Wedding bells are ringing again...

After I get off work at 10 tonight Nick and I will be boarding a plane at 12:55 am bound for the Midwest!! The time has finally come for our friends Michelle and Joe to tie the knot!!! Much like Nick and I, they were high school sweethearts, and it's been a long time coming for them as well! :) I LOVE WEDDINGS AND LOVE AND FRIENDS!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!! Having a mini vacation will be nice, too ;)

Michelle, from meeting as SAE girls, becoming Deltas together, being roommates, then housemates, and finally each other's bridesmaids, you have been one fantastic, hilarious, and dear friend to me and I am so thankful for you!!! I can't believe it was a little over a month ago we were celebrating my wedding, and now it's YOUR turn! I absolutely cannot wait to stand up there with you and watch you marry the love of your life! Cheers to a weekend full of love, laughter, happiness, and all that other good wedding stuff.... I can't wait to see you TOMORROW!!! I love youuuuuu!!! <3

[Bid day!!]

[Cherie Renae Photography]

1 month married!

Today marks one month of being married for Nick and I :) I know, go us ;) But hey, it's still exciting! In honor of one month married, here are links to wedding video highlights that our DJ took of the evening! It includes the grand entrance and first dance, the newlywed game we played, the toasts, and some of the dancing later in the evening!

Grand Entrance and First Dance

Hanna and Nick Play the Newlywed Game

Nick and Hanna Cake Toasts

Nick and Hanna are Crazy in Love

Enjoy!

Pink, polka dots, and studs

[The Limited top (B1G1 FREE shirts and blouses) and ankle pants (use code EXTRA50 to take an additional 50% off all online sale!!) // Steve Madden pumps // Nordstrom earrings // Forever 21 necklaces // Nordstrom sparkly bangles // B.P. Nordstrom stud bracelet // Revlon's "Fuchsia Fusion" lipstick]

[On eyes.... Base: MAC paint pot in "Painterly" // Lid and brow-bone: MAC shadow in "Yogurt" // Crease: MAC shadow in "Saddle" // Lid: MAC shadow in "Honeylust" // Liner: MAC waterproof liquid last line // Mascara: MAC "False Lashes" in waterproof]

 

I just added this chambray top to my collection this weekend. I now have a light-wash version, a dark-wash version, a light-wash and sleeveless version, and now this polka dotted version! Chambray is something that I feel should never go out of style, and I don't see it happening anyway. They are the perfect combination of comfortable and easy, go with absolutely everything, and can be used as a more casual piece OR dressed up with a pencil skirt and pumps! I love this polka dot version and can't wait to let it peek out from under cardis and sweaters come fall.

Yesterday consisted of two of my favorite things...

[Yummmm!]

...shopping and baking.

Seriously, what is better than that?

I finally have had some more days off interspersed between my work days instead of one long run of work days. This has left time for some of the things I've really been wanting to do, like take our wedding money and shop for more home stuff!! I did a little shopping with Nick before work on Monday up at Crate & Barrel (it's not the same without the "&"), but yesterday I went with my mom around Salem and did some work. The goal of the day was to get pots and pans. Nick and I got all of our awesome appliances, all of our dinnerware (with the exception of the platter and bowl we ordered Monday to finish our "Aspen" set), most of our flatware (we also finished that up Monday), tons of kitchen gadgets, all of our drink-ware/bar-ware, and countless other amazing gifts, but we didn't get our pots and pans. Honestly, I'm glad, because when we registered, we kind of just picked something because it's kind of overwhelming honestly and we also didn't want to pick something too expensive because we couldn't expect people to spend an arm and a leg on us. Looking back at our registry, I don't like the pots and pans we selected, so it was nice to have the chance to go back and look at things and really see what would be perfect for Nick and I - especially since we both love to cook!

Nick did some research the night before with me, and we settled on the Calphalon Contemporary 11-piece, non-stick set. It was on sale at Macy's from $500 to $449 and came with a bonus of a 7-piece utensil set specific for the Calphalon pans AND an extra 12" every-day pan. Hello! Awesome deal! Not to mention, we get 20% off anything for a month after the wedding to complete our registry, even though it wasn't originally on the registry, so it ended up being about $350! Woohoo! I love a bargain, that's for sure. I got a little distracted at Macy's and also picked up the serving bowl and serving platter that matches our Martha Stewart "Lisbon" dinnerware, which I never saw when we registered for the place settings in the first place. In true Macy's fashion, those were also already 30% off before our 20% off completion. Ultra score.

In addition to Macy's, we went to Target because we had a million gift cards and a credit from a returned knife set. Here I bought the rest of our towels in gray and white, a duvet, a sheet set, kitchen towels, chip clips (an essential), a flatware tray, annnnnnd makeup remover. 'Cause, y'know, I needed it. We got 10% off for registry completion here, so I only had to use about $40 of our wedding money after gift cards! Such a good deal.

[Yesterday's haul]

I brought everything home, and added it to the huge pile of gifts in my parents' front room, but not before I reorganized for probably the 5th time! It's amazing how many gifts we got, as well as how many we've been able to buy afterwards because of everyone's generosity. It is overwhelming, and we are so so grateful to have people in our lives that care about us and are happy for us and want us to get a good start in building our home and life together! Yes, thank-you notes are on my to-dos for this month :)

After that exhausting shopping spree, I got out my beautiful KitchenAid mixer and baked a delicious carrot cake from the "Mother's" restaurant cookbook. To die for. I'm baking in my parents' kitchen still, but it will be that much better when we finally do get to unpack our own stuff and put it all in its little place and use it all! In the meantime, I'll just use my mixer periodically and maybe reorganize all of our stuff every once in awhile, just because :)

[So much amazing stuff! Thank you all!]

And then I became a Mrs.....

The Big Day was here! After two years of planning, I finally was going to put a ring on it and marry my best friend, my partner in crime, and the love of my life. I think I slept about three hours the entire night. We had fun at our rehearsal dinner a little late and I got to bed before midnight (a miracle), but after a few hours of sleep I couldn't stop thinking about the day! I wasn't thinking about all of the things that could go wrong - I was simply so excited. I was excited to get my hair done, to get ready with my girls, to finally get in my dress and stay in it (instead of just trying it on periodically for fun), to see all of our friends and family in one place, and to have a ton of fun at our reception. I finally gave up on sleeping at 5:30, since I was planning on waking up at 6 for my hair appointment at 7. I actually didn't mind, because I was able to get my bridesmaid gifts assembled and ready to go for later.

[Admiring the finished product at my hair appointment]

I was back at the house after my hair appointment to get ready with all of my girls, and then we were off to the reception site for pictures! Nick and I had our "first look" photos, and I was so happy to see my Groom before the wedding. He looked so handsome, and it was adorable because he was tearing up when he saw me :)

[About to see me for the first time!]

We finished our photos and then our wedding party photos somehow with time to spare. My girls had bought champagne for the day but had gone through most of it while Nick and I were taking photos, so since we had some time to get to the church for the family photos, we made a little pit-stop at a Rite-Aid for a couple few bottles more of champagne. Whoops ;) I meant to drink some once we got to the church, and I tried taking a few sips, but I was so anxious and ready for the ceremony I couldn't settle down! It was all good nervous energy.... I was so ready to stand up there in front of everyone and make that official commitment.

[Ready to walk down the aisle!]

As soon as I walked down the aisle and was up there by Nick I was completely calm. The ceremony went perfectly and was absolutely beautiful. During the Unity Candle we decided to add a little something in memory of loved ones lost. I had really wanted to do something like that since my Grandma passed away two weeks earlier, and after talking to Nick's sister (who has brilliant ideas) we decided that, after we lit our own candle, we would light small tea lights in front of photographs of each family member. Though it was a small gesture, we felt it was a perfect way to honor them on our day. They would have been so happy to see us get married, and somehow I knew they were there anyway.

[From left to right: My Grandma Gies, Grandma Betz, Nick's father, Lee, and his Nana and Grandpa Ertsgaard]

After the ceremony we went back up to the front of the church and dismissed everyone row by row so as to make sure we saw everyone. It went fast and was great because some people came only to the ceremony, so that way we knew we saw everyone who was there! Our ceremony ended earlier than we planned, so we hung back a few minutes, snapped a few more pictures, and headed out to the reception site so we could do our grand entrance and enjoy cocktail hour with our guests!

[Signing the marriage certificate! Woohoo!]

We arrived at the reception site and everything was perfect. All of our guests were already there mingling and having a good time, the barn and everything was beautiful, the weather was perfectly warm, and I was ready to party and have a good time! The ceremony was a little nerve-wrecking, yes, but it was wonderful. After it was over, though, I really relaxed. All day I kept thinking, "The only thing that matters is that we are married at the end of today."I wasn't really stressed out once the day began, but if there was ever a moment I could be stressed, keeping that thought in my mind really helped. And honestly, how could we not just enjoy and relax after we dismissed everyone at our ceremony and heard how genuinely happy everyone was for us??? I was seriously feelin' the love. All day. There is nothing like that feeling. I knew that everyone at the wedding wanted to have a good time, too, and celebrate with us, and that's exactly what we did. Everything went perfectly (having a DJ run the entire event was the best thing ever), it looked amazing, our food was delicious, we had lots of great wine and beer, we had a lot of laughs playing the Newlywed Game and when Nick got "iced" with Mike's Hard Lemonade by his fraternity brothers, and danced the night away. I honestly don't think I really ever stopped dancing.

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[Newlywed Game - too funny]

[During the toasts]

[The cake-cutting... we were nice to each other :)]

[Please note Izzy, the flower-girl and our niece, getting her eyes covered by one of my bridesmaids, Michelle. Too funny!]

Our wedding was absolutely the perfect evening, and we wish we could do it all over again! Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate with us, whether near or far. We feel so loved and had such a great time, and I know that's because you all came and helped make it so special for us.



*Getting-ready photos and photo of my Dad and I before the ceremony taken by my friend and bridesmaid, Chelsea. All other photos courtesy of Cherie Renae Studios (my mother-in-law! :])

Wedding Details

Wedding dress: The "Lycette" gown by Wtoo from Charlotte's Weddings and More
Bride's shoes: Franco Sarto, a Nordstrom exclusive (they also come in a turquoise!)
Bride's makeup: All MAC Cosmetics (applied by myself)
Hair piece: Belaire Bridal at Simply Grand in downtown Salem
Bridesmaid dresses: Alfred Sung
Tuxes: Black by Vera Wang at Men's Wearhouse
Photography: Cherie Renae Studios
Catering: Dalton's Northwest Catering
Cake and cupcakes: made by my friend, Erica
Flowers: Buena Vista Flowers
DJ: True Love Sound
Alterations: Alterations by Lorraine
Ceremony: St. Mark Lutheran in downtown Salem, OR
Reception: "The Little Red Barn" in Keizer, OR (family friend's property)

Rehearsal Dinner

Our rehearsal dinner was on Friday at a family-friend's house out in Independence. The weather, once again, was perfect (we had perfect weather all week) and it was absolutely beautiful out at their property next to the little pond in their expansive backyard.

Nick and I weren't set on something fancy and catered, so I thought, "Why don't we have Syrian food?" Nick's family is Syrian, and I got the idea from his cousin's wedding a few years back. The whole family got together for their rehearsal dinner and made all of the delicious authentic food, and it was fantastic. I had also been craving a good Syrian meal for quite some time, so I thought that our rehearsal dinner was a perfect excuse :)

Nick's mom, Cherie, and her husband, Bryan, cooked everything from scratch. We had stuffed grape leaves, lubain (essentially, Tzatziki), simbousik (stuffed meat pies), riz and yuchnee (I have no idea how to spell it but it's delicious), Syrian bread, spinach-pie filling for the bread, and of course, baklava. They even made homemade drinks like cinnamon almond milk and a traditional rose-water drink. It was AMAZING.

It was the perfect evening with our friends and family, and to end the evening with a bang, the boys set off the fireworks Nick had bought back when we were in Idaho :) Nick and I also finally felt like we could relax and enjoy everything. It was the night before the wedding and whatever happened the next day was going to happen and we were still going to end up married at the end of the day, and that's what matters!

Thanks again to Cherie and Bryan for the fantastic food, and the Haugens for letting us take over their place! :)