The Calm Before the Storm

We're married!!! Our wedding turned out beautifully and the day could not have run more smoothly. Before I post pictures and stories about our honeymoon, I thought I'd try to relive our wedding weekend a bit. Thank you all for sharing this special time with us.

I took the week before our wedding off work and I am SO glad I did. I didn't realize how many last minute details needed to be taken care of and I was running around like a crazy woman all week. This was the fun stuff though and I didn't have work to worry about so it didn't bother me.

John and I visited the LA County Recorder's Office to pick up our marriage license. While we were there I called Grams to confirm that Mom was born in Downey and she told me, no, Becky was born in Mexico! Hahaha, it took me a second to realize she was kidding!

I got my hair done on Monday morning...

We also got a relaxing couple's massage on Tuesday evening, complete with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. It was a nice little escape from all of the wedding errands.

Kylie came up on Thursday which was a huge help! She ran some errands for me and helped me pack up all of our wedding supplies and to-do lists that would be provided to the church coordinator, the country club coordinator, photographer, etc. I also got my spray tan on Thursday night and woke up on Friday morning with a slight issue...my neck (of all places!) was blotchy and I had to go get it touched up!

Friday was when all of the festivities began! The rest of my family came up that morning and we had a great brunch at the Kolbeck's house. This is one of the times that John and I were looking forward to most...the calm before the storm that we used to spend some quiet, quality time with our parents and siblings. We passed out gifts and showed a preview of the video that was played at our reception. There were lots of tears, laughter, hugs and love!

Ready for mimosas!

What a nice spread!

The Red Plates

Amber, Camille, Kylie

Sisters

M and D

Friday was full of more errands and preparation...putting the final touches on wedding party gifts, picking up cake pops, dropping off supplies for the reception, and the list goes on. Our rehearsal started at 5pm at Claremont Presbyterian Church. We really weren't sure what to expect and needed a bit of practice but it was so much fun seeing everyone and working through exactly how we wanted our ceremony to look.

Our rehearsal dinner was held at the home of a close friend of the Kolbeck's, Gail. She was so sweet to open her home to all of us AND to cook all of that delicious food. John loves her ribs and I cannot get enough of her potatoes au gratin and buttered rolls!! It was the perfect way to sit and relax and chat with our family and friends. Friday night I had a slumber party with Kylie and Camille. We all shared a bed so I didn't end up getting too much sleep. :P

We got up before the sun the next morning to take showers and head to South Hills Country Club for hair and makeup. To Be Continued...

It's Wedding Week!!

Hope you all had a great weekend. We are wrapping up Sunday Night Football and preparing for wedding week! I have the entire week off and could not be more excited about it. Up until now, I've had lots of work AND lots of wedding stuff to worry about...both seemed like a full time job. Now I can just sit back, relax and get the last minute things done.



Today I worked on getting the end to end wedding day schedule down. Now I just need to make different versions...one for bridesmaids, one for groomsmen, one for the ceremony, one for the reception, etc.

Tomorrow I have my last hair appointment, our final meeting with the pastor, a walk-through at the church and a dance lesson. Yes, I said dance lesson! It's actually really fun and helps us look a little more official. :)

The rest of the week I'll be working on different odds and ends. Tuesday we have a couples massage scheduled. Wednesday I have a walk-through with our photographer. Thursday is nails and tanning. And Kylie comes to town!!!

Friday is when the festivities officially begin. We are having a breakfast with our parents and siblings on Friday morning. I like to call this the calm before the storm. Then last minute errands on Friday and the rehearsal. Hopefully there is no rain!!

Saturday is the day!!! We are so excited! Can't wait to see everyone soon!

We Are Officially Next!!

This weekend we attended the last Kolbeck family wedding before ours. It was beautiful and so good to see everyone.

The wedding was on the hill in Cardiff-by-the-Sea and located at the pool area of the housing development that they live in. The view is always breathtaking up there. This time around it was MUCH hotter than I ever expected with very little wind, considering it was so close to the beach.

The bride is John's cousin, Misty. Her new husband is PK Marshall, who moved to San Diego from the East Coast several years ago. It was kind of fun to see both coasts represented.

The wedding was beautiful and suited the bride and groom personalities perfectly. After a brief and personalized Ceremony, we were escorted to the nearby koi pond for cocktail hour. We then made our way back to the pool area where the reception was held and we remained for the rest of the evening. The sun was setting just as the wedding party made their entrance.

The atmosphere was casual with appetizer stations instead of a sit down dinner. The fish tacos were delish!! We danced the night away and mingled with friends and family until the bride and groom kicked it up a notch by jumping in the pool!! In her dress!! It was actually a very romantic moment for the two of them and made for some great pictures! The rest of the wedding party joined them and soon everyone was trying to find someone to throw in. I survived but was thoroughly entertained!!

After four or five family weddings in this calendar year alone, it is finally our turn!!! Can't wait for my bridal shower this weekend! I'm keeping busy tying up all the loose ends and praying that it all comes together!

Let the Countdown Begin!!

Our wedding day is 2 months from today!!! Let the countdown begin! There are so many fun little details that we are working to pull together. I'm excited to see how everything turns out.

Invitations went out late last week! We had so much fun designing them, printing them at the Infinity Printing shop and assembling all of the pieces.

This weekend I have my hair and makeup trial and another dress fitting. This way I'll know exactly what my day-of ensemble will look like.

This is my first post on the new blogger iPhone app so I'm hoping it works ok. More to come soon! XOXO

Bachelorette Party

Bachelorette parties are a great way to honor the bride-to-be, help her say farewell to singledom, and, if we're being honest, just an excuse to have a good time with your girlfriends!! My bachelorette party was in early August and, let's just say that I'm glad I'll only be doing this once!

It was an AMAZING weekend hosted by my beautiful sissy, BFF and MOH, Kylie in Las Vegas! The itinerary was exactly what I wanted and the whole weekend could not have gone more smoothly.

We had 10 or so girls and two huge adjoining rooms at the Palazzo. Kylie had every inch decorated in fabulous pink, black and white decor...balloons, signs, streamers, etc.

I arrived to this...which got us many knocks at the door over the course of the weekend.

As silly as it might sound, my group of college girlfriends has wanted to dress up as Disney princesses for Halloween for years and it's never happened. There is a site now called DisneyBound that puts together Disney inspired outfits using everyday clothing and accessories. It's adorable!!! My MOH Camille put together her own version of DisneyBound to give us some inspiration for night #1.

Here's how it turned out...

Cinderella & Rapunzel

It's hard to see but here you've got Ariel, Pocahontas, Cruella DeVil, Rapunzel, Cinderlla, Lilo, Snow White,  Tinkerbell, and Sleeping Beauty!!

After a few bachelorette games in the room, we headed to Tao nightclub located right next door in the Venetian. On Saturday, we went to Marquee Day Club at the new Cosmopolitan hotel. It's a massive, out of control pool party with some great people watching. We all started with our adorable 'Bling Bling' shirts...

...then had our own little black and yellow pool party...which was such a creative idea!! (Black and yellow are our wedding colors!!)

Saturday night was LBD (Little Black Dress) night. I wore white and the girls wore black and it turned out to be so cute! We went to dinner at Sushi Samba, which was one of the best dinners I've ever had!! Highly recommended!!

 

All in all, it was amazing weekend and I felt so special and loved!!! It took me a good week to recover so, like I said, I'm glad I'll only be doing this once!!

Time to go home!!

Thank you to Kylie, Camille and all of my wonderful beautiful friends for an awesome weekend!!!

Here are some more pics: