Married Away in Mexico

Petit Four-ever: We Rocked The Frock

2012-10-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

Because 'trash the dress' seems so harsh!

All photos courtesy of Kate Bahnsen Photography

Mr. PF and I wanted to take advantage of our gorgeous surroundings so we booked a "Rock The Frock" shoot with our photographer the day after our wedding.

Kate (our photog) was so awesome. She took so much time with us to get as many amazing pictures as we wanted.

We found some awesomely colorful buildings to take pictures with.

We took a ride on our golf cart...

...and found these guys!

We got photobombed by a cute, little girl.

My Bee charms!

We literally walked around the whole island getting as many pictures as we could. You can imagine we got hot and sweaty.

You better believe we jumped in!

This picture doesn't do it justice! It felt really high up and I was freakin scared!

It felt so good!

I seriously loved my necklace and the way it pops in the pictures.It's Amarita Singh.

I really wanted to get a great "Thank You" picture for our thank you cards and I am so happy with what we came away with!

Did you do a "Trash the Dress" session after the wedding?

Petit four-ever: Our Night Comes To An End

2012-09-30T07:19:00.000-05:00

The end of the night came too quickly. Everyone was having such an amazing time it seems like it just flew by. I consciously made the effort several times to stop and take it all in...but it still went too fast!

Our getaway car was getting it''s final touches.

And it was time to make our exit.

What kind of getaway car did you have?

Petit Four-ever: We Partied aka: The Dance-off

2012-09-21T08:29:00.001-05:00

After a couple of songs, I decided it was time to change into my reception dress. I LOVED my wedding dress, but it felt amazing to be able to move and dance freely.

I bought this dress online and it was a huge gamble that turned out in my favor.

We literally had EVERYONE on the dance floor! Everyone had a great time.

A special moment with my mom and dad.

During the dancing, some of my friends snuck away to decorate our get-away golf cart. It looked so cute and we were totally surprised. (Pictures of that later)

And then it happened. We had an open bar. That's the only way I can justify what you are about to see...

Yup, there was a dance-off.

It was amazing. We have some seriously crazy friends, yall.

Did a dance-off break out at your reception or was it more mellow?

Petit Four-ever: We Partied!

2012-09-16T17:41:00.002-05:00

It all started out innocent enough, you see.

Everyone was having a great time dining and dancing.

Pretty tame, right?

Yes, that is the mother of the Groom grinding on the Best Man.

Do-si-doh!!! We're from Texas, remember?

We drank.

We danced.

We did the macarena?

You ain't seen nothin' yet?

Did you have a casual reception or was everyone gettin' down with their bad selves?

Petit Four-ever: Other Wedding Festivities.

2012-09-12T19:16:00.001-05:00

When we first planned out the timeline for our wedding day, the bouquet toss definitely wasn't on the agenda.

I thought it was just kind of a silly tradition that I didn't really care about, I also wasn't sure if there would be enough 'single ladies' to try and catch the bouquet.

When it came down to it, the girls kept asking when the bouquet toss was going to be so I made a game-time decision.

I ran over and told the DJ to throw on some Beyonce and get ready for the bouquet toss.

I'm actually really glad we ended up doing it, everyone got a kick out of it.

The other thing that we weren't sure about was the cake.

Yep, we ended up having a cake after all. Our venue threw it in for free so we weren't going to say no :D

Patiently waiting for cake.

Here we go!

Hmmm... this is kinda hard to cut.

No. this is really hard to cut.

Our venue was worried about the icing melting in the humidity so they kept it in a realllllly cold fridge until we were about to cut it. We ended up breaking the knife.Whoopsies.

We finally got to the magical piece of cake.

Don't even think about it.

Mr. PF didn't get to eat our cake because of his gluten allergy, but we set aside a piece of tres leches cheesecake just for him. He wasn't complaining.

Yum!

What wedding festivities are you planning throughout your wedding day?

Petit Four-ever: We Dance With Our Parents

2012-09-05T18:31:00.001-05:00

After I dried my eyes from the speeches, it was time for the mother & son dance.

Mr. PF was unsure about doing a dance with his mom because he doesn't really like the spotlight too much. I insisted that he do it though because I knew his mom would LOVE it.

I picked out "It's A Wonderful World" out for their song but the DJ ended up playing some really inappropriate, hair-band 80's ballad. It was really awkward and funny and I don't think she even noticed what song was playing because she was so over the moon that she got to share this moment with her son.

The father/ daughter dance was something that I thought about all the time during the planning process.I wanted something that wouldn't make me cry like a baby but something that was sweet at the same time.

Turns out it didn't matter what song I picked... I cried my eyes out the whole time anyways :D

This was a guest photo, but it's one of my favorites.

What songs did you pick for the dances with your parents?

Petit Four-ever: They Toasted.

2012-09-04T21:29:00.001-05:00

After we danced, it was time to sit down and eat.

The best part about our small wedding was that we got to eat our delicious food and we didn't feel like we had to "make the rounds" to say hi to everyone.

Everyone was really relaxed the whole night and everyone had a great time. We later heard there was some sort of contest on who could finish a bottle of scotch first. I think whoever won, actually lost!

Our Best man and Maid of Honor did amazing with their speeches. I'm still waiting on our video from the videographer, but hopefully he captured some of that awesomeness.

MOH Petit Four had me in tears. He speech was so heartfelt and full of love I could barely stand it. We have known each other for 22 years so she had plenty of shenanigans to mention in her speech.

How long have you known your MOH and Best man?

Petit Four-Ever: We Danced.

2012-09-02T16:26:00.000-05:00

Hey guys! Sorry I have been MIA for a while, the beginning of the school year is always crazy for Mr. PF and I. I have also been dreading getting back to my re-caps because I am almost done with them and that makes me sad :(

Anyways, after the ceremony and pictures, Mr. PF and I shared our first dance.

All photos courtesy of Kate Bahnsen Photography

We Danced to Michael Buble- Crazy Love

Mr. PF and I were a little nervous about our first dance because of our dancing skills...or lack there of.

It ended up being absolutely perfect and it felt like we were the only two people in the world.

We swore up and down that we would get around to taking dancing lessons, but it never happened. In the end it all turned out alright and there was no need for us to be nervous.

Are you or were you nervous about your first dance? Did you take dancing lessons?

Petit Four-ever: Ceremony Details

2012-07-20T22:10:00.000-05:00

As y'all know, some things didn't go exactly right during the set up of our reception, but everything turned out alright in the end. Here are some of our details that I loved so much.

All photos courtesy of Kate Bahnsen Photography

Mr. & Mrs. forks from SimplySweet

Our guestbook was my favorite part of our wedding that we got to bring home. I made a book from out engagement pictures on Shutterfly and wrote a few prompts on the pages. People went to town, and its so much fun to read even today!

yummmmm

Our 'Thank You" banner from AtcompanyB on Etsy

Our centerpieces were my favorite part of our table settings and of course, there are no pictures of it!!! Grrr! Make sure you tell your photographer everything you must have a picture of at your wedding. They were super-pretty, I promise :D

What were your favorite details of your reception?

Petit Four-ever: A Photo Shoot.

2012-07-13T16:03:00.002-05:00

I know the staged shots are everyones least favorite shots, so I am gonna keep this short and sweet. If nothing else you can surely enjoy the scenery:D

All photos courtesy of Kate Bahnsen Photography.

See, that was pretty painless! Next up, we party!

Petit Four-ever: The Flower Offering

2012-06-24T11:53:00.001-05:00

One of the coolest parts of our ceremony was our flower offering.

Apparently this is a really special tradition on the island and I absolutely loved the idea. After our ceremony finished, everyone followed us out onto the dock at our venue.

MOH Petit Four helped pass out flower petals to everyone.

As we all stood on the dock, waiting for instructions, our Officiant chimed in.

In honor of the past which brought us all here,

to give thanks for the blessings of the present

and to envoke more abundance of love and blessings for the future

We will give an offering of flowers to the ocean.

As we send these flowers on their journey we are honoring

Mr. and Mrs. Petit Four's journey together through life.

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter to the other .

Now you will feel no cold , for each of you will be warmth for the other.

Now there will be no loneliness, for each other of you will be companion for the other.

May beauty surround you both in your journey ahead and through all the years .

May happiness be your companion and your days together

be good and long upon the earth.

As the sun sank lower into the turquoise sea, it was almost time to party.

What type of traditions did you incorporate into your ceremony?

Petit Four-ever: The Ceremony.

2012-06-19T15:45:00.001-05:00

Now that everyone was in their place,

We began.

We are coming together today here at this beautiful place

to celebrate the wedding of Ms. Petit Four and Mr. Petit Four

We have come to confirm this Union with family and friends.

Above all we have come to rejoice in love and its possibilities.

There are moments in our lives that are ruled not so much by time, but by the heart.
This is such a time for the Petit Four's.

these two people are in love so deeply and completly,
that today they make they bond, whereby their hearts, their minds

and their bodies shall be united in marriage for the rest of their days.

So we ask all of you now to go to your hearts and open them wide and rise
your spirits high so that we are all coming with our full presence to support this union.

Love is not an accident we fall into but a start of a common path,

growing together in love so that we give to ourselves the possibility

that our tomorrows will be even more joyous and tender,

more compassionate and more full of the thrill of life as each day is better than the next.

Love has the capacity for that magic.

Marriage is the promise made and kept between two people

with intentions of trusting, supporting and loving each other.

This will help you to grow as individuals as well as a couple

and allows you to see the other as your soul sees them-

as beautiful and powerful spirits of God.

(This was a really funny part of our wedding when our Officiant asked us to step behind the table so we could start our sand ceremony. Mr. PF thought she said that there were 'tissues under the table' so he went digging under the table to get me a tissue since I had been crying. He's so sweet :D)

Now let as all witness how they create their

union represented by the 4 Elements

Red, we ask for love and passion in this union.

Blue, so that you may always share your emotions with each other.

Green, we ask for abundance and prosperity. (I put a lot of green :))

White, so that you may always communicate with patience and understanding

Please face each other and repeat after me.

Ms.Petit Four/ Mr. Petit four you are the love of my life,

I cherish your friendship and companionship,

I promise to respect, honor and love you all the days of my life,

I promise not to change you but to support you,

I will take care of you and love you always.

After our sand ceremony I wanted to incorporate a Lasso my family has had for many generations. Our parents got up and placed the Lasso over our shoulders.

Even though my Grandma couldn't make it to Mexico with us, she was so happy and proud that we used the Lasso.

Finally it was our wedding rings to shine.

You have shared this moment and promises

with family and friends as a symbol of loving each other.

You have formed your own union in friendship

and respect for one another and in love.

Therefore, it is my honor and with great pleasure I present you as husband and wife.

Petit Four-ever: We Walked

2012-06-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

After my veil was securely attached, I was ready to walk down the aisle with my mom and dad. This one honestly one of the best decisions I made during my whole planning process.

Our wedding planner started lining our wedding party. I was sitting in my bridal suite and I could Joshua Radin- I'd Rather Be With You playing as the ceremony started. That meant it was real, and I started crying.

The gorgeous view as we walked down the aisle.

Mr. PF and his parents looking a little nervous.

They were fine once they took the first step

My beautiful MOH and the best man were next.

Finally it was my bridesmaids and Mr.PF's brother up to bat.

Off they went...

Then it was my turn.

Standing there with my mom and dad, we started our walk towards my groom.

Half crying, half calm and half happy (um...?) I locked eyes with Mr. PF and I couldn't help but smile.

(Yay, veil!)

Arm and arm with my mom and dad, I did all I could to soak up every minute of this perfect moment.

The weather was perfect, but then again, it would have been perfect even if it was storming.

Mama PF adjusted my veil...

I passed off my bouquet...

And then it began...

Were you nervous when you walked down the aisle or did a serene calm come over you?

Petit Four-ever: Ceremony Details

2012-06-15T15:00:00.000-05:00

Kate (our photographer) caught some amazing detail shots of our ceremony decor that I just had to share with y'all. No one understands details like y'all do. :D

Our "Love" burlap banner

Fans

Our lovely altar

The guitar that FIL Petit Four played while I was walking down the aisle

What special details are you incorporating in your day?

Petit Four-ever: Going To The Chapel...I Mean, Beach. Pt 2

2012-06-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

Did I keep you in suspense on that last one?? Well to answer your question, yes, the veil made it just in time...

At this point, I was still calm somehow...

See? Calm.

Thinking to self *I can't believe I'm not crying right now!*

Ok, nevermind.

Yep. Lost it.

Were you calm as a cucumber before your wedding or were you emotional?

Petit Four-ever: Going To The Chapel...I Mean, Beach.

2012-06-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

After all the pre-wedding pictures were taken, it was time to head to the beach to get married. Mr. PF and his family were already at Zama (our venue) and were met with an interesting sight.
All of the tables and chairs were set up in the wrong spot. When I say in the wrong spot, I mean on the completely opposite side from where we told them we wanted them. Mr. PF and our lovely wedding party rolled up their figurative sleeves and got to work.

Remember all those lovely details that I worried so much about before the wedding? Well they almost didn't happen.

Here is Mr. PF getting his bout pinned on and looking a little miffed.

Some tired groomsmen

Papa PF didn't sweat it :)

As people began arriving, they were greeted with a delicious watermelon aguas fresca. If you have never tried one, head to the closest Mexican food restaurant and ask them to make you one!

While all of this was going on, Mama PF, MOH PF and I were stuffed in a cab trying to make it there. Just when we were around the corner, Mama PF realized that she left the lasso back at the house. So back we went!

When we finally made it back to Zama, we got out and I settled into my little bridal suite. Then we realized it.... Holy #*&^%$@ S%&*&$@!!!!!! We left the freakin veil in the trunk of the cab.

Our officiant was telling me that we would have to start the ceremony soon so we would have time for pictures, but I just smiled and said "No, we have to wait".

My veil was the one piece of my wedding ensemble that meant the most to me and I wasn't walking down that aisle without it. Do y'all remember what it looked like before when my aunt wore it?

So I sat there, and waited...and waited. I was completely calm and collected. I knew I was gonna wait for that veil.

Petit Four-ever: Pre-Wedding Pictures

2012-06-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

After my transformation into a bride, it was time to take some pre-wedding pictures. Mr. PF was adamant about not seeing me before the ceremony so we were somewhat limited to what pictures we could take. It ended up working out perfectly and Mr. PF got his way.

Petit Four-ever: I Become A Bride

2012-06-11T10:30:00.000-05:00

The whole morning of the wedding I was pretty relaxed. It all still felt like a wonderful dream and I was trying to soak up every moment that I could. When Kate told me I should get my dress on to take some pictures before the wedding, I thought I would be an emotional mess. Thats the thing about weddings, you surprise yourself quite a bit. And so it was time to complete the transformation, hair and make-up done, the dress was the missing piece.

MOH PF helping me zip up

Did anyone recognize my DIY(sorta) flower?? :D

And just like that, I was a bride.

Petit Four-ever: A White Dress
Petit Four-ever: The Boys Do Their Thang
Petit Four-ever: The Girls Get Ready
Petit Four-ever: Pre-Wedding Fun.
Petit Four-ever: Let The Recaps Begin!
Petit Four-ever: Get Us to Paradise!

Petit Four-ever: A White Dress

2012-06-10T16:19:00.003-05:00

As some of y'all know, Mr. PF and I were engaged for about 2 years. My dress was the first major wedding purchase that I made. Luckily it was the first purchase since it took a whopping 9 months for the dress to even come in!

This post is dedicated to my beautiful dress that made me feel like a million bucks on my big day.

How many dresses did you try on before you found "the one"?

Petit Four-ever: The Boys Do Their Thang

2012-06-08T15:00:00.000-05:00

Mr. PF kicked our Kate (our photographer) out of their room because they weren't pretty enough to be photographed. So I have no pics of them actually getting ready.

But I do have some good/hilarious pics of the guys trying to look cool...

Sunglasses on.

Here is Mr. PF looking a little nervous.

Awww

Here are the boys taking advantage of the surroundings.

Kate managed to sneak a couple of candid shots of the Dads...

Here is Papa PF prepping for the day.

And Father-in-law PF practicing Pachelbel Cannon in D for the ceremony

All in all, the boys spent most of the morning hanging out in the pool and relaxing (Oh, to be a boy!)

What did your groom do the morning of the wedding?

Petit Four-ever: Girls Get Ready

2012-06-07T20:18:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the delay on the recaps, y'all. It took my amazing photographer a little longer than expected to get all the pictures back. I hope y''all haven't forgotten about me yet! Have no fear though, here we are, back in full recapping force!

So, the morning of the wedding Mr. PF and I woke up together (yep, we stayed together) and had some breakfast. It was really nice to have that time alone together to sit and reflect upon what our day would be like.

After breakfast we said goodbye and I didn't see him again until I was walking down the aisle.

During that time, me and the gals spent some time getting ready.All photos courtesy of Kate Bahnsen Photography

The lovely and talented Anne-Marie Cote did my hair and make-up. She''s from France, y'all. She knows what she's doing...

Here is Mama PF getting her pretty on.

The delicious make-up spread

Here we are trying to decide what to do with MOH PF's hair.

We sipped on some mimosas...

Lounged around and tried to relax...

And got our hair did.

What are you planning on doing the morning of your wedding?

Petit Four-ever: The Pre-Wedding Fun

2012-04-19T06:35:00.020-05:00

We got to the island 4 days before the actual wedding so we did have a few spare minutes to hang out with our friends and get a much needed tan :)

We found some beach...

Ate some delicious food...

Drove around and saw the sights...

Found some more beach...

Made friends with some iguanas...

And definitely acted silly...

We even found this little guy just hanging out in a tree! He was so gorgeous!

After four days of trying to get everyone settled in to their hotels, the day before the wedding I had a little meltdown so Mr. PF and I snuck away for a couple of hours to ourselves. Mrs. Ostrich was so right about this one... Too bad I didn't listen! So yes, for the destination brides, if you can assure that you have some time alone before the wedding, you will save yourself some mental strife :)

The other thing I want to share with y'all is the amazing place we stayed. Meet Castillo Del Candelabro...

Picture via Luxury Retreats

It was the perfect party house for the week and at any given time you could find someone lounging by the pool with a refreshing margarita in their hand. Like a few other bees, we used HomeAway.com to find and book Castillo Del Candelabro.

They even had a little cabana so Mr. PF and I could have privacy! It was so awesome and it truly felt like paradise. Check out this view!

Petit Four-ever: Let The Recaps Begin!
Petit Four-eve: Get Us To Paradise!

Petit Four-ever: Get Us To Paradise!!!

2012-04-17T06:10:00.000-05:00

Once we got to the airport and on the plane it was so nice to finally be able to breath!

Papa PF surprised us with upgrading our tickets, so we got to sit in first class. It was so fun and we were totally trying to act like it was no big deal...

More anything? More everything!!

(If anyone gets this reference I will give you 10 bonus points)

When we got to Dallas, we met up with MOH PF and her husband! We only got to see them for a brief second because we were really late getting to Dallas and we almost missed our connecting flight.

We finally landed and spent about 2 hours in line for customs. Cancun is a busy airport during spring break, y'all. Seriously.

After we made it through customs, we jumped on our shuttle and headed to the ferry to take us to paradise. It was dark by the time we got there, but we had some fun on the ferry anyways.

Me and MOH PF

MOH PF''s husband and Mr. PF

After we got off the ferry, we rented a golf cart (the most fun method of transportation on the island) and we were on our way!

Petit Four-ever: Let The Recaps Begin!

Petit Four-ever: Let The Re-caps Begin!

2012-04-16T10:35:00.001-05:00

Hello there hive! I hope you haven't forgotten about me yet :D

We have been enjoying married life and our photographer has slowly been posting edited pictures of our wedding on her blog! I can't believe it has been over a month since we said 'I do' so I think it's about time that we started recaps!

So this is what Mr. PF and I have been up to since we last spoke...

Kate Bahnsen Photography

Eeeee! Did you see my veil?? It turned out really nice! Can you believe it's over 40 years old?

So, thats all I can give you for now, but I promise there is a lot more good stuff coming. I have to talk about the everything leading up to the wedding first because its too good not to share :D

The week before the wedding was pure chaos. Trying to pack up everything I had been collecting for the wedding was really hard. There was definitely some stuff we ended up not using, but for the most part I don't think I forgot anything really important.

One of the best things I did before the wedding was get semi-permanent eyelash extensions. I bought a Groupon for it about 2 weeks before the wedding and I went and had them put the day before we left. These things were seriously awesome because I didn't have to wear mascara and as you will see later on in the re-caps, I was crying like a baby most of the ceremony! But guess what?? No runny make-up!

Oh, hello long lashes!

I had to lay there for about 2 hours and it was super annoying, but it was totally worth it for the wedding. Now I will say that when we got home, I went and had them removed because I couldn't handle not rubbing my eyes, but they served their purpose. They even stayed on with all the swimming and shenanigans we got into.

OK, so I hope y'all are ready for a wild ride because it was a week of sun, fun and getting married!

We're Baaaaaaack!

2012-03-17T11:04:00.008-06:00

Oh, hi Bees! I'm Mrs. Petit Four. Nice to meet you :D

We are back from our wonderful vacation and we are still floating from all the love we felt on our wedding day. Everything was amazing, but there were a couple of snafus. It wouldn't be a wedding without some, right?

Our amazing photographer (Kate Bahnsen) already gave us a little sneak peak of a couple photos. I literally can't wait to see more.

Photo via Kate Bahnsen Photography

The weather was perfect, the food was delicious and my engagement ring now has a couple of friends to hang out with. I can't wait to start recaps, I have so much fun stuff to share.

Personal Pic

It's good to be back! See y'all soon.