Friday, September 30, 2011

Our Rainy Anniversary Weekend

Mr. Seashell and I celebrated our First Wedding Anniversary by taking a road trip up to Door County, Wisconsin. In my mind it would be a perfect fall-getaway type weekend where we could wander, explore, hike, and enjoy the start of fall. It was definitely all those things, despite the fact that it literally rained the entire weekend.

As a native New Englander, I was picturing Door County to be a bit like coastal Maine/New Hampshire. It did not disappoint! Plus, I got to challenge my notion that the only thing to see in the Midwest is Chicago.

Mr. Seashell took the metra from downtown Chicago to the north suburbs (near my office) last Friday afternoon. I snuck out a little early so we could hit the road. We first made our way to Cedarburg.


After this shot, I was told that it was ok that I was taking photos "out the window", but none were allowed in the shop. If only the local artisans knew my lack of talent. I promise I'm not trying to replicate your pottery bowl. Promise.

We joined in a winery tour and got to sample some local wines. The tour was fun, but I'm partial to Napa Valley. I have tried wine in Arkansas, Missouri, and now Wisconsin. Save your money, people.


I fell in love with this Mason Jar chandelier! I need more rustic in my life.



While we were wandering, we stumbled upon Cedarburg High School's homecoming parade. It was the cutest thing ever! All the families were ridiculously adorable, and it was a quintessential All American experience that I always craved in High School. My classmates were a little busier raising their own children and averting gang violence. (Special shout-out to machete Eddie!)

I declared that we were selling our condo, having 3 babies and moving to Cedarburg.


We hit the road again, but not before we came scarily close to running out of gas. I'm sure the lovely people of Cedarburg would have helped us out.


Door County was gorgeous! 



We did our best to stay dry. I cursed myself for not bringing a coat with a hood.


Mr. Seashell used the rocks for shelter.


The only picture of us together from our Anniversary Weekend! I'm glad I thought to stick my camera on a stump and hit the self-timer.


We eventually got famished and hit this little bar for pizza. It sounded sooooooo good, but alas, they weren't serving pizza for another several hours. What kind of pizza place doesn't serve pizza ALL DAY. At least on a Saturday, right? So began our quest to find pizza. (Which we eventually did - I'd hate to leave you hanging.)


On Saturday night we got dressed up and went out for a fancy dinner. When we returned to our hotel, we decided to cut into our year-old wedding cake. It had been in Providence since our wedding (hence the note). When I was home recently I remembered to bring our cake back to Chicago. Then, we packed it up two weeks later to bring to Wisconsin. The cake really put in some mileage.

And it tasted great!


Sunday morning we stopped in Fish Creek for a yummy brunch. The waitress told me it was "breakfast" and Mr. Seashell laughed because allegedly I call any Sunday morning meal "brunch". It was after 10am, so I hold that I was right.


That's how we spent our First Anniversary weekend! Are you taking any trips this fall?

Saturday, September 24, 2011

One Year Later

They say the first year is the hardest...



But that can't possibly be true, because I'd live this last year a hundred more times.

Happy First Anniversary, my husband! I can't wait for what's next.

Monday, July 04, 2011

A Seashell Farewell

For now.

True, our wedding is over. But I can't say goodbye. So, I promise to write an anniversary post, announce a baby Seashell (not yet), or find another excuse (or two) to check in along the way. For now, today, I want to say Thank You.



 
Seashell Wedding Highlights from Seashell on Vimeo.


Our wedding would not have been the same with out you. Thank you, hive, for sharing in this journey with me. You have made the process of planning a wedding infinitely more fun, more memorable, more detailed, and more rewarding. Every bit of going from a giddy bursting-at-the-seams with excitement engaged girl to becoming a now-almost no longer newlywed reminds me of my time at Weddingbee.

Before I was lucky enough to blog here, I soaked in every bit of inspiration I could find. Thank you for posting your DIY projects, your inspiration hair photos, and your vendor reviews. Someone is eating every bit of that information up. Thank you, bees, who have taken the time to so beautifully share the details of your wedding journey with us. I can say that recapping is a daunting task, but following someone's journey from start to finish is what makes this place so special. That's what drew me in - the stories.

Thank you for letting me share my story.

xoxo,
Seashell

P.S. For those of you (like me) who refuse to say goodbye, come say hello to me and Mr. Seashell at The Fix-Its. Supposedly we blog about marriage, home ownership, renovation projects and the like, but somehow I got sidetracked and talked about sunglasses in two posts this week. We're always up to something!

Monday, June 27, 2011

One Shell Of A Wedding! : Our Last Stolen Moments

After the band had stopped playing, after the guests waved their sparkly wands and sent us on our way, after we made the long drive back to downtown Providence, we found time for just a few more photos.


We felt like we were on a Hollywood movie set as we strolled the quiet streets of Providence. Occasionally passersby would yell, "Awwww!" or "Congratulations!" from somewhere off in the distance.



Mr. Seashell took me for one more spin of the night.


...and then we kissed under the twinkly lights.


We made our way to a Providence landmark, Haven Brothers. The menu says they serve a few things, but you go for the hot dogs. This was one part photo op, and one (larger) part a late night snack.


Yes, honey, I am that hungry.

We stopped for a moment on the steps of city hall, where we'd picked up our license to wed just a few days prior. (Would Oprah call that a full-circle moment?)


Then we walked to the WaterFires. If you're ever in Providence in the summer you must check it out what has become a really fantastic tradition.



Mr. Seashell and I leaned in close, knowing we were enjoying some of the last moments of our wedding day. We did it. We were married.



{All photos from the fabulous Blink of an Eye Photography}

Previously in the Seashell Wedding:

Thursday, June 23, 2011

One Shell Of A Wedding! : We'll Be Dancin' The Night Away


After the world's most sentimental father daughter dance, it was time to officially get the party started! We kicked off the evening with Earth, Wind, and Fire's "September". (It seemed appropriate given our September 25 wedding, wouldn't you say?) The crowd took a little while to get moving, but soon enough the dance party in full force. This was the first time in the evening I felt like letting out a deep exhale and saying, "This is it! We did it!" There was nothing left to plan, coordinate, organize, or execute. All that was left on the agenda was to LET LOOSE. It was awesome.


September! from Seashell on Vimeo.




The band was fantastic. They wowed the crowd with a fantastic combination of oldies, motown, r&b, big band, and pop. We slow danced, moonwalked, boogied down, and shook our booties.



Since we'd cut the cake a few minutes prior, we also opened up the dessert bar.





One of the things I loved most about our venue was that everyone could do as they pleased. If you were hungry, the dessert bar was open. The dance floor was roaring at all times, but the grounds were lit and inviting if you wanted to grab a drink and catch up with friends.







As the hours disappeared, the band rounded up the crowd for a final song. We danced our hearts out for what we knew were the last few minutes of the wedding and then our sparkly wands were passed to each of our guests.


 (We call this photo, "Uncle Kenny's depressed that the party is over")




I wish I could say it was bittersweet, but it was just amazing. I was so happy, so filled with love and joy. I simply could not have asked for more.


{All photos from the fabulous Blink of an Eye Photography}


Previously in the Seashell Wedding:
 

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