One Year Later | Wedding Photos
One year ago today, on a rainy Wednesday, Aaron and I made it official here at our home with just our kids and a friend/officiant in attendance.
I often tell people that some stories aren't ready to tell right after you live them. They don't have to just be hard stories - sometimes they are simply the most meaningful and you might just want to hold it closer for awhile. For me this is one of those stories. I'm so happy to share this piece of our life here with you today.
Everything we did for this day, everything we chose, was on purpose.
- We got married in Aaron's music room that he built in our garage with twinkling lights covering one wall. Those lights are still in there now and they make me so happy every time I spend time in his space. We had talked about going somewhere and having a destination wedding but in the end we decided our house would be the best spot (and we put our money into our familymoon).
- We invited my wonderful friend Tara Whitney to come and capture the day for us. There is no one else I could have imagined capturing the spirit of this day for us in our home. I wanted her to capture us just as we are - which is her gift. I loved having her here to capture our hearts.
- We incorporated a whole lot of glitter confetti and we still find it around the house from time to time.
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We hired a local caterer to come to our house and cook us a Thanksgiving dinner since we were taking off the next morning for our familymoon and would be gone on the actual holiday. It was so awesome and made the entire celebration that much more special.
The whole thing was very "us" - and more than anything it was really about us. It was about the seven of us coming together. It was about the seven of us celebrating our new beginning. We sent flowers to our families saying thank you for their love and support. I would completely do it this way all over again in a heartbeat.
Side note: My wedding to Chris was big and so, so fun. We were the first of our group of college friends to get married and what we wanted most at that time in our lives was to have a big party. This time I wanted something different. Both were awesome in their own space and time. Both are a part of my story.
Thank you for cheering us on. The last year has been even better than I imagined - so much growth all around.
Here's a look at November 15th, 2017:
GETTING READY
Aaron bought a bunch of fun pairs of socks and let the boys pick which ones they wanted to wear.
The best story about me putting on my own makeup is the text that Katie sent me telling me exactly how to use all the things I had bought the day before from Target on her recommendation.
She's good like that.
We decided to drive just down the street to take some photos outside.
THE CEREMONY
Simon walked me into the room to a song by Dave Matthews (of course) called Loving Wings.
Magic is where you make it.
DINNER
The kids requested Shirley Temples as their drink.
I loved having this at our house. LOVED IT. It was comfortable and fun and just so very us.
Love wins.
Hi Ali, thank you for sharing your lovely wedding story. I have read your stories from the beginning, the ups and downs, and am so very happy for you. You deserve nothing but the best. Sharing time with you and Aaron in China was such a special treat for me, witnessing the budding of your beautiful relationship. Thanks for sharing a part of yourself with me. Catherine Aguilera, CKU alum,Mykonos, China, etc xoxo
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Ali, thank you for sharing - this brought happy tears! And I think it's so cool that you kept all of this so special for an entire year before sharing. Absolutely beautiful photos!
Happy Famiversary!
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Beautiful pictures. Congratulations!
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Beautiful, special, and YOU - that is when a wedding is magical! Congrats to all of you! <3
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Happy Anniversary! and thank you so much for sharing. You all look absolutely wonderful and so happy together. Thank you too for the reminder that the right time to tell a story isn't always right away; it's very good to remember.
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What a beautiful bride. The photos captures the love and the magic of that day. Thanks for sharing it with us. Happy 1st Anniversary. Wishing you and your family Love, Joy, & Happiness today and always.
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So beautiful, personal, and lovely. I love the smiles, the glitter, the love. Thank you for sharing it with us and Happy Anniversary!
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The story, the people, the photos capture the day. My heart is happy for you. It’s been a joy to watch your family blossom and grow. All the best! Kudos to Tara Whitney for truly capturing All the little details that made up the story of that day. A treasure for sure. ❤️❤️❤️
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So, so lovely! Congratulations and happy anniversary! Wishing you many more to come!
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Beautiful photos, beautiful day, beautiful family. Happy 1st Anniversary! ❤️
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Such magic and joy in these photos! Happy Anniversary!
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This is THE BEST story, ever. Period!! Thank You for sharing! HaPpY AnNiVeRsArY!❤️❤️❤️
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I'm in tears at work over these photos. So much love. So much beauty. And, as I know so well....so much work to get to this place. So awesome.
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Happy First Anniversary Ali, Aaron & Family! Beautiful photos of your special day. Celebrate, celebrate while in L.A.
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BEAUTIFUL. This made me tear up. What a magical day indeed!!
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Smiling the whole time looking at these pictures...can just feel the love and joy. So happy for you. Happy anniversary!
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I'm not crying, you're crying! What great photos. So happy for you guys!!! Happy Anniversary! It looks like an amazing day!!!
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So, so beautiful ❤️
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So much joyfulness and love in the photos! The photo of you sitting on kitchen island- happiest smile ever!
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Taraaaaaaaaaaaa. I've been following both of you for so long now, and I love what these images capture. Happy Anniversary, Ali!
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Thank you for sharing your life and your gift of telling stories. They have both blessed me and encouraged me more than you can ever know. Happy Anniversary!
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Heartwarming and absolutely beautiful!
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Thank you for sharing your story and lovely pictures with us. Happy Anniversary!
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How beautiful and happy and magical! Happy anniversary!
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Oh Ali,
Just beautiful.
Thank you
💙
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