One Year Later | Wedding Photos

One year ago today, on a rainy Wednesday, Aaron and I made it official here at our home with just our kids and a friend/officiant in attendance. 

I often tell people that some stories aren't ready to tell right after you live them. They don't have to just be hard stories - sometimes they are simply the most meaningful and you might just want to hold it closer for awhile. For me this is one of those stories. I'm so happy to share this piece of our life here with you today. 

Everything we did for this day, everything we chose, was on purpose. 

  • We got married in Aaron's music room that he built in our garage with twinkling lights covering one wall. Those lights are still in there now and they make me so happy every time I spend time in his space. We had talked about going somewhere and having a destination wedding but in the end we decided our house would be the best spot (and we put our money into our familymoon). 
  • We invited my wonderful friend Tara Whitney to come and capture the day for us. There is no one else I could have imagined capturing the spirit of this day for us in our home. I wanted her to capture us just as we are - which is her gift. I loved having her here to capture our hearts. 
  • We incorporated a whole lot of glitter confetti and we still find it around the house from time to time. 
  • We hired a local caterer to come to our house and cook us a Thanksgiving dinner since we were taking off the next morning for our familymoon and would be gone on the actual holiday. It was so awesome and made the entire celebration that much more special. 

The whole thing was very "us" - and more than anything it was really about us. It was about the seven of us coming together. It was about the seven of us celebrating our new beginning. We sent flowers to our families saying thank you for their love and support. I would completely do it this way all over again in a heartbeat. 

Side note: My wedding to Chris was big and so, so fun. We were the first of our group of college friends to get married and what we wanted most at that time in our lives was to have a big party. This time I wanted something different. Both were awesome in their own space and time. Both are a part of my story. 

Thank you for cheering us on. The last year has been even better than I imagined - so much growth all around. 

Here's a look at November 15th, 2017:  

GETTING READY

Aaron bought a bunch of fun pairs of socks and let the boys pick which ones they wanted to wear. 

The best story about me putting on my own makeup is the text that Katie sent me telling me exactly how to use all the things I had bought the day before from Target on her recommendation. 

She's good like that. 

We decided to drive just down the street to take some photos outside. 

THE CEREMONY

Simon walked me into the room to a song by Dave Matthews (of course) called Loving Wings. 

Magic is where you make it. 

DINNER

The kids requested Shirley Temples as their drink. 

I loved having this at our house. LOVED IT. It was comfortable and fun and just so very us. 

Love wins. 

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101 thoughts

  1. kelsterjean says…
    11/16/2018

    These are some of my FAV photos I think I’ve ever seen from you!! You look so unbelievably happy and are just radiating happiness! I love the group photos too and they would make some great Christmas card photos. So happy for your big blended family Ali!! xoxo

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. sparkle says…
    11/16/2018

    Lovely.

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. ahiggins83 says…
    11/16/2018

    Beautiful photos of your beautiful day! Thank you for sharing your story with us. <3

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. shirra says…
    11/16/2018

    Ali - just want you to know that i have followed the events of your life vicariously through your blog and it is a Great joy to share this moment via photos. You have been a big influence in my thinking. Thank you for sharing and best wishes to your lovely family for the coming years! Giving Thanks with you for the many blessings in our lives . . .

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. ScrappinMyHeartOut says…
    11/16/2018

    Magical! Happiest of anniversary wishes to you and Aaron!

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Cookingmylife says…
    11/16/2018

    I've followed you since Simon was a toddler and these wonderful photos show the joy you 7 have found! I'd say it was all worth it. Happy Happy Anniversary!

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. scholcomb says…
    11/17/2018

    Thank you for sharing your special day with us! I love your reminders that events do not have to be lavish and big to be meaningful and memorable. Happy Anniversary!

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. ddouglas48 says…
    11/17/2018

    This is beautiful! Happy Anniversary!

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. Linzanize says…
    11/18/2018

    Happy Familyversary! This is so great. Congrats!

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. Bookworm says…
    11/18/2018

    I've got tears in my eyes -- what beautiful photos capturing your special day. Wishing you a happy anniversary and continued joy and love to your family.

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. gretchenstwowishes says…
    11/18/2018

    Happy Anniversary. Thank you as always for sharing your stories. Gorgeous photos.

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. nashonne says…
    11/19/2018

    Beautiful!!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. hpeters004 says…
    11/19/2018

    This sounds so strange as we are complete strangers but I have been following you on your blog and using your memory keeping products for probably 13-15 years. I teared up reading your post. I'm so incredibly thrilled for your deep happiness.

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. Amandainuk says…
    11/20/2018

    Thank you so much for sharing these with us Ali. I looked and thought, oh, thats lovely, that's my favourite, then looked at the next and....well, Im sure you had similar thoughts. I think they really do show such a special story.

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. cathyzielske says…
    11/21/2018

    Oh wow, Ali. This is just really cool to see. So much love. So much life. I think of your family so often. I'm so happy for all of you.

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. justsooze says…
    11/21/2018

    thank you for sharing your story...happy anniversary

    Reply 0 Replies
  17. marysara says…
    11/21/2018

    Such joy and happiness shining through. So very happy for you! You deserve all the happiness and more. Happy Anniversary.

    Reply 0 Replies
  18. StudioM says…
    11/24/2018

    I am simply touched. Thank you for sharing. ❤️ xo, Marian Garcia

    Reply 0 Replies
  19. Binxcat1 says…
    11/27/2018

    Yep, it's official... you guys could not be a more gorgeous bunch. Delightful.
    Congratulations and Happy Anniversary / Familiversary <3

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. heyjennyc says…
    11/28/2018

    Happy Anniversary! Amazing pics...you can see the love.

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. k8scraps says…
    11/28/2018

    Oh! I just remembered that I hadn't read this post...….those photos are so gorgeous! What a treasure they will be. The genuine joy and happiness on everyone's faces was so delightful. Tara is a genius!
    Happy Anniversary!
    k8

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. DesireeItsell says…
    11/29/2018

    These are beautiful Ali and Aaron! Thank you for sharing this with all of us.
    Yes ... personally 29 years into his, mine, and ours ... love totally wins!

    ❤️ Happy Anniversary ❤️
    Desiree

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. catpchin says…
    12/11/2018

    I hadn't been by the blog in awhile and these photos are simply lovely! Happy Anniversary, and I love hearing your story:)

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. Roni_H says…
    12/30/2018

    Just perfect.

    Reply 0 Replies
  25. rahbnz says…
    01/08/2019

    Wow...so beautiful and inspiring

    Reply 0 Replies

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