WW: The Afternoon of our Wedding

For lots of reasons, Joel and I decided to do a first look. For starters, it made the most logistical sense for the packed day.

Right around 2:30 our photographer and videographer took us (seperatley) to a private part of the hotel and put us in our place.

I was so nervous walking up to Joel, and once I saw the pictures, I could tell Joel was pretty nervous too.

Seeing each other was such an incredible feeling. Some of my friends said that they couldn't do the fist look because they felt like that fairytale spark would be missing from the ceremony. For us, we got that fairytale spark twice.

It had been a long day and I felt like there was already so much to tell him! I had kept my dress a surprise for the entire year, so Joel had to fully check it out ;)

Joel and I started off taking formal pictures just the two of us around the resort.
  

Then, our bridal party met us down on the golf course for an hour worth of pictures as a group. We took some pictures with our immediate families too.
 

 



After the photoshoot was over, everyone loaded into a trolley and was driven down to where the ceremony was to take place.
 
I sat in the back seat of the trolley with my Dad and it was in that back seat that it really hit us that we were going to make that iconic walk down the isle together and then he was going to have to hand me off to Joel. 

It was one of those really special moments that will be forever with me.

We made it down the aisle, and then, it was time for me to become, Mrs. Shields.

xx

The Morning of our Wedding

 

The morning of my wedding day I woke up with a lot of nervous energy. The first task of the day was to be at the spa at 10am for our appointments, but we had woken up at 7 and the waiting was killing me.

Thankfully, I convinced one of my bridesmaids - Claire- to come to the gym with me. I ran off a few miles on the treadmill and it instantly brought me back to a semi-calm reality.

Claire and I sat in the relaxation room after our showers, had a mimosa, and tried to enjoy the calm before the storm. It turned out to be one of my favorite moments of the day (albeit, there are a lot of them).

By this point, it was 10am and spa services began. My family and wedding party met Clarie and I in the spa.

At the rehearsal dinner, I gave my girls robes and slippers to wear while we got ready.

  
While everyone was getting their hair and make-up done we kept the mimosa's flowing and energy high. Everyone had a blast - and I was so relieved and happy with the way my hair and make-up turned out since I never had a chance to do a trial.



We had ordered a light lunch for everyone but another bride ordered a ton of food and never came in to the spa (not sure what happened there), so they gave it to us to enjoy.



There was so much food that we called in my cousins, aunts and uncles that were back at the hotel. Since my wedding was at 5:30, we were able to enjoy a lot of the day without feeling too rushed.

 

Around 2, we left the spa and went back to the suite so that I could put my dress on.

 

I loved my dress. I told everyone that it was me as a dress. Plus, it had pockets - which was a major bonus. We added the belt to add some sparkle but still keep it simple.

 For my accessories, I wore the bracelet that my mom wore on her wedding day - and gave to me to keep, new pearl earrings, and my grandma's handkerchief to keep in my pocket.




A lot of you may know that I lost my Aunt Peggy back in March 2012. As an engagement present, my cousin Gia (and junior bridesmaid), gave me a little blue tea pot pin that used to be my Aunt's. She thought it was perfect for "tea time with Tess". I loved having a little piece of Aunt Peggy with me throughout the day and I'm hoping I can pass it down to my sisters and Gia for their weddings too. 
 

As we were getting ready, my day-of coordinator stopped by with a gift and note that Joel had sent for me.

 

Inside that brown Louis Vuitton box was a note that said I had a purse waiting for me back in California. He knew that I'm an instant gratification kinda girl, so he found a scarf that I could wrap around the purse to add a little flair to it - and keep me busy until we were back on the west coast.

My gift to Joel was a Bretling watch that he had been obsessing over for years.

I was really excited to give him his watch, but even more so to give him a little piece of Roscoe.

He had said all through the planning months that the only thing missing from the wedding was Roscoe, so I was so excited to find a way to incorporate him.

I only wish that I was there when he opened them. 

After gifts were exchanged, my girls finished me up before my first look with Joel. 

 

We were all laughing because everyone wanted to have a role in the getting ready part and I started to feel like Harry Styles with all of the girls attacking me. It was pretty amazing.



My wedding party are my closest, closet friends/sisters and they all made my day perfect. They were constantly making sure I was eating, drinking, smiling, laughing, happy that I never had a chance to get nervous.  I literally couldn't have had a better group of women by my side.

Finally, it was time to go find my groom. 

Honeymoon Recap: Part II

Another great thing about our resort, was that at their Seaview Terrace lobby bar, they had local music and dancing during happy hour. 

Watching the Hawaiian sunset, drinking mai-tais, and listening to that music is seriously my new happy place. 

 Directly across the ped-mall in downtown Koloa is Josselin's Tapas Bar. This turned out to be one of our top restaurants while on the island. 

They're non-stop sangria service had nothing to do with it, I'm sure...

Joel and I love to have small plates for dinner, because you can try so many more things on the menu - and every dish we had a Josselin's was amazing - and, more live music, which I loved.

Tempura Ahi Roll

Since we were honeymooners at The Grand Hyatt, we got a few fun perks like a free bottle of champagne and a free pool cabana. We decided to upgrade the cabana so that we could be ocean side, and it was so worth it.


We smuggled in our free champagne, had a bunch of mimosa's, took naps, and watched the waves roll in for like 7 hours straight, which was blissful.

A highly recommended restaurant on the island was Beach House.

The views are insane, but since it's pretty popular, the only time we were able to get in was 6:00pm, so the sun was beating down on us hard. 








While we were drinking our wine.......  which, one side note, every time we ordered a bottle of white wine (at many different restaurants) it was never pre-chilled....which I found seriously bizarre.

 

....we experienced our first "Hawaiian Blessing" - which is when the sun is shining and it starts to pour rain. The reason it's a blessing is because it produces rainbows.

We were extra blessed.

That next day, my cousin back home in Chicago was having a very seriously surgery - and I felt like my Aunt Peggy and Papa were popping in to say hi and keep me rest assured that all was going to be okay.




The following day we were up before 6am to head to the north side of the island for a boat tour of the Napoli Coast.

This was on Joel's must-do list for our trip, and although I was initially hesitant, it was one of the coolest thing we did on our trip.


Before we left for the coast, we spotted like 40 spinner dolphins hanging out and feeding. They put on a twenty minute show for us and seriously got the party started.


The napoli coast was so beautiful and our tour guide took us into caves, waterfalls, and volcano sites. 

 Joel was in his heaven.

It was a 6 hour tour, with 3 hours of driving time, so by the time we got back to the hotel we were exhausted. We had an early dinner at the Italian Restaurant Dondero's on the property and were in bed by 9pm.

Which, was perfect.