MEMORIES FROM THAT DAY

It was June 14, 2016 and we had only arrived in Paris the day before. The 6-hour time difference made it so that we both felt like it was way up into the middle of the night when we finally settled in for the evening. Excitement and the full day light outside made it hard to close our eyes. It didn’t get dark until about 10:30 pm.

​The alarm went off at 4:00 am and both of us had long since woke up and started our shower and preparation for the makeup and hair person who would come at 4:15 am to get me ready for the big day. I was so nervous about what I would look like. I am somewhat of a tomboy and the idea of having to dress up and put all the makeup on was really stressing me out.

The lady came to the door of our little Parisian room at the Hotel Realis du Louvre and I let her inside and was thankful that she understood far more English than I did French.

That large building outside our hotel window really is the Louvre Museum. The most famous museum in the world and inside are some of the most amazing pieces of art the world has ever seen. I will need to do an entire post about those but a good example is that inside the building that I stare at while my hair and makeup is being done you can stand in front of Mona Lisa and feel the warmth of her beautiful smile.

​This is not happening ! It must be a dream 🙂

 

THAT STUPID SOCCER BALL

During our trip to Paris the Eiffel Tower had a giant soccer ball hanging from it. It was during the World Cup Soccer Games. It was so ugly.

I kept looking up at it and wondering why in the world they would hang a giant soccer ball from my beautiful Eiffel? It has taken hours and hours of my life to edit that thing out of our wedding photos. But in some of them, I left it hanging there so we can forever remember it.

 

TOSS THIS VEIL AWAY

My feet did hurt and at one point I threw off my shoes and tossed my veil away at the steps in front of the Tower and slipped on my flip flops and I was completely ready to go. I put my bangs up, which I had secretly been dying to do from the start and tossed off the veil and we enjoyed the photos so much more at that point.

Once we relaxed and time had passed there were lots more tourists and we had crowds of people who took our photo and followed us about.

I regret not taking more photos in my veil. Once I took it off it was over. I gave it to the photographer and literally never saw it again.

A FEW PHOTOS FROM THE TROCADERO

GOLDEN MOMENT

These shots are the only ones where I was wearing my veil. I took it off because it was driving me crazy in the wind and lost it. Yikes, LOL.

Well, I didn’t really loose it. I gave it to the photographer and forgot it and never got it back.

Spectacular View

When I look back on this day, these steps are for sure one of the things that stands out most. Just being there and looking at the Tower from this spot was so amazing. It is so big and just sits right there in the middle of everything. I love this spot. It is not my very favorite spot there, but it is very close.

FOREVER, PLEASE

He treated me like I was a princess this day. But I found out later that, he would treat me this good everyday. He makes the possibility of forever seem like something I want to do.

SO DANG CLOSE UP

Did I mention that I don’t usually wear makeup ? OMG, it was so hard to let someone put makeup on my face that morning. I just let her go and trusted that it would be okay. I didn’t feel pretty as much that day as I wish now I had. He kept telling me that I was but I am such a tomboy. Looking back, I know that I will never be as pretty as the photos made me look on my wedding day. I love that day. Every girl should feel beautiful on their wedding day.

THE LOUVRE MUSEUM

​The Louvre Museum was something that Bill had spent his entire life wanting to see. So getting to be there that morning and grab some shots before the tourists got so bad was cool. These shots were in front of the huge Pyramids in one of the courtyards around the inside of the Louvre buildings. I confess that Bill broke off a tiny piece of the corner of one of the columns in the courtyard and brought it home with us. (Yes, he is rotten) The piece was already broken, I swear, but he couldn’t resist taking a piece that was hanging there. We have a little bottle that has pieces of France and Italy inside. LOL, I even have a piece of the Colosseum.

​Certainly, one of my favorite parts of my beautiful dress was how much it made me feel like a Princess. I bet I spun around a thousand times in it and Bill held my hand and guided me about like I would break the entire day.

OUR PHOTOGRAPHER

Our Photographer was a sweet young girl named Gloria Villa. She was with a company called KissMeInParis and she made the day seem more like we were hanging out with friends.

​The day was not beautiful, and the forecast was for rain but thankfully it didn’t rain a drop until the last ten minutes of the shoot. The following days that we were traveling I was so jealous of how blue the sky was and how pretty the photos would have been with that big blue sky behind us. But again, At least it was not raining on our big day and how can you complain when you have the Eiffel Tower as the backdrop for your wedding photos. Just as we quit taking photos it began to rain.

I really love that Tower. It was even bigger than I had dreamed all my life. No matter where you went in Paris you could look back and see it there. I bet when it was red it was even more beautiful.

 

DAY DREAMING

The photo of me sitting on the steps is a bit blurry but I love it just the same. I love it because I didn’t really know she was taking my photo and I was day dreaming while waiting for her to get ready again.

When I look back at the photos I admit that I love my hair and makeup. I wish now that then I could have known how wonderful the photos were going to turn out. I think I would have been much less stressed out if I had known how well the dress was going to look in pictures.

 

 

 

THE VERA WANG DRESS

When I posted the photos on Facebook I was of course so excited to share them. I had a friend who commented that I had too much “boob” for a bride. It made me mad for two seconds but when I look at the photos today I am really happy that I picked the exact dress that I did. I tried on a bunch of them and I felt like I was too old for a wedding dress. I kept thinking I looked like an old lady trying to have her youthful dream wedding. But when I look at the photos now I don’t see an old lady. I see a girl who is in love and who is happy and who waited a very long time for this moment. I do think someday when the “boobs” aren’t as happy as they are today it will be nice to see them too in my photos.

​Looking back at the dress choice I think we did good. I love the waist line and love how it poofed out and when you whirled about it drug the ground and made me feel like a Princess.

Let’s face it, I am never gonna be able to say again that I was wearing Vera Wang. LOL

 

MY FEET ARE KILLING ME

​The shots at the bridge crossing the Seine River were fun. The week before we went to Paris this was completely under water in a big flood along the River.

​It was still close to the water, but it had gone down enough that you could walk down the steps and walk along the banks of the River.

 

 

OOOH-LA-LA

​The shots underneath the Eiffel Tower are all some of my favorites. We walked in the middle of the road and cars just stopped. Tooted their horns and a few times I got “Ooooh La-la’s” from passersby. Oh, how Parisian!!!

​It wasn’t horribly busy yet as it was still only about 6 in the morning. The cars don’t really drive under the Tower as it looks here. They go pretty close, but it turns before you actually drive underneath it.We went over another evening and sat beneath the tower and got some amazing shots of it.My favorite part is when it lights up and sparkles every hour for the first five minutes.

​Again, What were they thinking to hang that giant soccer ball from her! Grrrrr ?

 

THE LOOK ON HIS FACE

I love the photos where we are leaping in happiness in front of the tower because of Bill.

The Photographer said for us to jump and look like we were excited to have been married. I couldn’t jump in those shoes!

​But Bill took to the sky and I love the look on his face.

He looks like he is excited to have waited his whole life for the exact right person and today he knows he found her. Did I say that he treats me like I am his Princess?

​I kept telling him that the day was special but that standing there in my dress and spinning about in front of the Eiffel Tower in the crowds of thousands of people who looked at us as we took our vows in front of Notre Dame later that day, that I did feel like a Princess. But every single morning when I wake up and look over and see him there in our bed…. I feel that special. I feel chosen. I feel like he thinks I am the most amazing person in his life and like I am his very best friend. I feel like a Princess every day.

 

MY FAVORITE SPOT ON EARTH SO FAR

​My very favorite spot ever is the little street beneath the Tower. Isn’t it the coolest place. I found it on Google Earth and kept saying all morning that I had to get photos at the little street beneath the Tower.

The street was blocked off that morning because there had been some terrorist attacks in Paris the week we were there, and they closed many streets around the tourist attractions that day.

​That left us with no cars on the little street. I was so excited. The Photographer kept saying….” Oh my gosh, I can’t tell you how lucky we are that there are not cars here” !

​I spun around a thousand times. I almost wish we had gone back to this spot alone later in the trip. It was so close to the Tower and felt so private.

​This shot makes me laugh. Bill was trying super hard to lift me up. I couldn’t stop laughing. I just knew he was gonna break his back the second day of our trip and we would be in trouble. I just long to go back to Paris someday.

I remember now that I gave my veil to the photographer at this location and I forgot it. It didn’t make it home. But so far there’s no dress either so I don’t think the veil will kill me. Fingers crossed on the dress making it back!!!

 

TINY EIFFEL TOWERS

This is the little Eiffel Towers they were selling on the streets everywhere. I love this photo. It makes me want to say…We will always have Paris. Sounds so silly, I know. But on days in our future when things are not good. We will always have the memory of this day. Last night I was stressed out about something simple. A mom day that drove me nuts. He took me by the hand and hugged me and whispered to me and said “Remember the day we got married. Remember how Paris felt. Remember the smell of the cafe”.

​There is no way that I can ever share all the photos in one blog post. I will end with this shot in front of the little cafe. I am certain I will blog about this forever.

 

JUST YOU AND ME

We didn’t take anyone with us to Paris. When we planned out our vows we knew we wanted it to be just us. So, we didn’t take any photos of that part.  When we actually got married It was just he and I and a minister that we loved, and we said what we felt in our hearts. It was simple and beautiful and was the perfect way for he and I to marry.

​Bill is the best friend I have ever had. He wanted me when I was at my worst. He took me into his arms and he molded me and shaped me and helped me to become a person that I don’t hate. When no one else would possibly have wanted me for the person I was inside Bill saw something in me that I couldn’t even see in myself.

 

LUCK GIRL

He is an amazing man. He loves me better than I have ever been loved and he loves my son like he is his own. He gets up every single day and he raises Mikey. He takes him to school. He talks him through problems. He teaches him to be gentle and loving and he impresses Mikey and I both with what a caring and loving person he is.

​I consider myself the luckiest girl in the world to wake up each day with him by my side. Our wedding day in Paris was just the cherry on the cake that has become my life.

 

ALL THE BLOG POSTS ABOUT PARIS

Keep a check here for new posts about our wedding day memories. I will keep them all here or you can watch the regular blog feed for Paris Wedding tags.