Tying the Knot: Our Fur Baby

After seeing pictures like this and this and this all over Pinterest I knew I wanted pictures with Ollie at our wedding. To be honest he is a member of our family, not just our pet, and while I knew I didn't want him walking down the aisle with us, including him in some way was important to me. Originally I had planned on having him with us for our engagement picture shoot but we ended up flying back to CO for that and he didn't make the trip.

Well it was a few days before the wedding and I was honestly starting to get a little sad that we hadn't included our pup in the festivities at all. Part of the reason was because neither J nor I wanted to have to "deal with him" in the sense that we'd have so much else going on it was just adding another task trying to figure out the logistics of our boy. Well when my mom happened to ask "So if Ollie were to show up at the venue while everyone's getting ready, would that be okay with you?" I of course said yes! I had previously shown her one of the pictures from above, she couldn't stop thinking about it and made it happen for us.

We showed up at the venue to tail wags and warm kisses from this big guy, got to hang out with him for a good amount of time, snapped some pictures and then he was whisked away. I still don't know who brought him, took him, arranged it, but these are some of my favorite pictures from the day.

He's such a sweet, sweet boy!

All photos courtesy of Ignite Images.

Next up: The handsome guys

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First we got ready

Then it was time for The Dress

Lovely bridesmaid photos

Tying the Knot: Bridesmaids Photos

I've mentioned before how I loved that our wedding party was small and on the big day that held up to be so, so true. These four ladies, my four best girl friends, were exactly the people I wanted standing by my side, helping me get ready and dancing with me through the night of celebration. 

If you remember from last spring I had selected a number of dress options for the ladies to pick from and as life would have it, they all basically picked the same dress! Richelle, my maid of honor, had a dress that was slightly different with a straight bodice and more layers in the skirt but essentially it's the same. For anyone who's interested, their dresses were from David's Bridal (the easiest place to go with bridesmaids in different states) and the color is Marine. Even though it was a bit chilly (read as 30 degrees) I love the pictures we were able to capture before such a huge moment in my life. 

From left to right: Val, Jeff's older sister who I absolutely adore! Richelle, my maid of honor and best friend since 7th grade. Jenna, my classmate from SDSU and fellow science nerd. And Jenna, the soon-to-be wife of one of J's groomsmen who is the sweetest thing and a perfect friend!

And what's a photo shoot without a little attitude!

All photos courtesy of Ignite Images.

Next up: How we included our sweet pup, Ollie.

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First we got ready

Then it was time for The Dress

Tying the Knot: Getting Ready Bride

After what seemed like less than 10 minutes of being at the venue, it was suddenly time to put on the dress! I absolutely love the pictures our photographer and his assistant were able to capture during this time as some of my favorite ladies helped me get ready to marry my best friend. 

I did follow with the tradition and included something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue into my wedding look. 

Old: My Dad's wedding band pinned inside my gown

New: My dress, veil, and nude pumps

Borrowed: A string of pearls from my mom

Blue: OPI nail polish from the Holland Collection on my toes and blue undies!

Now everyone was officially ready so the girls and I headed outside to start our pictures in the gorgeous patio of the venue.

All photos courtesy of Ignite Images.

Next up: Me and my lovely ladies!

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First we got ready

Tying the Knot: Getting Ready

One of the things we loved most about our wedding venue, Villa Parker, was that they are a "single event" venue. Meaning that there is only one wedding each day and you get full-run of the place for 12 hours. None of the quick shuffling because someone's coming in the afternoon or lingering guests from a morning event.

My bridesmaids, moms and I headed to the salon for hair and make-up around 9am and were there for most of the morning, laughing, talking with other curious patrons about the wedding, showing off to the cutest little girl, "yep, she's the bride!" and of course, sipping on lots and lots of Starbucks! I don't have any pictures from that time but don't feel like I'm really missing anything by not having them. Around noon we headed to the venue, with a quick stop at the hotel on the way to check in, and enjoyed lunch/snacks that my mom brought for us. The guys all went out to a nice lunch, stopped by the salon after we left for a quick touch up of a bachelor party mishap on J's face (I was not pleased!) and arrived at the venue shortly after we did.

The rest of the morning seemed to fly by. The girls were busy touching up make-up, putting on dresses and tights and running around the venue before the boys arrived. The boys kept up on their football scores, had a few beers and relaxed before everything was underway. Then it was time to finally get the last touches of attire completed and head to take pictures!

All photos courtesy of Ignite Images.

Next up: The Bride Gets Ready!

Tying the Knot: Bachelorette Night Out

Before I dive into wedding recap posts (we got the CDs with all 600+ pictures the other day!!!!) I wanted to share with you one last pre-wedding festivity!

Since 3 of my bridesmaids live in Colorado and one lives in Southern California with me, it made the most sense to have my "Girls Night Out" (or Fling Before the Ring or Bachelorette Party, whatever you call it) close to the wedding so that everyone could attend. I've been dying to go to Canvas and Cocktails for a long time, probably since they opened, so this was the perfect opportunity.

All my bridesmaids, my future mother-in-law and future step-sister-in-law came out to celebrate with me. First stop was a gorgeous wine bar full of, well obviously wine, and yummy appetizers surrounded by awesome conversation. We chatted about J and my relationship, fun times us girls had had together and just had a blast.

Then it was off to paint. I loved every minute of it!

We were all a little worried how difficult the class was going to be given the wide range of artistic talent in our group but it was so easy. They walk you through each and every step, which brush to use, which paints to mix together, etc etc etc and demo the whole painting too. It's so neat to see how different our 7 paintings turned out given we received the same set of instructions the whole time. 

Once the class was finished we stopped by a little local bar in the area for a few more drinks and some awesome late-night food. Burgers, BLTs and fruity drinks definitely hit the spot. Before we knew it, J and his step-dad were outside to pick us up (such gentlemen!!!) and take our giggling & smiling selves home!

Thank you ladies for the perfect night out!