Our wedding was not at all traditional. And in honoring that, today’s pictures include the untraditional after ceremony activities of David and my’s family meeting for the first time, more awkward girl pictures, and some posed pictures of us with our wonderful guests.

Let’s get started!

Immediately following our vows, David and I both went into a session of congratulatory hugs with everyone for a while… I am a big hugger. I decided to spare you guys all of those pictures. To recap, embraces with all of our guests and more tears (from me, shocking).

The picture below is after all of those hugs. I don’t really know what is happening in this image. I just really like it. It shows the beautiful home turned restaurant that was host to our wedding day. It looks like my mom is probably telling me I can stop tearing up now and making me laugh in the mean time. I can see my sister giggling in the back. And I envision David looking at me like “Ah, my new family and wife are a little ridiculous, but I love them for it”

Now for some posed pictures with loved ones 🙂 This would be my parents to our right, and my sister and her fiancé to our left.

This picture features the cutest little girl EVER. I may be a little partial being that this is our niece, but seriously, how cute is she? This is David’s oldest brother and his family, who flew in from El Paso to be with us for the wedding. We were so happy that they were able to make it in.

And speaking of David’s family, this is a picture of David skyping with his mom and middle brother back home. Due to the timeline of our wedding it wasn’t enough time to book flights and have them join us in person, but due to a brainstorm from my mom we were able to skype them in for the entire ceremony 🙂

We had made a few prior visits to the restaurant to check on wifi connection and talk about logistics, and it all worked out. They had a front row seat and I heard them just as loud as everyone else cheering once we were announced as man and wife.

Next up was a first time introduction between my parents and sister and David’s mom and other brother. It was a little unconventional, but I kind of loved that we have a record of this.

Once everyone had been introduced, David and I said our goodbyes to his family and let them go to bed. It was somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-4 in the morning back in Mauritius (where David is from).

Now on to some best gal pal pictures. These 2 ladies are my dearest friends in the world. I have known one of them since I was 8 years old and I was the new kid in school and asked if I could play with her hair. Man, do I know how to make introductions or what? And my other dear friend has been my roommate for the past several years and has gotten to experience a lot of crazy along the way and still likes me. I am so happy that they were both there to be with David and I to celebrate this time in our lives. And since this day they have both gotten engaged! Love is in the air.

And gal time is never complete without ridiculous chat and face making, as seen below.

This group shot includes us with all of our guests. Our family. The only people that have not been mentioned yet are all the way to our left. They are a family that has acted as David’s surrogate family since he moved to the U.S. They were friends with David’s brother and wife first, but took David under their wing once Gerald and his family moved to El Paso. They are some of the most kind and hospitable people you will ever meet.

A quick thank you to all of our guests for your love and support! A simple thank you really isn’t enough to express our love for all of you, but it’s the best word I have for the moment.

Just a fun little tidbit about this picture, our niece is fussing a little in this picture and repeating “CAKE?”. I laugh every time I look at it thinking about that. Note: do not show children delicious dessert items in advance of them being able to eat them. They will fixate on this.

Once all of our group shots were taken outside we moved inside for a toast from my dad and David’s brother. I included this picture because it cracks me up. Gerald’s toast was what you would imagine from a big brother; the sharing of some things David probably would have preferred not been shared. This picture just captures the moment so beautifully. David looks like he could share some separate words with Gerald, I am cracking up, and Gerald is so savoring the moment of embarrasing his little brother.
The conclusion to our wedding, the cutting of our cake. David is a little decapitated in this picture, but it was the only one we had.

This about wraps up our day and I thank you all for the kind words I have received and so appreciate everyone taking an interest in our day 🙂