5 things you didn't know about us!

1. We met in the fifth grade and remained friends until we started dating in the summer of 2007. That means we've known each other for about 13 years!

2. We bought our dog, named Woody Guthrie, on a complete and total whim. We were out running errands and noticed our PetSmart was having a pet adoption day. I initially requested that we not go (because I can't say no to cute dogs with pleading eyes), but changed my mind (because I'm notorious for being a pushover). After perusing all the dogs, we came across Woody, whose name was Regal at the time (because he prances when he runs, for real). We left and ate lunch at Tijuana Flats, but all we could think of was our dog's sweet little face looking at us through the crate bars. We literally ran back to PetSmart to adopt him. You can see the full story of how Woody became a part of our family here.

3. We have a mild very serious obsession with the great city of Portland, Oregon. We also went on our honeymoon there, which should surprise approximately no one because it's about all we can talk about. Our grand plan is to move there in the near(ish) future and buy a bungalow with a sweet front porch and curbside garden. In our opinions, that city can do no wrong.

4. Our Saturday morning tradition is going to Krispy Kreme and bringing it to the outdoor patio at Starbucks (where we split a venti iced Chai tea with light ice —you get more drink that way. You're welcome.). Then, we drive to our favorite local dog park and watch as our dog acts like Ferdinand the Bull (smelling flowers) and plays with none of the other dogs that might happen to be there. As a matter of fact, he'd much prefer to be there alone.

5. It is tradition that we stop and get fries and a Coke at McDonald's every single time we drive from our college town to our home town. When we make the decision to take a weekend trip home, I will almost immediately begin to crave McDonald's french fries. And to the people we know who have made the ultimate sacrifice of not drinking Coke, we salute you, but you've got to be kidding me.

- J&R

eat this: fresh arugula + fontina flatbread.

On our honeymoon in Portland, OR we ate at the most amazing Spanish tapas-style restaurant. It was a meal that the two of us will never forget. When we got there, they sat us at the chef's counter where we watched all the food being prepared in a precise but fluid hurry. We were in awe seeing all the chefs move together in what was one of the tiniest restaurant kitchens I've ever seen. They didn't even bat an eye! We ordered so much food and enjoyed every morsel, but our favorite item on the menu was an incredible flatbread that was so flavorful and delicious we could hardly believe it!

When we got home, we vowed that we would try to replicate the recipe in our own kitchen. We were really pleased with the results and wanted to share them with you. The one ingredient that we don't have is black truffle oil (which really does add a special flavor), but we used some olive oil and it still tasted really, really good.

Fresh Arugula + Fontina Flatbread
Serves 2 

INGREDIENTS
Pizza dough (we like the pre-made one from Trader Joe's)
1/2 cup fontina cheese, shredded
1 cup fresh arugula
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
The juice of one lemon
Splash of balsamic vinegar
Salt + pepper to taste
* These measurements are approximate. We did not measure anything out when we made this.

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 500º F.

2. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and roll as flat as possible. Brush about 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto each flatbread so that the entire surface of each is lightly covered. Spread minced garlic over the dough (1 clove per bread, we like garlic so you could easily dial this down). Cook the flatbread for 8-9 minutes, or until the top of the dough is crispy.

3. As the dough cooks, rinse arugula under cold water to refresh the leaves. Place in a bowl and dress with 1 teaspoon olive oil, the juice of a lemon, and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Mix the leaves until they are evenly coated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

4. Shred about 1/2 cup of fontina cheese over a small bowl. Set aside.

5. Pull the breads from the oven and generously cover each with cheese. Place back in the oven for 3-4 minutes, or until the cheese is just melted and the crust looks golden brown.

6. Remove from the oven and spread the arugula leaves over each flatbread. Lightly brush the crust with olive oil & enjoy!

- J&R

part IV.

I'm sharing the portraits last, but it was basically the first thing I did when I arrived at our venue (Jeffrey had already been there most of the morning setting up). Our wedding went off without a single hitch, even though there was a 60% chance of rain on our day. Although it never did end up raining, it was muggy. The kind of muggy that can only really be understood if you've ever experienced the moments before a Florida afternoon rainstorm (or in our case, the rainstorm that never came). My hair started losing its zip the moment it met the air, but it held its own for quite some time.

I wasn't even going to share this with you, but I feel like it's unfair not to mention the single problem I had (because every bride has one, right?). By the time we were about halfway through the portraits that were taken before the ceremony, my hair was so terrible it's comical. At the time, it was anything but funny, but there are a few pictures to prove that it actually was worth a good laugh. Pictures that you will never see, my friends!

Jeffrey, being the sweetheart that he is, kept trying to tell me that my hair looked fine. But when my mom saw me, she had something else to say entirely (thank God!). I walked into the bathroom, saw my reflection (and laughed in nothing but terror), and plugged in my curling iron in to try and salvage the frizzy army of hairs on my head. But of course the plug did not work. Cue my dad stringing an extension cord into the bathroom window from outside and my mom making a mad dash to the nearest store that would offer the kind of hairspray that could make a sapling stand still in the fiercest windstorm this world has to offer.

And believe it or not, the combined efforts worked! As I mentioned, there are a few unfortunate pictures to prove that The Hair Incident did indeed happen (which most eyes will never see), but other than that, things ran as smoothly as imaginable. My momentary hair issue was nothing compared to the torrential downpour that could have (should have!) happened, so I thank my lucky stars for that one. So, now you know and we'll just keep that one between us. :)

^ Our first look was easily one of my favorite moments from the day.

^ He looked so handsome.

^ Our wonderful wedding party.
^ Jeffrey's grandparents. Absolute angels on Earth.

[i carry your heart with me[i carry it in]
E.E. Cummings

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by me is only your doing,my darling)
                                                  i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful,you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)


I hope you enjoyed as much as we did! xoxo
- J&R

Just in case you missed out, here's a recap:

On Monday I shared some special words about our wedding day.

On Tuesday we shared photos of our ceremony.

On Wednesday we shared photos of our reception.

On Thursday we shared photos of the details.

* All photos by the incredible Kelly Kee of seed&sparrow.

part III.

Details. Oh details, details, details. In my opinion, the details make the wedding (if you're looking for visual appeal, that is). I love looking at the details of other weddings, but when it came to my own, I had hardly any interest in DIY projects that required any kind of significant effort. Thank goodness my sister and mom understood my vision because they took charge and never looked back.

When I walked into our venue the afternoon of the wedding, I could not have imagined anything more fitting or perfect for our day. It was like these people were walking around inside my brain! We had so, SO much help to make things happen. Our wedding was truly a team effort and a genuine labor of love.

My dad, my brothers-in-law, my in-laws, my SISTER'S in-laws, our friends, my mom, Jeffrey, my sister...these were all people that worked tirelessly on the morning of the wedding to make my vision a reality so that I could just sit back and enjoy. Such amazingly good sports, the people in our life.

One details story and then I'll get on with the pictures, I promise: We decided to order our centerpiece flowers from Trader Joe's (because they're flower prices are beyond reasonable, people!) and Jeffrey brought them to our hometown (where we were married) on Thursday evening. Mind you, we got married on a Sunday. Panic suddenly washed over me as I realized that they would need to make it through Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On Thursday night, my family turned the air conditioning down to 67 DEGREES, chopped the tips off of flowers furiously and submerged the flowers into a homemade bleach solution so that they could make it to the big day in tip-top shape. We were finding buckets around the house willy nilly just so we'd have someplace to store all the flowers! We were completely delusional and slap happy by the time all the flowers had been cut and cared for, but they survived!! We only had maybe one or two hydrangea casualties along with a few others, but those little flowers stayed strong — bless them!
^ These flowers were recycled from my sister's rehearsal dinner and the cake carrier was gifted to me by my mother-in-law during our rehearsal.
^ Our guest table was filled with wedding pictures from both our parents and our grandparents.
^ We borrowed all the vintage tablecloths from Jeffrey's mom and my aunt. The bottles were collected from family members.
^ We gave our guests a mixed CD filled with some of our favorite songs.
^ What I saw as I walked in. It was amazing!
^ Hand cut hearts for each little cupcake.
^ My brother-in-law (sister's husband) made a ton of these paper chains and we made the tissue paper flowers over the course of a couple months.
^ Our cards basket ended up being really cute (thanks, Mom!) and the banner was handmade by my dad.
^ Jeffrey was given that tie clip by his grandfather. Minutes before the ceremony, we discovered that my dad had the exact same one (with his initial) given to him by his dad. That was a neat moment.
^ My sister gave me the gold locket on her wedding day and I filled it with pictures of my grandparents to carry in my wedding bouquet.


^ The blue bracelet was a gift from my sister (for my 'something blue') and the gold bangle is my mom's . My sister also wore it in her wedding.
^ The ceremony backdrop was completely handmade by my sister, my mom, my dad, my brother-in-law, and Jeffrey. We started it on Thanksgiving and did not finish it until a few days before the wedding!!
^ We had a ton of pictures from different points in our relationship.

^ More tissue paper flowers and some strawberry lemonade.


^ Jeffrey's dad also had pictures taken with a Patagonia patch at his own wedding. :)
^ I changed into my boots after the ceremony.

- J&R

* Ceremony pictures here.
* Reception pictures here.
* All photos by the incredible Kelly Kee of seed&sparrow.