Behind the Scenes (wedding recap 1)

...but seriously, 

wedding recap 1 of 101. 

or 201. 

eh hem. 

I may be here a while,

feel free to scroll down for pics, 

and skip this trip down memory lane.

....................................................................

Ryan and I got engaged in November 2009.

On the same Florida beach where his parents renewed their vows.

It was a 'long weekend' type vacation,

where after several phone calls to airlines and workplaces 

we extended our stay to a 9 day vacation!

One night we were supposed to be going to dinner, 

and since I am THE WORST EVER with a sense of direction,

 I didn't realize when Ryan started driving me to a deserted beach at 8:00pm. 

Your girl sHm was HUNGRY!

He said lets walk on the beach.  

He must have remembered reading my eHarmony profile, 

"loves long walks on the beach, instead of eating dinner.....

...sharp ass seashells welcomed"

Anyway, the ONLY thing we KNEW was that we wanted to be with each other. 

For a while Ever.

and ever.

  and ever. 

HOLY $%&#! 

WHAT DID I GET MYSELF INTO?

Anyway, we are walking on the beach,

a few other late night beach goers are out...

I don't have the greatest memory, but one thing that is strong in my mind was the moon.

It appeared to be only yards away from us. 

The largest moon I have ever seen.

And we were holding hands, 

I'm not sure if Ryan was holding the ring box in his other hand or at one point just took it out of his pocket, but before I knew it we stopped walking, he said my name, and when I looked back 

he was on one knee.

He asked me if I would please spend

the rest of my life with him, 

I made ugly-face cry and shook my head yes.

Fast forward to today.

Already the DAY AFTER MY WEDDING.

Weird, because, once we became engaged the wedding questions started flowing.

when?

where?

who?

how much?

what?

why?

We had decided we wanted to have a 'long engagement' 

and basically not go into foreclosure on our home for a wedding.

  Plus being engaged meant so much to us, and we knew it was the RIGHT CHOICE (for us)

And thats how we even got to this point:

---------------------------------------------------

Wedding Recap: Rehearsal Dinner

The rehearsal dinner was held by Sarah Street Grill and hosted by Ryan's parents.

We had a 'party' of 26 or so, and it was a menu 'free for all' 

Basically burgers (and beer) and cheesesteaks for everyone!

I got my bridesmaids THIS NECKLACE 

for a SMALL token of how much I appreciate all the:

HARD WORK

TIME

 MONEY

*PATIENCE*

Ryan and I also decided to get a little something for our moms and for his Grandma.

(why Grandma "Geeg" in a later post) 

After the rehearsal I spent the night away from Ryan with his SISTER at the hotel.

We hung out in the morning, mimosa'd, bagel'd, facebook'd, blog'd and got our hair and make-up did.

I chose THIS AVEDA SALON for all of the female bridal party. (thanks Jessi)

my GORGEOUS mom, looking all FAB and me, all..... grungy

 LIMO TIME!

Diana, Tara, Lissette, Me, the weirdo laying down is my new SiL. #HELP

To Be Continued...