Friday, January 8, 2010

Non-Freaky Flashback and I Like it Spicy Part 3

As I mentioned, Wednesday was my third wedding anniversary (Whoo hoo!!), so I thought it would be fun and entertaining to post some pics from our wedding back in 2007. I suppose it's a little narcissistic to have a post filled with almost nothing but pictures of me, but I guess this is my blog and my wedding, so it's ok, right? :)

This is one of my favorite pictures from that day. Oh, and this is D without a beard! He has had one now for so long that I almost forget what he looks like without it. We look so young here!



Young and in love!

I loved my hair--it was so big and poufy! Any you know what they say about big hair don't you?? Well, I guess they don't say anything, but I sawy it's H-O-T! Actually my hair stylist always jokes "the higher the hair, the closer to heaven!" I must be an angel by now :)


As you can see, I did have a cute little (faux) fur-hooded cape, which was smart for January, but I did not actually wear it for most of our pictures outside (not smart). The photographer wanted to show off my dress. I remember it being 19 freaking degrees that day. Brrrr!! Oh well--I guess loves keeps you warm!




We were married here:




But held our reception in an aquarium!

I worked as the Marketing Coordinator there at the time, and we were trying to promote the facility for event rentals. I convinced my bosses to let me host my reception there for free and then we could use the pictures in our marketing materials. It was so awesome! As anyone who has planned a wedding knows, reception rentals can take up a HUGE portion of your budget, so it gave us a lot of leeway (and a lot of fun) to have it there.

Obviously, we had pictures of the food:

Dustin and I had originally wanted to have a carnival theme to our reception with mini hamburgers, popcorn and cotton candy, but our parents threw a big fit so that was out.

I kept the cotton candy--that was non-negotiable!


Instead, we settled on a "dipping" bar with both sweet and savory options. I think we had a spicy cheese and an alfredo, an artichoke dip and a chili dip, all with pretzels, crackers and veggies.

We also had a dipping desserts station with white and dark chocolate, caramel, tons of fruit, brownies, marshmallows and other sweets.


This was just flavored water--it was all in a pink theme, so if I can remember correctly, it was lemon, strawberry, cherry and grapefruit.

As you can see, all the pics have kind of a nautical theme here--all the food was inside the "sunken ship!"

I was so glad to be able to have our reception somewhere fun. Not just for us, but for our guests. I wanted to be able to give everyone something to do, so they got to walk through all the galleries and look at the fish and play in the touchpool.

I mean, how boring is it to go to a wedding where all you do is walk through a greeting line, grab a plate of hors d'ouerves and then try to mix awkwardly with people you don't know? Ugh. A lot of Utah weddings are like that. Not all of them though! And not mine. It always makes me happy because people will still say that they remember it to this day.



I didn't want a wedding cake, since it is so hard to find one that is pretty AND tastes good. I thought cupcakes would be better. I am a cupcake kind of gal, anyway :)

For as fun as our wedding was, I have to say that each day beyond that has been all the more wonderful and filled with love. Our marriage isn't perfect, and neither are our lives. We have had our share of trials and hard times since then, but we love each other, and I am so grateful that we found each other--and that I tricked D into marrying me!

I wish the photographer had taken some more pics of the food for ya, but I didn't get to eat much that day, so I probably couldn't tell you much more about it!

What I CAN tell you about though, is some more wonderful and spicy food that I have had the pleasure of indulging in recently!

Thanks to my sweet friend Abby, I had some luscious Christmas goodies to experiment with:


Super spicy and very gingery ginger snaps. OMG, these were so good! They actually had little pieces of crystallized ginger IN them. Yum!

But my new favorite thing has got to be these guys:



They are the perfect blend of sweet and spicy with tons of cayenne, cinnamon and a touch of cumin. I have been keeping them within arm's reach at all times and loving them in a new CCC.


Cottage cheese with cinnamon and stevia, Fiber One, Quaker Oat Squares and Cinnamon Life sprinkled with a healthy dose of chopped sweet and spicy nuts. So good! Thanks Abby! You are an amazing chef and inspiration!

I also stumbled upon this discovery, which I highly recommend you try as soon as possible...



Sweet potato with Laughing Cow, cinnamon, Sun Crystals and dried cranberries. Maybe not the most original offering, but definitely a delicious one!

What's YOUR favorite spicy creation? Happy Friday everyone! I hope you have a fantastic weekend! xoxo


18 comments:

  1. What beautiful wedding pictures! I love the snow! So many people do the summer weddings, and I've always thought winter weddings are just beautiful. You look gorgeous and the food looks so fun!

    Have a good weekend :)

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  2. You are SO GORGEOUS!! Ahhh!! I want to have a winter wedding.. I think it's so beautiful!

    And great sweet tato combo!!

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  3. Emily! Your wedding looked spectacular! First you are a completely drop dead gorgeous bride (and I love high hair too!) - you look so happy! And second - dessert dipping station?! My goodness - I would have spent plenty of around that table! LOVE seeing all these pics...! They're so special. And yay for you enjoying the treats...your trail mix lasted approximately 19 hours before it was all in my belly! Have a lovely weekend xo!

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  4. What a fabulous wedding! Oh, Emily...so glad you posted these pics. You are stunning and you guys make the cutest couple! Having a wedding at an aquarium sounds so cool and LOVE how themed everything is...definitely a day to remember!

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  5. You were SUCH a GORGEOUS bride! I loved your hair and dress. Breathtaking.

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  6. Beautiful wedding! Thank you so much for sharing! Ours was in February, I was hoping it might snow that day, but no such luck. At least it was 50 degrees for those outside pictures. ;)

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  7. Be as narcissistic as you want! I LOVE wedding photos and yours are gorgeous! That is a major score on the reception and I love the dipping bar.

    Happy Anniversary :)

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  8. I lovelovelove your wedding dress!! I'm a huge fan of little sleeves like that - and you look stunning! What a fun spot to have a reception too. Chris and I have already agreed on Vegas - we're classy like that ;)

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  9. Ok, I liked you before, but I love ya now. One--love the weddin' pictures. Yes, way cute hair. 2--I didn't know you were LDS (so am I.) And 3--your reception looks awesome and I love the pink/nautical theme and the cotty candy and that you had it at an aquarium. Love it. You're so right, make it fun for everyone.
    We didn't eat at our reception either, so from 2 p.m. luncheon that day we didn't eat again until we were sick and starving the next morning! Sigh!
    And yummy to all the spicy food. I don't like things TOO hot, but did you say ccc-as in chocolate chip cookie with those nuts?!! Yum.

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  10. Gorgeous Wedding Pics. You are beautiful...oh and yes you're def an angel with that hair. But I like it!!!

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  11. your wedding pictures are BEYOND.STUNNINGLY.GORGEOUS! They look like they belong in a magazine or book! AMAZING!

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  12. oh my gosh I am obsessed with your dress!
    you look gorgeous!!

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  13. You are so beautiful and I am SO in love with your dress and cape!

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  14. ah i love the carnival idea and i am glad you kept the cotton candy. this was so fun to see! some of the photos didn't show up for me but the ones that did were amazing. you guys are such a great couple! happy anniversary, babe! oh and so glad you didn't have a typical reception. totes know what you mean by that! of course i do, living here. mmm.. spicy? indian anything!

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  15. Hi E! Thanks for the link! Nothing wrong at all with posting your wedding pics -- I think us girls really enjoy seeing each other's pics. You and your wedding were beautiful! I loved reading about all the details. Sweet and spicy nuts sound fantastic -- I'll have to add it to my "To Try" list. :)

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  16. Awww- I LOVED your wedding flashback pics. You both look so happy and you are AMAZINGLY beautiful Em :)

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  17. EMILY! GORGEOUS flashback - you looked absolutely STUNNING, and i LOVE that you held your wedding in january. summer weddings are a dime a dozen, but the cape and scenery and venue and everything is AWESOME. and i love that you had a dipping bar - i would have been all over that :)

    lots of love to you girl!

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  18. HAPPY (Belated) ANNIVERSARY!!

    I don't think it's narcissistic at all! Who doesn't love good wedding photos?! And yours are LOVELY. You were a gorgeous bride, Emily! My favorite shot is the third one down. Magazine-worthy for sure!

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