One Year Ago...

One year ago today we awoke to a gray and rainy day. But that didn't matter because we were doing this...





I can't believe it has been a year already! Happy 1 Year Anniversary to the most caring, thoughtful, and loving man in my life. I have no regrets...even if the Army has already messed up our plans :)

~AKO

Time is Running Out

So, my friend Nicci is getting married November 1 and I am one of her bridesmaids.


So, I'll be wearing this dress ...



And these shoes in red...




Starting today I got back on this to try and tone up a little before the wedding...





And here is my support structure while I'm working my WII Fit and WII Active...





I'm toying with posting my progress but we'll see how that goes first >:p

~AKO

SHOW US YOUR LIFE - Wedding Receptions/Honeymoon

This week's Show Us Your Life from Kelly's Korner is the Wedding Reception and Honeymoon.

Our Wedding Reception was at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Elmhust, NY across from LaGuardia Airport.





We heard the compliment that all couples want to hear - "This was the best reception we've been too in a long time!" There was definitely a lot of mixing of the cultures. The music was a mixture of oldies, country, and latin.

Our first dance was to Tracy Byrd's "Keeper of the Stars".





My dad and I danced to Trace Adkins' "Then They Do".





Because we had so many different people with different tastes, we opted to go with a buffet rather than a plated dinner. From what I've been told the food was good. I didn't really get to eat much :)





Our cake was a three tier cake with one layer each of Chocolate, Yellow, and Red Velvet. You can't see it, but on the back we had three paw prints to represent our three fur-babies with their initials "HHC". Freddy designed the cake.





The Groom's cake just added to everyone's confirmation that we're dorks :) I had it designed as a surprise for Freddy.





Once dinner was done and the music started, no one was afraid to hit the dance floor. My mom and cousin were the first one's out there!









We even had a couple people provide live entertainment for our guests. Freddy's Aunt Judy is an accomplished traditional Latin singer.





My friend, Jaymes, who was also one of the ushers, is a Broadway and theatre performer. He sang "Friends in Low Places" by Garth Brooks, which was a big hit with the guests!





We have not yet been on our honeymoon. There were a number of factors contributing to this... finances, family in town, Freddy's new job... We do still plan to go on our honeymoon in the next year so I may have to post a Part II :)

Next week is Show Us Your Favorite Vacation Spot!

~AKO

SHOW US YOUR LIFE - Wedding Party and Flowers/Ceremony

This week's Show Us Your Life from Kelly's Korner is the Wedding Party and Flowers/Ceremony.

We were married on October 25, 2008 at 3:00 PM and our ceremony was at St. Ann's Church in the Bronx, NY. It was a traditional Catholic ceremony. And, of course, it rained. I was a little disappointed that we could not go to a nearby park afterwards for some outside shots, but what can you do? Fall is my favorite time of the year so we natually chose October for our wedding. Our flowers were filled with fall colors and our wedding party wore chocolate brown with my maid of honor in sky blue. I let my girls choose whatever style they were comfortable wearing.

Of course, when we chose our date, Freddy hadn't received his drill schedule for the next fiscal year. So the big joke was "No deployment until October 26!" :)

In addition, I had made the horrible mistake of choosing the same day as the Michigan/Michigan State football game. A HUGE snafu for a gal from Michigan. I didn't even think about it since they normally play each other later in the season. Unfortunately, Michigan lost so everyone quickly forgot...





Because of his job, my dad couldn't not fly into NYC until Friday night. Which meant he missed the rehearsal and was sort of winging it during the ceremony. When the time came to give me away, he asked if he had to do anything else. Freddy, in another classic "Freddy moment", just said "Go sit down." Of course, my dad will be giving him crap about that forever.





This is one of my favorite shots that was captured that day. I believe that was around the time he asked me if I was on something because I was too calm :) Hey, my mom, a nurse, only gave me a motion sickness pill that morning for the limo ride! Freddy will actually go down as the one who flipped out because I merely suggested the day before he modify his schedule to pick an additional item up.





You can't tell in this shot that I only had about 40 people there against Freddy's 100. All of my family is in Michigan so I was lucky enough to have some relatives fly out for the ceremony.





That is my 82 year old Great Aunt Ilene. I was so happy that she was able to fly out from Michigan for the wedding. My grandmother passed away in 2005 and the only thing she ever wanted was for her granddaughters to find someone to take care of them. It meant a lot that Antie Ilene was able to come out.





I loved the back of my dress with the color panel and received a lot of compliments about it.





I also enjoyed my hubby in uniform all day!





Our wedding party consisted of all family and close friends.

Maid of Honor - Andrea Marshall, sister of the bride
Bridesmaid - Esther Olvera, sister of the groom
Bridesmaid - Viviana Matasaru, sister of the groom
Bridesmaid - Michelle Henning, friend of the bride

Best Man - Sayedul Rahman, friend of the groom
Groomsman - Phil Wend, Jr, friend of the groom
Groomsman - Sebastian Matasaru, brother-in-law of the groom
Groomsman - Tony Marshall, brother of the bride

Flower Girl - Nia Carter, friend of the groom
Ring Bearer - Nikko Olvera-Vera, nephew of the groom

Usher - Lenny Daniel, friend of the bride
Usher - Jaymes Hodges, friend of the bride

Freddy's family - Esther Olvera, Sebastian Matasaru, Viviana Matasaru, Clara Olvera, Alfredo Olvera, and Nikko Olvera Vera.





My family... all the way from Michigan - Debra Marshall, Andrea Marshall, Tony Marshall, Heidi McArthur (my future sister-in-law), and Rocky Marshall.









Next week is the Wedding Reception and Honeymoon.

~AKO

SHOW US YOUR LIFE - Wedding Dress

Kelly's Korner is hosting a weekly "Show Us Your Life" blog and last week was Show Us Your Wedding Dress. Granted I'm a week behind but better late than never :)

We are still only 89 days away from our 1st Anniversary as a married couple. We were married on October 25, 2008.

I loved my dress. It was an Alfred Angelo strapless with a sky blue colored panel on the train. There was also beading on the bodice and on the trim. It was weirdly comfortable and I couldn't believe how well it fit. I originally tried it on at a Bridal Shop in Mt. Pleasant, MI with my mom and my sister. It was the last one I tried in the second store that we visited. The only reason I tried it on was because the color panel in the sample was green, which is my sister's favorite color. So she and her friend pulled it out just for fun and it ended up being "The One" :) I purchased it at Russell Bridals & Tuxedos in Linden, NJ. The staff there was so nice and helpful through the entire process.


Before the ceremony with my Daddy. He just made it into New York the night before and could only stay until Sunday, but I was so happy that he was able to make it in.



JUST MARRIED... SSG & Mrs. Fredd Olvera!










Next week will be the Wedding Party and Flowers!

~AKO