Happy Monday!

It's Monday. A New Week. A Fresh Start. Enjoy it! Love it! Image source here

Weekend Mountain Wedding: an Abandoned House and an Open Field

They come few and far between. Those moments when your family and friends are healthy... happy. When you can see everything in life for the blessing that it is- rather than the job, errand, or line on the To Do list that's calling. When life is, in it's purest form, good.

This was one of those moments.

Kissing my new husband in a field of weeds...Underneath competing rain clouds and sunshineIt was perfect.I'm so in love with this man!Our photographers were drawn to this house for our pictures. We would have never taken pictures in the field otherwise. We were just driving down the road looking for anything that caught our eye, and gave us inspiration. And that's when we stumbled across her- vacant and boarded up. So we decided to give her some love and play house in the front.Being intimate in front of a photographer can be daunting. I know that during our engagement session I felt awkward 99% of the time. Passerbyers looking at me. Lens up in my face. I was making faces I didn't even know existed... and not in a good way :). But on the day of our wedding, it didn't matter anymore. I only was focused on my new husband, and I felt so incredibly peaceful...in love...and happy.This was one of those moments.
Miss Something? Catch up here:

Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Bridge, Part 2

Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Bridge, Part 1
Weekend Mountain Wedding: It's All Relative
Weekend Mountain Wedding: A Whole Lot of Love
Weekend Mountain Wedding: We Say I Do!!!
Weekend Mountain Wedding: A Walk Beneath the Pines
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Procession of Little Black Dresses
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Clock Strikes Two
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Dress Comes On
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Fancy Men at Dreamland
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Time to Get Beautified
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Morning Time
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Fancy vs. Not Fancy at the Rehearsal
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Day Before
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Proof That It Did In Fact Happen

All photos by the amazingly talented Sandra Salisbury

Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Bridge, Part 2

The day was cold. The love was warm. And we were there, eating it all up. Let's continue

Last I left off, we were goofing off with our wedding party on the bridge. But that was from pretty far away. Now let's get up close and personal.

Mr. Espresso's "Album Cover", as he calls it :)

The guys were having a pretty good time showing off for the photographers. Case in point, my brother with "the point."My poor girls on the other hand were FREEZING!!! Temps in the low 40's, additional wind chill, and little black dresses... not the best combination. But they were wonderful and stuck it out. Every time the photographers stopped shooting they all ran into a group huddle for warmth.Then there was a shoe face off between the bridesmaids and groomsmen:And then the boys broke out the poses. Mr E., my sexy surfer husband, breakin out the ShakaBoys being Boys

And the aftermath. The mister loves this shot because of his "Joker" stanceMeanwhile on the other side of the bridge, us girls were taking some pictures of our own...And then we all ran back into a huddle for some "warm" pictures :)In the midst of the shoot, our photographer accidentally dropped something under the bridge. Not to worry, groomsmen apparently are trained for this type of situation.After the excitement of the jump and the retrieval of goods, we went to individual shots with each member of our wedding party. There's 14 of these babies, so I'll just show you the two we took with Mr's Espresso's brother and sister.And then it was time for "us". Here are a couple we took on the bridge.And then it was time to leave for our next backdrop... the one just for us. As we were walking back to the car, our photographer threw her coat on me to keep me from turning blue :)... and then snapped this candid photo of my new husband and I reveling in the day

Up Next: Our Pictures :)

Miss Something? Catch up Here:

Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Bridge, Part 1
Weekend Mountain Wedding: It's All Relative
Weekend Mountain Wedding: A Whole Lot of Love
Weekend Mountain Wedding: We Say I Do!!!
Weekend Mountain Wedding: A Walk Beneath the Pines
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Procession of Little Black Dresses
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Clock Strikes Two
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Dress Comes On
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Fancy Men at Dreamland
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Time to Get Beautified
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Morning Time
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Fancy vs. Not Fancy at the Rehearsal
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Day Before
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Proof That It Did In Fact Happen

All photos by the amazingly talented Sandra Salisbury

Happy Friday!

Have a wonderful weekend. We're having a garage sale on Saturday and then pumpkin & apple picking on Sunday.

Image from Flickr

Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Bridge, Part 1

When Sandie and Ryel arrived that morning, I asked them if they wouldn't mind caravanning down to the lake for our wedding party portraits. I wanted a different setting than the family ones. They both were as eager about the idea as I was. So while the guests were enjoying the cocktail hour, we all jumped in a a few different cars and drove down to Big Bear Lake.

Because I knew I'd also be STARVING by this point, I had asked our caterer to package up some of the appetizers for all of us to eat. Here are Mr. Espresso and I snacking on some chicken skewers on the drive down.
After we had curbed our hunger, we started doing a little kissing in the backseat... I can't resist this man I tell you
But we were quickly caught by our photographers who started snapping away :)
Playing with our new rings :)
After driving around a few points on the lake, we decided that the bridge would probably be the best place for the photos. So we all jumped out and started munching on some appetizers of chicken skewers with peanut sauce, smoked salmon bruschetta, and other yummy treats.

So once we were all full, we headed across the bridge and started with our group photos.Some we did regular: Smiling politelyBut the rest we just had fun with...

Next week: The Bridge Part 2 and more

Miss Something? Catch up Here:

Weekend Mountain Wedding: It's All Relative
Weekend Mountain Wedding: A Whole Lot of Love
Weekend Mountain Wedding: We Say I Do!!!
Weekend Mountain Wedding: A Walk Beneath the Pines
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Procession of Little Black Dresses
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Clock Strikes Two
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Dress Comes On
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Fancy Men at Dreamland
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Time to Get Beautified
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Morning Time
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Fancy vs. Not Fancy at the Rehearsal
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Day Before
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Proof That It Did In Fact Happen

All photos by the amazingly talented Sandra Salisbury

Weekend Mountain Wedding: It's All Relative

Family photos... we love them. I grew up with 2 parents who were passionate about photography, and who in turn, passed their love onto me. Mr. Espresso has since become enthralled as well- and so we knew we wanted tons of photos on our wedding day... especially with our new families.

Here we are with Mr. Espresso's family. All family portraits were taken in front of the bed & breakfast.Three very important men in my life: my brother, my dad, and Mr. Espresso. While in between houses, Mr. E actually lived with my dad and brother for a while, which has made them all very close.

Us with Mama EspressoAnd with my Step Dad.With my Papa and Grandma Chicken. Growing up, one grandma had chickens and one had cows, so I named them accordingly. I later learned to stop calling my other grandma, "Grandma Cow" however :), but I have never stopped calling this one Grandma Chicken. Me and my mama. Mr. Espresso and I each took individual photos with our parents as well. I'll just show you a coupleMe and my cute ol dadI think this is the only serious family photo we have, but I totally love it. Mr. Espresso looks so much like both of his parentsAnd then we come to some sibling pics...This last is one of my favorites from the entire day. Having this picture with both of our brothers and sisters means so much to us, especially since my brother is now living in Montana. This is the first and only we have like this.
Do you have a planned out list of all the family portraits you want? Are you going to wing it like us?

Miss Something? Catch up Here:

Weekend Mountain Wedding: A Whole Lot of Love

Weekend Mountain Wedding: We Say I Do!!!

Weekend Mountain Wedding: A Walk Beneath the Pines
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Procession of Little Black Dresses
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Clock Strikes Two
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Dress Comes On
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Fancy Men at Dreamland
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Time to Get Beautified
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Morning Time
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Fancy vs. Not Fancy at the Rehearsal
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Day Before
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Proof That It Did In Fact Happen

All photos by the amazingly talented Sandra Salisbury

Weekend Mountain Wedding: A Whole Lot of Love

"Lucky Man" by The Verve began to play as we were pronounced man and wife. Press Play above to listen to it as you scroll through the pictures.

In addition to the music, it also began to sprinkle little drops of rain. It was wonderful. We walked through our friends and family as husband and wife for the first time.

Our family and wedding party followed close behind.

And then we all gathered outside. Not in any normal fashion either. Everyone just kind of gathered in a circle and started talking and hugging. We had never planned this moment. We originally had planned on heading straight to the front of the bed and breakfast to take pictures- but the moment kind of just happened, and I loved it. The weather was freezing right now too! Our photographers captured my Maid of Honor Chris (who just got engaged this weekend!) signing our marriage certificate with a mitten. Guests were throwing on coats, scarves, beanies... anything they could to keep warm.But the weather didn't phase me. I was so happy that I think my happiness kept me warm. Guests kept coming up and offering me their coats. I nicely turned them down. This was my wedding day and I was wearing my wedding dress! When else would I get to experience this again? There was no way I was covering this baby up... well not until I had at least worn it for a couple hours. I waited until the temperature reached the 30's later on that night to cave :)Here I am hugging my Papa who passed away this past April. He was one of my favorite people in the world and I'm so happy our photographers captured this moment.Although this moment with our friends and family was never planned, I'm so glad that it did in fact happed. It reminded us how important it is to:

Take the time to be with the ones you love.Don't do side hugs; give full on bear hugsLet them point at you and say, "You're the man/ woman."And when you have a chance, also sneak away for some time with your person...And maybe kiss a little too ;)

Up Next: Family Portraits

Miss Something? Catch up Here:

Weekend Mountain Wedding: We Say I DO!!

Weekend Mountain Wedding: A Walk Beneath the Pines
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Procession of Little Black Dresses
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Clock Strikes Two
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Dress Comes On
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Fancy Men at Dreamland
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Time to Get Beautified
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Morning Time
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Fancy vs. Not Fancy at the Rehearsal
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Day Before
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Proof That It Did In Fact Happen

All photos by the amazingly talented Sandra Salisbury

Weekend Mountain Wedding: We Say I DO!!!

I took the steps and made the walk. And now I was here, standing in front of Mr. Espresso; looking into his eyes and him looking into mine. Smiling, blushing, laughing. We were here... finally.


Press Play for some Background Music:



Pastor Daryl began with a short prayer. We closed our eyes as he blessed our union, our marriage, our love.Our ceremony was short. There were no readings or songs from friends. No rose, sand, or candle ceremony. Just us... Exchanging our vows and overflowing with joy. It went like this:

"I take you as my friend and love,
beside me and apart from me,
in laughter and in tears,
in conflict and tranquility,asking that you be no other than yourself,loving what I know of you trusting what I do not know yetin all the ways that life may find us."

We exchange our rings...
And then that was it. After a long relationship, a short engagement, a long drive, a short walk, we were here. Ready to begin a long and happy marriage together.There was never a better emotion than this,knowing that my favorite person in the world,my best friend...had become my husband.Our families cheered us on (my dad of course without his socks :) )We were finally Husband and Wife.

Miss Something? Catch Up Here!

Weekend Mountain Wedding: A Walk Beneath the Pines
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Procession of Little Black Dresses
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Clock Strikes Two
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Dress Comes On
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Fancy Men at Dreamland
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Time to Get Beautified
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Morning Time
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Fancy vs. Not Fancy at the Rehearsal
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Day Before
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Proof That It Did In Fact Happen

All photos (except last one) by the amazinly talented Sandra Salisbury

Happy Friday!!

Image found here

Weekend Mountain Wedding: A Walk Beneath the Pines

Before I saw him I knew he was there. Our photographers had spotted him. Photographed him. Our Parents had walked down the aisle. And then one by one, so did our wedding party, our friends. They took the steps necessary to start our ceremony, our walk, our declaration to love eachother, and only eachother forever. And now it was my turn.

My walk to Mr. Espresso begins here:

Press Play to Listen to Iron and Wine's, "Love and Some Verses," as you scroll through the pictures. This is the song I walked down to.

Ethan and Madison make their way before me, unbashful and full of joy. And then it was time. The music began, my stepdad took my arm, smiled at me, and we began to cross the bridge.I remembered the advice of all the Bees before me. "Take your time." "Walk Slowly." "Take everything in."
Mr. Espresso sees me for the first time, and our photographer captures it.

Reaching the middle of the aisle, I kissed my stepdad and took the arm of my dad for the rest of the walk down the aisle.
And on we walked beneath the pines.I'm happy. I'm calm. I'm happy and calm; and every single person I care about is here.Mr. Espresso holds back tearsAnd descends down the steps to meet me He shakes my dad's hand...I kiss my dad...
And join hands with the person who will keep me and love me forever. Up Next: We Say I Do!!


Miss Something? Catch Up Here:
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Procession of Little Black Dresses
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Clock Strikes Two
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Dress Comes On
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Fancy Men at Dreamland
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Time to Get Beautified
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Morning Time
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Fancy vs. Not Fancy at the Rehearsal
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Day Before
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Proof That It Did In Fact Happen

All photos by the talented Sandra Salisbury

Today is Tuesday

Today is a Tuesday like every other. I'll go to work. I'll eat lunch and respond to e- mails. I'll research new projects and answer callers with the same questions. But I'm also going to do something different today. Today I'm going to set new Goals for myself. I'm going to challenge myself. Dream. And Plan a route to accomplish everything I want to do.
Image Source HERE

Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Procession of Little Black Dresses

When money is tight, your wedding party is large, and everyone comes in different shapes and sizes, a Little Black Dress can make decisions so much simpler- especially if you already have one in your closet. I had 7 bridesmaids. The tallest was 6ft and the shortest 5ft. The same dress can look very differently on both. So early on I decided to let each of my girlfriends pick their own LBD. My only request was that it had straps. Some wore dresses they already had, others went out and bought one- but it was their choice, it reflected their style, and they actually could/ would wear them again.

The moms decided to hop on the LBD bandwagon as well. And I'm so glad they did. Here is the beginning procession to our wedding. The parents walked down to Orange Sky by Alexi Murdoch and the wedding party walked to "It's Good to Be in Love" by Frou Frou.

Mr. Espresso's Parents
Brother and Mama Espresso
Ryan and Natall
Daniel and SIL EspressoBrother Espresso and Allison (I love that he's heading over to shake Mr. Espresso's hand right here)Pat and Sam
BIL Espresso and Kristie
Mikey and Sister Espresso
Brendan and Chris
How did you pick what your wedding party is wearing? Anybody else doing LBDs? If so, help these photos help you with your planning!

Miss Something? Catch up Here:

Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Clock Strikes Two

Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Dress Comes On
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Fancy Men at Dreamland
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Time to Get Beautified
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Morning Time
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Fancy vs. Not Fancy at the Rehearsal
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Day Before
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Proof That It Did In Fact Happen

All photos by the talented Sandra Salisbury