{ come away with me, pt 2 }

As promised, here's some of our favorite pictures from our honeymoon. I didn't have time yesterday to post them. I was in a rush to get to the gym!

Sorry about all the selfies-my husband is too embarrassed to ask someone to take them for us. I know once you see the pictures you'll understand my vacation withdrawals. I'll post all of them on Facebook! This is just a few! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Next post will be our favorite pictures from our wedding! We got them while we were on our honeymoon and I cant wait to share them!

xxo! Natalie 

 

{ come away with me }

Returning to reality after a long weekend can be tough. Coming back to work after the holiday break can be brutal. Returning from a week-long honeymoon in Mexico, where all you did was eat to your heart's (and tummy's) content, lay by the pool all day and go for sunset walks on the beach every night????    Torture. Im telling you. 

Cole and I had the most wonderful time in Puerto Vallarta. Our whole honeymoon felt like something out of a dream. We stayed at the beautiful Fiesta Americana Resort and Spa. The hotel room was spacious and well-laid out and had THE most amazing view from our balcony, the service was 5-star and the food was out-of-this-world delicious. Our resort was all-inclusive, which Ive been told is the best way to go. I couldn't agree more. Room service was available 24-hours and Cole took full advantage of this perk, ordering steak fajitas around midnight, every night. Every employee we came into contact with treated us as if we were old friends reuniting. I've never had such service anywhere else. 

We stayed in a hotel near the airport the night before because we had such an early departure. We arrived at the Oakland airport at 345am (yuck!)  and landed in Puerto Vallarta around 4pm. By the time we got to our room, we were exhausted after a long day of airport food, a three-hour layover, uncomfortable plane seats and crappy Wi-Fi. We walked around the resort a lil bit, had dinner and called it an early night. Tuesday, we relaxed most of the day on the beach or by the pool. Wednesday, we went out and swam in the ocean, which was warmer than I expected. The waves where we were were a little rough but, we had fun anyhow. All the time, eating like 10 times a day, because we could. The whole week was pretty much- eat, sleep, relax and repeat. 

Thursday, we did an excursion with Vallarta Adventures, which I highly recommend. The entertainment on-board was great and had Cole and I both laughing the whole time. We took a boat over to a hidden beach called Las Caletas. We had lunch on the beach, then spent the day paddle-boarding, snorkeling and kayaking. We took a guided nature walk where we saw monkeys, tropical birds and a huge iguana. The whole day was a blast. Im so glad we ventured out. 

Friday, instead of doing another excursion like we had originally planned, we did a spa day at the resort. We booked an hour couples massage, which included all-day use of the lounge pool, sauna, steam room and a private outdoor jacuzzi. It was the most beautiful part of the resort. Just this hidden oasis that was so peaceful and serene. 

Saturday we flew home to California and had quite the exciting trip. Somehow, our seats on our flight to LA were not next to each other and the computers at our gate were down so, our gate agents couldn't help. Not a huge deal but, after spending every waking minute together for a week, 3 whole hours apart felt like eternity. Then, on our flight from LA to Oakland, we boarded the plane on time and 10 minutes after our scheduled departure time, the captain came over the loud speaker announcing that they were having engine trouble. A half hour later or so, another announcement saying that one of our engines was still having trouble starting and that we were waiting for maintenance to come check it out. Long story short- we sat on the plane for 3 HOURS! Thank heavens they got the engine fixed and we finally took off. My poor parents sat in their car at the airport waiting for us forever. We didn't get to my parents house until about 130am. Long Long day. 

Sunday-we loaded up and made the 11 hour drive back to Utah. 
Now, I have to somehow pull myself out of the sun-induced haze and try and get back to reality. Im in full blown vacation withdrawal- I feel groggy, I want to sleep all day. I miss the humidity and the warm salty breeze. I cant stop looking at our pictures and wanting to jump through my phone and back onto the hammocks and stay there forever. Cole is at work all day and I miss him so much that it hurts. Anyone know how to cure my withdrawals? 
Guess I need to just start planning for our next trip! A weekend trip down to Zion's Nat'l Park! I cant wait! Thats all for now friends! 

Next post, I'll share all the pictures from our trip! 
XXO, Mrs. Odle 

{ Bridals, Groomals, Formals... Whatever you wanna call it! }

Just as Cole and I are starting to feel settled, we realize we still have another reception to help plan! It's not over yet! I've been so focused on the wedding day that there are still some details that need to be worked out for our California reception next weekend. My mom and I have been busy making phone calls and planning out the last few things. Cant wait to be sippy some fruity drink on the beach in Mexico and not think about flowers, or welcome signs, or food platters and cake stands. 

While we are waiting on our wedding day photos, I thought I'd share a few of my favorites from our bridal session. Well, I guess it's not Bridals because Cole was with me so is it called Groomals? Or Formals? I dont know what you call it but here they are! 

XXO, Natalie  

Here's a few cute ones with Cole. 

Venue: Wadley Farms

Suit: Calvin Klein

Dress: Galina Signature

Photography: Aubrey Taiese

{ Wedding Video }

Our videographer just sent us our wedding day video and Im literally squealing with delight over it! I found our videographer on a Facebook wedding page, All Things Wedding Utah. It's a page that connects you to vendors, and a place where you can post your gently used wedding items for others to appreciate. Koltin posted a video he had done and I loved his style. Koltin drove all the way down from Logan to film our wedding day and we couldn't be happier with his work. He was so great to work with and was really great about checking in with me with lil clips of the video, as he put it together. 

He is working on our reception video, which I also know will be just as amazing! 
Here's the link!

Cole and Natalie

{ First Look }

I've been dying to share these with everyone but, I waited until the wedding was over so that I didnt spoil the big dress reveal! As I mentioned in previous posts, we did our First Look at our venue, Wadley Farms. 

It was a beautiful evening and everything went as I hoped. 

Although showing your groom your dress before your wedding day could be taboo to some, it is a very popular thing to do now. Lots of brides are having photographers or even videographers shoot their "first look" as they reveal their wedding dress to their beloveds. I personally felt a little conflicted about it but, I knew that the wedding day was going to be so hectic and I wanted to also be sure that Cole and I had enough pictures of the two of us. 

Julie, my mother in law, helped me into my dress in the bride's room, and Cole got dressed in the groom's room. I was so nervous and had the craziest butterflies walking out to the garden where Cole was waiting for me. As I walked through the garden, my heart was pounding and I couldn't seem to steady my knees, which were shaking. This was a moment I had dreamt about for months. The moment my future husband sees me in the dress; the dress I will walk down the aisle in. 

My photographer gave Cole the signal.  He turned around and Cole gave me that smile. The smile that every girl deserves to see from her man. The smile that says, You are the most beautiful thing Ive ever laid eyes on. The smile that says, I love you more. 

I've never felt more lucky or more beautiful than I did in that moment. 

Hope you enjoyed our fun "first look". 

Photos by Aubrey Taiese

Hair and Makeup by Marisa Rose

Dress: Galina Signature 

Suit: Calvin Klein 

Venue: Wadley Farms