Daniel and Lauren Ashley Wedding Photos - Part 2

Okay, I promise...after this post I will not talk about Daniel and Ashley's wedding again...ever...well, at least for a little while.

Last week, I shared pictures of the Cambodian ceremony that we celebrated.  This week, I want to share with you the pictures from the 'Big Day'.  And what a day it was.  A beautiful celebration from beginning to end.

I never imagined that having your child get married would be so emotional, wonderful, joyous and just plain fun!

So, here's a peek at the day.







Getting ready, the bride and groom were all smiles.

Brothers

 

Sisters

 

Dad, do not make me cry!

 

Walking our girl down the long, leafy aisle - it felt like a dream.

Finally, Mr and Mrs Or

The most beautiful bride ever!

 Our new family portrait

 Grandma and Poppa Vaters...look what you started!

Incredible to have so many of the Rutledge clan come from Canada to share our joy!

 After the food...

and the cake (lots of cake)...

 They danced.

 We danced.

Everybody...

I mean everybody, danced. 

 

...happily ever after.

Tea Time

I can't believe we're this close.

Only 38 days until Ashley and Daniel tie the knot!  Up to this point it's just been a lot of talk, but last Saturday, things really began to kick into gear.  We celebrated with a beautiful bridal shower tea and I could start to feel the excitement.

Here I am with the bride-to-be and her sweet sister Rachel who worked so hard to help make this day special.

The day was a bit chilly and overcast (by Orange County standards anyway) but it was a perfect day for an outdoor tea.  The event was held in my sister Kathy's backyard.  What a beautiful spot for friends and family to gather!

Since this was a tea and we are ladies, after all, we just nibbled lightly on a few little treats.  Those Frenn girls discovered Devonshire cream and we fought over every last drop!

This was our dainty menu for the afternoon

• ice tea
• a variety of hot teas
• cinnamon scones
• blueberry scones
• chocolate chip scones
• raisin scones
• Devonshire cream (to smother the scones)

(no, we're not done yet)

• lemon mini tarts with berries
• chocolate mini tarts with whipped cream
• cucumber dill sandwiches
• aram sandwiches
• peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
• egg salad sandwiches

(we're almost finished!)

• fresh veggies and dip (for the health conscious)
• fresh fruit
• cream puffs
• strawberry shortcake
• chocolate dipped strawberries

Wow!

All of this food was made by this small team of ladies - Grandma, Aunt Kathy, Natalie (maid of honor) and Rachel (bridesmaid).  They worked tirelessly baking scones and tarts, washing and cutting fruits and veggies, polishing china cups and making everything look lovely for the occasion!

All of this for me!

After stuffing ourselves with all of the delicious food, we rolled ourselves over to watch Ashley open gifts.

There was gift after gift of beautiful and practical items for the home that she will share with Daniel.  (Note to self - buy stock in Crate & Barrel and Target!)

Younger brother Sam sent a gift to the shower but I think he was confused as to what type of shower this was.  Is that what you call a 'subtle hint'?  There were also a few little (ahem) personal items thrown in for good measure. 

Overall, the day was a great success.  Ashley had a smile from ear to ear.

Ashley's cousin (and my sweet niece) Veronica just announced her engagement so it appears as though we will be in 'wedding mode' for some time yet.  Congratulations Veronica and Sam!

Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate and showered Ashley and Daniel with love, gifts and good wishes.

38 days and counting!

Mom's Brag Book

My daughter Ashley is getting married next June (have I mentioned that before?)  She and Daniel recently had engagement photos taken by Daniel's best man, Andrew Guerra.  

This is the post where I unashamedly and without reserve, show off pictures of my beautiful daughter and her handsome fiancee.  This, after all, is the reason we have blogs and go through all the fuss and bother of getting on the internet in the first place.  

I think Andrew did an amazing job.  All of the pictures were beautiful and I had a hard time choosing - but these are a few of my favorites.  Enjoy!

If music be the food of love, play on.

William Shakespeare

It is difficult to know at what moment love begins; 

it is less difficult to know it has begun.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

For, you see, each day I love you more,

Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.

Rosemonde Gerard

Love is a great beautifier.
Louisa May Alcott

Brief is life but love is long.

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Life is a flower of which love is the honey.
Victor Hugo

 

Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,

       your faithfulness to the skies.

Psalm 36:5 (NIV)

100 and Counting

I have been a member of the blogosphere for almost four months now and in those four months I have posted just over 100 times.  I have discovered that blogging is far more rewarding and way more work than I ever imagined it would be.  There have been several times I have felt like throwing in the towel, but I am compelled to continue.

I adore writing and I love hearing from you.  It is so gratifying to complete a post and hit that "PUBLISH POST" button, but I'm so very human.  When you send me your little messages or leave comments telling me that I made you laugh or cry or think about something in a different way, it makes my day!

Knowing how much effort it takes to maintain a blog, I thought I would share with you some of the blogs that I enjoy.  I have chosen just a few and they cover a variety of topics.  Check them out.

Last Christmas my son Sam and I stood in the middle of Barnes & Noble laughing out loud.  If you have ever heard me laugh, you know, I do not giggle quietly and we caused quite a disruption in the store.  The source of our hilarity was a book called "Cake Wrecks."  Sam bought this weird and quirky book for his sister Ashley as a Christmas gift.

Imagine my delight when I discovered Cake Wrecks has a blog!  I can sit in the privacy of my home and cackle, snort and guffaw to my heart's content.

The cakes range from the horribly misspelled

to the outright bizarre.  There's no better way to celebrate an oil spill than with cake!

But, be warned before you sit down to look at this site with your kids.  Some of the cakes are beyond weird and range into adult content.  People put strange things on cakes!

Another one of my favorite blogs is Design Sponge.

I can get lost in here for a looong time.  It is an interior design blog and it is filled with beautiful images and inspiring ideas for your home.  My favorite section is their before & after section.  This is where they highlight vintage finds and show how they have been transformed from something ordinary into something lovely and extraordinary.

I have to limit myself when I'm in this site or I would be lost in here forever and never get any of my own blogging or housework done.  This is a truly inspiring site.

It was hard for me to choose my favorites but here are two that particularly inspired me.

I love this first before & after - victoria's chandelier,  because I have this exact chandelier out in my garage.

I have been debating what to do with it for a while, whether or not I should paint it or send it to the Goodwill.

This has given me the motivation to get out the spray paint and transform that brassy chandelier into something bold and beautiful.  All I have to do now is decide on a color!

My second pick from Design Sponge is chairs.  I am looking to reupholster my own kitchen chairs to I am drawn to chair transformations and I love the lines of these lovely chairs.

Heather's chairs were sweet before but they are stunning now.  I love the way she painted just the back of the chair and left the wood peeking through the stenciled leaves.

There are so many great ideas, big and small, included in Design Sponge, plus recipes, products and more.  But don't say I didn't warn you.  It is highly addictive.

Another favorite of mine right now is wedding blogs, for obvious reasons.  As we are planning Ashley and Daniel's big day, it is fun to browse through the various wedding sites.

Green Wedding Shoes is specifically geared toward the Southern California bride.  It is filled with tips, ideas, vendors and more.

Ruffled is a visual delight, filled with inspiration for decor, flowers and every aspect of a wedding.

Style Me Pretty is loaded with more visual eye candy.  Whether or not you are a bride, or know a bride or plan on being a bride, you should check out this site.  I dare you to visit here for just five minutes and leave.  Every picture is more stunning than the one before.

The last blog I want to mention is written by my friend Josh.  It is called Finding Me.  Just a month ago he started this blog, chronicling his weight loss journey.  It is a candid and honest account of his struggle and at his first weigh-in he had already lost 26.4 pounds!  Way to go Josh!

I hope you enjoy my picks.  I would love to hear from you.  What are your favorite blogs?  I'm always looking for more ways to avoid housework!

Thanks for being with me over the past 100 posts, sharing the laughter and the tears.  Here's to another 100!