Happy Birthday Sissy!

Today is my sister’s 24^th birthday and since I can’t be with her today I wanted to wish her a very happy birthday! 

In honor of her birthday, here are a few photos of us together throughout the years!

The Ultimate Wedding Week Party...Before The Ceremony

After a year of planning and stressing over all the little details, the day had finally come! While I enjoyed every minute of it; it went by way too fast!


Since Michael and I had a destination wedding we had to go through customs that morning to get approval from Mexican officials to get married. That part of the morning was stressful because we had to wait for over an hour to be seen. Once we were done I was off to get ready at the resort with the ladies!


I had the photographer and videographer come to capture some of the special moments before I officially became Mrs. Powell.

This picture captures my dad so well...I love it!

Here are a few picture of Michael before the wedding...

And since we technically had two ceremonies I wanted to add some before pictures of our California Ceremony/Reception. We did this for the friends and family that were unable to attend the destination wedding. It was perfect and there wasn't any pressure that day. Michael and I were able to enjoy the morning together because we were already married and I didn't feel the need to surprise him as I walked down the aisle.

Had to have a little SATC in my wedding! Manolo Blahniks = my weakness!

I loved both mornings for different reasons and I was so lucky to be able to do this twice in one month! The ladybugs played a special part on my wedding day because they signified my uncle that had passed away just 6 weeks before the wedding. He was also my Godfather and I had asked him to walk me down the aisle for the California wedding. I thought it would be a great way to share my special days with both my dad and uncle. Unfortunately he did not make it, so we had ladybugs throughout to signify his presence. The best part about this story is yet to come... 

If you want to join in on the party go to Along The Way With V&J and link up!


Don't forget to come back next week to celebrate the wedding ceremony, the reception, and all the fun details!

Wedding Week- Rehearsal Dinner & Bridal Shower!

Michael and I didn’t have a true “Rehearsal Dinner” because we had a destination wedding and people were still flying in just 6 hours before the boat began boarding. Instead we had 6 nights of dinners, before the wedding, with our friends and family on the ship. It was the perfect way to stretch our special time and I absolutely would not have changed a thing!

Here is a picture of Michael and our best man at dinner the night before we boarded the ship...

Since I don’t have an actual Rehearsal Dinner to talk about I’ve decided to write about my Bridal Shower. It was one of my favorite parts of the wedding process because it was a chance to see friends and family I hadn’t seen in a while.

The theme was pink and zebra. It was so pretty! When my mom told me that my dad sewed the table cloth that was used at the food table I couldn’t help but cry. It was so special to me and I can’t wait to use it again.

Welcome to my shower!

The beautiful table before the food came out.

Everyone signed the bear in place of a guestbook.

My shower was perfect and my mom/sister/sister-in-law did a wonderful job. Every time I look back at the pictures I can’t help but smile. :)

The cake was from our favorite bakery in town. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water!

My parents bought me the bridal Minnie Mouse hat for Christmas the year before and I was asked to wear it for the party. It was a fun touch and made for some super cute photos!

Some of the ladies at their finest...

One of the only things I said I wanted at my shower was a sexy shoe contest. Everyone was asked to wear their sexiest shoes and whoever had the shoes I wanted the most was the winner. Meet the winner, Pat!

The games were so much fun and it was interesting to see who knew me well enough to get the answers correct!

This is one of my favorite pictures from my shower!

Nana, Mom, Me, Sister, Grandma

If you want to join in the party head on over to A Charmed Life and link up!

It's Wedding Week!!

Yay! It’s officially Wedding Week! I am so excited!! I loved planning our wedding and I can’t wait to talk about it this week.

Day one is all about the Engagement session, so without further delay; here are our engagement photos.

I am finding most people are giving the same advice about how to plan your engagement session because they really are the key features to making your session great. Here’s my advice:

1. Choose a photographer you love – These photos are usually shown at your wedding, on your save the date, etc. You want them to reflect you both as a couple. Make sure you research your photographer by checking out their portfolio, or even a sit down meeting. Working in the makeup business I was able to work with our photographer many times before our session so it worked out perfectly.

2. Choose a 2-3 different locations so you have variety in your photos. Looking back, this was one of the key things that made me love our photos!

3. Choose a few different outfits that are timeless and not overly trendy. I went overboard on the outfits because I wanted a little bit of everything and didn't want any regrets.You want these photos to still reflect you in 20 years. Random pops of color make them fun too.

4. Find inspiration photos. Wedding Week is perfect for this. You want to have an idea of what you’re looking for before you get to the shoot. This will also help you plan out props if that is something you’re looking for.

4. Be confident and have fun!

This was the first photo session I had ever planned, but I knew I wanted something simple and easy! Michael and I are a low maintenance kind of couple, so why make our photo shoot high maintenance? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed our engagement pictures! Now that I’ve done this a few times, I'm already planning on our anniversary session! I’ve decided I want updated photos for every year to depict our journey as a couple. I am so excited for Wedding Week and can't wait to see all of your engagement pictures over at Just a Touch of Gray!

Check out some of my other favorite blogger's Engagement sessions here and here!

St. Patty's Day- Silent Loves Friday

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