In Case You Wanted To Know..

In case you wanted to know what the heck has been going on in my life, I decided to write and catch you all up.  So a LOT has happened over the past month. 

I will start by letting you know, my brother-in-law got called up to the Big Leagues two weeks ago so we took a last minute trip to Boston to watch his games. I had never been to Boston so it was a fun mini vacation. We got to be tourists for the weekend which was fun!
We saw all the pretty buildings that the city had, went to the Cheers bar, Fenway Park (of course!), got to hang out on the Green Monster, ate at Wahlburgers, and saw everything the city had to offer!

It was such a neat and historical city and I would love to go back! My BIL pitched a game which was great to watch! Since he is the new one on the team, he has to wear a Pokemon backpack around the team.

We are heading to Oakland this weekend to watch them play and I cannot wait! Follow my little life journey on instagram @lisa_nicole22 or on twitter @mrsfloro22.

#Raysup

Life's An Adventure

I have always been obsessed with photos. I even told my wedding photogorapher that I wanted ALL the photos he took. The bad, the good, the awkward, ALL of them. To me, each photo tells a different story and I remember certain moments from where it was taken. 

Since I already own a Cannon Rebel T3i that I totally LOVE, I knew I needed something I could travel with that was waterproof, and smaller so I could carry it along with me. I have wanted a GoPro for a while, but it wasn't a necessity as we didn't travel as much and I wanted to wait until I really really needed it. 

Well you guys, it happened. I took the plunge and bought one! With our recent Sea Doo purchase, our constant river trips, and our upcoming two-week Alaska vacation, I knew I wanted something I could take with me that took great photos and was compact enough to have in my purse! (I also have really wanted to hook it on to our Sea Doo to get some cool shots!) I also had No idea that it had so many awesome qualities, such as being able to view and share photos with the built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities.

I spent days researching for the perfect fit. I knew I wanted a touch screen so I could view the photos and video after I took them, so that was a must! I went with the HERO4 Silver, listed at $399 on the site, however I always check Amazon for deals and found it for $359! Saving me $40 that I could use towards some fun gear (ie: Selfie stick, handlebar mount--for the sea doo! and more) I am so excited to try it out this weekend when we head to Lake Shasta to stay on a houseboat. (Which features a slide and hot tub- holla!)

I am excited for all our upcoming adventures and will be able to catch them all on camera!


P.S. If you use Amazon Prime, make sure you set up your Amazon Smile so that every purchase you make, a portion donates to your favorite charity! I chose Southern California Dachshund Relief, since it's local and I love my two dachshunds so much! It costs you nothing additional to donate and it automatically does it when you use smile.amazon.com to make your purchases.

Do you have a GoPro? If so, do you have ANY tips/tricks for me?

Song Of The Week Wednesday

Helene came up with a great idea to have a blog hop for your favorite song of the week.  Music is such a great outlet for me, as I am sure it is for a lot of you too.   I usually would post something Hip Hop/Pop-ish or Country, but I'm gonna go with a song that's been stuck in my head for the past few weeks.   I guess it's genre is more a pop-like.

 

P.S If you have not already entered my hosted GIVEAWAY, you should.

#Blogtober14 Favorite Quote

I was debating on posting anything for the #blogtober14, but decided I had to.  I mean how could I pass up one of my favorite quotes?  I think about this quote at least a few times a week, and I really believe in the meaning behind it.

I really believe everyone should live by this rule.  It's simple, yet means so much.

 

7.12.14 {Pre-ceremony Photos}

One thing I knew on our wedding day is that I did not want him to see me before I walked down the aisle.  As much as photographers love that extra time, I am very traditional and I wanted to get that moment captured of my dad walking me towards the man of my dreams.  

We started by taking photos of me with my parents, and the each of my bridesmaids.  We also took portrait photos of myself in my dress.  

 Our sweet little flower girl.

I was so happy and excited when we found the bridesmaids dresses.  I knew I wanted something unique and different than anything I have seen before.  Being a bling bride as myself, I wanted some rhinestones incorporated in their dresses without it being overkill.  I knew I wanted them to have sweetheart tops because my dress was a sweetheart.  I thought their dresses complimented mine perfectly.  I love how the color pops!

 There were a few minor issues with the dresses.  A few girls had to get them taken in because they had to order a bigger size for their boobs.  One of my bridesmaids got pregnant (don't worry  she's married) and she had to find another dress because she couldn't fit in the one she originally bought.  It was such a hassle and stressful to try and find the same one in the same color!  I won't even go into any details about it.  Luckily she was able to find the same dress, although she had to pay more for it.  But everything worked out in the end thankfully!

Our hotel had two gazebos.  We got married at one of them and used the other one for pre-ceremony and post-ceremony photos which was perfect because we were able to capture the natural lighting while also having photos in both locations! 

That's a win-win!

I originally dreamed of having a Tiffany Blue wedding, because that's my favorite color.  After Pinterest came about, everyone and their mom decided they wanted a Tiffany Blue wedding, which sucked, so I knew I had to change it and wanted something different.  I also really love Coral as it's my second favorite color and is flattering on everyone.  So I chose Coral to be our main color with Tiffany blue as an accent color.  Not only that but they are complimentary colors and me being the graphic designer that I am, am pretty picky about that aspect so that is what we went with.  I was so happy with how the colors complimented each other so well.

All photos taken by Michael Jonathan Studios

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Morning of: Getting Ready

The Dress & Details

Pre Ceremony Photos

 

7.12.14 {The Dress & Details}

When shopping for the perfect dress, I probably tried on about 13 dresses.  I knew I fell in love with this dress when I tried it on 3 times.  I kept wanting to put it back on.  Everything about it was so flattering and it made me look and feel like a bride.  It complimented my body perfectly and I am so glad to have found it.  I of course had to have something to get  ready in.  My parents gifted me this gorgeous Bride robe from Victoria's Secret.  It was the perfect gift for my special day.

 

I was on the lookout for the perfect wedding shoes.  I searched for months trying to find something sparkly, yet comfortable.  I knew I didn't want my heel height to be too tall, but I also didn't want stubs either.  I also was insanely picky about the stones on the shoes. I didn't want multicolored stones, I wanted them to be clear, swarovski stones.  I finally found these beauts at a bridal boutique.  They are Benjamin Adams - Charlize. And they made me feel like Cinderella.

My Maid of Honor and best friend gifted me this personalized hanger.  

I was so excited when I received it! I couldn't wait to have photos taken of it holding my dress!

I also purchased this one so I could use it to hold my robe in my closet!  It matches my personality and my love for bling perfectly.

Our beautiful flowers were done by the fabulous Jenny B.  We couldn't have asked for a better florist! She was absolutely fantastic.

All photos taken by Michael Jonathan Studios

View my other Wedding Reveals:
Morning of: Getting Ready
The Dress & Details
Pre Ceremony Photos coming soon

7.12.14 {The Morning Of: Getting Ready}

I can remember dreaming about my wedding day ever since I was a little girl.  I had my best girls stay the night with me at the hotel.  We woke up bright and early and my Maid of Honor went to grab us Starbucks before prepping for the day.  When we woke up, it was slightly cloudy, but it was the type of clouds that you knew would shortly pass.  You could see the blue tucked right behind them.  I knew instantly that it was going to be a beautiful day.  After enjoying our Starbucks, I showered and washed my hair eager to get my hair and makeup started.

I had the hair stylist arrive around 8am to start doing the girls hair, and I had one my best friends do my hair and makeup. (After having so many makeup trials, I felt the most confident with her doing my hair and makeup.  Not only that , but I trusted her to take her time and to do the perfect job).

I was surprisingly extremely calm the morning of the wedding.  I felt relaxed and didn't have anything to really stress about.  I really took the time to take everything in and enjoy every moment.   The night before, I gave my girls their gifts, which included a personalized coral robe I purchased from Wedding Prep Gals to get ready in (each of them had their initials on the front) and I gifted them a bracelet to wear with their bridesmaids dresses which I ordered from Etsy. While sipping champagne the entire morning, we had so much fun laughing, dancing, and goofing off.  One of my bridesmaids started twerking, and I am so glad the photographer caught it on camera.  

My coordinator came in to tell the bridesmaids to get their dresses on so they could help me into my wedding dress shortly after.  I had my maid of honor deliver hubby-to-be's gifts from me which consisted of socks that read "In case you get cold feet, " a frame with a photo of us that said "To the Moon and Back, Always & Forever," which is what I say very often to him.  I also gifted him a personalized golf bag with his name with his favorite color: Red, and a pass to go golfing at a private course.
 

So I don't know much about baseball gloves, but his brother gifted him a really rad rare glove he was able to have made.. which was really neat.

 

I received a text that morning from hubby to be, with the sweetest words a girl can get.  About how excited he was to marry me, and see me walk down the aisle.  It was truly sweet.

While the girls enjoyed the big and beautiful bridal suites, the boys had a room on the complete opposite side of ours. Of course they had their personalized flasks which was one of the gifts B gave his groomsman, and the obvious adult beverages in red cups.  So classy.

Needless to say, he was very pleased with his gifts and he felt so bad for not getting me anything, which I really wasn't expecting anything.  He has given me more than I could have asked for.  That and, he's a guy and most guys don't really know to give a gift unless someone would have mentioned it. I also enjoy seeing the expressions on his face and giving him things that make him happy (which in return makes me happy).

It was finally that time.  The time to put on your wedding dress for the first time on your wedding day.  My dress probably took about thirty to forty minutes to get on.  Mostly because it was a corset back, so each and every tie had to be put through the loops a certain way.  That and stepping into the dress and snugging it up and around the hips.. that was a fun one.

All photos taken by Michael Jonathan Studios

 Stay Tuned! Next Wedding Post: The Dress & Details