9.18.10

It has already been 2 months since I became Mrs. Dunn! We got our wedding photos in the mail this week so now I can finally post about our amazing wedding day and have pictures to go along with it! 

We chose our wedding date of September 18th because this is the date we celebrate every year as our "anniversary".  We don't exactly know when we became "boyfriend/girlfriend", so we use the 18th as our date since it was our first kiss!  When Matt proposed last November, I knew we had to make it work to have our wedding on 9/18.  It even fell on a Saturday in 2010 so it couldn't have been more perfect.  On our wedding day, we had been together for 6 years! High school sweethearts through and through :).

Engaged 11/20 at Monument Circle

If you know me at all, you know my phone is my life.  Well, not my life and I guess not just my phone...my calendar in my phone.  I use it for everything and I would feel so lost without it.  Here is what it said that day...

Our wedding and reception were outside under tents at Riehle Plaza in downtown Lafayette.  It was absolutely perfect.  It was so cool to see the plaza transformed into our wedding venue.

The day started at the salon with my girls where we got our hair done. My cousin brought us some McDonald's egg mcmuffins and mimosas...quite the combo :). I also went to Merle Norman to get my makeup done. I am not the best at doing my makeup so I thought I'd let a professional take care of it on my wedding day.

 Here are a few shots of the details...

My awesome dress

There was actually a flower that looked very similar to this that was on the top left of my dress.  We ended up taking it off the dress, making it into a hairpiece, and that is what I wore in my hair!

Only fitting to have a CityBus in a picture...we did have our wedding at the train/bus depot  :)

GO COLTS!

LOVED my shoes and flowers! I love green :)

The beautiful rings

I had some bridal shots taken before the wedding and my handsome groom did as well :).

I love how my flowers pop against the white of the dress and veil :)

My favorite! He is just so handsome :)

Matt and I decided to do a "first look", which means that we saw each other before the ceremony.  It was just the two of us (and the incognito photographers) alone; no one was able to see us together, and it was so amazing. I know a lot of people don't like the idea of seeing each other before because it makes walking down the aisle "not as special" or it's "superstitious", (and I thought this way too at first), but it was actually the best thing we chose to do.  I felt like we had that half hour before to just relax and spend some one-on-one time together before the craziness of the wedding.  We also got to take our time for our pictures and didn't have to hurry to make it to the reception.  I still got butterflies and got emotional walking down the aisle to my husband, and Matt says he still felt that rush of me walking down the aisle. I felt that seeing each other before made it that much more exciting to walk down the aisle, and much less nerve-wrecking.  I am SO SO SO happy we chose to do this and I would recommend it to anyone who is considering it!

Walking out of the elevator with Matt having his back turned

:)

This was so cool :)

Here are just a few of my favorites of the two of us...

My beautiful bridesmaids

And the handsome groomsmen

The whole party

Our ceremony was beautiful.  It was short, sweet, and to the point.  We actually got a lot of compliments on the ceremony itself.  Maybe I should take up a living in writing wedding ceremonies...nursing as a side job. We had a sand ceremony instead of a unity candle and I used sand from Lake Michigan's beach where I grew up.  All the sand on the tables with the table numbers were Lake Michigan sand as well.  I still vividly remember our ceremony ( I know its only been 2 months, but everyone told me it would be a blur and I wouldn't remember) and I loved every second of it.

 I love how Matt and I didn't take our eyes off one another the entire time; I love how my dad whispered to me as I wiped my eye not to cry because it would make him cry and there were too many people watching :) ; I love how our niece and nephew were so adorable walking down the aisle and behaved so well standing through the whole ceremony; I love how our moms went up to our sand and put their own in together; I love how I could see tears in my bridesmaids eyes and I loved their huge hugs after the ceremony was over; I loved seeing the smiles on all the groomsmen's' faces and their cheers afterwards; and I love that all of our closest friends and family were right there to celebrate the day with us.

After the ceremony, it started to sprinkle rain.  It rained for about 10 minutes while the bridal party waited under an awning to go take our pictures.  The bar was the only thing not under a tent and from where we were standing I could see the bartenders still serving through the rain, no umbrellas, and their white shirts getting soaking wet.  What troopers! After the rain was done, a double rainbow popped up.  How perfect! Kind of like someone was saying "thanks for tolerating that little bit of rain on your wedding day...now here's a little token of my appreciation-a rainbow!"

Here is our yummy and pretty cake...

Loved our red velvet cake!

He looks so mischievous here, but he behaved himself with the cake :)

Our reception was a blast! I was worried I'd be too busy talking to dance at my own wedding, but it ended up being a perfect balance.  I was able to talk to just about everyone, plus dance my heart out to Lady Gaga and sing my lungs out to Piano Man with everyone else out on the dance floor.  That was definitely the best night of my life and we are so glad we were able to share it with the people we love :)

95

I have been one of those lucky people that get to grow up with Great-Grandparents.  My Great-Grandmother on my Dad's side was alive when I was a little girl and I remember her mostly through pictures.  My Great-Grandparents on my Mom's side were a big part of my childhood and have been a part of my life all the way up until this past weekend. My Great-Grandfather passed away almost 6 years ago and we lost my Great-Grandmother yesterday at the impressive age of 95.

Great-Grandma and Grandpa Smith had a house in Converse where all the grandkids and great-grandkids have memories of the little green tractor (every grandkid has a picture on this tractor), grandpa's tricks, the garden, the Amish restaurant, and the variety of toys they always pulled out for us.  My family really made it a point to have them a part of my life as I was growing up.  I have SO many great memories and fun pictures of them, and I am so thankful they were a part of my life.

My Great-Grandpa was a jokester and had so many "tricks" and jokes for us kids.  He was such a great entertainer. Even when he was legally blind, he always knew who was standing beside him and who walked through the door.

Great-Grandma always remarked about how soon enough we would all be taller than her, and sure enough we were.  Another memory (which is the most delicious of all) is Grandma Smith bars.  These are a tradition in my family and I don't know of anyone who doesn't love these.  We don't have a holiday without them.  Luckily Grandma passed down her recipes so we can continue with her great food.

Great-Grandma Smith 

4 Generations

Great-Grandma and Great-Great-Granddaughter Damara

There are so many great memories I have of my Great-Grandparents and I am so thankful I was able to share these memories with them :).

My Husband the Chef

Who cooks in your house?

 I know who it "normally is" or who it "should be" (according to some people)...believe me I hear it all the time.  

But guess what? 

My husband likes to cook, he is great at it, and he knows I get too stressed about the whole thing-so he is our family chef!  Our moms still poke fun at me about it, but why fix something that's not broken?

I love the food he makes (a few of my favorites are his chicken fried rice and chicken salad) and I could never make it like him.  Jax is the newest taste-tester in the family...he gets all the scraps that Matt accidentally drops when he is whipping up a meal.  Don't get me wrong-I DO cook sometimes.  Mostly when I have all day off and I have a good recipe I want to try, but it ends up being me starting the meal and Matt finishing it.  

Tonight's dinner consisted of tilapia, asparagus, white cheddar shells, baked beans, and crusty french bread.  He even cleaned up the entire thing tonight!

The chef at work

Maybe someday I will love to cook and I will cook for our family...but I'm not getting my hopes up too much :)

Honeymoon Tomas

Well, this blog is beginning to be a joint effort (barely though). Matt thought of this post title...like Hurricane Tomas, but Honeymoon Tomas instead, get it? His favorite title he thought of was "Jamaicans on jitneys...Man, what a ride!", but I nixed that. (A jitney is a little mini truck type thing that the Jamaicans drive around the resort and transport the guests around. There is not a whole lot holding you inside, no seat belts, and they drive like absolute maniacs...see picture below)

Our honeymoon was amazing! We went back to the Sandals Grande Ocho Rios Resort in Ocho Rios, Jamaica where we actually visited last December. We were nervous to go with the whole tropical storm thing going on, but it didn't put a damper on our trip at all.  We had a couple days of on and off rain, but that didn't stop us from staying in the pool/ocean and relaxing with an island drink.

We did a few things different this time around:

  One was that we stayed on the opposite side of the resort.  We had a little villa which had a pool! We spent most of our time at the huge pool with the swim-up bar though.  

We did the rock climbing wall! I was nervous, but Matt was set on doing the hardest course they had.  We both made it to the top and conquered the rock wall.  

We also had a $250 spa credit this time around and we used that on a couple aromatherapy massage.  Boy, that was incredible! Matt has never had a massage, so he was in heaven. I have had quite a few, and I will say that was the best massage I have ever had! We were pretty relaxed for the rest of that day.  We both fell asleep on the beach for about an hour or two after that.

We miss being waited on hand and foot in paradise, but are so happy to be back home with our pup.  Lauren and my mom schemed together and my mom surprised Matt and I by picking us up at the airport with Jax! We were soooo happy :). 

I figured I would tell the rest of our honeymoon story through pictures... 

The big pool with the swim-up bar where we spent most of our days.  Normally we would get up, eat breakfast, and then spend the rest of the day at the pool or ocean with a drink in hand, make a pit stop for lunch, and then go back to the water.  Heaven!

The drink man

At a Sandals Select dinner for guests who were coming back for a second time

Dinner menu of one of the 8 restaurants.  We ate dinner at 2 different places EVERY night.  We took advantage of all-inclusive for sure.

Island drinks by day, wine by night.

View of our balcony

Our pool! We actually didn't even get in it since we spent most of our time at the big pool or beach.

The jitneys I was talking about above.  Crazy drivers!!

My cute husband. We went out to these swings over the ocean after breakfast one morning.

Hey they named a sports bar after me!

Out for dinner

Another yummy menu

Weird little fruits on the palm trees

Honeymooners

Absolute relaxation!

Dinner # 1

Dinner # 2 same night

After eating 2 dinners...so full!

Purple Rain! A fantastic island drink I was loving in Jamaica.

Our new friends from Colorado we met.  They were so fun! It was so nice to spend a couple days with them.

The bartender (of 1 of 11 bars on property) had us come behind the bar and make a shot.  We had a contest on who could make the best one :)

Bamboo!

I had to get in a little Aquacise. 

And then skip out half-way through to grab a drink at the swim-up bar.

Taxi ride to downtown Ocho Rios to shop! I felt like a rebel :)

All geared up for rock climbing!

Go Matt Go!

Beautiful! Our last full day there it ended up being gorgeous and sunny.  I love this place!

Sipping on dirty bananas.  Another amazing island drink!

I'm so glad we were able to get away and enjoy a honeymoon together! I can't believe we have been married for almost 2 months already! We are so lucky and blessed and HAPPY.

Liquid Sunshine

Hey Mon!

We have one day of WiFi access so I thought it was only appropriate to do a post before we head out to the Reggae Beach Party tonight.  Jamaica is just as amazing as when we were last here in December.  Tomas is not really putting a damper on anyone's good time.  A few things have been moved inside due to rain, but you will still find the entire resort at the swim-up bar during a rain shower.

A few of our favorites this time around...

1. Purple Rain- a mysterious purple slushie drink that the bartender whips up. It is delicious! I see people walking around with a cool  looking drink and I just say, "I want one of those things".

2. Eating 2 dinners- this is an all-inclusive resort, so make the most of it right? Right! There are about 8 restaurants at the resort (and 11 bars) and also some kind of dinner event every night, so you have a ton of options. Last time we were here we missed out on eating at about 3 restaurants, so we made a point to eat at every. single. one. this time. It's a little embarrassing when you say it out loud to someone (we felt guilty after being stuffed after our second dinner last night, but only because we told another couple that we had been doing it), but we are just getting our money's worth!  Since we had 2 lunches today, we may just have one dinner tonight...doubt it though :).

3. Toughing out the liquid sunshine (what all the Jamaicans call "rain") in the pool and hot tub. It rained off and on all day yesterday, but we were at the pool all day long (9-4) and got the most sun we have since we got here! It's really not a big deal that it's raining when you are already wet in the pool or ocean.

4. Being together...and away from life's stresses at home. It has been nice to be away from work etc. and we have actually enjoyed not being able to use the computer or our phones. One day  of internet is good enough in Jamaica! We are just having so much fun being together and enjoying this beautiful vacation together. It's nice being a newlywed :).

There are probably a lot of things I am forgetting, but to be honest I need to get off this computer and finish getting ready for the beach party!

braving Tomas

Tomas has turned from a hurricane to a tropical storm in the Caribbean. Yay!...kind of. We still have to deal with a tropical storm and it's rain and wind, but we don't have to deal with a hurricane.  He could always decide to turn back in to a hurricane if he really wanted to, but I ask that he don't.  I actually ask that he turn around and disappear and let us enjoy our honeymoon and leave all the Caribbean people alone. Too much to ask?

We have to go drop Jax off with Janet so he can stay with her while we are gone. I'm sure he will have visitors, especially his other grandma :). We will miss him so much, but know he will be in good hands.



Sad to leave this..... 
































But so happy to see this...

And this :)...