Dinner & Dancing

After Joel and I were officially married, (read more on that here, here, and here) we took formal family pictures and then hid away with our bridal party in a conference room while our guests enjoyed the cocktail hour. 

During that hour our bridal party snacked on the passed hor d'oervres and drank lots and lots of champagne. I loved having that "quiet" time with everyone - and  getting the chance to take a sneak peek at the reception room.

 

We had three floral and candle tablescapes for the 22 tables in the room and all three exceeded our expectations.

 

I wasn't a huge fan on having a favor for my guests, because I couldn't find something in the $2-5 range that would be of value to anyone, besides maybe a scrumptious cookie, but my florist reccomended adding a pelligino bottles for a pop of color and for the guests to enjoy.

 

We added custom coasters underneath too.

 

After the cocktail hour, all of our guests were seated with a glass of champagne (because, don't you hate having to wait for dinner service to get another drink at weddings?? We couldn't have that!) and my bridal party and Joel and I lined up for our grand entrance. 

Right after we walked in, Joel and I went straight for the first dance. 

 

We danced to "You Got What I Need" by Joshua Radin, We had taken a series of dance classes and we were both pretty nervous for it but we it ended up great and I honestly forgot that we had a room of 275 people staring at us. 

Joel's brothers and my sisters, and my dad, gave speeches during, or after?, I actually don't remember, dinner. I wasn't sure how they would all do, but each one of them blew us away with their sincerity, thoughtfulness, poise and overall amazingness. 

 

 

 

 

I loved every minute of my father/daughter dance.

We picked 3 songs that were special to us and just grooved and grooved.

 

 

After Joel danced with his mom, we had both of our parents dance to their own weddings songs. Both sets of our parents have been married for years so we thought it would be a pretty good omen. 

 

And then?

I never got off the dance floor. 

And either did the other 274 people we invited to the wedding.

 

 

 

It was the best, best, best day of my life and there isn't much I wouldn't pay to re-live this exact day  just a few more times.

And the answer is....

Without going into too much detail, I had an opportunity that I really wanted to happen and, well, I didn't get it. 

 

I was confident that it was a done deal, thought positively, visualized myself in the situation, prepared for the changes ahead, and then sat back and waited for it to happen.

 

And then, it didn’t.

An email at 9pm on Sunday night confirmed that.

I got served a big slice of rejection.

And the reason, well the reason doesn’t really matter. Because, at the end of the day, you either get something or you don’t, and this time I didn’t. 

It clearly wasn’t meant to be and so I need to take my bruised ego and unopened bottle of celebratory champagne, swig them both down, move on, and move forward.

Shit happens and you don’t always get what you want, and this time it was my turn to be told no. 

Friday Five

:::1:::

I followed the lead of a lot of other bloggers and bought this Old Navy sweatshirt online for $19.00. It's super soft, but the fit is snug (which is not normally the case for ON). I'm still on the hunt for a grey crew neck sweatshirt but have still not found the perfect one. 

:::2:::

Have you ever read The Secret?

Believe it or not it actually did change the way I live my life. Some people think it's a little hookey but at the end of the day, it's a reminder that your thoughts matter and they should always be positive.

I still struggle to keep my thoughts positive and so when Hungry Meets Healthy posted on this book I knew I had to give it whirl.

So far, I'm really enjoying it. It's an easy read and such an important reminder.

:::3:::
I've found that I much prefer my day when I start as early as possible. This week I've been getting out of bed at 6:30, having a slow cup of coffee and then getting my workout in before 9. It makes me feel mega-productive and gives me an entire day to get things done without having to have my workout hanging over my head.

:::4:::
Another reality couple lives up to the curse, huh?
 
I'm not surprised by their split but after 22 years, it's quite sad. I really hope Bill and Guiliana are the exception to this very proven rule. 

:::5:::
Pizza tonight and a day trip to Santa Barbara have me VERY excited that today is Friday. Cheers!

Jalapeno Popper Chicken LITE

  I promise this will be one of my last chicken recipes for a while. 

This is a great fall & football dish and really easy to prep and prepare. Let me know if you try it!

I used this Pintrest recipe as my base and tried to shave off as many calories as I could. Here is what I did:

 

The Goods: 

• 5 chicken breasts (I had a lot of extra dip, so you could easily do 8 breasts)
• 4 slices of turkey bacon, diced
• 2 jalapenos, diced
• ¼ cup diced onion
• 1/2 of a packaged (8-ounce) cream cheese, **softened** VIP
• 3/4 cup of Greek yogurt
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup crushed butter crackers (1/2 sleeve)
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425º F. Place chicken breasts in a small casserole dish and bake for 45 minutes. I always cover my dishes with Aluminum foil for easier cleanup.

While chicken is baking, prepare jalapeno popper topping for chicken. Add bacon, jalapenos, and onions to a small skillet and fry until bacon is crispy

 

2. Add cream cheese, Greek yogurt, and cheeses to mixing bowl and cream together with bacon mixture until well-combined.

 

3. Remove chicken from oven and reduce oven heat to 350º F. Spread jalapeno popper topping on top of chicken

 

4. For the cracker topping, mix together crushed crackers, cheese, and melted butter. Sprinkle on top of jalapeno popper topped chicken. Bake for another 15 minutes.


5. Serve warm and enjoy!

Our Wedding Ceremony

It's hard to think of the best part of my wedding day, but I think if I was forced  to pick I would choose our ceremony.

Our guests took trolleys from the resort to a small Pavilion off of the golf course on the property. We kept it simple inside the Pavilion with boxwood balls, hanging mason jars, and a 3 piece trio.

 

Once the guests were seated our wedding party walked out of the trolley to take their spots.

My mom and I really wanted to have my cousin Riley, my Aunt Peggy's son, to walk her down the aisle. It was a really special moment for our family, and especially my mom.

Apparently our flower girl and ring bearer dealt with a little stage fright, but after a few begs and pleads, they finally made it down. 

 

Once my handsome groom and beautiful wedding party were all set, my dad and I got the all clear that it was our time to make the grand entrance.

Both my Dad and I have very similar personalities and walking into a crowd of people doesn't typically make either one of us blink an eye. However, neither one of us were really prepared for the rush of emotions that comes over you when you walk into a room of everyone you love and their just beaming at you. 

 

The only time I thought I was going to lose it was right about the point this picture was taken. I think my Dad may have been in the same boat...

Luckily we both held it together and after a sweet "good luck" to Joel and I, we were on to the ceremony. 

Joel's cousin Corby is a Pastor in Tennessee and gave us the honor to marry us. We had worked with him throughout the past year in marriage counseling classes and since he has so much history with both Joel and I, our ceremony was hyper-personal, thoughtful, and so touching.

We had my Grandma and Uncle Tom read passages; 1 Corinthians 13 and an Irish Blessing, and Joel's Aunt sang Ave Maria.

  

I'm not sure I've ever felt more love than I did at that very moment, standing in front of my soon to be husband with our families and friends standing by and rooting us on. It's still remarkable to go back to that moment in time.

 

After we exchanged vows and rings, we had our first kiss as Husband and Wife.

  

My Dad is 100% Irish and as a surprise, his sister - my Aunt Candy - had organized to have an Irish Bag Piper walk Joel and I down the aisle.

His music matched our pure blissful excitement and it was the most beautiful way to end such a special ceremony.