hey i'm MARRIED!!

the wedding day. the reception. the honeymoon. It all was a dream, and definitely the best time of my life. Thanks to everyone who came and shared it with us. Once I have more time I will post some pics from Costa Rica!

For now, here is a little snippet from the reception. This is not the actual audio, but some footage of Buskin Cuffs playing at the Val Vista Lakes reception. They were seriously AMAZING. And they looked great too. Check those matching jackets and skinny ties! Za-Zing!

oh yeah. and these boys are coming out with a full album. 

guaranteed to be a smashing hit.

1 day

This is my final post as a single woman!!

Holli and Jacob - Bridal Shoot from Colton Lee Productions on Vimeo.

Tomorrow is the big day. The day all our dreams come true.

I love you all! See you at the reception!!

2 days

the song we slow danced to right before he proposed to me.

so tender.

3 days

bridal shower/moustachio fiesta with the utah girls last weekend. . .

I just have to say the past few weeks of my life have been incredible. I have felt so much love from my friends, family, and even complete strangers as we have come closer and closer to the wedding. It warms the heart just to know how much people really DO care about the big events in your life and see the wonderful ways they show it. The gifts, the showers, the volunteers, the kind words, and even the smallest gestures have meant so much to me. Getting engaged was obviously very exciting for me, but I have to admit that the task of actually planning a wedding was extremely daunting from the very beginning. But thanks to everyone who has been so kind and supportive, I have loved every step of the way.

Today all of these feelings really smacked me in the face-- especially after going through the temple for the first time, and then having a wonderful shower thrown for me by friends and family. I feel incredibly lucky to have so many great people in my life. The engagement process has not only brought me closer to my fiance, but to everyone around me. i love all of you.

moving in (4 days)

leaving for arizona today.

well, last night was the last time that i would ever have to say goodnight to jacob and then drive home here in provo. after getting all packed for the wedding and costa rica, i finally moved all my stuff over to jacob's house. that's right, I moved in with a BOY. we share a bathroom, a closet, a bedroom... still can't get over it. but we are both so excited to finally merge our lives for reals. no more of this dating/engagement, pretend stuff. Now the real adventure begins.

Mesa, here we come!!

wedding trailer (5 days)

just for fun, guys!

we had way too much fun making this. i'm so glad that our videographer (and friend), colton lee, was up for chasing us around town with his camera and filming all the goofy things we love to do.  i mean, he even filmed us go through the beto's drive-thru. what a champ. he did such a great job!

6 days

Choosing Jacob's baby pics for the wedding video. . .

Oh baby Jacob!! So precious. 

If these pics are any indicator, I am absolutely confident that our future children are going to be adorable-- and probably share our love of cute furry animals.

people who should never rap (7 days)

If there is a catergory for "people who should never rap," I am positive me and Jacob would fall under this category. However, sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures-- and you MUST RAP. This was the case last week. Jacob realized that he had a big project for his History of Creativity class due; he had no ideas of what he could do; he also had very little time to actually do it. creativity a requirement + no ideas + no time = recipe for lame project. This particular project had to demonstrate ingenious creativity, while synthesizing something he had learned about creativity from history into something modern (something along those lines). Basically it had to be something amazing, but there were no clear guidelines or directions. Luckily, me and Garageband were there to help.

We ended up creating this: a modern interpretation of William Blake's poems "The Lamb" and "The Tyger" from his famous Songs of Innocenece and of Experience. Jacob wrote an accompanying paper describing the combatting aesthetics of the poems that are demonstrated in this youtube vid:

Like I said before, I should NEVER rap. Even though listening to this is mildly embarrassing, I have to admit I am a mildly proud of it. After all, Jacob got 100 % on his project (like 200/200 points). I'm already helping my future husband ace his classes. being a good wife ain't no thang!

Well, I'll find out in 7 DAYS!!! (that's a week, people. fah-reeeking out.)

Farewell YSA (9 days)

me n' long legs. . .

Well, today was mine and Jacob's last day to ever attend a BYU singles ward. It's time to be real adults and upgrade into the family-style church-- hello old folks, big families, youth speakers, and crying babies. How I have missed you.

But I am actually really excited to graduate from the young single adult scene. It has been a wonderfully fun and enriching experience; however, (as Paul once put it) I believe it is time to "put away childish things." Even today, I didn't really feel like I belonged there anymore.

I truly believe I am moving on to better things. Dare I ever look back longingly on the YSA life, I hope I turn into a pillar of salt.

10 days

i haven't been able to stop singing this song (in my head, in the kitchen, in the shower...) for the past week or so. i think it might be driving jacob nuts, but he still says he loves to hear me belt at the top of my lungs and pretend i'm Diana Ross.

the temptations + the supremes = magical motown dream team

the shameless romantic (11 days)

i think this is one of my very favorite engagement photos. i love jacob's precious face. it is so perfectly "jacob."

sometimes i think i am the only one who completely sees the side of jacob that is the absolutely shameless, cheesey, romantic dork that he truly is. i'm talking about the jacob who leaves love notes on my front door to find when i wake up in the morning; the the jacob who waltzes with me in parking lots; the jacob who dips and kisses me right in the middle of the grocery store; the jacob who slow dances with me in the kitchen; the jacob who told me he would only trade his friendship bracelet for a wedding ring, and has worn it every day since i gave it to him in october; the jacob who says things that are too precious to even repeat; the jacob who makes my heart flutter with just the look in his eyes.
 
if you met him you might not realize it, but he truly is 100% a romantic. as for myself, i have always been a bit of a "closet romantic." in my heart of heart of hearts, it's absolutely who i am. I just need a loverboy like my fiance to bring it out of me. we make a good couple.
 

i'm kinda sorry for the way my blog has turned into InternetPDA.com-- but not that sorry.

When you are in love, you want to shout it from the rooftops.

11 DAYS!!!



12 days

13 days

I think I mentioned here that I am tired of being engaged.

Well, it's true-- but not so much in the sense of "I HATE BEING ENGAGED!! IT'S AWFUL!!" kind of way. It's actually tiring. Like, physically exhausting. I should preface this by saying, no one should be planning a wedding in another state while working full-time and communting two hours every day.  It is a lot for me to manage right now. There is a constant to-do list that is ever running through my head, which makes it almost impossible to think clearly. Plus, I somehow have to find a way to spend quality time with my fiance!! Sometimes I literally want to collapse at the end of the day.

The good things right now are 1) I have the earliest bed time I have had in years and 2) jacob has actually been really helpful with the wedding planning stuff. He mailed ALL the announcements for me (which took a several different trips to the post office), and he has his own to-do list of things that he can help me with that he proudly checks off every day. Most importantly, he keeps me grounded during all the wedding planning hullabaloo and reminds me of why we are doing all of this to begin with. a lovely reminder.

Last Friday, he had an idea that really helped me get my mind off the wedding planning and just have a little carefree fun. He called me right after school and said, "Hey what are you doing!?! LET'S GO HIKE THE Y!!" I was a little taken back and not particularly in the mood for hiking, but he was so excited and had a good point: we had been so cooped up and busy and stressed over the past few weeks that we had hardly even been outdoors. We needed to get outside and be more active.

Well, it was just what the doctor ordered. I seriously hate that hike. It is so STEEP!! But wow, it felt so nice to be outside, work those muscles, and not worry about all the little stresses of my day. We held hands as we climbed up the mountain and had nice conversation. It reminded me a lot of the last time we hiked the Y (one of our first dates). Sometimes I think we are still learning more and more about each other every day, and I love it.  

When we reached the top, there were only a few other people up there. It was quiet and beautiful as we relaxed and watched the sun set on Provo.

Just one more reason I love my fiance. He knows exactly what I need-- well, what we need.

14 days

That's like TWO WEEKS!!! 

We are getting closer and closer.

scenes from the road (15 days)

I have to say, the trip back up to Utah from Arizona was delightful. After making this drive 3 times in the past few months (with one more round-trip to go), I have to say I have become quite fond of it. I love watching the Phoenix metropolitan area turn into quiet desert, slowly seeing the scenery become more green and wooded in Flagstaff, making our stop at a funny little Italian-Mexican restaurant in Page, AZ, passing Lake Powell and the Grand Canyon up at the border, all the beautiful canyon vistas, and then the funny little towns in Southern Utah. By the time we near Provo, I start to get sad that the drive is almost over.

This time, we took a special scenic route through Sedona. Usually Jacob kinda likes to get down to business and make it home in the most efficient manner, but this was totally his idea. Even I was a little hesitant because I knew it would make the trip significantly longer, but I am so glad we did it. It was the most BEAUTIFUL drive, and I got to see parts of Sedona I had never seen before. We made a few stops to get out of the car and see the beautiful scenery-- yes, it is possible to stop and smell the roses on a road trip!

This trip made me feel like our relationship is as fresh as ever. We talked, laughed, learned more about each other, read to each other, sang, car-danced, kept each other awake. Things never get stale (even on a 12-hour drive) when you are with the one you love.

 Why Jacob insists on sandwiching himself between pillows while driving, I will never understand. DORK!

Ironically, this gorgeous stretch of land is historically known as the "honeymoon trail." In the late 1800s, this is where couples from northern Arizona would travel for days and even weeks to get to the St. George temple so they could be sealed. They often walked by foot and would sleep under the stars. It wasn't an easy journey, but it demonstrates just how important the temple was to them.

I know some of my ancestors made this trip in their day. How ironic that Jacob and I will be driving through this exact stretch of land-- this time to get to the Mesa temple.