Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Our First Home

Our first home.
We didn't want to "miss out" on any part of the newlywed adventure, so Josh and I decided to move into an apartment and rent out the house. And it saved us a lot of money, so that is always nice.
We were so excited! And it's fun to have our own little place!

Monday, March 28, 2011

The Honeymoon

We went on our honeymoon to San Antonio, Texas! The trip was a total surprise to me, Josh planned it all! I didn't know until we made it to the ticket stand and then Josh told me. He and my sis, Jill, packed for me! It was so much fun! I would've never guessed San Antonio, although I mentioned it several times that I really wanted to go there one day. It was a perfect honeymoon. There was lots to do on days we wanted things to do, but if we felt like being lazy we didn't feel like we were missing out on much.

We didn't have a clock/watch the whole time we were there and our phones were turned off, it was amazing! We caught up on some much needed sleep! Ran along the Riverwalk every morning. And ate a lot. That was pretty much our daily routine.

Here are some other highlights....
I am absolutely IN LOVE with the Riverwalk! Our hotel was right on the Riverwalk. It was so wonderful, the pictures don't do it justice, but it was so romantic and a fun energy!!

The Alamo!
It was like 5 minute walking distance from our hotel.
It's a lot bigger than what we thought, but I guess that is what they say about Texas!

Oh, Mi Tierra!
Just looking at this picture makes me hungry! We ate lunch there the first day and loved it so much we went back the last night we were there. YUM!


 But the main highlight was just being about to hang out with my Josh! After a few crazy months of wedding planning it was nice to have just the two of us! 
And NOT have to leave each other when we said good night!!




Sunday, March 27, 2011

The Reception


I have absolutely NO idea where to start on this post.
We had a Picnic/Carnival Reception at the end of March in Henderson.
I had so many great people help me envision and put it all together.
It really was absolutely perfect! I LOVED it and it was just what I wanted.
I was crazy sick {they "honeymoon period" ended real quick} Josh got it first, and decided to share it with me. But I hardly even thought about it during the reception, it was just so fun and so great to see everyone enjoying themselves!

 We really wanted a relaxed fun "party". So we decided on an outdoor carnival picnic.

The decorations were a vintage feel. And of course, my sister Jill did all the flowers for me! 
The majority of the decorations and games were done by my friend's aunt Dea and my friend Melissa! They totally caught my vision! I loved it all.


"Happily Ever After Starts Here"
My friend, Melissa made these signs.
So cute!

The food was catered by my friend, Alisa. It was awesome. I wanted picnic baskets and blankets to eat on. And I wanted cookies instead of cake, so we had a tremendously lovely cookie bar!


I loved the blankets!


The games were SO.MUCH.FUN! And there were a lot to choose from:

Bean Bag Toss

BINGO!






Balloon Toss
Cake Walk
Caricatures
Go Fish--ball toss
Plinko!
Giant Word Search
Fish Pond
Ring Toss
"Lucky Duck"
Kissing Booth
We {obviously} wanted a less traditional reception. We wanted a party. Neither of us is crazy about cake (although, after my wedding cake I might be now!) So we decided that we would do a wedding cake pinata! So fun, the kids (young and old) loved it!!
We let go of over-sized balloons as our final get-away!
We really wanted to leave on vintage bikes.
We got some broken ones, it's the best we could come up with. :)
But what we wanted the most was for everyone to have fun.
I love looking at everyone's smiles!!
I think we got what we wanted!!

And of course, we owe so much to these folks. I love these pictures so much!
I really do hope our parents know how much we appreciate their love, prayers and excitement for us through the years. We appreciate they support during the wedding, but especially in raising us and making us good people. We both have great parents and families that we love so much!


So many people played such a HUGE role in putting this all together! I hope I have let them know how much I appreciate everything! I tried really hard to not be an ungrateful bride, but I still don't feel like I've expressed enough gratitude. I was overwhelmed at the amount of love and generosity that was shown to us! We are a lucky couple!
Thank you!!

The End.
All the amazing photos are a compilation of Jonathan Canlas and Jennifer Garbett.
LOVED my photos!!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

The Wedding

I got married!!!
March 12, 2011
I don't think the smile on my face could've gotten any bigger.
It was such a great day. Completely perfect!
And I can say without hesitation (and still say) it was worth the wait!!
This has probably been what has stressed me out {prevented me from} the most about blogging...how do I post/capture all the great pictures memories I have?? I'm at least going to try...

One of my dearest friends, Jennifer, is an amazingly, talented photographer and she came to capture me getting ready! Another amazing and dear friend, Marcie treated me to a spa/workout morning! It was amazing and just what I needed to help me stay calm and enjoy the moment. It really was the sole reason I reserved a late afternoon spot at the temple. :) I wish there were pictures, but it really was just amazing. The whole morning was so fun! I was surrounded by my family and some amazing friends who all helped me ignore my phone {to keep calm} and focus on the present AND prevent any joyous tears! My mom and Marcie even ran and bought me a new temple dress....talk about last minute! :)

A few of the details...
One of my favorites was using my mom's, grandma's, great grandma's cameos.
My mom gave me my own also as a wedding gift. So 4 generations of amazing women's cameos.
I LOVED my bouquet!! LOVED it. This might not even be the best picture of it, but it was awesome.
And I love even more that my amazing sister, Jill made it for me. I know it completely stressed her out, but it couldn't have been more perfect! It is one of the most meaningful parts of my wedding.

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Joshua Willis!
I loved seeing all of the smiles of the people I love the most. Everyone was so happy for us!




We both love our family so much! I was amazed at all they did to support us in this day. It is so great to have great families!! And I do need to add, it was SO great to have my mom and sisters in the temple changing room with me, spiritual and lighthearted all in one! I love them!
 It was great to have a late afternoon sealing, because after all the congratulations
we were off to eat!! :) We all met up at Buca di Beppo in downtown SLC
to enjoy the moment even more and eat some good food!!
Another wonderful friend, Dawn made the absolutely beautiful cake that tasted
just as beautiful! Seriously, hands down the best cake I've ever eaten.
My ONLY wedding day regret is that I only got one bite. :( 
I still dream about that cake!  YUM!
{Have I mentioned I have a lot of amazingly, talented friends??} 
My friend Melissa helped me with so much for the wedding and the reception. She made these super fun banners for everyone to celebrate. It was just what I envisioned and I loved them!!

So many great friends and family!!
 One of my most favorite pictures...taken by the talented Jennifer Garbett!
Marcie caught my beautiful bouquet! 
Well-deserved!