My Rehearsal Dinner

The day before my wedding was rainy, windy, and cold.  I knew I couldn't do anything about it, so I tried my hardest not to even think about it.  I met my mom and sister so we could have manicures and pedicures together, which was a nice, quiet start to the wedding weekend.  After that I drove back home so that Jesse and I could drive down to the hotel together as we would be leaving together on Sunday (as husband and wife!!).

Fast-forward a couple hours and Jesse and I were on our way to the Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club.  We checked in to our rooms and I dropped my stuff off in my room before we started the rehearsal.  Unfortunately, it was sprinkling with rain when we arrived.  We waited for everyone to arrive for the rehearsal.  The rehearsal made everything become real.  We were finally getting married.  Our event coordinator, Melissa, went over all of the logistics and made everyone feel comfortable.  The Naples Beach Hotel really treated us well the whole weekend!

Our extended families then joined us for our Rehearsal Dinner which was also at the hotel, in the chickee hut by the beach bar.  It was decorated very beautifully with orchids submerged in water.  We had chosen an Italian themed dinner in honor of our Italian honeymoon so we were serving sangria and Italian beer.

Jesse's father said a sweet welcome speech and then his sister gave a nice speech about my family welcoming Jesse so easily.  Jesse's second groomsman, JP, gave a great speech about his relationship with Jesse and he thanked me for not only accepting Jesse's passions, but embracing them.  Then Jesse and I thanked everyone for being there.

We enjoyed the Italian food afterwards, but then the wind started picking up and making everyone cold.  Everyone had a great time at the dinner, but started to leave to get out of the cold.  I said my goodbyes to Jesse and we took our last picture as Miss and Mr!  It was a truly wonderful day and we loved having that special time with our families.

Me and the Moms!

So excited for my sister recently getting engaged to this sweetheart!

Love Story: How We Met

I always tell people that Jesse and I don't have an exciting love story. Which isn't very fair or true. All love stories are great! It is fun since Jesse was quite persistent! It wasn't love at first sight like my parents, nor high school sweethearts like Jesse's parents, but that doesn't make our story any less romantic, sweet, or meaningful. It is worth celebrating! Since Valentine's Day was last week, so let's keep the feelings of love going!

We first met at our friend JP's birthday party in August 2008. We were both 23 and a couple years out of college.  I wasn't very big into going out and had only met JP one time before his party. My friend Brett invited me and said that JP really wanted me to go. I don't know if that was true but it seemed to have convinced me so I showed up. A lot of the people there I was meeting for the first, second, or third times and are now some of my closest friends. A little while later, Jesse showed up. He and JP have been friends since high school. Jesse and I didn't really talk that night; the only thing he said to me was that "you are the photographer for the night."

New Year's Eve 2008/2009

A couple weeks passed and we all went bowling as a group.  Brett told me who was going to be there and I didn't remember who Jesse was! I thought I hadn't met him, but after seeing him at the bowling alley, I figured it out. While we were bowling, I found out he had a girlfriend. I think that immediately put him into the friend-zone. We hung out together as a group a few more times for the rest of 2008, including Halloween, another friend's birthday, and New Year's Eve. In early January 2009, he and his girlfriend broke up, for good.

Our first Valentine's Day (not as a couple) - 2009

At the beginning of February 2009, I went on my trip to Tokyo. During this time, Jesse was taking a course called Dale Carnegie Training.  He used this as an excuse to "get to know me better" and talk about my Tokyo trip after I got back. We met up for coffee at Barnes and Noble. Later, he told me he felt like he was giving an interview and figured I didn't like him. I didn't realize it was supposed to be a date especially since I had previously friend-zoned him. I honestly thought it was a class assignment or something. I thought we had a really good time, even though I was being shy!

St. Patrick's Day 2009

Fast forward a couple months to May 2009 and Jesse had stopped trying to get to know me better as I'm sure it was like talking to a wall. But he was still commenting on all of my Facebook posts and pictures, because every time we hung out as a group he remembered he still liked me and wanted to get to know me better. I remember talking to a friend saying he comments on everything so I think he might like me a little. He had started going back on AOL Instant Messenger just to talk to me since I still used that regularly back then. One night we were up late chatting on AIM and he asked me out on a date. I smiled to myself and told him that would be fun and we set a plan for the week after his birthday party.  To be continued...

Firenze!

After a couple nights in Venice, we headed over to Florence by train. When I was kid, I went to Italy with my family and did not like Florence, so I wasn't really looking forward to it and we only planned to be there three nights.  Oh wow, was I in for a surprise!  I fell deeply in love with it!  It is a small, walkable city with inexpensive and delicious food, and it is beautiful.  The architecture and art is breathtaking.  Every street begged for me to photograph it and being the navigator, I led us past the Duomo every time.  I know I will be back again someday.  If you are lucky enough to go, please make sure you climb the Duomo, go up to Piazzale Michaelangelo, and eat at Trattoria Sostanza.

Where We Stayed:

The St. Regis Florence

Where We Ate:

Trattoria Sostanza (please go here, best chicken I have EVER had)

Note di Vino (wine bar)

Enoteca Fuori Porta (wine bar)

Cibreo Trattoria (near Santa Croce, handwritten menu in Italian)

Casa Del Vin Santo (near Ponte Vecchio)

Perche No? (gelateria)

Trattoria ZaZa (order anything with truffle sauce)

Gondolas and Gelato

Two days after our wedding, we started our honeymoon in Venice, Italy!  It was quite cold there in April and we were jet lagged, but we still had a great time wandering around the streets, getting lost, and taking silly pictures.  We took a gondola ride, ate lots of gelato, and did I mention getting lost?  One of the best parts is getting lost since you find so many interesting nooks and crannies.  The food wasn't as exciting as we hoped and it was crowded everywhere with tourists, but Venice is definitely different than anything and I fully recommend it.

Where We Stayed:
Hotel Danieli (near Piazza San Marco)

Where We Ate:
Da Mamo Trattoria Pizzeria (near the Rialto Bridge)