This past Wednesday my little sister Anna tied the knot and married the man of her dreams. It was a stunning wedding, my sister looked amazing and they both looked so happy! It was very intimate, just immediate family was there and the Pastor made the entire ceremony so special.
The wedding was in Carmel, CA and we all stayed in Monterey, CA. I have been to northern CA a time or two but I was younger and never really had a chance to explore just how beautiful it really is.
My Mom and I decided we would drive to Northern CA and I am so glad we did. There are so many beautiful sights to see on the way up. I always love the seeing the windmill farms just before Bakersfield, CA and then there were the almond blossom and citrus orchards that were just starting to bloom. There were miles and miles of orchards to look at! After the orchards we hit wine country and there was vineyard after vineyard which was also so beautiful.
We finally arrived in Monterey at about 2pm. We checked into our cute hotel and set off to explore the fisherman's Warf. It was pretty quiet on a Tuesday evening so it seemed a little deserted but it offered some pretty views of the marina.
There were pretty flowers that smelled so good all around our hotel grounds.
I am completely in love with fog. It is just so neat how quickly it blows in and the lighting it creates. There was great fog for the entire three days except the most important time which was during Anna and Jeff's ceremony!
For dinner we met up with Jeff and his family on Cannery Row which is a pretty historic part of Monterey. Dinner was terrible, we sure picked a dud however, it was really nice getting to know Jeff's family a bit better!
After a long day of driving and exploring, we headed back to our hotel and I relaxed by the fire pit with my Dad and Stepmom who happened to be staying in the same hotel as my mom and I.
This is the perfect time to reflect on how nice it felt to have some time on my own for three days. I missed the hubby and my kids of course but it was really nice to just do what I wanted to do, when I wanted to without having to tend to anyone else's needs besides my own. It was very refreshing so thank you to hubby and my good friends Chrissy and Danielle for taking such good care of my kids when I was gone. I didn't have to stress about them one bit since I knew they were in such good hands! Thank you!
The morning of the wedding Anna, my mom and I stumbled by accident into this wonderful French bakery while taking a morning walk. It was the perfect spot for breakfast, the patio was pretty and the food was delicious!
After breakfast it was time to start getting ready for the wedding. Anna had asked me to do her makeup and hair for the big day so the next few hours were a little stressful for me, I wanted her to look beautiful but I was slightly worried she wouldn't love it when we were done. I am not a professional hair and make up artist (obviously) so I was feeling the pressure!!
For a minute too she wasn't sure she was loving her hair, but after she saw some pictures the photographer was taking, she changed her mind. Thank goodness!!
In this picture you can see just how nervous my sweet sister was. We had just arrived to the spot of the ceremony.
And this picture was immediately after the wedding, she is nice and happy now!! Like I said beautiful ceremony and the setting was amazing. Wind blowing, sun shining. It was perfect.
My beautiful sister. Just glowing!
After the ceremony I got to tag along with Anna, Jeff and the photographer Mark. Mark is amazing and just so happens to be a family friend also. It was really fun watching them take their pictures, I just helped smooth hair (it was breezy), touch up lips and carry extra cameras.
Anna' s bouquet was so pretty! Loved the flowers she chose!
During the picture taking session we drove up to Big Sur so they could have some shots in the forest. We pulled off the side of the road a few times considering the views were breathtaking.
I didn't get any shots of the photo taking action in Big Sur, I had on flip flops at this point and was at risk of meeting poison oak. No thank you. I got to see some of the pics from there and they look amazing as well. Can't wait to see the finished products!!
After picture taking, it was off to dinner where we celebrated the merging of two families. Anna and Jeff picked a quaint French restaurant in Carmel and the food was to die for. We ate pretty good that entire day :)
Our last day there we packed up our room and drove back into Carmel. We walked around the cute little town and then headed south towards Big Sur. I have always wanted to drive the coast and this was the perfect time. The road was a bit scary, lots of cliff driving but it was well worth it.
Finally after 11 hours we arrived home to Vegas. It was nice to see my kids and sleep in my own bed. It was a great three days and I am so happy for my sister and Jeff.
