One thing we knew we wanted to do after the wedding was get away for a few days. We don't leave for our honeymoon until June 10, 2012, but we needed to do something the few days after the wedding to kind of decompress from the excitement of the day. Plus, we had been completely surrounded by other people for a week leading up to our wedding. We just wanted to be together, just husband and wife, for a few days.
Thankfully my mom was able to reserve us a room at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Oro Valley, AZ (just outside Tucson). Because my mom has some connections there, we got an amazing room that looked out over the entire Tucson area.
The view from our room also included a shot of this really cute '05 Chevy Cobalt that had "Just Married" painted all over it. Those people must be so lucky! And so happy!
The first day we were in Tucson, I went down to the pool for a bit and Jason took a nap. It was so relaxing to get to just do nothing for a day.
That night, we went out to dinner at our favorite Tucson restaurant, Anthony's in the Catalinas. Here is a picture of us before leaving for dinner:
The next morning, slept in and ordered room service for breakfast. The room we were in was so amazing, Jason sat on the balcony and read the paper before breakfast arrived.
Yum!
We spent the entire next day down by the pool. The resort had pool-side waiters, so we ordered some smoothies to enjoy while we relaxed.
When we went to pay the bill, I eagerly agreed to take care of it, and for the first time EVER, I signed my NEW last name!
At the end of the day, it was time to head back to reality... but it was a pretty cool reality to be facing.
We leave for our honeymoon on June 10th, but that a whole different blog...
After we left the Tempe Mission Palms, we had a little brunch at our house to open gifts. My amazing bridesmaid Amanda had made sure everything had gotten cleared out of the Tempe Center for the Arts the night before. In fact, she had even taken shelves out of our refrigerator in order to fit our cake in it.
Everyone (family and bridal party) began arrive at 10am. We all took some time to eat before we started gifts. I had planned ahead pretty well, and thanks to Stacy, we were ready to go when everyone arrived. We had cheese danishes, two kinds of quiche, leftover brownies from the night before, fresh cut fruit and cheese and muffins.
It took us about an hour to get through all of our gifts and cards. We were so blessed with so many amazing gifts.
Jason was obviously comfortable that morning because he wore his house slippers even though we had all these people over...
The kids were entertained by us opening gifts for about 15 minutes. Thats when the bubble wrap came out and we lost them to the office.
We got A LOT of cards...
Since Gabe and Luke slept through most of my wedding, I made sure to take a picture with them the day after since there really aren't any from the day before!
And then it was off to Tucson for a little mini-honeymoon!
In keeping with our Tempe theme, we spent our wedding night at the Tempe Mission Palms. Most of that night includes memories that I will reserve only for my husband and I, but there were some really cool things about it too.
Each guest who stayed at the Mission Palms received a gift basket that I put together containing Arizona related stuff. There were guides to Spring Training, Airzona Iced Teas, Arizona made honey, guides to Tempe and Scottsdale and AZ Hot Sauce.
When we got back to the hotel after the reception, Jason had the task of unbuttoning my tiny little buttons on the back of my dress. I don't want to share too much from that story, but one of the cutest things he said was that it was "a puzzle he really wanted to finish". It took forever, but I did manage t get out of my dress and hang it on my custom made hanger:
Our hotel room was on the corner so it looked out towards Tempe Town Lake and A mountain.
The room was absolutely enormous including a full dining area, sitting room, a bedroom and a bathroom.
This was our first picture together on our first full day as a married couple:
Jason and I rode in a limo from the church to the reception. It was so much fun to drive down Mill Ave in a limo with the windows down. All kinds of people were waving and cheering. I felt like royalty.
When we arrived at the Tempe Center for the Arts, though, we realized that Jason's brother had his wallet and there was no way for us to tip the driver! Amanda and Alex were walking in from the parking lot, and they ran in to see if they could find someone with a $20. Luckily, my brother Tim had some cash and we were able to send the driver on his way. I think we still owe Tim that $20.
When we came into the center, the DJ and all the TCA staff were there waiting for us. It was like I had created my own entourage and they were all there to help us with any little thing we might need. We walked past the cocktail hour and waved at some of the guests and then we were sequestered in the dressing room until it was time for the grand entrance.
The grand entrance was great fun. I couldn't see how everyone was entering, but the laughter was a good indication they were being creative. When we came around the corner to enter the room, it was absolutely breathtaking.
Everything I had imagined had come to fruition. The tables were exactly as they should be. The centerpieces were stunning. The faces and smiles of the people in the room were sincere and heartfelt. It was perfect.
During our first dance, I honestly had moments where I completely forgot about anyone else in the room. I would look up at Jason, who was singling to me and I would get totally lost in the fact that I was his wife and this was our first dance. I wouldn't change single thing about those three minutes of my life. They, too, were perfect.
Here is a full-length video of our first dance!
I think my dad was crying before he even got to the dance floor. He held it together pretty well throughout the dance, though. We talked about how perfect the ceremony had been and about the significance of the song we were dancing too (Butterfly Kisses by Bob Carlisle). When I was in junior high, my dad and I kept a journal together. One of us would write and entry and then another one would and we would comment on each other's writing, or share pur favorite memories. The title of our journal was Butterfly Kisses, so the song was, of course, perfect.
Jason's dance to Louis Armstrong's Wonderful World was my first chance to take a deep breath and look around the room. It was epic to see all the people I loved in one place.
When Jason and his mother finished their dance, the DJ had everyone stand up and get into one huge circle around the room. Jason and I had NO idea he was going to do this, and it was hysterical to see some people holding hands. He then played That's What Friends Are For by Dionne Warwick and the whole room burst into song and swayed back and forth.
For the umpteenth time, I couldn't fight the tears. I was so touched by all the love that surrounded us in the room! Right at the end of the song, the DJ called us into the middle of the circle, and we were suddenly, literally surrounded by everyone we loved. It was overwhelming and borderline magical.
We were finally all seated and ready to eat. The head table was served by the wait staff while the rest of the guests were served buffet style. The food was absolutely amazing. My Uncle Richard said a prayer and Lettice sang Irish Blessing.
As we enjoyed dinner, the toasts began. First Ryan, then Isabel, Megan & Laura, and then my dad. They were all great in their own way. Ryan, who didn't prepare anything ahead of time was a little nervous, but shared a great story about the time I crawled out on a frozen lake to retrieve my sled. Isabel shouted, "Have babies so I can babysit already!" and Megan and Laura prepared the most amazing Marriage Survival Toolkit for us. Even my dad, who I thought would never get through his speech, kept his composure and gave us his well wishes.
Follwoing Dinner, Mike the photographer took us outside to catch the amazing sunset. Here are a few of those.
When we came back in, it was time for the garter and bouquet toss. Derek Erickson, one of Jason's friends caught the garter and my friend Dee Dee caught the bouquet. We'll see which one of them ends up married first. :)
Next, it was time to cut the cake. Jason and I hadn't discussed ahead of time whether or not this was going to get messy, and I was a little nervous. I fed Jason a small piece, very gently, trying to set the example that I didn't really want it all over my face. He didn't get the hint. He started out very sweet and gave me just a small piece, but before I knew it there was frosting all over my nose. That's Jason though, so I couldn't be mad. All I could do was laugh it off. Plus, the cake was REALLY good, which made it much easier to enjoy.
With the cutting of the cake, all of our 'official' reception duties were done. From there out, we were able to enjoy the photobooth, dancing, friends and family that were all around us.
After the reception, there was a small dessert hour on the top of the Tempe Center for the Arts. This entire event was Jason's idea and it turned out perfectly. There was coffee, after-dinner drinks, chocolate mousse, brownies, cookies and more. It was so nice to have a moment to actually site down and chat with some of our guests. I think this was a rare thing for a wedding. Morst of the out of town weddings Jason and I have gone to have flown by without us really even getting to say hello to the bride and groom. We didn't want that for our guests, so we designed this after-party to be a low key event that allowed us to chat with all our loved ones. It was the perfect way to wrap up the evening.
At 10pm, it was time for the fairytale to end. The guests all gathered at the entrance to the Tempe Center for the Arts. Jason and I ran through a shower of bubbles and off we went to spend our wedding night at the Tempe Mission Palms.
.jpeg)