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I’ve never been one of those girls who dreamed about their wedding day. It wasn’t until I met C and knew we would one day get married that I opened up to the idea. But to be honest, it’s more the idea of marriage than an actual wedding that excites me.
On so many levels, I already feel married to C (he’d say the same!) so I was definitely ready to make it official even if the piece of paper is only a formality in our already committed relationship. If you are in or have been in a long-term relationship, you know that the terms “boyfriend” and “girlfriend” just don’t cut it anymore. I’m glad we waited (6 years!) but moving onto the next step even if it changes virtually nothing about our relationship feels like the right thing to do.
So I guess you could say I had marriage fever, and not wedding fever.
After the initial excitement of getting engaged had passed it hit me that we now had to plan a wedding. And I’ll be honest, I haven’t been all that keen on it. C and I sat down to talk about what we wanted and probably threw out 20 different ideas that we’d be happy with. Everything from City Hall to a wine country extravaganza sounded ideal. But ultimately, what we’ve realized is that while we feel like we get to celebrate finding each other every single day, there are so few opportunities in life to gather all the people you love in one room and celebrate them. Even though the stress and madness of wedding planning is totally getting to me, I try to remind myself of how special it is to have such an amazing crew of people willing to celebrate with us.
That being said, C and I definitely aren’t traditionalists. If there was such thing as an opposite of bridezilla, that would be me. I’m really not caught up on the details, only that everyone attending has a really good time. Oh and that the food and drinks be decent. We’re currently in the very beginning stages of planning and trying to secure a venue (somewhere in SF for those of you wondering), but we’re set on a Spring 2018 wedding. I always thought I wanted a quick engagement, but that was before I discovered what went into planning a wedding. And I’ve tried on dresses and narrowed them down to two. I very well may flip a coin.
Throughout this process, C and I have been trying to check-in with each other and remember that at the end of the day, our wedding should be a reflection of us, even if it’s not mainstream. So for any of my recently engaged readers out there, don’t forget that the wedding should be about you and your partner. Sure, there will be some compromise, but if you want your dog to walk you down the aisle or you want to wear a purple wedding dress, I say this to you: #YOUDOYOU.
With that, I thought I’d share some pictures with you from our recent engagement shoot. By dear friend and incredibly talented photographer Bettina Bogar was in town staying with us and we couldn’t have asked anyone more perfect to do this shoot. It was not at all important to me that C and I take posed pictures in beautiful neighborhoods (again, #youdoyou), but rather we wanted to capture a moment in our life that really reflected us as we are now. So at 4:00 PM on a Friday, while C was passed out on the window seat in our bedroom, I asked B if she wanted to do the shoot. I woke C up, told him to get dressed, made some coffee to give us a little photography buzz and 2.5 hours later we were done shooting.
Like I said, we really wanted the session to capture us, so we shot around our home and then headed to Baker Beach to capture an activity that C and I do weekly: run Bodhi on the beach until he sleeps for 15 hours straight and drink beer and watch the sunset.
I cannot thank Bettina enough for shooting these for us and for the first time getting me really excited about the wedding planning process. Enjoy!
All photos courtesy of the amazingly talented Bettina Bogar – check out her portfolio here or follow her on Instagram here
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Just a heads up that I’m going to be taking the next week or so off from all posting (here, on youtube and on the podcast). I’m off to Alaska with C and his fam and want to really recharge my batteries and spend time with the people I love. I’ll be back before you know it and until then go out and LIVE. Lots of love <3
Are you someone who’s always dreamed of planning their wedding? Who wants to plan mine?!
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IN LOVE with these photos! I dream this will be our engagement photos – something more us and to capture where we were in life. Because when I look back, I want to not just remember our engagement but remember what our lives were like!
Being with someone for (almost) 10 years means the thought of a wedding has come up frequently, especially in the last 4ish years as my friends started to get married. And I feel the same – way more excited about the marriage part of it! I think of Matt and I having just the closest people there, the ones who have been there the entire journey, and really keep it low key. I see us wearing TOMS, my dress being simple, and it being outside somewhere in Duluth. Seems like an easy list to me!
ENJOY this time off!
That sounds absolutely perfect <3 I'll give Matt a little nudge hehe 😉
I like the sounds of that! <3
Such pretty pictures Davida! Enjoy your vacation!!
The photos are absolutely beautiful!
While I haven’t found my person yet, I was never someone who necessarily dreamed of a big and crazy wedding either. I have thought about colors/season but that’s really been about it. One of my best friends eloped this year (she warned me after getting engaged that’s what would happen), but they’re going to do a big party next year to celebrate with their friends and family. I was maid of honor in my high school best friend’s wedding a couple weeks ago and that got stressful even for me that time and made me think my other friend was pretty darn smart for eloping, even though they did it because they really just wanted a super intimate and private ceremony to read their vows.
These photos are beautiful! I love them!! I loved planning my wedding, so much fun. I did everything myself and it all worked and it was a blast. It was def a #youdoyou wedding, haha. I’m not much into the traditional stuff so we just did our own thing. Enjoy the process! Can’t wait to hear more about it. Have a great time in Alaska! 🙂
These photos are beautiful. I love how you decided to go against the norm and captured your everyday life. If your photos are any indication then your wedding will be just as magical.
I am not at all the girl who has thought of a wedding or put any thought into what I would want my wedding to look like. I know that I would definitely want it low-key, but more than that, no clue! I’ve been with my bf for 13 years and we live together so I feel like we are already married. When I describe him as my boyfriend to people it seems like its such a casual thing, so I should probably say partner or something haha. Ugh labels lol.
Thanks for sharing these pics! Have a great time in Alaska 🙂
UGH LABELS I know!!! It feels so bougie to say “fiance” now. I’m ready for husband haha
Okay those photos are STUNNING. Can’t get over them.
As far as wedding planning goes, I feel ya! It can be really tough planning all of the details, plus keeping your sanity. I swear people who actually loved planning their wedding are a different kind of crazy ? Not sure I have any extra advice, because #youdoyou is prettty spot on!
Have fun in Alaska!
Aww these are beautiful! I love that your pup was included. We had our pets in our photos, too. I feel ya on not wanting to do all that planning. We got married in Mexico for that exact reason! Well, that and not wanting to spend a fortune. Just us and 16 other guests, it was perfect. Happy planning!
The ones on the window seat are absolute PERFECTION. And the one in the kitchen when he’s nuzzling your neck. It’s the little moments that mean the most… How wonderful to have a close friend who could capture those perfect moments for you two. The photos are beautiful.
These are beautiful photos. I totally get how marriage just feels like the next step but you also know that nothing will change. I got engaged last year and my fiance and I have now been together about 8 years. We are probably having our wedding in 2019 since we both left our jobs last year to travel for a bit so it’s time to save money again. We are planning a small destination wedding that feels right for us. I knew I wanted to get married but I didn’t have thoughts on where and what decorations and stuff. At least at this point, I have figured out colors and a beach theme. Now it’s all about finding the right price, because wedding can get seriously expensive.
Beautiful photos! And I couldn’t agree more about #youdoyou!