Engagement!!!

So much went in to planning a wedding! We were so blessed to have such amazing people surrounding us.

Our Photographer offered a unique and fun package in which we were given an Engagement Shoot with all of our wedding party there! Here are just a few of the fabulous pictures:

We really had such a great time with our wedding party, and they had a few hours to mix and mingle getting to know each other better. I am so glad we got to experience this!

Brian and I sure had our hands full.... we were "DIY'ing" a lot of our wedding details. We printed our own invites and programs, we bought all of the fresh flowers / vases/ rocks for the centerpieces, and I even came up with a "Cleveland Glam" theme in which each table at our reception had an engagement photo at a landmark in or around downtown Cleveland. Luckily for us, our awesome friend Veronica (also a photographer) gave us ANOTHER Engagement photo shoot to pick up some more Landmarks around town! Without her, we never would have had our table photos! Here are some of her pictures © Veronica Wright Photography:

 

Next Stop.......Wedding Shower, Rehearsal, and Wedding time !

Boy Meets Girl...

The Story of Brian and Colleen.... The best way I could describe it is "Good things come to those who wait". being a girl, you grow up with the 'Disney Princess' expectation that your prince charming is going to bump into you, whisk you off of your feet with one super amazing kiss, and you get married and live happily ever after. Well, as you grow older you realize you may have to kiss a frog or 2 before your prince charming enters your life.

 Brian and I both grew up in Old Brooklyn (Cleveland), Ohio. We went to separate schools, had separate interests, But we had one great thing in common.....an amazing group of mutual friends. We both hung out with the same group in high school, and occasionally saw each other. When I first saw him, I was like he's pretty cute ....But the stubborn girl that I was - I wanted him to ask me out. Unfortunately neither of us were ready for each other, and the timing was off. So we went on with our lives, and I lost touch with our group of friends for about 5 years. And then - just like that...Fate Happened. Back in the day, there was this social media site called Myspace. It was all the rage...believe it or not.  I reconnected with a fella named Danny, from our old group of friends! Danny invited me to hang out and of course I was happy to reconnect with him and all of the great friends from the past. When we met up one time Brian was there. And, Brian was Danny's roommate too. Small World, Eh? That night Brian and I went to a quiet section of the bar and talked the whole night. I knew by the end of the night he was a very special man, and I was so intrigued by this guy who talked with so much passion about family and life.  Three months later, at Danny and Brian's new year's eve party we kissed at midnight and our relationship started. 

Our Epic Windsor trip just a short time after Brian and I started dating

At dinner in Canada

Our Love Blossomed over the next few months, and Brian and I had started talking about a future together. We made the decision to move in together. It was a BIG decision. But it was the greatest decision, we grew so close and more and more in love!

Finally,  October 29, 2010 Brian Proposed to me! It was Beautiful! He took me to Brandywine Falls and I had NO idea what was about to happen.... I had my Hair up in a bun, no makeup, complete with jeans and earmuffs.... It was such a happy day!

Me, no clue of what was about to take place!

Brian, anxiously waiting to pop the question

My BEAUTIFUL ring

 

 

 

A nice couple who saw the proposal offered to take a picture to capture the love!

Family Blog...Take 2!

Our original family blog did not work out very well. I was having some technical issues, and basically gave up. Almost two years later, and I feel more than inclined to give this another shot. Will I be successful? I sure hope so.

For Starters, a bit about our lovely little family. My name is Colleen, and I am very happily married to the love of my life, Brian. We had a Beautiful little girl in June 2012 and named her Olivia Grace.

Brian and I on our wedding day 

                               

Olivia one day old!

Olivia , One week old

Our lives truly changed for the better. I can honestly say, we thought we knew how much we loved this little lady....But after we met her, we were so full of a love that we never could have imagined. She was ours! We brought this tiny little miracle into the world. And our love and our life has never been the same ever since.

Now that I have shared a teeny bit of our background, I can fast forward a bit to the present time. I will just recap on milestones first, then I can be a "normal " blogger and post current info! I look forward to sharing our new world with friends and family, and having a little piece of our sweet memories to share with Olivia in the future !