tis finished...all is done

Ok, so I know that sounds a lot like some of Jesus' last words on the cross...but it can be spun positively too!  like...the wedding is finished and done.  As is my blogging absence. 

But you have to agree, trying to blog while having a wedding, honeymoon and such just isn't that practical.  Besides, i'm just building your anticipation. 

So, good news and bad news.  Bad news first: 

I don't exactly have many wedding photos.  Waiting on my dear photographer for those. 

Good news:

I do have a few... AND i'm going to give you the honeymoon low-down, since I've been getting a lot of questions about it since we got back. 

Basically this is going to be a fantastic blog post. and everyone and their mother's brother and their kitchen sink will read it. 

while I am waiting for my pictures to download (it's taking a while)...I am going to tell you a few things. 

First of all, I enjoyed my wedding weekend IMMENSELY.  Cuz not only was I (finally) getting married to my best friend, but we had 200 of some of our favoritest people there!  in fact, we even wanted more favorite people there, but there just wasn't enough room. 

Oh. and let me dispel a rumor.  According to my secret sources, I didn't look very happy walking down the aisle toward Ben.  People were wondering if I was in fact happy to be getting married. 

I was. really.  I was smiling at the very back as I walked in.  But looking at Ben, my dad, his dad, all of our family and friends...I started crying.  And then I started to make myself stop crying.  Which resulted in a confused, distorted and not-so-happy-looking face.  Honestly, if I think about it too much, I get annoyed at myself. 

Ok, here are the wedding pictures I DO have to share with you.  The rest of the wedding party and such will have to come later. so stay tuned. 
p.s. i did steal these from facebook, so if you've seen them before, that's where.
either that or you took them =P


For years I dreamed of having my picture taken on this staircase in my wedding dress.  It is in the lovely home of a couple from church in Altadena.  they not only had me and my girlfriends spend the night, but they let me have my dream picture too!

Ben and I.

Klotzle Womem!  

Krissa, me, Amy and Mumzy

how I love them!

 This IS a photographer picture.  The only one he's shared so far ;)
Ben and I making our exit  with lavender and rose petals raining down on us!
see...I WAS happy =)



Ok.  Now for honeymoon pictures!!
We went to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Our particular island was called Pine Cay.  800 Acres.  pretty private.

At the airport at 10:30 at night, eating fro-yo.  good way to start the trip.  

As we approached the islands,  the water got clearer and it was SO pretty!

More ocean pictures.  

This is us boarding our next flight from charlotte to Provo (main island with the airport)

we were exhausted after flying all night.  

Finally we were on our boat which took us 20-30 minutes away to Pine Cay

no, we did not coordinate our shirt colors with the ocean.  I wish I was that fashion forward.  =P 

tired...but happy to be there. 

only one other couple went over with us.  and after the boat ride and snack, we never saw them again. literally. it was quite strange.  

The marina at Pine Cay

long dirt road from the marina to the club house.  

This place has 7 houses on it and a hotel with thirteen "rooms" which the homeowners own as well.  It is managed by a couple named Bev and Wally who have done hospitality and vacation/resort managing together for 35 years.  They were made for the job.  

They have a friendly staff of locals from various of the other islands.  SO friendly, hospitable.  Everyone knew our name and that we were on our honeymoon.  Made us feel welcome and comfortable.  

No TV, no phones, internet only when absolutely necessary...perfectly disconnected.  and for those of you who might have been concerned that I would not enjoy being so disconnected...i didn't even notice. ben was proud of me =)  Until we were about to touch down on american soil.  then i was sitting with my thumb poised over the facebook app...a little pathetic, I know.  ;)

ANYWAY!

So this was our "snack" when we got there.  Fresh fruit.  Green salad.  Artichoke and tomato salad and a Caesar chicken wrap.  They fed us SO well...all inclusive and made fresh on site by a professional chef.  =)

see, we really were happy to be there finally

yeah. view out our patio.  A-MAY-ZING!!

like perfect island paradise beaches.  All natural white sand.  

our private little tiki hut.  we didn't really sit under it much.  

but we did once.  

over the bluff in front of our room.  

games of banana grams on our bed.  

our lil' screened in patio 

from the front door.



our little living room


screened-in porch looking out. we kept these doors open all the time and the breeze blew right through

our awesome outdoor bamboo shower. only had one temperature of water.... =/

on our way to our little dinner-for-two under the stars. 

beautiful pink sky

there are lots of natural beauty pictures. just cuz it was so naturally beautiful.  and God's handiwork was incredible.  so wonderful to be so close to it. 

the club house. 

they set us up right next to the beach. just the two of us.

and our waiter, mark anthony.  who is a lakers fan. found that out. 

DELICIOUS kale, cranberry, feta and pine nut salad.  i'm gonna try to re-create it.  

"try" being the operative word.  

ben's lamb chops. sooo good.  

the pic of my food didn't really turn out. but it was yummy too. 

None of these are edited.  just some natural beauty!

obligatory kissing picture. had to get it out of the way.  

perfect.  

these might not all be the same night. 

pink puffy clouds

sun flare



writing me messages


SBF <3 bfg="" nbsp="" p="">(Steady Best Friend loves Beautiful Forever Girlfriend)





one of our favorite quotes

ben having fun with the banana grams.  he's such a dork.  a cute one, though ;)

driving the golf cart (there are no cars) to the marina to go on our deserted island picnic adventure.  

the boat ride over.  that is unedited.  the REAL color of the ocean.

on the boat.  i love him. =)

our island disappearing from view.  

Ben under our not-so-sturdy umbrella. it collapsed on us. so we ended up taking it down and getting burned.  because our boat guy was like 20 minutes late in picking us up.   

really felt like a deserted island.  

another sliver-lining sunset from the club house.  

yummy food. Veal and asparagus

pesto pasta and grilled chicken

then we left this glorious paradise.  it was amazing.  comfortable, we could sleep whenever we wanted.  read books, play games, eat a multitude of food.  

would recommend it to anyone who needs a reasonably priced get-away!

Then we received some advice...a little too late:  Don't ever fly out of Provo on a saturday!

whoops.

This line zigged-zagged...we stood in it for a good two hours.  just to go through security.
it was covered with wood, but barely any moving air.  SO HOT!

trying to pass the time.  

i was getting grumpy at this point.

Then we came upon this ironic sign next to us in line.

Once through security, we stood with this mass of people while our plane was delayed.  no order. totally chaotic.  couldn't hear announcements. and the only moving air was coming from a large industrial fan that had been set up in the corner.
quite an adventure.

but we didn't lose our christmas spirits...cuz...

we were the FIRST ONES to board the plane. literally.  they don't believe in pre-boarding or zones or anything like that. we just happened to hop to  it when they finally announced our plane was ready through the muddled PA system.

see how happy we are to be the first one on the plane?  finally on our way home...

Ah yes.  it would be cruel not to inform you of the one downfall of our beautiful private island...just in case you decide to vacation there. 

Mosquitos.  and "no-see-ums"  and i was the perfect target.  biting insects love me.  

i looked diseased.  but it only inhibited sleep one night.  =)  

finally to our last leg of the journey.  Atlanta to MSP. 

sappy love stories and ice cream kept us sane!  

=)  and so ends our picture journey.  We had a blast, and it was really the best honeymoon we could have ever imagined.  We aren't kidding when we say we'd recommend it to anyone.  

And it was just what we needed after a high-energy weekend.  

A big shout out to everyone who made our weekend flow smoothly.  Honorable mentions go to:  our parents and siblings, our entire wedding party and their spouses, Tom and Heidi, Doug and Sandy, Donna, Crystal, Tanya, Michelle, Steve, Jane, Cecily, Whitney, Scott, Virgil,  all of our cousins who are too many to name, but you know who you are, Altadena ladies/aunts who helped in the kitchen...And many more I'm sure I'm forgetting.  

You all were amazing and I felt so relaxed knowing that the weekend was in such capable hands.  Love you all.  You made it a wedding to remember!  (which in turn helped us fully enjoy our honeymoon!)