Friday, April 13, 2012

The Wedding Day! (or the day I got a new brother)

Getting beautiful (as if she needed any help!)

                                                
my turn

big day for Ella too!

Bridesmaids

Interesting experience getting make-up done---FOR AN HOUR! Set things back just a bit---Riss held it together and was very patient with Helga and her passion for dramatic eyebrows.


Surprise! You've been heart attacked :) There aren't enough paper hearts in the world to show you how much I love you Riss!
Hair: check, make-up: check, dress on: check

Driving to the wedding

Must be time for some pictures...

 Marissa has some incredible friends who were so much fun to play with all weekend!

Hilarious Elizabeth

Sweet Amy

Inside joke

 Possibly the only pic of Kendall actually smiling all day!



OH WOW
Pretty great to have BOTH of us caught looking awesome!
Okay, that's a little better

The Kendall wrangler (aka super Dad!)

New in-laws
 Newlyweds!

and a few more super cold pictures :)


Sunday, April 8, 2012

Getting ready for the big day

The day before the wedding there were still a few important things to get done...
First, we had to touch up our nails at Famous Nails


and then fuel up on Starbucks

so we could efficiently set up and decorate the wedding venue.
before
after




I wish I had taken more pics of all the projects Riss did to make the wedding feel like theirs---the venue was a blank canvas so every single detail was something she bought or created!

Finally it was time to rehearse



and celebrate the couple with family and close friends!

The silly little flower girl---we weren't sure after the rehearsal if she'd do her duty or kick the flower ball around and yell "Chase You!"



Time for bed...tomorrow will be a long day for this little munchkin.


Saturday, April 7, 2012

Love & Luck


Valentine love for "Baby"

Trying a little photo shoot for a Valentine's Day card




On Valentine's Day 

Reading over all of Mommy's cards from her students

Maybe too many treats today!?!

One month later...
Our little leprechaun 


Celebrating Riss

'
In preparation for Marissa and Luke's wedding we had lots of celebrating (and crafting) to do! First we threw a shower for Riss, with all of her favorite girls, and several special touches that were just for her.
One of her favorite quotes is "Keep Calm and Carry On" so I found one that said "Marry On" and I changed it to her wedding colors. I think she liked how it turned out! I tried to have all the little touches match that sign. I found the cute gray felt baskets at Target and filled them with favors (purple and gray bow pins) and games (scratch tickets and address drawing), and scattered throughout were little gray chevron tags labeling everything. Amy also made a really cute bucket where all the guests could write a little note of encouragement or marriage advice. 

Mom helped me out by bringing over some pictures of Riss through the years. They were a cute way to see who she has become---LUKE'S WIFE!!! 
Peppermint bark cupcakes with a "He Put A Ring On It" mini banner I found on the internet.
Then a big "She Said Yes!" banner :) I

The guest of honor before she dug into her massive load of gifts! It's fun to get showered!!! I kept wishing that she'd have extras of the cool kitchen gadgets that were nonreturnable so I'd get them---no such luck! Guess it's time Keith and I renew our vows and re-register. It was such a sweet day and I loved putting lots of love and details into the party. I know she doesn't love to be the center of attention but she deserved to get spoiled and I hope she felt all the love.

Then a few weeks later it was Julie's turn to host another Marissa celebration :) We started the day helping Riss finished up some wedding projects so she could actually relax and enjoy her special day.

It's a well known fact that to really relax and feel spoiled is to head over to Famous Nails for a pedi and chair massage!

We took our cowgirl to Nordy's to pick out some wedding night apparel...the boa, hat, boots, and special Texas buckle was a nice start :)

Then to dinner at Twigs for gifts and giggles thanks to some totally inappropriate dinner conversations!

We wrapped up the night at Gibliano Bros. Although the crowd was more fit for our parents, that didn't take away from all sorts of excitement (including, but not limited to, a lesbian vs. drunk man fight, a large man falling off the stage, somewhere in there we discovered blood on the dance floor and someone even wet their pants from all the wild dancing!) and Marissa even got called up to sit on the piano for a special few songs---she was such a great sport while getting teased by the piano players.

All in all, I think Marissa enjoyed all the parties in her honor marking her new adventure of becoming a wife! I love you Riss and so do all your friends and family who came to love on you!