Wedding Diary :: Part II

The Dress

I was the kind of girl who dreamed about her wedding her entire life, particularly the dress. I was always sketching up ideas, making prototypes for my barbies, I even worked for a dress shop where I spent the weekends wearing wedding dresses for bridal fairs. But when it actually came to looking for the dress, I avoided it. The thrill of shopping was gone, everything felt so frilly and poofy, and just NOT ME. A lot of good ideas (and some silly ones) were thrown around. I finally, in a spontaneous moment of desperation, ordered a dress from online. When it arrived, I tried it on in my parent's bedroom. I had that "yes, this is the one" moment, and then my mom and I cried :).

The dress is Jcrew (no longer available) I ordered 2 since I didn't know what size I'd be, and I had a giftcard & searched online for promo codes, it was a total steal :). My mom added a chiffon ruffle around the neck and skirt, as well as a remnant from her own wedding dress, tucked away on the inside, like a little secret just for us.

These bridals were actually taken 2 years after we were married! We had to take a rain-check on our original bridal shoot date when I became sick. Turns out prancing around in your wedding dress two years later is a total blast!

*photos by the talented Elise Lauren
*flowers by me (from my mother's garden)

Wedding Diary :: Part I

On December 25th 2009, Brando and I exchanged what felt like our millionth "I love you" and picked a date: June 25th 2010. It had to be June, we both insisted (this song convinced me it was the only month worth marrying in, and Brando swears the last week of June is the greenest in Utah). The first two months of "engagement" were a drag (and to most, a complete secret) but as soon as he knelt down on one knee and that heirloom ring was on my finger, time flew by! It was filled with dress shopping, engagement photos, reception planning, our first silly fights as engagees, little sleep, poor grades, and falling even more in love. And then, when everything seemed finalized except a few little odd ends here and there, disaster struck. I became very ill. Most of those two weeks leading to my wedding are a blur. What I do remember are several visits to the ER, doctor after doctor after doctor, prayers from family and friends, fear in my parents faces, confusion in Brando's. I felt defeated. I recall one very real and serious conversation with my parents and Brando: would we postpone? Up until this moment, my mind was still concerned with the details of the wedding: the flowers and invites and dress and such. But when the reality of the wedding not happening was present, the only thing that mattered to me was that Brando and I were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on June 25th. If there was no luncheon, no photos, no covering up my tired eyes and sickly body, so be it, I would become his wife on June 25th. !!! that bit of fire in me, along with surgery, prayers and blessings from so many people, and miracles from God, I did become his wife AND made it through the entire day with an energy still foreign to me!



What happened in the temple was very sacred, it's not something I can put words to. The feeling is easier to describe: I felt like, up until that moment, I had only been a small part of me, almost as though I were one-dimensional, though I didn't know it. I had been living my life the fullest I could, but by becoming Brando's wife, I became closer to me, closer to God, and closer to whole. I expanded. My heart and mind and spirit grew in an instant, with more room. More room for God, for Brando, for a family we would create together, and somehow, more room for me: the me I needed to become.

Our Third Year

This Tuesday, Brandon and I celebrate our third year as Husband & Wife.
!!!

As I've gone through images, relics, and journal entries these past few days, I've been a total water works. I have such lovely memories of that day that we said yes to being husband and wife for eternity. Eternity! and I never really did our wedding justice on this blog, so if you don't mind, this entire week will be dedicated to just that: the most beautiful day of my life; the ins, the outs, the people who made it great, the butterflies in our stomaches, all of it!

Our Third Year...
I can't even...
!!!

*all images posted throughout this week are by Elise Lauren. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better photographer, I get all teary eyed just thinking about her because I will forever be grateful she was there, working her magic. Be sure to check out her website & blog.

San Francisco Film

"If you're alive, you can't be bored in San Francisco.  If you're not alive, San Francisco will bring you to life."

-William Saroyan