Mexican honeymoon

First of all, I had no idea where Steven was taking me. He kept it a secret for months! Impressive? I'd say yes.

So after our wedding luncheon, he finally told me. A cruise, to the Mexican Rivera. I died. Neither of us had been on a cruise before, so it was going to be a new adventure for both of us :)

We stayed Friday night in Salt Lake City because our cruise wasn't leaving till Sunday. And because Steven is the most amazing and thoughtful husband ever, he took me to Disney on Ice at the Delta Center... Or Energy power plant... Or whatever they are calling it these days.

He knows how much I love Disney, so he had bought tickets for later that night. And let me tell you what, that show was AWESOME. The skaters are incredible, and the show was just plain magic. (duh.)

The next morning we caught our flight to Long Beach, California and went shopping for some last minute essentials in the city. And when I say city, I mean thug-town-gansta-ghettoville... I might have been a little freaked out. I had never seen a more crazy Walmart.

But, we did survive. Barely.

We caught a shuttle to the port the next morning and boarded onto the Carnival Splendor. Checking in wasn't too fun, but we were pretty excited to finally be on the ship... annnd of course have lunch at the all you can eat buffets. Bonus.

On Tuesday we got to Cabo San Lucas. The weather was 90+ degrees and the water was sooo clear and warm. It was heaven. And having Steven speak spanish fluently was so helpful. And attractive. We were able to get such good deals on everything from the locals!

The first day there we were able to get a boat to go snorkeling and to a beach. The water was so clear you could see at least 30 feet down, and the fish were so cool and brightly colored.

We were gettin' ready.

Steven and our cruise ship...

We might have not brought any sunscreen.... or even bothered to get some until the third day out in the sun. um yeah, ouch. And stupid.

They had a baby lion. A REAL one. I might have freaked. And begged to Steven to see it every time we walked by. He had to convince me that it's not worth $25 just to hold a lion and get a picture with it. Agree to disagree.

Later that day we rented a little scooter bike to ride around the city of Cabo. We definitely got lost a couple of times, and were almost run over multiple times, but it was so fun to see how the locals live. And to see the real Cabo, not just the tourist part. We found a little hole-in-the-wall authentic mexican restaurant to have lunch at, and I totally forgot to take a picture! But the chicken quesadilla I got was surprisingly amazinggg.

Our second day in Cabo we got out early to go and find someone to take us parasailing. I couldn't believe how relaxing it was! So quiet and peaceful up there, and so so warm! It was definitely one of my favorite things.

We took the scooter again and talked to a local guy to find a beach that wasn't swarmed with tourists. We ended up finding a pretty gorgeous one.

...and one that was completely empty. Yes, it's for real.

Needless to say, we spent quite awhile there soaking up some rays and enjoying it all.

I think we both would go back to Cabo in a heartbeat.

Our third day we had traveled over night to a much more tropical place called Puerto Vallartas.

We took a little ferry boat to a private beach, and on the way got to see a bunch of wild dolphins and do some more snorkeling!

It was another day of relaxing in the sun and pure amazing-ness I think I want to move to mexico and just be a beach bum.

The last couple of days on the ship were at sea, and we were able to spend them doing blissfully nothing.

Our days consisted of wake up, eat, take nap, eat, watch movie, nap, eat, repeat. You don't get to do that do often. It was lovely.

I think we had a hard time coming back to reality. Thank goodness, we came back to Thanksgiving break and wedding presents. I wish i would have taken a picture of our tv room piled with presents, because it was unbelievable. People were way to generous to us!

I did get a video of my brother sam in the trash, which may give some idea of how crazy it was...

We basically spent the whole week getting everything put away, organized, and livable.

But oh my, how fun it was. Being married is the best thing EVER. Love it.

Day of a million smiles

It's kinda fun waking up knowing the next couple weeks will be the best of your life so far. We went off tradition a little bit, and decided to have our reception the night before. Best idea EVER.

I was able to spend all morning rushing around getting things done for displays, my hair all fixed, pictures ready etc. So when 5pm rolled around, everything was ready to go.

I got super lucky with my dress. I knew exactly what I wanted, and found it at the first store I tried. It was initially totally sleeveless, which made me a little hesitant to get it. But thank goodness their in-store seamstress was a sewing-magician and was able to alter it just the way i wanted. AND made it look totally seamless.. amazing. Totally would highly recommend Bridal Image at Colonial Square/The Square in Bountiful!

Steven and I were super fortunate to have a lady in his ward offer to do our cake as a gift. And oh my goodness, she made my crazy dreams come true! See that flower design? They came right off my invitation that I made. It was hard enough doing those flowers in Illustrator, I can't imagine doing it with frosting! Amazing.

Here's our invitation for those who didn't get to see it. Can you believe how amazing she did the icing flowers???

Notice how I'm carefully putting the cake IN his mouth, not ON his face.

I must love him.

We weren't actually planning on dancing, it just kind of... happened.

Our wedding coordinator lady at the reception place came up to me after we cut the cake and was all, "It's time for your first dance!!"

Steven and I thought it might be kinda silly, considering we weren't even married yet. But, it ended up being one of my favorite parts. I had no idea what song we should dance to. But, being obsessed with all things Disney, I went with the song "I See the Light" from my recent favorite movie, Tangled. It felt perfect for us. And I think all our little nieces and cousins were pretty excited about it :)

Steven and I with our parents.

I was able to wake up the next morning feeling so calm and not having to worry about a thing since the reception was already over. It was soooo nice just being able to focus on Steven, the temple, and the sealing. The weather was gorgeous. I couldn't have hoped for anything better in November. The skies were clear, it wasn't too cold, and all the leaves managed to stay on the trees!

Being sealed to Steven was easily one of the best experiences of my life, and I will never forget it. We made our promises to always be there for each other, and to love each other always. And we keep our end of the deal, we can be together forever and ever. There is nothing more amazing then that.

It was one of the happiest, if not the happiest day of my life so far. Being surrounded by family and friends, and feeling so much love and joy you could drowned in it.

I'm not sure how it is for other people, but I always use to imagine what my wedding day would be like. What my dress would look like, how my hair would be, what colors I'd have for my reception... etc. It's funny how when that day finally comes, those things really don't matter. You just don't care about them, because you are so completely wrapped up in the fact that you are getting married to your best friend, in the right place, and the right time. Everything feels perfect. Everything feels complete. Like placing the last piece of the puzzle in it's spot. And just the overwhelming feeling of peace and assurance that you made the right choice, and are doing exactly what was meant for you all along... is priceless.

Thanks for picking me to be yours forever Steven, love you always.