Thanksgiving!

our Thanksgiving was super special this year for many reasons

it was our 6th Thanksgiving together 

it was our 2 month wedding anniversary 

it was our first time hosting Thanksgiving in our new home 

our family traveled to us to spend the weekend eating and shopping 

so much fun

I did a little decorating to make the house look festive for one of my favorite holidays

I got those cool little pumpkins from the local Farmers Market 

fell in love with the green/grey one on the left

the leaf garland is straight from the yard...dead leaves on some twine...how festive?

this was the chalkboard platter that was used as our bar sign at the wedding 

it now sits in our kitchen and gets filled with fun holiday sayings :) 

Jared fried the turkey and Beau was drooling the whole time per usual... 

here are some fun throwbacks of Beau's true love of raw turkey 

we ate and drank..a lot

fun was had by all 

of course a tripod picture with my siblings was a must 

and an awkward family prom pose 

Thanksgiving is a really special holiday for us 

2010 we got Beau the weekend before Thanksgiving 

2011 we picked out my engagement ring the day after Thanksgiving 

2012 bought my wedding dress the day after Thanksgiving 

2013 we hosted our first married Thanksgiving

can't wait to see what the next Thanksgivings hold for us

now on to CHRISTMAS SEASON!! 

my favorite time of year!! 

Rehearsal Dinner Recap

our rehearsal dinner was fabulous 

Jared's parents really went all out to make the night wonderful 

it was held at a local Wilmington restaurant on Wrightsville Beach, The Oceanic 

the only mishap of the entire evening was getting from the actual rehearsal to the dinner

Wilmington traffic can be awful, but our rehearsal day it seemed to be at its worst 

[I'm talking building on fire and traffic lights out on the busiest streets]

most of the wedding party got stuck in the traffic and were late to the rehearsal 

but the most memorable part, Jared had to get gas, his phone was dead, and he was riding alone 

turns out he was over 30 minutes late to the dinner 

never fear, Jared's parents were great hosts and kept everything going smooth 

our photographer joined us for the rehearsal and dinner 

she was able capture some really fun moments from it all 

best part, she took formal family pictures for mine and Jared's families 

yep, she is freaking awesome 

our sweet flower girl and ring bearer 

they loved getting to high-five with the groom at the end of the aisle 

 played rock, paper, scissors to see who got to do their vows first 

I won and chose to go first :)

 how gorgeous is that view?

 love my sweet family 

 classic totem pose with the brothers 

 such a lucky lady to have these men give me away 

 our cousins 

were all six months apart from our counterpart 

 how adorable are my grandparents?

 Hawkins giving his epic speech 

 Uncle J giving his speech

 Bunn telling the story I told him not to 

 my reaction to that story 

 my sweet mom had some very kind words 

 best man, Chris Chinn, gave a heck of speech too 

 my bridesmaid, Meghan, made the sweetest slideshow for us 

 last "single" kiss before we became husband and wife 

and Jared almost dropped me...

 then this happened... 

GO Pack! 

Marriage: Month One

yep. 

it has already been one month folks! 

we have loved every single moment of it 

I think our favorite thing is saying "husband" and "wife" 

its just so much fun! 

the question we get asked most is

"does it feel any different being married now?"

usually we say no since 

we were together for over 5 years  

we lived together for nearly 2 years before we were married 

and we always knew we were going to end up husband and wife :) 

so though it doesn't feel like much has changed.... 

actually a lot has changed since the wedding 

mainly, MY NAME! 

yep, I am officially Mrs. Lauren Elizabeth Rice!!!

in addition to that over the past month of marriage we: 

went to our first married NC State game

with another newlywed couple, The Millers! 

celebrated a couple friends' engagement at their first engagement/wedding induced party

they're getting hitched in May 2014, Jared and I are both in the wedding!

went on our first "vacation" as a married couple

 

to Boone, NC for a lovely weekend with 3 other lovely couples 

had so much fun eating oysters, drinking wine, and laughing until our sides hurt 

love these people 

celebrated our first married holiday 

much more fun when you're married! 

and finally...

we moved! 

into a bigger, nicer, and closer to work house 

we love it so much even though we are still just renting

there is a lot of unpacking left to do 

but our goal is to be all moved in a ready to host Thanksgiving dinner at our new home! 

over the next few weeks I am looking forward to 

sifting through the wedding photos and sharing more moments from our favorite day

unpacking and decorating our new home 

continuing celebrating being married 

preparing for the holidays 

oh yeah, and working! 

We're Married!

September 28, 2013 was the best day of my life so far 

I wish I could write down everything so I could remember everything that happened 

but that is why we had the video camera there...

for now I am going to just soak up being the new Mrs. Rice :)

Here are a few sneak peeks from our most fabulous day! 

as if I don't brag enough about our photographer Libby McGowan

these pictures should speak for themselves. 

hello, awesomeness?

So Close!

I have been MIA from my blogging 

Mainly because I am about to explode with last minute lists and ideas for the wedding

Welcome to my wedding brain...

We have exactly 15 days until the big day!!!!!!

(AHHHHHH)

I am super excited but also a little stressed 

I think I'm stressed because I'm not stressing and I think I should be...

(If that makes any sense at all) 

I feel like I'm an abnormal bride. 

This wedding is really 5 years in the making

And while I don't want to wish it away 

I can't wait for mine and Jared's conversations to be about something non-wedding related for once

And it will be awesome when the wedding anxiety nightmares stop 

(So I guess I'm subconsciously stressed) 

I am just beyond ready to have all our loved ones in the same place for once 

We will have 9 different states represented at the wedding which I think is really neat! 

I bought Jared's gift this week and I am oh so giddy to see his face when he opens it

And I can't wait to read my vows to him 

(Which I still need to finish...)

I.Just.Cant.Wait.

But also time slow down a little so I can finish up all these last minute projects