I remember growing up that I had the “cool” mom. The mom who would volunteer as a chaperone on field trips and everyone one always wanted to carpool with us. Because she was that entertaining.

My mom is a great storyteller. More like a FANTASTIC storyteller. There’s just something about the way she recounts an event that always has her listeners craving for more. Anxious in anticipation for the next part of the story. Or a joke. She’s the designated family member to retell a joke or share a story. She’s just that good.

I’m also so proud of my mom. She graduated this spring with her Master’s Degree in Nursing Education. She took the fast track 18 month course while juggling her full time job. Her advisers said that it often isn’t done. “Most” students can’t complete the program and go to work full time. But my mom isn’t “most”. She’s one of a kind. She took on the challenge and showed her program advisers what success looks like. She’s a remarkable teacher and her students love learning from her. She synthesizes teaching obstetrics with practical application and some humor. Who wouldn’t want to learn from her?!

My mom’s not scared of looking silly in front of others. Or the entire internet.

Here’s us with my aunt/godmother/mom’s sister in our Wedding Photo Booth!

People say we look alike. What do you think?

Happy Birthday Mom! I love you and proud to call you MY mom!

(All photos by Travis Hoehne Photography)

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So for a little fun, I thought I’d start with our photobooth. I knew that this was something I wanted to do. I had seen wedding photobooths on the wedding blog circuit and to meet our wedding’s vision of FUN, knew that this would do the trick. And our venue, Castlewood Country Club had the perfect little nook in the back of the room to set it up. When I asked our awesome photographer, Travis, if he could set one up, he was totally on board. And it was so so so fun. Did I mention FUN?

First: my bridesmaids, Maggie, Elana, Krystle and Liz

With me and my sister, Stephanie.

My girls + guy  from UCSD.

Mes amis francais from our study abroad program in Lyon, France.

Us with Cent’s friends and his brother Courtney from Georgia Southern University.

My ballet teachers and their hubbies! Click here to check out my Ballet Studio, Ballet Petit.

My BFF Europa girls who also went to UCSD. Click here for their mini photo shoot in San Francisco.

My BFF Maggie. We’ve known each other since we were 8. That’s almost 20 years! This photo basically sums up our friendship.

My awesome parents.

More college friends!

Cent’s high school friends. Richmond Hill High School Class of ’01!

Me and my sister and my cousins. My cousin Mercy is an amazing singer living it up in Brooklyn. Check out her website.

My parents, grandmother, great-aunt, aunts, and uncles, with a cousin or two.

My UCSD homies! Pretty amazing we crammed everyone into this shot!

All photos by Travis Hoehne.

So if you were wondering, wedding photo booths are totally awesome! And so much fun. Especially when you bust out the props and sunglasses and boas!

You want MORE? Click HERE for a full slideshow of our wedding photobooth pictures!

This is definitely something that I offer for your wedding day wish list. Imagine the possibilities! Your wedding should be filled with fun and glee. Yes, GLEE.

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I’m happy to report that we received our wedding photos! And that means that they will be blogged in the coming weeks.

I don’t know why it took a month for our photos to arrive in our mailbox – actually I had to go rescue them from the Post Office. Our awesome photographer, Travis Hoehne, sent them in August and anxiously awaited them. And waited some more. And soon it was September. Finally, September 10, we got a notice in our mailbox to pick up a package at the Post Office.

It was the photos. And I owed $0.78.

Weird.

I looked at the postmark and they were sent August 13. And then I guess the postal service ate them? Or they got lost? So very strange. But, we did finally get them. Woo hoo! Thanks Travis!

So here’s one picture to keep you wanting some more!

It. was. fantastic.

I don’t think I could have asked for a better day. Ever.

I set out to plan our wedding a a couple of goals: Make it fun. Make it personal. Make it memorable. And I think we hit all three goals with full force!!

Our wedding day would not have gone as smoothly and effortlessly as it did without our amazing crew of vendors, who I must thank for all their hard work!

Our photographer: Travis Hoehne

Travis, in a word, AMAZING. His team of Charlton and Lindsey, AMAZING. His nonstop and unmatchable energy kept the party going. He was so easy to work with and all the guests couldn’t stop complimenting how awesome he was. Travis also set up a photo booth, and it was SWEET! I say this is the best way to get photos with guests without having to do the obligatory cheesy table shots that I know photographers *love* to take. I know that I, along with all of my guests, are sitting at the edges of our seats, ready to see the photo explosion!

Me, my sister, and my cousins working the photo booth. (Thanks Auntie Terry for the photo)

Our cake diva: Jen’s Cakes

Our cakes were FANTASTIC. Not only in style but in taste too. Delicious. And yes, cakes. Jen made us a Groom’s cake to my specs – a Super Nintendo system just for Cent! As you may know, I’m kind of a cake buff. Ok, who am I kidding, I’m cake obsessed! I’m so glad that we booked with Jen’s Cakes because she did a FABULOUS job and I enjoyed every bite!

Check out our EPIC Groom’s cake (thanks to David for the photo):

And our beautiful cake! (Thanks Charlene/Dianne for the photo!)

Our fantabulous florist: Huckleberry Karen Designs

The day of the wedding, Karen twittered that she had surprise for me. I had no idea what it could be. Well, let me just say that Karen is a miracle worker. We had our one and only initial meeting back in January. We had exchanged emails to confirm details, and she is wonderful to work with. So easy to communicate with and make changes. Anyway, the big day rolls around and we arrive at the church. Karen says she wants to deliver my bouquet to me personally.

She says, “Now what kind of flowers did you really want for your bouquet?”

“Peonies?!” I asked shyly.

She pulls the bouquet from behind her back. And there they were. Peonies. In the middle of July. See I told you she was a miracle worker. Thank you Karen!

She also pulled together some wonderfully fantastic centerpieces, which I wish I had had more time to check out and enjoy. They were lovely from some of the photos I saw from friends and family.

Our coordinator extraordinaire: Laura Saldana of Pink Petals Event Design

One of the best investments hands down to keep sane on your wedding day. Even if you are planning the wedding yourself, as I did, I’m so glad we decided to hire a day-of coordinator. After a few briefings, I passed the reigns to Laura and she took care of everything! She asked me all the questions and reminded me of things I had forgotten or overlooked. She brought pins for the money dance and pens for the guestbook. She was a lifesaver for sure. And I didn’t have to worry about anything the day of. I had so much fun!!

Our Make Up Artist: Yolanda Thayer of Prima Donna Makeover

Yolanda was our first vendor to arrive on the big day. She arrived at my parents’ home at 7:3oam. I’m no early riser, but I think the excitement didn’t let me sleep in. Yolanda worked her magic on us and it was great working with her. She stayed with us through the ceremony and came to the reception site to do touch ups before the reception started. Thank you Yolanda for beautifying all of us!

Our DJ: Mark Haggerty of Denon & Doyle Entertainment

Mark made our night. He kept the flow going and everyone dancing. I mean EVERYONE. I haven’t been to that many weddings, but I have never seen as many people as were at our wedding DANCING. Usually people are shy about dancing, but not at our wedding! He played all the songs Cent and I had personally requested (sadly he didn’t get to one song my sister and friend had requested sorry girls!) Everyone danced until the very last song. My father-in-law was getting ready to leave (all of Cent’s family had to catch a 6am flight Sunday morning), but when Mark played “Flashlight” by Parliament, he rushed to the dancefloor and waved his phone like a lighter. Awesome!

Here’s me in the middle (Thanks David for the photo!)

Thank you to everyone who traveled near and far to share our wedding day with us. I can’t say enough how much it meant to both of us.

And now, in case you didn’t know, I’m in Dallas, where Cent and I will set up our home base. I’m excited for big things coming to my photo business!