New Suede Shoes

In preparation for our wedding day, Jay and I decided to take a few dancing lessons. We only had time for 3 short lessons before we headed to Vermont, but really enjoyed the time learning something new together. We had enough fun together that before we left, we signed up for a few more lessons to enjoy after we returned. 

In the rush of traveling and preparing for the wedding day we barely practiced, but I was so happy to have photos of us at least looking like we knew what we were doing! Here is a short video that Jeff & Tara captured of our first dance. Its funny looking back. I could critique our steps and speed, etc. all day, but one thing that I can't help but see is that we are both smiling and having a great time:

We have enjoyed learning the waltz, east coast & west coast swings, salsa, rumba, cha cha, and tango. Our instructor complimented us on how fast we pick things up (I'll give credit to Jay on this - his lead is what helps me remember!) and after six post-wedding lessons, we were admitted into their "Bronze" program for more intense training. Now don't get me wrong...we are in no shape to go out there and tear up the dance floor, but we are at least learning each dance on a deeper level. And in order to get to this level, we needed dancing shoes! Check them out: 

The reason that dancing shoes are so important is because they have a special suede sole that allows you to "feel the floor" better. I know it sounds odd, but man do they make a huge difference! I no longer trip or slide (as much) and am able to really feel confident about my steps. 

We have been going to lessons once a week since the wedding and look forward to that hour we have learning together. We both feel that taking the time to enjoy this hobby is an important part of our married life. It is something for just the two of us - something that is not watching tv, running errands or eating out. And someday, when we are old(er) and grey(er), we will kick butt on the dance floor during our children's weddings!

Wedding Photos

It has been just over 3 months since our wedding day, so I thought I'd share a few more of my favorite photos with you! Here are some group shots from the big day:

Jay and the Ladies

Amie and the Boys

Our Wedding Party

The Whole Wedding in front of the Church

I can't believe how fast the time has flown by and will be sure to share more photos as I continue to go through them! Enjoy!

Honeymoon in Review

We still have so many photos and stories to share with you from our wedding! I figured it was time to give a quick overview of our wonderful honeymoon in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

This is our first resort in Playacar, just south of downtown:

We had a pretty nice view of the ocean at this all-inclusive resort. Plenty of food and lots of drinks as we soaked up the rays on the beach!

On our second day there, we headed over to Cozumel on this boat:
It was a quick 30 minute trip to the island. Jay and I were amazed at how we could see the gigantic cruise ships from the mainland - getting even bigger as we approached the island. Having arrived, we picked up our scooter which is the main form of transportation on Cozumel. Check out this hottie:
I must say I was a bit nervous riding on the back of this thing. Having never been on a motorcycle or anything like this before, it took me a while to feel comfortable. Jay liked speeding along the very edge of the road which made me nervous that we'd grab the side of the lip and crash! Of course, that didn't happen and by the end of the day, I was quite comfortable.

The great thing about Cozumel is that it is much less developed than the mainland cities of Cancun and Playa del Carmen. Playa is very laid back, but Cozumel feels like a true escape. Here is a picture of the beach on the very east side of the island.
Back on the mainland, we enjoyed a Mexican dinner at the resort. Jay and I were both hesitant about taking the shot of tequila we were greeted with, but afterwards were pleasantly surprised. It was some sort of spiced tequila with a nice cinnamony flavor that made it go down very easy! Here is a pic of us at dinner (the server said that a dinner there was not complete without donning these lovely sombreros):

We also played a nice game of chess. It was a cool life-sized board and offered a nice amount of shade on this hot day. Who do you think won this game?!
Having checked out of the first resort while it was too early to check into the second, we decided to have a few beers downtown. The bartender was very entertaining and I just loved the fact that you sit in swings!
By the time we were able to check in, we were more than ready. It was a very sweaty day and we wanted a shower! Here is a photo of our second resort. We had this lovely cabana on the beach all to ourselves. It was so nice to be this close to the water!
Here is the view we woke up to every morning (Jay is out having a morning dip):
We spent most of our time here either in our hammocks on the patio or on the beach reading. It was so relaxing and the food was delicious.

On our last day, Jay treated me to a massage which was such a treat! Look at where it was! It was so peaceful - the ocean breeze was blowing through the thin drapes (which were closed during my session of course). What a great way to end a trip :) We have a ton of wedding photos to still post and I promise they are coming soon!

Oh How I Miss Our Day!

This is both my mom and dad's favorite photo from the

slideshow that Joe played at the reception.

Lounging on a bench outside the church

Handsome husband on the boat

In front of the Lang House

where we spent our wedding night

Wedding Photos Have Arrived!

Jay and I had our friend and wedding photographer Joseph Blech and his wife Kiera over for lunch yesterday to take a look at our lovely wedding photos! It was a great time and there are sooo many great pictures we are excited to share!! Turns out we have over 1300 photos to go through. Over the next few weeks I'll post some of our favorites here while Joe is working on a slideshow that I'll be able to post soon as well! 

Here is a teaser pic for you from our wedding day. Jay is lifting me over the rope at the end of Church Street. Look at that sunshine!!! More to come, so stay tuned!

More favorites

More pictures have been requested (ahem, Tricia), so here are a few of my other favorites! 

Holding in my tears while walking down the aisle

Spirit of Ethan Allen III - Where our reception was held

Me with my 10 cousins from my mom's side - we hadn't been together for a photo like this for nearly 20 years!

Dancing with my Dad

Honeymoon pictures next!

A few favorite pics

As promised, I'm posting a few more pics that I like from the wedding. It was a hard wedding to shoot with a "regular" camera because our church is kinda dark - so some of my favorites are pretty fuzzy (but I still like them!). We're looking forward to getting some professional photos soon to share with you! In the meantime, these should do the trick!

Doorway with Dad

Jay and I approaching the altar 

Flower Girl Olivia reading her program

Already a blog-reader fan favorite - Jay and I with the twins (in their tuxes!)

Dancing with my new husband

Wedding Night Sunset 

More to come over the next few weeks!

Wedding Photos

In order to help consolidate all of the lovely photos many of you have been sending us, we have created a KodakGallery account for all the pictures. Please email us if you'd like the username & password and I will send it as soon as I can. I have already saved about 8 albums on there for everyone to look through - figured it was so much easier than forwarding everyone's albums back and forth! You can not only look at the albums, but can upload your own photos from that weekend to the account as well!

In either case, we would love to have your photos (email, on CD, etc.) if you are able to send them to us. We can even upload the pics to Kodak for you!  

I promise to post some of our favorite pics we have received so far shortly. It is quite a task going through all of them! In the meantime, here is one of my favorite pics that was on my camera. We had this taken at RiRa - an Irish pub on Church Street after the reception. It's a long story, but Guiness is a special drink for us so we had to end the night with a glass!