Here's what you've been waiting two weeks for ...
BEFORE YOU CLICK ON THE CUT! >> There are 225 images under the cut. I suggest you right click the cut and open in a new tab or in a new window so that you can let all the pictures load while you do something else! Then go back and look at it! You've been warned. :)
* * *
It has taken me from 6pm to 2am yesterday and 4pm to after midnight today to get all these done. There are 225 pictures that I've chosen to share with you guys from our incredibly simply, quick wedding. The only thing missing from them are my girl Fafi, but regardless, it was wonderful beyond anything to be with everyone on that day.
They were all taken by Chelsea. I took the images and did what I had time to do, so they aren't totally gussied up but I still hope you enjoy the story!
Derek is working on a video for us that's about half an hour but SO awesome. We saw a lot of it already.
I will do my best to document everything I can with captions!
Got ready alone in the bridal suite, curling my hair and sticking it up in back with a flower ... Chelsea's company was very warm and I was happy to see that she had arrived. To combat the emotions, I acted goofy. Nothing new.
She hung up my dress and got some pretty shots of it in the tiny bridal suite.
I was so proud of my awesome shoes and the way they made my mother squirm, haha.
Hangin' ...
Then people started coming in to hang too! I was super happy to see my girls, Lori (maid of honor, in the red sweater) and Danielle (purple sweater) ... they flew all the way from the valley to be with me. I let them accessorize their dresses however they wanted.
Mom hung out ... she also came out from Texas.
I acted silly to calm the nerves ...
And hung out with my new cousin Abby, flower girl of the year!
Abby's mommy in the background, Austin's Aunt Erica.
Finally, Dad stopped by. He came all the way from Florida! As did lots of my Aunts.
This picture is my favorite. My dad was a strict disciplinarian who TERRIFIED me growing up ... I love how this is me saying, "I'm not afraid of you anymore, silly old man." He is finally loosening up!
The boys were also getting ready and primping. Austin had three groomsmen: Jason (big awesome dude), Graham (the blonde) and Isaac (the old-movie-star looking Best Man) ...
Here they are waiting in Austin's grandpa's church office for the ceremony to start. (Austin's grandpa was the minister.)
Other people were also goofing off, waiting for 6pm to hit ...
One of my two new little brothers, James (they are SO cool, adopted from Russia nearly ten years ago and just total characters), my new Uncle Terry and new Tom Dad.
Terry (left) was one of our five riotous ushers.
Andrea is one of our best friends and played an incredible role in making things happen on our day. She's arriving here, greeted by Terry!
Austin's close friend Caleb and Uncle Tim, both ushers, waiting.
Abby's basket is ready!
With my landlord's permission, I cut all these peonies from the house where I live about an hour upon waking up that morning, and sat on the kitchen floor wrapping them up with leftover decoration materials while Austin's Grandma cooked. Free flowers, can't beat that!
Our guests arrived ...
And it was time! Eep!
The boys came out of Grandpa's office ... I love Austin's face here.
Anna and Ally Long, our incredible musician friends (and friend musicians) played Revelation Song on piano and violin ... not a dry eye in the house ...
Here come the hot mommas!
Our moms lit the candles - these candle sticks were used in my parents/grandparents weddings.
My best friend Lori with Graham.
My best friend Danielle, with Jason.
Here we go ... it's time for the babies ...
Jonas is Lori's son. I have loved him since he was in his mom's tummy and knew that him being here with his mom and grandparents, traveling all that way, was just a huge blessing. The same with Abby, gracing us with her prettiness. She didn't throw her petals, haha! BUT, she was so gorgeous, no one noticed.
Austin knows what time it is now!
Watching the kiddos finish their walk ...
Here we are!
And I will NEVER forget this look from Austin, when he had to take a deep breath out to choke back tears, haha. I still have never seen him cry to this day ...
Somehow, Dad and I made it to the front ... !
Grandpa tells a story about something funny Austin said in church one day...
But it takes him forever because he keeps welling up with tears, haha. Grandpa's always been a crybaby though!
Who gives this woman to this man? My mom and pop. See ya!
It was SO good to see Austin. I hadn't seen him until that moment and I just felt all nice and safe again.
Everyone took their seat again. Jonas was SO good!
Things looked something like this from far away.
Both of us look like ... holy crap, we're stuck now, huh?!
I will! He rocks!
My hand looked so little in his huge paws, haha.
He's laughing at me for not being able to get his ring on, pft!
We lit the unity candle.
Then, after all the tradition stuff, we said personal vows to each other, with cute ancedotes.
His started with, "You're so cool."
I had to start mine the same.
"I also think you're really cool..."
My response to being allowed to kiss my husband? An emphatic, "YAY!"
Let's do this!
"OMG YOU'RE MARRIED."
Phew, it's good to see my girls right now!
Then, it began to drizzle! Good luck, I know it.
Buddies!
Silly men!
My girl Lori was awesome with that umbrella!
Okay, so, all these people were just standing around, when we realized - Lori's family had brought bubbles to give everyone, so people were standing around waiting for us to come through another set of doors so they would properly use them, haha. We obliged so that people could make their way to the reception!
We're so cheesy.
Now what do we do?
Austin had the idea!
Yum! Handsome hubby award!
Chelsea ran back in and got a shot of the aisle with petals, how it was supposed to have been, haha.
And it's family/friends time!
Just imagine Fafi in there. The ghost of Fafi was among us, haha.
Me and Lori, pal of honor.
And her baby, Jonas!
The boys got a LOT of pictures, since they killed time before the wedding doing them. Here they are in all their glory!
I can't wait to show these to our children, seriously ...
Austin and Isaac ...
All together now...
Dani, Lori, Melissa, Hub, Isaac, Graham, Jason
Obligatory silliness!
Dave, Dani's manfriend and an old friend of mine, also flew up to spend time with us!
This goes perfectly with the wedding video, where, when interview, Graham says he's looking forward to starting his life with me, haha!
Four of our five fab ushers: Uncle Terry, my new brother James, new brother Thomas, and Uncle Tim!
Both Austin and I come from divorced families, so I do enjoy having this picture of our parents ...
Oh, my dad? He didn't realize that pictures were going to be taken and HE LEFT TO THE RECEPTION! Silly man.
My hot momma and me!
Austin's grandparents. (Mine are no longer with us.) His grandparents to our right in the picture (Pastor Grandpa) have been married 50 years and I pretty much live at their house, haha. The house is across the street from the church, for reference.
PRECIOUS! Look at that ring box Lori made for Jonas to carry. I LOVE it.
I REALLY can't wait to have babies of our own to be adorable with, haha.
This is Austin's dad, his dad's awesome wife Sabrina, and again, my two new brothers!
We HAD to get some with Austin's three uncles and his dad:
The Brothers Glidden: Terry, Tom, Tim, and Ted!
Why so serious?
Then, we had to get some with our OWN family. My Goldie, Stella, has her very own daddy now! She was across the street, waiting in Grandma and Grandpa's yard for us.
I LOVE my new family!
High five, Stella!
Our turn!
Peace loving hippies, that's what, heh.
Ohh, okay, I'll do a few by myself.
Funny intermission - to make a not so long story short, we locked ourselves out of the house and couldn't get our car keys, so Isaac and Graham had to come back from the reception to pick us up and we rode there in a rickety old pick up truck. I couldn't have had it any other way! :) (More fun than riding in my old Camery!)
Now, before you see the reception, you gotta see the cake.
I baked this cake (Go Duncan Hines!) and finished up with our photographer, my pal Chelsea, sometime after midnight the night before. That mustache is supposed to be two chocolate birds kissing, haha! Chelsea added the little eyes so it helped remove the mustache look a bit, but it's still my favorite wedding cake ever! Haha. Too funny.
People were waiting for us ...
... looking at baby pictures of us and "reasons I love him/her" clipped up on the tables ...
... while dining on delicious pasta fagiole ... want the recipe?
Two cans of Ranch Style beans, two cans of Campbell's minestrone soup, and two cans of Hormel mild tomatoes, along with some ground beef ... everyone thought it was gormet, haha. It took the efforts of so many friends to get that on the table for us, along with the chips and salsa and mini cornbread muffins, all made by grandma.
Our last minute life savers ... I don't know what we would have done without Clayton and Andrea!
Finally! We're here! Let's get to the speeches ... 'cause I still can't eat a thing ... !
Isaac really had us ...
Lori had herself and everyone so choked up, but I will never forget her beautiful words ...
And then my DAD! Totally unexpected and impromptu.
He made sure to say it in Spanish, too. Something about how humble and CHEAP the wedding was, haha. Love it.
Oh, dad.
We try to eat, but end up snuggling...and get caught by the camera.
So do some other lovebirds!
This is Terry and his wife, the other Melissa Glidden! (But she is Missy, primarily!)
Caleb and Kelly!
Aaron and Jill D!
Oh man, we better sign that there document, huh, Grandpa ...
Can't go back now!
People are getting silly for some cake now ... but it's time for a little slow dancing ...
Our first dance was to Sing to Me by Sleeping at Last ... about a week before we saw them live and I mentioned to the singer/writer of the song that we were dancing to that as our first dance. He was flattered and said that he'd just married the girl who the song was written about a month ago in Hawaii. Good omen!
The sad thing is, slow dancing is SO awkward for me! Hahah, Austin just kept making me smile and teasing me for being shy. He loves slow dancing, so I don't mind doing that for him. Haha. I will cherish the following pictures forever ... I think they're incredibly tender ...
My little cousins are cute!
And my DAD with my little cousins? Precious, haha.
Then, it was time for the parents to dance with us to Natalie and Nat King Cole singing Unforgettable ... we picked it because we knew it'd get his mom! Haha. Dancing with my dad was WEIRD beyond anything. At one point he started poking a little mole on my chin and saying, "What's this on your face?" So strange, haha.
He and his mom are adorable together, haha.
Alright, lets wrap this up so we can all freakin' go home and REST. I think it's time for cake.
Wife nom.
And husband nom!
Abby, Jonas, come get a chocolate bird! (Cause I can't bear to kill 'em myself, they're too cute! And I spent too much time on them!)
Finally, I get to eat this darn cake.
We were happy about the cake...!
SO happy...
At least Jill P gets it!
I was exhausted and happy to be done with it! Like I am happy to finally be done with these pictures and this post!
Now I still need to make my album and print it and all that ... and we move into our house next week ... and I start my new job next week ... phew. Not sure it'll end anytime soon. Thank God we're waiting for kids, haha.
I am happy as a freakin' clam, though. :)
* * *
It has taken me from 6pm to 2am yesterday and 4pm to after midnight today to get all these done. There are 225 pictures that I've chosen to share with you guys from our incredibly simply, quick wedding. The only thing missing from them are my girl Fafi, but regardless, it was wonderful beyond anything to be with everyone on that day.
They were all taken by Chelsea. I took the images and did what I had time to do, so they aren't totally gussied up but I still hope you enjoy the story!
Derek is working on a video for us that's about half an hour but SO awesome. We saw a lot of it already.
I will do my best to document everything I can with captions!
Got ready alone in the bridal suite, curling my hair and sticking it up in back with a flower ... Chelsea's company was very warm and I was happy to see that she had arrived. To combat the emotions, I acted goofy. Nothing new.
She hung up my dress and got some pretty shots of it in the tiny bridal suite.
I was so proud of my awesome shoes and the way they made my mother squirm, haha.
Hangin' ...
Then people started coming in to hang too! I was super happy to see my girls, Lori (maid of honor, in the red sweater) and Danielle (purple sweater) ... they flew all the way from the valley to be with me. I let them accessorize their dresses however they wanted.
Mom hung out ... she also came out from Texas.
I acted silly to calm the nerves ...
And hung out with my new cousin Abby, flower girl of the year!
Abby's mommy in the background, Austin's Aunt Erica.
Finally, Dad stopped by. He came all the way from Florida! As did lots of my Aunts.
This picture is my favorite. My dad was a strict disciplinarian who TERRIFIED me growing up ... I love how this is me saying, "I'm not afraid of you anymore, silly old man." He is finally loosening up!
The boys were also getting ready and primping. Austin had three groomsmen: Jason (big awesome dude), Graham (the blonde) and Isaac (the old-movie-star looking Best Man) ...
Here they are waiting in Austin's grandpa's church office for the ceremony to start. (Austin's grandpa was the minister.)
Other people were also goofing off, waiting for 6pm to hit ...
One of my two new little brothers, James (they are SO cool, adopted from Russia nearly ten years ago and just total characters), my new Uncle Terry and new Tom Dad.
Terry (left) was one of our five riotous ushers.
Andrea is one of our best friends and played an incredible role in making things happen on our day. She's arriving here, greeted by Terry!
Austin's close friend Caleb and Uncle Tim, both ushers, waiting.
Abby's basket is ready!
With my landlord's permission, I cut all these peonies from the house where I live about an hour upon waking up that morning, and sat on the kitchen floor wrapping them up with leftover decoration materials while Austin's Grandma cooked. Free flowers, can't beat that!
Our guests arrived ...
And it was time! Eep!
The boys came out of Grandpa's office ... I love Austin's face here.
Anna and Ally Long, our incredible musician friends (and friend musicians) played Revelation Song on piano and violin ... not a dry eye in the house ...
Here come the hot mommas!
Our moms lit the candles - these candle sticks were used in my parents/grandparents weddings.
My best friend Lori with Graham.
My best friend Danielle, with Jason.
Here we go ... it's time for the babies ...
Jonas is Lori's son. I have loved him since he was in his mom's tummy and knew that him being here with his mom and grandparents, traveling all that way, was just a huge blessing. The same with Abby, gracing us with her prettiness. She didn't throw her petals, haha! BUT, she was so gorgeous, no one noticed.
Austin knows what time it is now!
Watching the kiddos finish their walk ...
Here we are!
And I will NEVER forget this look from Austin, when he had to take a deep breath out to choke back tears, haha. I still have never seen him cry to this day ...
Somehow, Dad and I made it to the front ... !
Grandpa tells a story about something funny Austin said in church one day...
But it takes him forever because he keeps welling up with tears, haha. Grandpa's always been a crybaby though!
Who gives this woman to this man? My mom and pop. See ya!
It was SO good to see Austin. I hadn't seen him until that moment and I just felt all nice and safe again.
Everyone took their seat again. Jonas was SO good!
Things looked something like this from far away.
Both of us look like ... holy crap, we're stuck now, huh?!
I will! He rocks!
My hand looked so little in his huge paws, haha.
He's laughing at me for not being able to get his ring on, pft!
We lit the unity candle.
Then, after all the tradition stuff, we said personal vows to each other, with cute ancedotes.
His started with, "You're so cool."
I had to start mine the same.
"I also think you're really cool..."
My response to being allowed to kiss my husband? An emphatic, "YAY!"
Let's do this!
"OMG YOU'RE MARRIED."
Phew, it's good to see my girls right now!
Then, it began to drizzle! Good luck, I know it.
Buddies!
Silly men!
My girl Lori was awesome with that umbrella!
Okay, so, all these people were just standing around, when we realized - Lori's family had brought bubbles to give everyone, so people were standing around waiting for us to come through another set of doors so they would properly use them, haha. We obliged so that people could make their way to the reception!
We're so cheesy.
Now what do we do?
Austin had the idea!
Yum! Handsome hubby award!
Chelsea ran back in and got a shot of the aisle with petals, how it was supposed to have been, haha.
And it's family/friends time!
Just imagine Fafi in there. The ghost of Fafi was among us, haha.
Me and Lori, pal of honor.
And her baby, Jonas!
The boys got a LOT of pictures, since they killed time before the wedding doing them. Here they are in all their glory!
I can't wait to show these to our children, seriously ...
Austin and Isaac ...
All together now...
Dani, Lori, Melissa, Hub, Isaac, Graham, Jason
Obligatory silliness!
Dave, Dani's manfriend and an old friend of mine, also flew up to spend time with us!
This goes perfectly with the wedding video, where, when interview, Graham says he's looking forward to starting his life with me, haha!
Four of our five fab ushers: Uncle Terry, my new brother James, new brother Thomas, and Uncle Tim!
Both Austin and I come from divorced families, so I do enjoy having this picture of our parents ...
Oh, my dad? He didn't realize that pictures were going to be taken and HE LEFT TO THE RECEPTION! Silly man.
My hot momma and me!
Austin's grandparents. (Mine are no longer with us.) His grandparents to our right in the picture (Pastor Grandpa) have been married 50 years and I pretty much live at their house, haha. The house is across the street from the church, for reference.
PRECIOUS! Look at that ring box Lori made for Jonas to carry. I LOVE it.
I REALLY can't wait to have babies of our own to be adorable with, haha.
This is Austin's dad, his dad's awesome wife Sabrina, and again, my two new brothers!
We HAD to get some with Austin's three uncles and his dad:
The Brothers Glidden: Terry, Tom, Tim, and Ted!
Why so serious?
Then, we had to get some with our OWN family. My Goldie, Stella, has her very own daddy now! She was across the street, waiting in Grandma and Grandpa's yard for us.
I LOVE my new family!
High five, Stella!
Our turn!
Peace loving hippies, that's what, heh.
Ohh, okay, I'll do a few by myself.
Funny intermission - to make a not so long story short, we locked ourselves out of the house and couldn't get our car keys, so Isaac and Graham had to come back from the reception to pick us up and we rode there in a rickety old pick up truck. I couldn't have had it any other way! :) (More fun than riding in my old Camery!)
Now, before you see the reception, you gotta see the cake.
I baked this cake (Go Duncan Hines!) and finished up with our photographer, my pal Chelsea, sometime after midnight the night before. That mustache is supposed to be two chocolate birds kissing, haha! Chelsea added the little eyes so it helped remove the mustache look a bit, but it's still my favorite wedding cake ever! Haha. Too funny.
People were waiting for us ...
... looking at baby pictures of us and "reasons I love him/her" clipped up on the tables ...
... while dining on delicious pasta fagiole ... want the recipe?
Two cans of Ranch Style beans, two cans of Campbell's minestrone soup, and two cans of Hormel mild tomatoes, along with some ground beef ... everyone thought it was gormet, haha. It took the efforts of so many friends to get that on the table for us, along with the chips and salsa and mini cornbread muffins, all made by grandma.
Our last minute life savers ... I don't know what we would have done without Clayton and Andrea!
Finally! We're here! Let's get to the speeches ... 'cause I still can't eat a thing ... !
Isaac really had us ...
Lori had herself and everyone so choked up, but I will never forget her beautiful words ...
And then my DAD! Totally unexpected and impromptu.
He made sure to say it in Spanish, too. Something about how humble and CHEAP the wedding was, haha. Love it.
Oh, dad.
We try to eat, but end up snuggling...and get caught by the camera.
So do some other lovebirds!
This is Terry and his wife, the other Melissa Glidden! (But she is Missy, primarily!)
Caleb and Kelly!
Aaron and Jill D!
Oh man, we better sign that there document, huh, Grandpa ...
Can't go back now!
People are getting silly for some cake now ... but it's time for a little slow dancing ...
Our first dance was to Sing to Me by Sleeping at Last ... about a week before we saw them live and I mentioned to the singer/writer of the song that we were dancing to that as our first dance. He was flattered and said that he'd just married the girl who the song was written about a month ago in Hawaii. Good omen!
The sad thing is, slow dancing is SO awkward for me! Hahah, Austin just kept making me smile and teasing me for being shy. He loves slow dancing, so I don't mind doing that for him. Haha. I will cherish the following pictures forever ... I think they're incredibly tender ...
My little cousins are cute!
And my DAD with my little cousins? Precious, haha.
Then, it was time for the parents to dance with us to Natalie and Nat King Cole singing Unforgettable ... we picked it because we knew it'd get his mom! Haha. Dancing with my dad was WEIRD beyond anything. At one point he started poking a little mole on my chin and saying, "What's this on your face?" So strange, haha.
He and his mom are adorable together, haha.
Alright, lets wrap this up so we can all freakin' go home and REST. I think it's time for cake.
Wife nom.
And husband nom!
Abby, Jonas, come get a chocolate bird! (Cause I can't bear to kill 'em myself, they're too cute! And I spent too much time on them!)
Finally, I get to eat this darn cake.
We were happy about the cake...!
SO happy...
At least Jill P gets it!
I was exhausted and happy to be done with it! Like I am happy to finally be done with these pictures and this post!
Now I still need to make my album and print it and all that ... and we move into our house next week ... and I start my new job next week ... phew. Not sure it'll end anytime soon. Thank God we're waiting for kids, haha.
I am happy as a freakin' clam, though. :)