Tidbits & Honeymoon Pics...

We've just returned from a long weekend in Winter Park, FL where we spent three lovely days visiting with my Papa. He turns 92 in a two weeks and so Dan and I decided to go down there to have an early birthday celebration with him. Spending time with my Papa always makes me so happy (I talked here about my experience living with him and my Nana at the beach one summer). It's always been that way with my family. There is something so special about being surrounded by the people who really know you -- the people who's blood and history you share.

Most of our evenings were spent quietly at his apartment just relaxing, sharing stories and "visiting" (with the exception of last night when we ended up at CityWalk in Orlando with an old friend of Dan's who we met up with. Have you seen this place? It's insane! Vegas meets Disney meets Times Square. Somehow the night ended with me on stage of the Rising Star Karaoke Club singing "The First Cut is the Deepest" with a full band behind me -- an unexpected adventure thrown into our quiet, little trip :)

Anyhoo, back to our quiet visits with Papa -- one of things we did one night was share wedding and honeymoon pictures. We did a slideshow from Dan's computer, and some of the pictures I hadn't even seen since they were transferred from his camera to the computer. He got some really incredible photos in Hawaii, especially the night shots (he's got a good camera and an even better eye), and I just have to share :)

So as somewhat of a continuation from the last post, here are a few of those pictures (these are all Maui). He really captured the romantic, magical-ness of Hawaiian Nights in these photos. Aren't they dreamy?






**

And a few from the weekend:

...at a French Bistro in Winter Park...


...Papa's birthday celebration...!


...karaoke time...

Aloha! {the honeymoon}

Although Dan and I both have very long lists of many places around the world that we'd love to visit (high on the list for me right now: Italy and Greece), when it came time to pick our honeymoon destination, it was a fairly easy choice. We wanted a) sun, sand and tropical drinks b) beautiful sunsets to provide the perfect romantic backdrop, and c) tiki torches lit up against a clear and starry sky. That landed us in beautiful, dreamy Hawaii and we couldn't have been happier with our choice.

With six days in Kauai followed by six days in Maui, it was an absolutely lovely honeymoon -- 12 days of soaking up the sun, boat rides, naps on the beach, snorkeling, candle-lit dinners and luaus. Perfect.

Wedding Thoughts - Part 5 {the reception}

While our guests were cocktail-houring up on the terrace (photos can be seen here), Dan and I stole away for a private photo shoot. It was nice to have some alone time to enjoy our first few minutes of married life together. Some of my favorite shots from that:




We had a few more moments alone together as we waited up on the terrace to be announced. The setting was absolutely breathtaking and I just remember trying to soak it all in, feeling so alive and at peace, as the sounds of our friends and families' laughter filled the air. It was a nice moment.



Finally, it was time for the reception to begin (yay!). We were announced into the tent, which looked spectacular & so magical, had our first dance to Eric Clapton's Wonderful Tonight, then settled in for the toasts. My dad delivered an absolutely hilarious and touching toast, followed by a few sweet words from my step-dad, George, then toasts from the best man and matron of honor (two people who know how to do funny).




Dinner was a whirlwind of attempting to eat the tasty food while also connecting to and laughing with our dear guests who stopped by our table for a visit (and I loved soaking up all of their lovely comments about the ceremony which, I had to agree, was the best ceremony ever :)

The weather continued to be crisp and Fall-like, and as the sun set behind the Blue Ridge Mountains while we dined, the setting was transformed from beautiful to catch-your-breath gorgeous. (Even these beautiful pictures don't convey how magical it really was).



After dinner we unveiled our big surprise of the evening -- the band!



Anyone who knows me knows that I am a total Beatles nut, and while, admittedly, we initially wondered whether a Beatles tribute band might be a tad over the top for a wedding, we decided to go for it anyway, and were SO GLAD we did! We managed to keep this element hidden from most of our guests and their reactions at the "unveiling" were priceless. The band was unbelievable and we all spent the rest of the night singing our hearts out and dancing up a storm. I've never had so much fun in all my life. I was in heaven! [Live Beatles' music + wedding love + dancing w/ all your favorite people = UTTER, inexplicable JOY].





I could have used another hour or two of music and dancing and laughing with Dan and our guests, but, alas, eventually it was time for the party to end. After all of our goodbyes we made our way down the path towards the getaway car through a sea of sparklers. Magic.



When we reached end of the driveway, I looked back at all the twinkly lights of the sparklers behind us and felt this incredible swell of emotions. It just looked so beautiful, everything all lit up, and I could just feel the outpouring of love coming from everyone, all of these people who meant so much to us. It was one of those electrifying moments in life when you realize that THIS, this is what it's all about. Moments like this. Sigh. It was truly the most amazing day of my life.


{action shot: driving away w/ the wind in our hair. and onto the next adventure -- Hawaii!!}

Boo

...a little break from the wedding recaps to bring you some Halloween cheer from me, Dan and Albert...(that's our pumpkin, Albert. We carved him that happy, little face right up here in our living room on the UWS. And I realized that Albert was the first pumpkin I'd carved in about 20 years. Albert has reminded me of the joys of pumpkin carving. And the fun that Fall can be)...

Happy Halloween, my friends. Hope it's full of your own Fall-Fun, spooks and Alberts galore.

Wedding Thoughts - Part 4 {ceremony, con't...}

After my brother David delivered his wedding charge, which as I mentioned before was so beautiful and touching, it was time for Erin's special music and our private time of prayer. She wowed everyone with an incredible rendition of Paul McCartney's Maybe I'm Amazed (one of my all-time favorite love songs) and Dan had me in tears as he held my hand tightly and whispered heartfelt prayers.




And then it was time for the vows -- probably my favorite moment of the entire ceremony. We chose to write and recite personal vows to one another and then exchange traditional vows following that. His words to me were so beautiful and sweet, it was a serious struggle to keep it together. We decided to memorize them, which I am glad for because we were able to look each other in the eye, which made it feel more genuine (it was also helpful on the honeymoon when I requested to hear those beautiful vows again. Which I did. A lot. And still do :)

A snippet of Dan's vows (edited):
In all my life I didn't think that what we have was possible. You came into my life and single-handedly made me very optimistic about the future ... I come here today in complete confidence of our relationship and our future ... Your heart and your kindness are what first drew me to you, but I will love you for all of my days for no other reason than because you are you.

And a snippet of mine (edited):
You make me happier than I have ever been in my entire life. Since being with you there has been this peace and joy and fullness in me that was never there before ... I promise to love you deeply for the rest of my life, to laugh with you, to care for you, to stand by you, to travel the world with you and live life to the fullest with you ... You are truly the love of my life and I thank God every day that He brought you to me.




I was so full to the brim with excitement & emotion, and SO relieved that the 'public speaking' portion of the ceremony was over with, I could hardly keep still for the rest of the ceremony (as evidenced by my giddy, ants-in-the-pants moves caught on video and in pictures).

After the traditional vows and the exchanging of the rings it was the moment we'd been waaaaiting for: the pronouncement and kiss...




And then just like that...husband and wife!



{up next: the reception! thanks for sticking with me on these recaps. don't know how interesting they are for the rest of the world, but i've found it incredibly rewarding to look back on all of these moments and process them through writing. so thanks for indulging me whilst I process :)}

Wedding Thoughts - Part 3 {ceremony - the readings}

Choosing the readings proved to be a difficult task. We spent months googling and flipping through our books, trying to find the perfect excerpts to reflect *us* and capture the mood/tone of what we wanted. All along we knew we wanted one scripture reading and one literary reading, but I was very set on venturing outside the box and away from the typical wedding/love readings. Here is what we ended up with:

Song of Songs 2:10-13, 8:6-7 read by the lovely Melissa:

Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away;
for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If one offered for love all the wealth of his house,
it would be utterly scorned.

I love that first part: for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come... because it is so fitting for us. I speak for us both when I say that there were some dark and rainy days, relationship-wise, prior to meeting one another. And now finally, thankyouJesus, winter truly has passed so let the singing begin!!



The second reading was an excerpt from Donald Miller's book Blue Like Jazz, a book that is incredibly special to us, and there was no one more perfect to read it at the ceremony than my New York roommate Cynthia (the story & meaning behind Blue Like Jazz coming soon!):

I will love you, as sure as He loved me. I will discover what I can discover and though you remain a mystery, save God’s own knowledge, what I disclose of you I will keep in the warmest chamber of my heart, the very chamber where God has stowed Himself in me. And I will do this to my death, and to death it may bring me.

I will love you like God, because of God, mighted by the power of God. I will stop expecting your love, demanding your love, trading for your love, gaming for your love. I will simply love. I am giving myself to you, and tomorrow I will do it again. I suppose the clock itself will wear thin its time before I am ended at this altar of dying and dying again. God risked Himself on me. I will risk myself on you. And together, we will learn to love, and perhaps then, and only then, understand this gravity that drew Him, unto us.




...to be continued...

Wedding Thoughts - Part 2 {let the ceremony begin...}

I thought I was going to be a hot mess when I saw my dad waiting for me outside, but surprisingly I managed to hold it together. The details of our exchange are a bit fuzzy now (due to my crazy-nerve haze) but I *do* recall nervously jabbering away like a monkey about everything from his spiffy tux to my red shoes and asking a million questions like: are there really people here? ohmygosh, who's here?? wait, did you see the people?

When we got the signal to start walking (we had quite a hike from the house to the arch way and then down the aisle) my dad whispered calming words to me as the nerves welled by the minute [note: I must mention that these nerves ("wedding nerves") are unlike any kind of nerves I've ever expereinced before, such as "audition nerves" or "gig nerves". Wedding nerves are huge, indescribable swells of emotion mixed with intense butterflies, rapid heart rate and the feeling of standing on the edge of something Very Big and Very Good (with just a hint of extreme anxiety because, seriously -- so. many. eyes. on. me! ACK)].



But once we got to the aisle and I saw those eyes -- Dan's beautiful eyes that were absolutely shining with love for me -- everything else just faded away, nerves included. By the time we reached the front, everything just clicked into place and I felt so alive, so full. I was suddenly acutely aware of all of the love surrounding me, not only from Dan, but from my dad on my right side, my mom on my left, my brother in front of me (he was our officiant and delivered the most beautiful, personable weding charge), all of my girls with tears in their eyes. I felt absolutely cocooned in love. And when the ceremony began at last, Dan's eyes shining with tears, my brother's voice breaking with emotion, I felt like I was going to burst with happy tears/love/emotion.



...to be continued...

{I just can't leave out these pics though -- some of my favorites: Dan's nephews trying to catch a glimpse of the bride, and Dan's reaction to his first glimpse of the bride :)}