The Day We Said " I Do"

September 29, 2011. The day I looked into the big, beautiful brown eyes of my love and promised to be his wife. I wore red shoes.

We eloped at city hall in Manhattan for a variety of reasons, mostly related to visa time lines and finances. It was a wonderful day.

Emma was our witness and my hair and makeup fixer. At our second wedding celebration (in 2013), she'll be my maid of honor, too. I love her.

I wore a yellow silk rose in my hair in honor of Bulgaria and a short white lace dress found in a small boutique near my house. The dress had no tags except for a tiny label on the inseam stating, "Made in Paris." It seemed serendipitous.

When we were called in to the chapel, a lot of giggling ensued. Nervous energy maybe? It was all kind of surreal. But then the officiant started talking and I clutched Tiho's hands too tightly and forgot about everything else. What I remember most is the way he looked at me. I could see the raw emotion in his face and it just completely reaffirmed that this was exactly what was supposed to happen. Husband, wife, here we are.

We walked out of that building beaming. I couldn't stop smiling. I've been told that no matter what, you feel beautiful on your wedding day. I have to agree. It radiates from within.

Newly minted sister and brother. It's amazing to me how a marriage instantly expands the notion of family. I love it.

We took a handful of portraits in the wedding garden and then in front of the municipal building and courthouse.

See? I can't stop smiling. And doesn't Tiho look dapper in his cherry red tie? The color of passion, baby!

We had our hearts set on a series of Brooklyn Bridge photos. One of our earliest dates was a stroll across that bridge, so it was majorly sentimental (plus it's just awesome).

As we set out, the storm clouds rolled in. We were about a third of the way over the bridge when the loudest clap of thunder boomed overhead and the sky opened. When I say "opened," I mean crazy heavy rain and wind.

There was nothing we could do. No umbrellas, no shelter. So, we majorly made out and embraced the photo opportunity. We wanted a Brooklyn Bridge photo shoot and boy, did we ever get one.

After a few minutes, I kicked off my heels and we raced back over the bridge in search of cover. It was still pouring and absolutely freezing. We were drenched and I'm fairly certain my dress was see-through.

We made out some more and shared a hot dog from a vendor before deciding to call it a day. Originally, we planned to remain in the city and treat ourselves to a romantic dinner, but in the end, we headed home, ordered Thai takeout, popped the cork on a bottle of champagne and snuggled on the couch. And you know what? It felt exactly as it should.

I love you so much, Tiho. If these first few months of marriage are any indication of what the next seventy years will be, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

(All photography by the amazing and talented Alice Gao who captured our personalities so well it's almost scary).

They're Here!

Our city hall wedding photos are in! This was the very first one I saw and my absolute favorite. I'm still sorting through them all and will narrow them down to share with all of you soon. This week is a bit crazy with a major event happening at school, so bear with me. Many more to come.

(Film!) photo by Alice Gao.

Flowers, Diamonds, Sheep

That's what I have for you today. A glimpse at my DIY bridal bouquet composed of sunflowers, roses, dahlias and hypericum--fall's finest, eh? (More like "fall's only"--no joke, there was nothing else available besides droopy looking carnations and some unidentifiable green stuff). I purchased all of the flowers from our local Whole Foods the night before we headed to city hall and then arranged them at the kitchen table. I was pleased with how the finished product turned out, considering I've never made a real bouquet before. I wanted a natural looking, somewhat asymmetrical feel and think I achieved that. I didn't know I was supposed to use floral tape (oops), and instead, secured it with tight fabric ribbon (several layers tightly wrapped and then knotted & tucked). The bouquet more than withstood the torrential downpour, so I guess I did something right.

Snapped these instagram shots once we returned home and dried off. We changed into pajammies and shared an entire bottle of French champagne. My wedding band isn't an official match to my engagement ring, but I think they complement each other nicely. I wanted a whisper of a ring that could stand out on its own. This photo duo makes me smile. Pure happiness right there.

And last, the adorable farm store and petting zoo we stumbled upon whilst driving home from our movie date. I spotted a sign that read "Cinderella pumpkins" and made Tiho pull over. I might have clapped my hands together and performed a little jig when we walked around back and encountered two goats, a sheep, a (gigantic) pig and several bunnies. I fed them pellets and then bought a caseload of gourds for my classroom. The photo with the vacuum transpired in Sears, which was the original reason we detoured and subsequently found the farm stand. Our floors are in desperate need of a cleaning because our current vacuum picks up approximately one out of every ten dust particles. Not that you really care about our vacuum, or the state of our floors. Focus on the lamb. Or the perfectly arranged pumpkins. I was impressed too.

We Did It!

We're married! Here's a sneak peek from our city hall wedding yesterday. Our amazing photographer, Alice Gao, made this gif right after we all got caught in a monsoon--sans umbrellas--on the Brooklyn Bridge. My hair was sopping, my dress was drenched, and all we could do was laugh.

And dance. Because that's what love is really about, right?

Many more photos + stories soon (I can't wait to see how Alice captured us before, during and after this rainstorm. I have a feeling I won't be able to stop laughing).

Love & Light

The night before the day of our wedding
I dreamed that the universe had a party,
And the stars were invited,
Beneath sparkling chandeliers, the planets rejoiced;
In all its beautiful, candle-lit galaxies,
Crowded with glass - clinking revellers,
The Cosmos was Laughing with
Lasting Love and Light.

[Kate Farrell]

Scenes From The Weekend

We were away this weekend. A half hour into the drive on Friday, I realized my camera was still sitting on my desk at home. Thank goodness for the iPhone: it actually ended up feeling nice traveling lighter than usual.

Our wedding venue search was the purpose for this mini trip.  I've spent the past month researching and narrowed it down to the three places we visited this weekend. Needless to say, we feel elated after seeing them in person. Now, decision time.

The two venues we're deciding between are both lovely and unique and afford us the opportunity to have a gorgeous garden ceremony followed by an indoor reception in somewhat of an "alternative" location. I know I probably sound vague, but I don't want to give anything away until we officially decide. Several of these photos offer a little peek.

With all of the craziness and sleep-depravity of the past couple of weeks, it felt completely restorative to get away for 48 hours and spend one-on-one time with T. At the end of the day, I know it doesn't even matter where and when and how this wedding occurs: I'm just happy to be marrying the love of my life.

Any tips for effective penny-pinching? We need to find a way to save the majority of our money without resorting to a pantry full of ramen noodles. Because, you know, we love our crab cakes and garlic shrimp (which we bought, prepared and devoured for dinner on Saturday night. Nothing better).

The White Dress

My sister bought me this book from the National Portrait Gallery in London last year. I've been poring over it recently (for obvious reasons), as it provides a fascinating (and gorgeous!) look at the history and tradition of the wedding dress.

320 pages worth of couture fashion inspiration.

It's hard for me to resist anything having to do with classic, old Hollywood glamour, and The White Dress offers an abundance. Plus, it looks really pretty on the coffee table.

Our Wedding: City Hall Style Preview

I've previously mentioned we're planning two weddings. The short of it: We're eloping at city hall next month for a variety of reasons related to finances/visa stuff/family members being out of the country. Then, in spring of 2013, we're having our "big" wedding celebration complete with a ceremony, reception and loved ones. We've already booked our photographer and are in the midst of locking in a venue for the 2013 date. Early bird gets the worm, right?

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world, because technically, I get to marry the love of my life twice and in two completely different ways.

Much more to come regarding the second wedding, but now, first things first: city hall inspiration.

Hello dream world? Two wedding looks to choose! This time around, let's call it "classic romantic meets New York City sexy." The board should give you an idea of what I'm envisioning.

One of the pieces included up there actually represents something I've already purchased. Can you guess what it is? Hint: it's not the rings, though we've ordered those, too (not the ones pictured but pretty similar).

Eee! Just a smidge over a  month 'til I have a husband.

(links: gold clutch; wanderlustings hairpiece; asos lace dress; cole haan pumps; garden rose bouquet; kate spade red lipstick; eidelprecious rings)

New Art 'Round Here

When I was walking through Barnes & Noble in Union Square last week, I spotted a rack of beautiful postcards. I couldn't resist scooping a few up and chose to frame this sweet cottage garden scene for our bedroom. The artist is Jessie Krause.

Remember these photos I snapped along the Seine in Paris last month? I had recently heard about Easy Canvas Prints and decided to try them out. I'm thrilled with how my image looks blown up and stretched onto a ready-to-hang canvas. The process literally took three minutes and the parcel arrived on my doorstep within a week of placing the order. (By the way, this is in no way a sponsored post. I am simply a happy customer, and wanted to pass my recommendation along to all of you).

I almost cried when I received this surprise engagement gift from Nichole of Little Brown Pen. I immediately ran out to buy a frame and am now determining the perfect spot to hang it. Thanks again, Nichole: we love it!

We bought this small, original oil painting from an elderly man with an art stand in Varna, Bulgaria. It cost approximately $10 US dollars and I am still kicking myself for not bagging his entire inventory.

These brightly-hued spray roses are not technically art, but the colors are so magnificent, they may as well be. This color combination also happens to be a front runner for my wedding bouquet...

Our Wedding: The Vision

A first attempt at cataloging the "vision" of our wedding. We're currently researching venues: once that's solidified (hopefully within a month or so), I'm psyched to fully plunge in with the planning.

I'll share updates as they occur, but for now, a tease: we're actually having two weddings: one tiny (just us), and one big (the whole kit and kaboodle). Explanation coming soon. Whoop!

(click through for the original image sources: chocolate souffle; hair-unknown; porch; taxi; chairs; lovebirds; candlesticks; dress; wildflowers; cake)