First Anniversay - Reminicing on our Wedding Day

Since I'm 10 months pregnant on our first anniversary and can't really do too much, we spent a good chunk of the day hanging out and reminiscing on our wedding day. Now I remember why I never put it in the blog - there are SO many pictures and stories it was overwhelming trying to put it all together. But in honor of our special day I decided to narrow it down to just the favorites that I felt represented our wedding day/trip well. You can see most of the others, including pre and post wedding fun and the honeymoon on our Flicker account by clicking here (tip, be sure to select "albums" in order to see them in a more organized way), but here are my favorites from that day... 

Not really a wedding shot but this picture represents something that I loved the most about our wedding. This was the morning of our wedding, just hours before the festivities began. Nate was off with the guys snorkeling and I was with my MOH and bridesmaids relaxing at the pool (missing Julie who was caring for her 5 week old at this moment!). It reminds me of how much we wanted to focus on truly enjoying the moments, relaxing, and taking it all in and this picture is a great example of how we achieved just that. Never did I think that just hours before walking down the aisle I would be chillin at the pool on a beautiful island with my sisters. Wouldn't trade it for the world.

Threw this in for fun - the guys mocking us the day after the wedding :)

Such dapper dudes! I would like to thank Cassie who reminded the guys that they had to stop snorkeling because they were about to be late for pictures!

Wanting to honor our grandparents that are no longer with us, I wore my grandmother's earrings and my very first piece of real jewelry - the gold bracelet my grandparents gave me when I was little.

Takes a village to get you ready I tell ya! High fives for a secret reason only the girls in that room know about ;)

Loved the view, my dress and my hair - done by no other than Julie of course!

All ready to head to "first look" photos!

At first I wasn't so sure about doing first look photos because I felt I would miss the traditional moment when he sees me come down the aisle. But I'm happy we did it this way. There was still that wow factor, we saved time by doing the photos in advance and got a chance to have a few private moments before the ceremony. Plus we wanted beach shots not at the hotel and it would've been a pain and a lot of time trying to get everyone to a separate beach after the ceremony. If anything, I feel like it added to the experience rather than taking anything away.

I'll never forget how awkward taking all these pictures was! Nate and I just aren't that good/into it but we had fun anyway mostly by telling jokes and laughing at ourselves which I'm sure made the task more difficult for the photographer!

Loved this private moment and walk ... until some kids ran across my train to get to the water. Little jerks.

Getting this shot with the veil not over my head was a huge accomplishment let me tell you!

This is what kept happening, which ended up being a really cute shot. About 10 seconds after this shot a gust of wind came and shoved the veil in my mouth, choking me. Not so graceful as this picture leads you to believe.

Love the love.

Heartbreaking moment - our niece Alaina wanted me to pick her up but I couldn't risk it with the dress since it was before the ceremony. I felt like a horrible auntie when she just couldn't understand why I wouldn't cuddle and pick her up.

Nate: "my turn!"

Best Man badge was ever present the entire trip!

Love my MOH!

Always breaking into a dance party.

Break from the seriousness. We're still 10 at heart :)

My absolute favorite picture of my girls. This picture just makes me feel their love and support everytime I look at it.

Cute candid moment leaving the beach.

Alaina was more interested in getting into the fountain than taking a picture in front of it. She could not get enough swimming time the entire trip!

Honoring Nate's grandparents that are in heaven - his Grandfather's ring passed down to him and his Grandmother's bible to carry our rings out.

Not one pedal dropped by this flower girl. Just a mad dash down the aisle :)

Nate's dad giving our reading.

Sealed with a kiss!

This one solely because of Nate's expression.

So much gratitude and love for our entire group that made the trip with us!!

We did it!!

I love all the silly pictures we ended up with, especially this bromance moment with Terry in my veil. While silly, this picture is another example of another big thing I loved about our wedding trip. We were combining my friends from MI with Nate's friends from MI, my friends from DC with Nate's friends from DC, most of which had never met before. I knew everyone would have a good time but the way our friends bonded on this trip was an unexpected surprise and couldn't have made us happier. Here's to our "vacation club"!

The exact spot where Nate proposed, featuring THE palm tree!

We're so cool. Really hope our kids agree one day.

Megan brought the tears during her speech, naturally. No one will fully understand what this woman means to me, I love her so much! When they gave my big brother Brenden a mic I was confused. Didn't know he had wanted to give a speech as he's not typically that kind of guy. I about died when I realized he wasn't giving a speech. Instead, he was reading a letter I had him write when I was 4 years old to my first crush - Michael J. Fox. My brothers had saved all these letters I had written to bring them out as a surprise on my wedding day. So hilarious and precious at the same time!

Enjoying the Best Man's speech. Nate and Jonathan's bond is definitely as strong as could be, a true brotherhood. Jonathan surprised us all by following up his awesome speech by singing "It Had to be You" flawlessly. I'll never forget it!

Dancing during the instrumental piece.

Again, proof of our coolness. Also reminds me of that bustle that just would not work. We finally just said to hell with it and tied the stinkin thing up and around my waist. Meh, didn't care at that point!

Matty Ice in all his glory.

It was definitely party time!

What wedding doesn't end with the wedding party in the pool?!

Just another example of how our wedding turned out how we had hoped - amazing, fun, relaxing and not too serious. It's all about the experiences and stories created along the way and we're so thankful for everyone that had a part in it. I just want to do it all over again, and again, and again!!!