Read part 1...
After we got married June 11th, we moved in our new home in mid July, and then we took a weekend honeymoon to St. Pete Beach Florida! This is the fun part!!!
So a little backstory here... I got a wild hair in my single life of 2021 and started looking at wedding dresses. I had always wanted to design my own dress- for YEARS I dreamed it up. I even drew it up and painted it once in my early 20s. I stumbled on an Etsy shop, in all places- Israel (the Promised land, which was a sweet sentiment to me) that captured the style I was drawn to- a little boho and a little lace. I worked with her to create a wedding dress that was perfectly me! This was a year before Adam and I got married. But, I knew one day I would wear it. While a wedding ceremony wasn't important to me- there were a few things that were- this dress and professional photos to capture our moment.
The details that I wanted in my dress were- sparkly tulle (because every girl needs a little glitter in her life), a keyhole back, boho-styled lace with a modest bodice, mixed with white and shades and nude, a natural pleated waistline- something comfy "I could nap in"- I remembered telling her- hahaha! It was PERFECT!!!
I found a veil (hello Amazon- you can get them for seriously 10% of the cost of a bridal store) that was the same lace as my dress for a bargain (I think I paid like $15-20 for it), wore some elegant earrings I found at Francesca's while shopping for my niece's eighth grade prom a year before that I had saved just for this future occasion, and topped it all off with a dried bouquet that now is on the wall in our dining room that matches our home style! I love sentimental things with stories found along the way that outlive a single moment!
In a previous life, I was also a wedding photographer. I loved it. And when I lived in central Florida, I found an amazing photography partner in Emily who is now one of my very best friends. I dreamed of beach photos for years- and sunrise, but she was on the east coast of Florida. St. Pete Beach was the ideal location that gave us sunrise and sunset and it was just a short drive away for Emily to come and capture this moment for us!
Neither Adam or I (believe it or not) like being the center of attention, don't love crowds, and appreciate the quality time, so this was the perfect way to celebrate and savor these sweet memories of just the two of us!
I remembered on our second date he told me that he wanted to dance with his wife one day to "Don't want to miss a thing" by Aerosmith, so we danced on the beach at sunrise in the midst of photos.
We had prayed all weekend to find a conch and a sand dollar and we found one finally as we danced. My ring set was custom made to fit by an Etsy shop in the states! I love supporting small business.
And, Emily came over and took photos at our AirBnB the Berkeley Beach Club and the Don CeSar.
I had some airline miles that I needed to use and we spent a total of $19 on our flight to St. Pete Beach- WIN! We decided to take our honeymoon on Adam's 32nd birthday weekend at the end of the July. We went and got pedicures (which he's dying to do again), sailed on a sunset tour to a nearby island where we got to set some sand dollars and conchs free (everyone else was taking them home and we were taking photos with them and releasing them), ate tons of food- our fave was the Sushi, picked out Adam's wedding ring, and went parasailing- something on our bucket list, and we even got to swim in the wild right next to a manatee- seriously within a foot of us it just swam up.
We came back and transitioned all 3 kids to our new life together- the 5 of us. While Freddie isn't fond of having his photo taken anymore, we are loving life and sharing it again- FINALLY! We just took some time to get settled in and enjoyed the moments together over the last year.
Adam was dead set on being "done" having kids after his experience in fatherhood prior. But, several months after we were married, he decided he wanted to give me the opportunity to become a mom too, not just an adoptive mom or bonus mom. And he got really excited to be a dad again!!! We started trying for a baby in late October last year...
...to be continued!
I'll share the details of our pregnancy and the newest Alonso to be joining us next week!
We so enjoy sharing my life alongside you! We are so grateful to each of you reading and being a part of our life and our story! We hope to be part of yours, too! And, we'd love to connect.
Sign up for our newsletter {in the box below this blog}. And find me on social media {instagram}. Join our online community here! Have questions? Contact us via email at Lauren.gritsgraceandgranola@gmail.com
Finding joy in every season,