Honeymoon

My darling groom booked this gorgeous home for us to spend a relaxing, peaceful weekend together at the Oregon Coast. This house was called "Seascape" - located just outside of Pacific City, next to Camp Winema. The house was on a cliff - from most places in the house, you could only see ocean - it felt as if we were on a cruise ship (without the seasickness!) The whole backside of the house was windows - even down to the huge window in the master bathroom (with a soaking tub! Have you ever soaked in a hot tub with the ocean breeze cooling the air? Heaven.)

We spent a good amount of time in this room, just resting and reading.

View from the driveway...

Comfortable couches, books and coffee...

I had to make it a little more homey...as I was picking these flowers from the front yard, a sweet little bunny scampered up the yard - it was just larger than a squirrel, dark brown with a bright white tail.

The drive into town starts out on a windy, gravel road...the scenery was unreal. Simply gorgeous.

Foxgloves and Queen Anne's Lace was blooming all over the sides of the roads for much of our drive...(my sweetie stopped to pick these for me on the drive back home)...

 

Camp Winema (just up the road from Seascape) looks amazing...like a little kid's summer paradise.

On Saturday, we took a long drive down 101 - we made it all the way down to Newport, stopping at bookstores, coffee stands and farmer's markets...it was a rainy day, perfect for a drive and some quiet time together...

We stopped on the way back up for lunch at The Inn at Spanish Head...our view was incredible...

...and I found the one and only public restroom I've ever been in that I didn't want to leave as quickly as possible...(this is a view from the stall!)...

We ended the night by getting a pizza to bake at home and renting a couple of movies...

We had to check out at 11 on Sunday. After some morning reading and showers, we packed up and headed into Pacific City to do some exploring. The weather was beautiful today, so we stopped to walk on the beach (for the first time all weekend!) This beach was stunning...I wish we'd had more time to spend walking and relaxing here...

I actually considered horseback riding on the beach before we headed home - but before I could make up my mind, there was quite a commotion. Rescue trucks, sheriffs and the fire department were roaring down the beach - lights and sirens going strong - someone had been bucked off of their horse and rolled over...ouch.

Someone left their boots behind...not cool enough to take home, but cool enough for a picture...

(I spent a fair amount of time taking pictures on this trip - thanks for being patient with me, sweetie!)

The drive home was very pleasant - we chatted some, spent some quiet time enjoying the ride and even stopped for some elk jerky (for him, not me - I was content with my marionberry scone from Grateful Bread!)

Two more things worth mentioning for memory's sake - when we were settling into the house, checking things out, a bald eagle flew right by our windows - it was breathtaking to see the size of that bird, and up so close to where we were standing! I'm pretty sure they'd nested in the trees just to the side of the house. We never did see them again.

Also, we both got a pair of new jeans at the Levi's outlet in Lincoln City - and 2 pairs of new sneakers for the boys at the Nike outlet. The jeans were a splurge for us, but we both LOVE our new blues! The boys' sneakers were a heck of a deal - 2 cool pairs of shoes for $30!?! Tell me where else you could manage that! AND - they're bonafide Nikes!

We're both still tired from the crazy wedding week, but I'm glad to have had that time to make some new memories together. Now, we're back to our 'real life' - there's a lot of laundry, weeding and thank you card writing to be done. That's okay, though - that's what we signed up for, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Life is good!

Hold

At our rehearsal - a moment with mama...

Took the boys hiking at Multnomah Falls - turns out Matthew is a little bit afraid of heights. It's all good, though, if Baba hangs onto him so he can enjoy the view from a safe spot...

It's simply stunning in the Columbia Gorge - damp forests, waterfalls, so much greenery...

Back at home - the garden is taking off! A few sunny days, and this is what we get:

Tomatoes!

Color...

Raspberries...

And NOT from my garden - from my bridal bouquet, in fact. This is green trick...it's soft, fuzzy and super green!

Took the kiddos to Creature Feature at the library this afternoon. They were incredibly patient with all of the totally misbehaving children (and parents!) - the biggest issue was rudeness, as in nobody would sit DOWN so my boys could see. They were also the very last in line to pet the snakes, but were able to have some unrushed time as a result. I'm very proud of those boys for being so kind and respectful, and grateful for their patience.

June 24, 2012: Dreams Come True

We were so blessed to have Sarah of BerryTree Photography fly out to shoot our wedding. Sarah is totally my photography idol - her work has always left me breathless and I knew that someday, I had to have her shoot something for me and my family. Being that she specializes in weddings, I feel extra lucky that we were able to snag her as our wedding photographer.

Here is a sneak peek from the most magical, perfect, romantic day I've ever had...my dream wedding!

Getting ready...all my moms...(note my nervous hands...I love that detail!)

Red shoes!

I really, really loved my dress so much. It looked vintage to me - something classic that my grandmother could have worn and hopefully something a future daughter would want to wear. Thank you, Mom, for such an amazing wedding gift. I will cherish the memories of how beautiful I felt in my gown that day forever.

This might just be the most amazing wedding vendor story ever. My florist, Alicia (with Floral Designs by Alicia) had a baby on Thursday (or maybe even Friday? Alicia, correct me on this one!) She had two backups for my wedding flowers. When my bouquet was delivered, I was being posed for a photo. I heard a voice, and thought my ears were playing tricks on me. I looked up and Alicia herself was standing there presenting this beautiful piece of artwork to me. I thought I'd seen a ghost. How on EARTH does this woman have a baby, create the most gorgeous wedding flowers I've ever seen AND deliver them - in her first 2 days postpartum? She told me she did them all herself, because she had to make sure they were just right for me. I love this girl and what she did for me...it's not just about the flowers...it's what she put into making sure my day was perfect. I tear up everytime I think of this part of my day. Alicia, you're incredible. So were my flowers.

The guys bouts were awesome - succulents...

 Mama and her babies...

This seems like a good spot to credit my lovely hair and makeup artist. Andrea Todd was amazing to work with - very flexible, talented and such a sweet girl to boot - she helped calm my pre-wedding jitters and made me feel like a princess!

Mike and I aren't extremely conventional. We skipped the garter and bouquet toss, DJ and videographer (although we had friends work so hard to provide the DJ and video services as a favor to us - thank you from the bottom of our hearts for that!)

We had a Persian Ceremony in the middle of our traditional ceremony and all of my attendants were men. Brothers Kevin and Jonathan, and of course my little handsome guys...

The boys walked Mike down the aisle, and then were sent back up to fetch Mom. There wasn't a dry eye in the house by the time I was walking down the aisle to meet my groom.

We were married under "The Heritage Tree" at the Ainsworth House. The venue felt so pure...as if we were the first and only couple to ever be married there. Our fathers married us, we all wrote our own vows (including the boys! They asked my father all on their own if they could do this, and surprised us all) and we were surrounded by our closest loved ones. It was beyond gorgeous that day...

My mom worked so hard, with the help of a lot of friends and family, to put together a gorgeous Persian Ceremony for us. As a little girl, I watched gorgeous Persian brides glowing under beautifully decorated cloths as women surrounded the couple, showering them with well wishes. I always wanted that to be a part of my story - my dream came true that day, and it couldn't have been a prettier ceremony. Thank you all for making it so pretty!

A few guests saw us through until the end (including enduring countless cheesy dances, including The Chicken Dance, The Macerena and Mike's favorite - Footloose.) Those that were patient got to particpate in our sparkler send off. I hated to leave, but couldn't have possibly been any happier with the entire experience!

A few more shots from our amazing photographer...I think she sees things more beautifully than the rest of us. I'm so grateful to have her viewpoint of that day!

Many people have already heard this story, but Mike's ring is very special - it is made from his grandfather's wedding band + his grandmother's special earrings - melted into a new band for Mike to wear for another lifetime. It's beautiful and powerful.

In the days leading up to the wedding, we were terrified that we were going to be rained out and miss all of our photo ops outdoors. Thank goodness Mother Nature heard my pleas and provided gorgeous sunlight for shots like these...

(but only for a few seconds at a time! We played 'chase the sun spot' for this shot!)

 Could these guys be any more handsome?