Memory Lane (Jekyll Island Pt 2)

As I was scrolling through the pictures I took while Chris and I were in Jekyll Island for our belated Anniversary trip, I kept thinking about all the wonderful memories we've made before, during, and after our wedding. I thought I'd post some pictures, old and new, to share those memories! (Y'all know I love any reason to reminisce and celebrate!)

Taken during our last trip. The turret is where my girls and I got ready for the wedding

~ On our first night in Jekyll we walked down to the wharf and had dinner at Latitude 31. My Mom, sister, and I, discovered Latitude during one of our first trips to the JICH and now I always have to go back for their delicious Shrimp and Grits! One of my favorite memories is having dinner with our parents there on Friday night of our wedding weekend. 

My shrimp and grits on our last visit

A sunny day on the water in 2011 during our first visit

Dinner in between filming our engagement video 2 days before the wedding

My sweet parents at dinner

~ I took the next photo on the last day of our trip. It was hot as Hades but it was a beautiful day to walk around and enjoy the beautiful grounds. When I saw this picture I immediately thought of the one I took and ended up using on our Save the Dates. The photo used was taken on our first trip to Jekyll Island in February of 2011. We drove down to tour the hotel and I took hundreds of pictures so I would never forget that feeling. Turns out I get the same feeling every time I drive up and see this:

Butterflies 

Our Save the Dates

~ Whenever I visit I always say that I'll be perfectly content never leaving the hotel. This means a lot of pool time, meals at Solterra, and especially time relaxing on the veranda overlooking the water. There's nothing in the world I love more than sitting on this veranda with a drink, a book, and of course my favorite people. It holds so many memories. My favorite being the time we spent with everyone there after our rehearsal dinner.

Taken during Chris's first visit to the JICH in 2011

Taken during our last trip - note the same shirt!  Hilarious!

With my bridesmaids after the rehearsal dinner 

My sweet family

And my fiance at the time!

~ During our tour of the historic district (something I've always wanted to do) I snapped this picture of the Crane Cottage and it's by far my favorite one. It's impossible to capture how beautiful this place is in a photo because it's not something you see, it's something you feel. Before we even met with our planner for the first time I knew this garden is where we would be married 16 seemingly short months later. There are obviously hundreds of photos I could share for this spot, but instead I want to share the first picture I ever took in the garden. I snapped the second picture just as we were walking into the garden for the very first time. It was all over but the crying!

At the very bottom is my favorite wedding picture from our fabulous photographer, Sarah DeShaw. It describes our day perfectly. Above it are the photos Chris and I took of each other during our last trip.

Crane Cottage - where our ceremony took place

My first time seeing the garden

~ Whenever I see the front of the hotel I always think about my Mom and my sister, Haley. We made countless trips down to the JICH during the year and a half before the wedding. More often than not we stayed in one of the rooms on the front of the hotel because we loved being able to sit on the porch and feel the breeze coming in off the wharf. We always talked about how much my Meme would have loved sitting and watching the people playing croquet and riding bicycles.

Taken on our tour during our last visit

Photo of the front of the hotel - the porches are the small, windowed, rooms

The best wedding entourage you'll ever meet - and Mom and Sister too

So thankful for everything she did because of, with, and for me.

My best friend. I couldn't live without her.

~ As I was writing this post I found an old picture that I didn't realize I had taken. When Chris and I visited for his first time, I took a photo of a beautiful old tree that overlooks the water. On our wedding day we had a few moments to unwind and relax there before the reception. It was so nice to regroup and share our excitement together. Some of my favorite pictures were taken there. I want to take pictures there for years to come!

2011

2012

2013

I've always said I'm a sentimental sap, and this post takes the cake! Nothing makes me happier than looking back at old memories and making new ones to add to the archives. Thanks for tagging along, y'all. Happy happy happy.

Love,

Come Sail Away

This month I participated in the Cara Box swap through the Wifessionals blog for the first time. It was just as great as I expected! This month's theme was a nautical one and it was just as puzzling as it was fun! Kaitlyn pairs you up with two other bloggers - one who sends a box to you and one to whom you send a box. My blogger partners were Whitney and Gentel. 

I was super excited when I learned that this month's theme was a nautical one. I'm a big fan of the beach and of all things nautical. This includes but is not limited to turtles, stripes, navy, beachy scents, beach music, etc. I wrote down some ideas but figured I'd have no problem finding plenty of things to choose from since I see SO many cute things all the time! Of course when you are trying to hunt things down they seem to disappear. I searched high and low and loved looking for nautical treasures! I'm always down for a treasure hunt, y'all!

I truly loved emailing back and forth with both girls and getting to know them! Making new blog friends is so exciting! Check Whitney's blog, The Married Me, out to see what I sent her in her Cara Box. And be sure to check out the pictures below of what Gentel sent to me. You can find her at Anchored to Love. Be their friend!

My fun bag from Gentel included:

~ A super cute anchor tote

~ A magnetic notepad - my husband was very excited about this

~ Chevron stationary

~ A notebook perfect for my extensive list making

~ Some super delicious taffy - I never told Gentel but my grandmother loved taffy so this was literally a super sweet surprise

~ An awesome nautical necklace

~ A lobster lollipop - red is my favorite!

~ A wind chime that I've already placed outside

Thanks, girls!

Our late Anniversary Trip - Part 1

I was looking through all the pictures I took while we were in Jekyll Island and decided to split them up into two posts to shorten and risk duplicating. I'll post about the actual trip later when I include my photos from my camera. Until then, here are some pictures I took from my iPhone during the few days that we were there. Some have been instagrammed and some haven't so if you follow me sorry for the repeat!

If you've never been, I can't encourage you enough to go! Like most people I had been to St. Simons but never explored Jekyll Island until we were planning our wedding there. It might just be the History teacher in me, but I really do think it's one of the most beautiful and fascinating places I've been. I'll save the real history lesson for my next post!

I've saved these check-in cards every time. My favorite touch.

Headed to dinner at Latitude 31 on our first night

Had to stop for a photo in front of our reception lawn

My shrimp and grits - SO delicious

I sprained my ankle a week earlier and it was not pleased with all the walking

My favorite little gem - the hotel's cafe

A calm and leisurely breakfast at Solterra

Bacon and cheese croissant from Solterra - my absolute favorite!

Pool time

What would he do without wifi?

Pina Coladas by the pool

The best hot dog you will ever eat! 

And the best chicken salad croissant...

A quick shot in the hall of mirrors - so much history

Scary picture on the trolley before our ghost tour! So much fun!

Taking a tour of the historic district on the hottest day!

Perfect weather for our last day

Peach Daiquiri. Seriously the best thing ever.

The enormous ferns at the club!

As I was captioning these photos I realized just how many I included of our food... and how I kept wanting to caption everything, "the most delicious thing you'll ever taste." It's no wonder we love it so much! The food at our wedding was literally the best meal of my life. I've never had anything there that wasn't perfect. I'm trying my hardest to convince y'all to go visit. I promise you won't regret it. If this post didn't convince you I'll try harder on part 2!

Happy Hump Day - that's for you Torie!