as i saw the menu i knew what i was going to have..risotto. And a good choice indeed, it was very tasty and i could have eaten the whole thing! Chason had the raw oysters and said they are very good, and we all shared the creme brulee for dessert . Yum!!

The next day we had breakfast in the Chattanooga Choo Choo resturant which was pretty good, but has quite the long wait. After we made our way to Rock City and Ruby Falls

Rock City

This was one of my favorite places, made up of beautiful trails and plants it’s a really fun place to trek through! They even have a Gnome city! I love Gnomes!

Chason and Gnome land

We got to take a trip to Lovers Leap (a cliff where a couple committed suicide in the name of love) and look off the top of Lookout Mountain where you can see seven states…which we didn’t really see because it was rainy, but the view was breath taking!

Rock City Falls

Squished by rocks!

Rope bridge where my husband keep making me freak by shaking…io!

Ruby Falls

Our last stop in Chattanooga was Ruby Falls, a cave that houses a huge underground waterfall and many cool rock formations. We took the elevator all the way down into the cave and got a tour through the trail taking in the fascinating sights and ended at the massive beautiful underground water fall!

It’s a very long trek both there and back, but if you’re up for it i’d say it’s worth to do at least once!

So, that was our weekend out. It was a very nice break from this computer that is our work and i was happy to get to know my husbands friends and their sweet kids I would definitely go back and stay at the Choo Choo again, and if you’ve never been i encourage you to check it out!

“So, Chattanooga choo choo, won’t you choo choo me home!?”

~Cecily

Time to Rejoice

It’s about lunch time, Chason’s at a meeting and i’m sitting here supposed to be working but instead find myself a bit emotional and convicted.

I read a post that my cousin shared on her blog, and i started to cry. The blog was about a new thing she’s starting up called “Now Rejoice”; a post on her blog every Tuesday where someone will share how God has restored them. The scripturte she based it on is Psalm 51:8 “Oh, Give me back my joy again; you have broken me – now let me rejoice”.

So many things have been stealing joy lately. Work stress, wedding stress, and on and on. It’s those things that make us forget that we have indeed been restored and we should be rejoying instead of quarreling or stressing.

Both my husband and I have been through enough pain in our lives. We’ve been to that place where you cry to God and ask him to be your joy because you have none left.  That dark place of having nothing to cling to, and being complety lost and joyless.

But now, now we have been restored! Both of us are still healing from past scars, but we have been given back our joy! Where once our arms were empty, they are now filled.

Before I met my husband there was a day when I was crying to God for some comfort and clarity, and the scripture in Revelation 21:5 jumped out to me; “He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true”.

I believe that was God’s answer to my confusion and pain. I make all things new. These words I speak are faithful and true. Believe them.

And He does my friends, God really does make all things new. The Lord has been faithful to both my husband and I in restoring us and our joy. We are starting are new life together, one that is full of joy and is a testament to God’s faithfulness and love. It is now time to rejoice in that! It’s time to cherish and laugh and be happy, because He has redeemed us and given us this time to rejoice in that redemption!

And this is what I am convicted about. I have not been rejoicing enough. And that ends now. That scripture will be a staple in our home, and from now on when things are stressful and tension builds, I will remember where we came from and how far God has brought us, and remember to rejoice in His restoration!

Take some time to visit my cousin’s blog These Happy Times and see what all this rejoicing is about!  

~Cecily

Wedding Planning Madness…

These past couple weeks have been spent in wedding planning overdrive, and i must say, i am going a bit batty! Our wedding is 2 and a half months away (eek!), and i feel so unprepared! I’ve been planning for this day my entire life (not joking, i was “that” girl…you know,  the one who saved wedding photos since she was tiny for future inspiration for her “big day”…yeah…), and now that the time has come i feel like i’m running around like a chicken with her head sliced off.

I had a major wedding meltdown the other night…it was bad, just ask my husband (thank you honey for putting up with my crazy!). Between finding bridesmaid dresses that everybody likes, and budgeting, and calling cake places and flower shops and all of the above, i now completely understand why “Bridezillas” exists! It’s so true, i tell you!! These woman may not just be crazy on their own, it’s the wedding that drives them to act like a batty, fire breathing, raging mad wedding monster!! This i relate to this week.

(I wonder if i’ll look cute as a monster…hmm…)

All venting aside, we actually got some big things done these past weeks.

We booked our venue

I’m so happy with the place the wedding will be held at; it’s a beautiful and whimsy nature center in the town about half an hour out from my hometown, it’s perfect! Chason was actually the one to think of it, he remembered it from passing by when we were in Tx…i on the other hand having lived there my whole life never noticed it! ha! I don’t want to give much about it away but here’s a sneak peak!

I bought my wedding dress!!

Oh what a process this has been! I originally picked a dress back in March when i was in Tx. My mom and my sister were with me at this small little shop in the town over and the first dress i tried on was the one i picked…i loved it! It was such a beautiful dress with lovey beading, and it fit perfect. I had a wonderful time shopping with mi madre and mi hermana!

However, after months went by, i changed my mind on what kind of dress i wanted. I was looking for something more fun and spunky…this is how i feel with my husband so why not have my dress reflect that? Long story short, my mother in-law was sweet enough to come with me shopping this past Friday while i tried on six dresses. She really is a blessing, i would have had to go by myself if it wasn’t for her. It was such a fun experience to be taken in a dressing room and having different dresses be put on you! Love being the bride!! And my mom in-law is very sweet and we had a fun time getting to know eachother better though the day

After looking for a while it came down to two completely different dresses, both i loved! Finally after discussing the options over a lovely lunch with my mother in- law i came to a decision! Sooo, i have my dream dress!!! I freakin’ looove it!  It’s fun and spunky like i wanted, and also has elegance and sexiness! And i’m so excited for my husband to see me in it! <3

My passport came!

Chason booked us a honeymoon a couple months ago that required me to get my passport…i have no clue where we are going as he is keeping it a surprise and not even letting me ask questions! lol. All i know is that we are changing planes on another country! Epp! So excited!!!

So, while there are still a million things i have to do (like make invitations, book a cake, etc) these definitely are some happy positive things that have gotten taken care of and hopefully those things (along with watching Bridezilla marathons because they are strangely comforting at this time) will help me through the rest of the wedding planning madness! If you have any helpful tips to deal with wedding stress please feel free to share!

~Cecily

Sunday Date Night

Sunday Chason and i took a much needed night out. Work been stressful and we’ve been pretty worn out and claustrophobic for the past couple weeks.

We first made a small stop at David’s Bridal to take a look at some dresses because I’ve been having second thoughts about mine…i love it so much, but kind of think i want a little more “poof”.  Not  sure though, so we browsed a few i think i might go back and try on, which is weird because i despise David’s Bridal. It was fun looking with my husband there, i always thought i didn’t want him to see the dress before hand, but i like shopping with him

(i’m fun sized so flower girl dresses fit me lol)

After that we did a little Barns and Noble shopping for an HTML book for me to learn from. I’ve been going through PHP and JavaScript already in hopes to be more involved in the web design company my husband and i have. I love book stores with all my heart, i honestly could live in one…they have books, coffee, and comfy chairs & carpet…what could be more perfect?

We had dinner at Atlanta Bread, it my first time there and i have to say i’m a fan. I suppose it’s kind of like Panera but i really have never been to Panera so i can’t say for sure. I ordered the pesto chicken panini and mmm it was so good! The only thing i didn’t like was that they don’t have iced coffee…boo, i had to put ice in my coffee myself.  GA is too hot to drink hot coffee.

The main event was the movie; Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter! Oh yeah!

This movie is definitely worth a watch! Seeing Abraham Lincoln slice vampire heads off with an axe is pretty darn entertaining! Filled with lots of epic bloody vampire shots and Ab working the axe,  it had Chason and I laughing the whole time!!  Definitely going to buy it on dvd!

(happy with my hot date)

After food, books, and an awesome movie we were both smiling on the way home. I’m so glad we took the night out, lately with all life has required it has been hard to find time for us to just enjoy a nice date out. It really helps to renew your sense of fun with each other…and my husband is so fun and happy to be with Glad a married someone who is not only my husband but also my best friend. I truly enjoy going about life with this man

~Cecily

Fourth of July Fun

Last week we joined the rest of America in celebrating freedom and our great country….by eating tons of food and watching pretty explosions in the sky.

Independence day is one of my favorite holidays, along with New Years, if only for the reason that there are fireworks! Oh how I love fireworks! Normally every year my family and I head over to the bay in our small Texas town and watch the fireworks display go off over the bay front as kids ride the Ferris wheel at the carnival. It’s a loved family and town tradition. This Fourth of July was a bit different for me though, since I am no longer living in my home state, I had the opportunity to celebrate the Fourth with my husband and his family Georgia style

We started our celebration off with taking in the fireworks display down at Lake Dow, a community down the street from us. We ended up meeting Chason’s friend and his wife who were taking their little boy to see the show.  It was fun watching the beautiful colors exploding in the Georgia Sky with old friends of my husbands… watching them holding their son and pointing out the colors to him i couldn’t help but dream of us one day doing the same with our own little ones (yes, so girly

(beautiful fireworks at Lake Dow)

The next day we officially celebrated Independence Day with a big cookout with Chason’s parents. His mom made a delicious and refreshing watermelon slush that we all enjoyed out by the pool.

We swam and chilled for a bit under the warm summer sun, and then headed inside for the yummy feast!

(lots of food!)

(In-laws saying “hello” to my camera:)

Chason was the cook of the day, grilling burgers, hot dogs, and brats, for us all. I love the way my husband cooks, marinating and stuffing the dogs and burgers in jalapeno! Love that he likes hot food as much as i do!

The burgers, hot dogs, and brats, were all so good it was crazy! Spicy and so tasty! Chason decided to make his own “big dawg” (a place that we frequent around here) and put tons of chili and other toppings, have to say it was pretty close to the real thing!

(Chason enjoying his creation)

Later on that evening (after we didn’t feel so stuffed anymore), we dove into an ice cream cake that I had made earlier in the day.I made it to look like the flag by putting strawberries and blueberries on the top…i would post a photo but my blueberries were sliding off lol (guess I’ll freeze it longer next time! ha!).

We ended the day by Chason and I popping some fireworks he had left over from when he was a kid, and sitting out on the swing catching out some of the neighbors show as well.

It was a special day for us since last year we didn’t get to spend the holiday with each other because he was volunteering at Creation Fest and i (like a crazy person) stayed in Texas, so it was very sweet to spend one of my favorite holidays together this year

Hope your Independence Day was just as special!

~Cecily

Georgia summer <3

Oh summer, i really adore you Summer has always been my favorite time of year…i love Mr. Sun and his lovely heat! This year is my first official GA summer, and i have spent the first part of it well…working on my tan with daily dips in the pool with my husband, grilling out, yummy fruit drinks, horrible but oh so yummy foods like steak, hot wings, hot dogs, and sushi (oh my!). As well as lots of fun activities! We’ve been quite the on the go weekend people lately, which is different because on the weekends we normally just like to hunker down and cuddle lol. Trips to Six Flags, birthday parties and celebrations, as well as a visit to the Renascence Festival have kept our Summer calender full and very happy, and our hearts creating lovely memories. All of which i will be blogging about and sharing photos in the coming weeks. Today though, it is rainy and Mr. Sun is lazy, so instead of going out like we have been, today we are cuddling with some good movies and TV, and World of Warcraft…and nothing could make me happier than to just rest in my man’s arms <3

Yeah, i quite love summer

~Cecily