From Sea to Shining Sea [Travel]

We have been on the road for the last few weeks, busy moving, visiting family and going to weddings. We are exhausted to say the least.

Moving to Arizona was great. We had no dramatic issues driving from New York. Aside from being completely stuffed into the car we had a lot of fun. We drove between 8-12 hours a day for 4 days. We made stops to a few temples along the way and visited some friends and family.
My cousin Amanda gave us an awesome tour of Colorado Springs. We saw the Garden of the Gods, the US Olympic Training Center, the Caves of the Winds, and Bellmoore resort. What a beautiful place! Plus we had so much fun playing with little Genevieve.

After arriving to Tucson on Monday morning we quickly moved in, unpacked and rested. Tuesday we took care of some business and Wednesday morning we were off again. Evan went to Pennsylvania for Orientation and I went to Utah to pick up my car! Yes, more driving!

I was lucky enough to see my family, daddy daughter date with my dad picking cherries, and girls day out with my mommy! Lunch with family from Germany and also dinner/shaved ice dates some friends in Cedar City as I was driving back to Tucson.

I got back from Arizona, Evan came back the next day and then we quickly drove up to Pheonix to catch our Flight to Hawaii! 

The last time I went to Hawaii I was 4, and we went to the Big Island

 This was my first time going to the Maui and our first time visiting Evan's Family since we got married. 

My mother in law brought a beautiful lei when we arrived to the airport 

I will say I was so blown away by everything my picture taking was forgotten the first 2 days. I was just so overwhelmed by how awesome everything was. 

When we got there We met a lot of Evan's auntys, uncles, and cousins. Love them all! We had delicious food at the family dinner held at Evan's brother's house! 

The next day we went to the beach! I saw a sea turtle for the first time and a sea cucumber.  If you don't know what I sea cucumber is, neither did I. I told Evan to stay away from the dog poop that was rolling around on the shore. Little did I know it was a creature. 

The beach we were at was called Kalepolepo. It was an old fish pond so the water wasn't too rough or deep! It was perfect for the kids... and me. I felt better knowing some large sea creature wasn't going to bite my leg off or suck on my toes. Nothing too mysterious was lurking in the water, at least that I could see. 

We also saw the first LDS church on Maui.

Then we went holo holo around the mountain area near Haleakala and the next day we drive to Lahaina to the beach and the Plantation golf course area. 

WOW

what a site to see

We went to Evan's sisters house. I played house with the girls and play-doh. 

Then we went to get some guri-guri! A light ice cream treat that was delightful. 

We ate dinner at da Kitchen which was a lot of food, but good! 

Our last day we went up to Iao Valley. It was a little rainy but that didn't stop us. 

We were so sad to leave the family and the beautiful island. Might I add, I LOVE HAWAII!!!!!!!!!

We took the red eye to Las Vegas for my best friend's wedding

We were able to attend Ashleigh and Daniel's sealing in the Las Vegas LDS temple. 

We went from 80 degrees and humidity to 108 degrees of dry heat. We were all melting but Ashleigh still looked amazing in her lace princess gown. 

It was fun to see her family, old friends and college roommates. 

We attended her reception. It was beautifully done, and screamed Ashleigh 100%, especially the cake! We had a good time! 

It has most definitely been an exciting few weeks of travel. Its back to work for Evan and for me I'm on the job hunt here in Tucson. 

Wedding [Videos]

We would like to invite you to join us and relive our wedding day. It was such a great day spent with our family and friends celebrating our marriage. 

Special thanks to Patrick, Sarah & Curtis for capturing all the beautiful details and pretty faces that were present as well as putting together the slideshow and the first look video. 

                 

Videography- Romero Media

Makeup: Emily -Lunatic Fringe Salon 

Heidi's Dress- Chay Eysser (mom)

Evan's Suit- Utah Woolen Mills 

Flowers- Amanda Decorations INC. 

Linens- Wildflower Linens & Youngsong Martin 

Cake- Granite Bakery SLC

Food- Joseph Smith Memorial Building

Band- Joe Muscolino Band

This photo montage is a collection of photos of both Evan and I growing up. I'm rather embarrassed about several of the pictures of me (especially the soccer picture....) - let's just say that I've blossomed. This was a fun collection of photos that we were able to show at the wedding to all of our guests. 

This was 2 days before the wedding and Evan saw me for the first time in my wedding dress. We were up at the Bountiful Temple in the late afternoon for this shoot. It was absolutely freezing but the sunset was beyond gorgeous.
We had a blast doing this shoot with our Videographers Patrick & Sarah and our Photographer Jamy. My fingers, toes and nose were frozen by the end of the day but I'm so glad we did this. We showed this video at our dinner.

Thanks to Kim for sharing her fancy green scarf and reapplying the lipstick 

Thanks for letting us share 

Cheers, 

H

Our Wedding [Photos]

Our Wedding Photo Album 

Saturday, December 28, 2013 our wedding day. A bright sunny morning in cold December. Family and friends gathered from all over in beautiful Bountiful, Utah to celebrate with us the next chapter of our life. 

I obviously was too excited I woke up at 6am (and partially because I was dreaming I forgot my wedding dress) and lounged around watching Space Cowboys on TV. Then I decided I should probably start getting ready. My cousins Uri and Edward brought fresh bagels from Einstein- which I tried so hard to resist but who doesn't love Garden Veggie Schmear on an Everything bagel?

My hair and Makeup was done by a girl named Emily from Lunatic Fringe. She arrived at my hotel room 729 in the Downtown Marriott on State Street at 7:45am. She was amazing. We did a practice run a few weeks earlier, which was took away any anxiety of getting ready. She was super quick she had time to do my moms hair, and we had extra time to take pictures and get some video footage. I was promptly out the door at 10:50am. 

I was greeted by a driver named Chad. He picked me up first and then we picked up Evan who was staying at the City Creek Marriott. He looked so handsome when he walked out the hotel door. I was weak at the knees! WOO! Then went to pick up my cousin, Amanda who was my escort. When we got out of the car, I almost forgot my wedding dress. My dream must have been a sign of my air headedness. 

It took a long time to get my dress on- I think it made Evan nervous! We were sealed in the Bountiful LDS Temple at 1pm, surrounded by family and close friends. The temple sealer talked to us first, and then again said some wonderful words. It was such an amazing feeling. We were then greeted outside by more family and friends! We spent an hour and a half taking pictures. It was freezing, but worth it! 

Our dinner was held at the Joseph Smith Memorial building on the 9th Floor in the Sharon room at 5:30pm. The room overlooked the beautifully Christmas lit Temple Square, Salt Lake Temple and Main Street.

Each guest entered the room with a white paper cut out door and a table to take a polaroid photo and leave us a note.  

The room was wrapped in silk curtains that draped the wall. The window seals were covered in water vases and floating candles. The chandeliers were covered with silk drums. There was spot light lighting fixtures lighting each individual table. Each table had a different center piece with garden roses and peonies. Clear, pearl lined chargers placed each seat along with grey cloth napkins. The table linens were silk with a lace overlay. Each charade chair back lined with a beautiful beaded chair cover. 

A tall tree stood at the back of the room with each brach carefully wrapped in orchids. Surrounding the tree was a place card directing each guest to their assigned table. 

Our buffet was self serve with hawaiian style food. It started with fresh fruits and vegetables: black berries, mangos, raspberries, cantaloupe, melon, tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots. My favorite warm Lion house rolls were to follow with potato salad, kalua pork, lau lau, teriyaki chicken, sweet & sour meatballs, sticky rice, chicken long rice, a carving station, haupia (coconut pudding), and pineapple cake. It was so delicious, I was stuffed to say the least. 

The front of the room had a rustic wooden floor where our band played through the night. We danced to "The Way you look tonight", followed by my dad and I dancing to "My Brown-Eyed Girl" and then everyone else joining us for some fun. 

Our program began with a photo video of Evan and I growing up, followed by a video of us 2 days before the wedding at the Bountiful Temple and Evan seeing me for the first time in my dress. (videos to come).

Evan's nieces and nephews performed 3 hula dances! They were so cute and did such a good job.

Evan's family brought us fresh leis from Hawaii to wear. They were absolutely beautiful and smelled fantastic. 
Our cake was made by Granite Bakery in Salt Lake! It was the most delicious cake ever. It was perfectly moist and it didn't fall apart when we cut into it. The bottom layer was Strawberry Swirl with Bavarian Cream, the second layer was Chocolate with Strawberry filling, the third layer was Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, and the top layer was Chocolate and Strawberry filling. Yum. If cake were a vegetable I would eat that one everyday. 

It was the most perfect night and we had such a fantastic time! We want to party like this everyday. We left after all our guests departed for the evening. We were taken to our hotel in a black Bentley. It was such a classy evening and we are so happy to have been able to celebrate it with the most wonderful people. 

Venue: Joseph Smith Memorial Building  - We used the Sharon Room 
Food: Temple Square Hospitality- Hawaiian Buffet 
Florist/ Wall Drape: Decorations INC. 
Band: Joe Muscolino Band 
Cake:Granite Bakery Free tasting- no appointment required! 
Heidi's Dress: Chay's Formal Wear in Bountiful, Utah 
Evan's Suit: Utah Woolen Mills 
Videographer: Romero Media Reel 
Photographer: Jamy Beetcher http://jamybeecherphotography.com
Event Planner:Blue Bird Events 
Linens/Chairs: Wildflower Linens 
Transportation Service: Premiere Transportation 
Hair & Make-up: By Emily @ Lunatic Fringe Salon  She will do a practice run and will come to you on the day of! 
CD for Guests: [Cover] Etsy Shop 

[photo credit: Jamy Beecher]  http://jamybeecherphotography.com

The "First Look"

 Wedding Day

We Got Married!! 

The grandmas. They don't speak the same language but this photo is so touching.

So happy My Grandmas could both be there. Halmony flew from Korea & Oma just had her 90th Birthday

With the Grandmas

Evan's nieces and nephews

Family & Friends who joined us at the Bountiful Temple. 

Evan and his siblings Left to Right: Eliot, Evan, Elsa

Each of my Brides Maids & Temple Escort received a Pearl Bracelet with their names engraved

Brides Maids and Temple Escort. Left to Right: Kimberly, Uri, Heidi, Amanda

Wedding Dinner 

FACES

Our Dads 

Congratulations to these 2 just got engaged and will be married June 2014

Congratulations to Mark & Erin who will be expecting their first baby in May 2014