our money box
Taking a break from honeymoon blogging to share with you our moneybox. It’s not just any generic moneybox–it is one of a kind, custom made with TLC (tender loving care) by our friend Stephanie. The detailing on it is tremendous and quite simply: FABULOUS! I can talk all I want day and night about it but only photos (since you can’t see it in person) can show you the true craftsmanship that went into this little home that Robert and I can call our first home together. Stephanie is super talented and we are so blessed by her friendship that she thoughtfully made this for us. Now if I can only convince her to start selling these on Etsy she might bless you with her talent also, but for now I am lucky to call her a very close and dear friend who will only do projects for herself and close ones. =)
Welcome to our home! See the slot on the roof to slide in the cards?
Lace ribbon detailing for our rooftop.
Our initials over the doorway.
The side of our home. Check out the hanging icicles!
My favorite detail of the home: the date it was established!
Aren’t the buttons so adorable?!?
Our 2 flower bushes holding up the sign.
If you really think Steph should start offering this in her very own Etsy store, please comment away. Every comment counts b/c it is more encouragement for her to start. I think her talent is too great not to be shared with the world.
Filed under Blog | Comments (4)honeymoon resort 2: intercontinental moorea
The next 4 nights of our honeymoon is at the Intercontinental Moorea Resort. We were lucky b/c they had just finished renovating just two weeks earlier so we were one of the first to experience the resort at its best. The people are super friendly and speak 3 languages: Tahitian, English, and French. We did pick up some French and Tahitian along the way but it was all very basic. We got around just fine using English only. Now…scroll down for the next half hour to share in our adventures in Moorea.
Day 1 at the resort we just hung out, explored the resort, and planned out our adventures for the next few days. They greeted us with 2 very yummy tropical drinks. The pineapple was soo good. I ate both pieces.
Say hello to our home for the next 4 nights.
Living room with a couch, desk, tv and stocked mini bar. Huge sliding glass door opens up to our own deck.
Bedroom was nice and cozy with a ceiling fan and A/C unit.
His and hers sinks with a bathtub and open shower.
Front yard view from our bungalow deck.
Beach bungalow neighbors
His and hers loungers
Me enjoying the view and nice weather.
Beautiful lagoon view from our deck. Spot anything funny?
One of my favorite shots. Think I can sell it to a postcard printer?
Day 2 we left (I know what you’re thinking…how the heck could you leave a place like that?? but we had to do something else we’d get bored) early after breakfast to catch the lagoon tour which included a sharks and sting ray feeding as well as a picnic bbq on a motu.
Our view at breakfast. How could you ever beat that??
Rob’s wild hair during the lagoon tour ride.
View of the Hilton. It is on one of the nicest spots in Moorea.
If you’re interested in what our resort looks like from the water lookin in, check out this video.
Yes, those are sharks! No, I did not steal this photo off the Internet.
Lots of people for the sharks and sting rays to feed on.
Can you spot Rob and how close he is to the sting ray?
Rob in the water with the sting rays.
Save me! The sting ray is on my chest!
So glad there are all those people between me and about 10 sharks. Eeeks!
Video of the shark feeding. Crazy how close they are huh?
Check out the lovebirds behind us. Get a room!
I modeled for Rob since he always does for me.
Click on this image to view the panoramic shot Rob took.
Rob can survive on a deserted island by living off of coconuts now. Check out that action shot of him cracking open the coconut with just a stick.
Rob with his proud coconut.
How gorgeous is this?!?
Day 3 we decided to do an ATV tour of the island. Each ATV is a 2-seater so one can drive while the other enjoys the view and snaps photos.
Click on the image below to view the almost full 360 panoramic shot I took.
I never knew pineapples grew out of a bush! These little guys are so cute!
Pot belly pigs are even CUTER!
The view after a long ride up the mountain.
rob with the rainbow
What did we do after riding? Drink, of course! Bringing our own bottle was a genius idea! Saved us tons of money.
Day 4 we woke up early for mass at 8am. We rented a scooter for the day and took ourselves to church and then on a self guided tour around the island.
Church sign that indicated the only mass time all week.
I love how we were able to stage this. Tripods are the best but are such a drag to lug around. We couldn’t have taken so many photos of ourselves without it though.
This is Moorea’s public beach. Why don’t we have public beaches like this in Cali?
If this were a public beach in Cali I’d go at least once a week.
Me in paradise. Can I be here everyday? Please?
Jumping for joy.
After scooting around town we sunbathed for a bit.
Newlywed indeed I am. How long am I allowed to sport this before putting it away for good?
Then got ready for dinner.
Shot this at dinner. Without a macro lens.
Day 5 is our last day in Moorea. Realizing that we didn’t shoot around our resort enough we woke up bright and early to shoot at sunrise and also to maximize our last hours at the resort.
Back at home I’m never up early enough to catch the sunrise. I now believe sunrise is the best hour to shoot–even better than sunset. The colors are so soft and delicate. You just can’t capture that at any other time of the day.
The bungalows on the hillside is from the Legends Resort. It may not have direct ocean access but can you imagine the incredible view?
Our unit for the last 4 days. We miss it so much!
The lighting on our deck is amazing!
My breakfast before shooting some more.
Swim up bar
What an awesome pool, huh?!?
Need a tattoo done? There’s a place on the resort.
Thanks, Helen & Cat, for the bikini!
Rob and Mimi sunbathe.
Mimi gets in some Internet time shopping for more make-up.
Rob looking pretty chummy about heading to Bora Bora.
Sunset as we land in Bora Bora.
The next post on Bora Bora shouldn’t be as long but the photos will look even more awesome than what you’ve seen of Moorea.
Filed under Blog | Comments (4)we’re the best real bride’s blog!
We won, we won! You’re looking at aisle dash’s first annual Best Real Bride’s Blog!! There were 13 total categories for wedding related blog sites and we were nominated in 2 categories. We lost out on the most distinguish award for Best Wedding Blog but we are ecstatic to have won anything.
We created this site last year just for our own purposes of documenting our wedding planning and to keep our guests in the know as the date drew closer. Who knew it would end up winning us an award!! We’re so happy and can’t wait to share photos of our Waterford crystal award when it arrives.
Thank you to aisle dash, the distinguished panel of judges, our friends/family for the nominations, and our fellow nominees. You guys all made our wedding a very memorable one!!!
Filed under Blog | Comment (0)honeymoon resort 1: tahiti
Rob and I flew out of LAX for a direct 8 hour flight to Tahiti. Our highlight (more like my highlight) of the evening was spotting Salma Hayek with her husband and daughter, Valentina, at the Tahiti airport. They were walked straight thru customs and I ended up recognizing Valentina before I realized it was Salma under that hat! My dslr was on my hip but I was not quick enough to turn it on to snap away. They were whisked away pretty quickly.
Since we’d be arriving in the evening our first night would be at the Intercontinental Resort on the main island before hopping over to the island of Moorea the next morning. In the short time we spent there all that we had time for was breakfast and a quick photo opt around the beautiful resort.
Rob with our boarding passes at LAX. I’m still not used to that ring on his finger. Makes me happy seeing it.
Me with Mimi in tow.
Air Tahiti Nui
Our standard hotel room (that’s how it was categorized).
mimi right in between us.
My sunnyside up eggs look delish!
photo op time! isn’t the lagoon beautiful?! fish were just feet away from us.
the view out into the pacific ocean
i did not want to get up off this hammock. i coulda stayed there for hours doing absolutely nothing!
spot the tripod, bag, and sandals!
rob lookin’ very resorty
the view of our resort from up top
we board this tiny plane to moorea which is literally a 10 min plane ride.
good-bye tahiti!
hello moorea!
A short 30 sec clip of our plane ride to Moorea.
I realize this is a very short post but it acts as a teaser to the next 2 blog posts which will be quite extensive. We will be breaking it down by resort/island and the photos only get more and more amazing. You guys are gonna ooogle your eyes out!!
Filed under Blog | Comment (0)the wedding cake
Ok, I admit it, I fibbed when I said our next blog would be about the honeymoon, but I swear I have a really good excuse. We’re in the middle of moving my stuff over to Rob’s and since my computer (let alone my desk) is not yet set up I do not have access to going thru them. I will just take a sidetrack to talk about our wedding cake.
Going into the wedding I knew not everything would go as planned, so let’s just say the cake was it for our story. It’s so ironic that out of all the things in the wedding I was actually most confident that this would not be the thing to fail me. It ended up looking NOTHING like the photo we provided and the largest bottom layer had cracked during transport. We ended up getting a cake we didn’t want and it was way too small to look grand in the beautiful spot we had set up to display it in.
Let’s just get to it…here’s a photo of the cake we wanted: gold smaller layers and taller chocolate swirls layers. Very tall and grand and also fits with our color scheme.
Here’s a photo of what we got: yellow smaller layers and a single taller layer of flat very little chocolate swirls. For one it was not gold–I was despising the yellow so much b/c I did not want anything yellow in the wedding. The yellow roses were horrendous. What made it even worst was that I did not want to see a single rose at my wedding. Secondly–where are all the intricate swirls?? Looks like playdoh shaped stuff. =(
Here’s Rob and I cutting the cake. I didn’t realize I looked that obviously unhappy.
My sister informed me of this cake fiasco minutes before our grand entrance. Needless to say I was sort of thankful to hear it only b/c I needed a distraction from our first dance jitters that was coming up all too soon. After I saw it I was so tempted to have it removed, but that would have been quite odd to have an empty teatro. If the cake had turned out as we had wanted it would have been the icing on the cake for our wedding–would have made it a perfect day.
The vendor gave us a full refund only b/c the bottom layer had cracked–not b/c they didn’t deliver on the design. I guess it was sort of a blessing that the bottom layer had cracked b/c we would not have been happy with the design at all even if all 4 layers were complete. We could have gotten the cake from the same vendor who made the one we pictured above (Cake Divas in Culver City) but they were way over our range–more than double what we were paying. I guess you really do get what you pay for.
Don’t worry–I’m over it now. I just had to share the story.
Filed under Blog | Comments (8)