It's here! Our wedding album!!

Part of our wedding photography package was that we got an album - the promise was a 20 page, hard-back, image-wrapped photobook.We got 30 pages (for the same price!), and couldn't be more in love with it.

But let me tell you, picking photos for that book was hard. We parred our fabulous, rockin', 18 hour wedding day into 72 photos. Seventy Two. That's it. Our photographers gave us over 1,200 photos - not all of them were fantastic of course, but most of them were. That means we could choose only 6% of our total photo quota. Yikes. And then of course, we wrestled with the ideal of what we wanted our photo book to be. Did we want an elegant book? Did we want fun images of our loved ones? We ended up with a combination of both - fun, artsy photos, and pictures of our families having a great time.

So what did we get? Here's a look at our oh so fabulous wedding album!

 Our front cover

 First page - detail of my dress, shoes, and rings

 Gorgeous shots during our ceremony

 Beautiful solo shots on historic Main Street (and yes, the cars stopped for us)

 

Reception shots!

 And it came in a gorgeous, hard case to protect it

Many many thanks to Adler Photography for the gorgeous shots!

(source, because the logo is fantastic)

On The Other Side.

The past two weekends, Sean and I have had the pleasure of going to not one, but two weddings. They were gorgeous, outdoor ceremonies, and fantastic receptions (one more so than the other). There were completely different from each other and from ours, but wonderful nonetheless. One wedding was to the tunes of bagpipes - the other, to Autobots and Star Wars. They were great.

But it was so weird.

To not be part of the planning. To not be the one with butterflies. To not be reveling in all of my own hard work.

They're the first weddings we've been to as a married couple, and it was so much sweeter than any wedding I was at before my own. To have my husband sit next to me, squeezing my hand as certain parts of the ceremony occurred, and smiling at each other, knowing exactly how they feel up at that altar. It's beautiful people. Just beautiful.

I can't wait for the 2+ others we have this year!

And because we're terrible at taking photos of ourselves, here's one from our first wedding we went to!

Homemade Chocolate Frosting.

Ever get in one of those moods for some rich, smooth chocolate?

This icing will solve that.

It's smooth, chocolatey, and super super rich. It's fantastic. Not a frosting fan? You'll like this one.

I discovered this lovely frosting in college, because I didn't have any on hand, and, well, too lazy to go to the store. I did, however, have powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and evaporated milk (what can I say? My best procrastination was spent baking with Lyndsey).

Make it. And love it.

Homemade Chocolate Frosting
2 3/4 cups powdered sugar
6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
6 Tbsp butter, softened
5 Tbsp evaporated milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, sift together powdered sugar and cocoa - set aside

In a large bowl cream butter until smooth. Then gradually beat in sugar mixture, alternating with evaporated milk.

Blend in vanilla, and beat until fluffy.

Adjust consistency with evaporated milk or sugar, if needed.

Blog Funk

I've been in a bit of a blogging funk lately.

I'm not really sure why, but I'm sure that there's a multitude of reasons that are contributing. I love my new job, but it's physically and mentally taxing, and while I'm still getting used to it, I'm just exhausted when I get home. My energy goes towards dinner, cleaning, and crafting - though I'm not blogging about it :p. I have however been doing some crafts. I have a huge project on my hands, and I'm really excited about it. I seriously can't wait to blog about it, but it's going to be a little while. I also have another project I'm looking to do, but that's another post.

We're moving in August. We don't know where we're moving to yet, but it's a definite. We're looking through the school's housing program, but it's still a very iffy situation since we're 3 months out.

It's wedding season! We went to a wedding yesterday, and we have another one next week. Yesterday was Chris and Aubrey's - the ceremony was wonderful. It was outdoors, she was bagpiped in, and the weather was perfect. There weren't enough chairs, but it was only about 20 minutes. The reception was a little rougher though. Cold food, only beer and water (not even soda!) were served, and one of the speakers blew. Oh, and the DJ racially insulted one of the law school kids. Not cool. I'm just hoping the bride doesn't find out - I would have been mortified!! I'm really excited for next weekend's though :) (JLINNNNNNN)

I'm also looking into a new camera for Europe. I don't want to take the plunge for a DSLR, but I'd still like a camera that I can take quality photos with. I know I definitely want a camera with optical zoom, and I'd like adjustable shutter speed also. I know I don't want an ultra-compact one - I rather have something a bit heftier. Probably in the $200-300 range. I really need to just look at reviews and such, but anyone have any suggestions for a DSLR/compact hybrid? I'd appreciate it!

Anyway. I'm off to work on my little project. I'll have pictures about it in a while!!

Anticipation.

Guys.

59 days.

That's less than two months.

And we will be on one of these

 

(source)

To our honeymoon!!!

We're flying out of Atlanta, on a Delta Airbus. We took the plunge and ponied up $60 extra bucks a person for "Economy Comfort"- basically, free booze and more leg room. It's basically half-way in between first class and coach, but as Delta doesn't have first class on international flights (only Business Elite), it's our best option. 

But, in any case, we're super excited that we're under the two month mark for our trip! I'm looking into buying a new camera, and we're also looking into prepaid international cell phones as a just in case scenario. And of course, we're scouring the internet for any previous Disney cruisers - we know that it's different than any other experience out there!! 

We're planning on doing all of the areas except for Florence by ourselves - and that's only because Florence is TWO HOURS from the port. We don't want to risk getting "left behind". The rest of the excursions are far too expensive for us, and we know that we can get by just fine. We'll of course get a guide book, but for the most part, we're just winging it!

TGIF. 5 Questions!

Okay, I've totally failed lately at blogging. Apologies. It was a busy, hectic week. This weekend my best friends were in town, we had a blast, and dealt with the chaos of my apartment. Our apartment is finally put back together, though this weekend they're coming in and making sure there aren't any other water problems (we're pretty sure there IS a leak in the wall). Luckily we're going home to celebrate my brothers' graduation, and we're taking Ella with us to avoid any problems with her. I've been opening at work, and therefore my days start around 5 am (except for today, clearly).

Enough of my rambling. Let's get on with those questions!

1. Do you apologize to your kids?
I clearly don't have babies yet, so I really can't answer this one. I don't know what my parenting style is going to be, so who knows?

2. What color are your nails right now?
Their natural color. I work with trucks people. I don't paint my nails. And to be honest, I haven't really painted my nails since I started color guard (wasn't allowed) my sophomore year of high school.

3. When you were growing up, how difficult was it for you to stay home from school sick?
For the first 3-4 years, really hard. I went to school no matter what. And then, every time my parents sent me to school with an upset stomach, I puked. And I NEVER made it to the bathroom. From then on, it was easy :P

4. When is the last time you bought a new comforter for your bed?
Two years ago. Sean and I got our alternative down, microsuede comforter on sale at black Friday. Best 3 am ever.

5. Favorite website?
TBH, I don't know. Probably Facebook, because I can keep in touch with everyone. Love it!