Amber & Tyler: Notting Hill Engagement Shoot

If you don't know my friend, Amber, by now...

you should.

I was trying to think of her today

and how to best describe her

and the word "thoughtful" kept coming to mind.

I hope that everyone is as lucky as I am

to have a friend like Amber.

From hooking us up with the best hotel for our babymoon,

to the most beautiful "babies shower,"

to hosting & cooking for family after Viola was born,

and so many countless other ways 

she selflessly is a friend to me,

I feel truly honored to get to be a bridesmaid

in her upcoming wedding to Tyler.

No, not to my Tyler, 

her Tyler-

who deserves his own post for being great.

The wedding is also in Maui 

so, duh, I'm completely thrilled.

When I saw her engagement pictures,

I actually clapped with delight.

What can I say?

I'm a sucker for seeing

the people I love

being madly in love

in a neighborhood I love.

So here they are,

the Micklesons (to-be)

in all their Notting-Hill-lovey-dovey-goodness.

(And their little pup, Pippa!)

We love you both so much!

If you want to buddy up to Amber

(which I totally recommend)

start her by checking out her cute blog, 

Nouveau.


*    *   * 


If you're in the mood to look at more pretty pictures,
check out my maternity pics
taken in this same neighborhood
by the talented (and dear friend), Liz Denfeld.

*photography by Kytography

Six Years Down.

Today marks six years of marital bliss for us.

{Editor's Note: Yes, I just said "marital bliss."}

Our love story started out pretty heavy

and the excitement hasn't slowed down yet.

There have been some hard times on this road, 

but we're lucky enough to be each other's best friend...

so somehow, even the tough times seem kinda sweet

when you look back on them and see that we grew closer.

{Sorry, did I just hear you gag?}

Tyler always keeps me on my toes

by making it a point to celebrate our anniversary

someway... and somewhere special.

January 6, 2007

Our wedding...

with a honeymoon in Prague to follow

that took Tyler overseas for the first time...

2008

Tyler surprised me with a trip to NYC for our first anniversary...

we had so little money

but had the best time together

walking around the city, eating pizza & hot dogs

and feeling so cool and grown up.

2009

For our second anniversary,

it was off to Victoria, BC for a cozy weekend 

somewhere random & exciting.

We felt very swanky because our Luxury Link package

gave us free massages & dinner at our hotel.

2010

Back to NYC for our 3rd anniversary,

but this time- we brought our friends, Anthony & Kellee 

to join along in the festivities

kicking off the first of many trips together.

2011

This was our first year living in England

and we celebrated our fourth anniversary 

by wandering lonely canals in Venice

and windy hillside towns in Tuscany.

PS. January is a great month to have an anniversary

because traveling to cool places is so much cheaper.

2012

Last year was our fifth...

and somehow, NYC seemed to be the right decision

officially making it our "every other anniversary" destination.

I'm so thankful we had pictures taken to celebrate,

thank you Victoria for capturing this special day in our marriage.

And this year?

With two babies on the way

and an abdomen quickly nearing the size of a glacier?

Well, tonight we are headed to pizza & a movie.

So would we call this the end of an era?

Hardly.

Tyler's taking me to Venice 

later this month to celebrate

with our friends, Tyler & Amber.

It's a combined Christmas/Anniversary/Babymoon present

since we are exceptionally poor this year...

but we couldn't miss the chance to squeeze in

another adventure before these girls arrive.

So if you happen to be in Venice

and notice a slow-moving gondola

chugging down a canal at an angle that eerily resembles the sinking Titanic,

just wave to this 8-mth pregnant woman

sitting in the back with the giant cone of gelato in hand.

I really can't wait...

and I can't wait to see where this adventurous life

takes the two (four?) of us next.

Happy Anniversary, Love.

Happy Anniversary Will & Kate!

Happy First Anniversary, Will & Kate!

It seems like just yesterday that I was camped outside Westminster Abbey

standing for 8 hours without a break to rest my legs,

watching people act like total fools....

but oh man,

it was worth it!

I will never forget watching the Queen pop out of the car in canary yellow dress,

William and Harry grinning to each other as they arrived for the service,

and Kate turning and waving to us before walking down the aisle.

The whole day felt like Christmas...

the atmosphere was electric

& I still can't believe I got to witness it firsthand.

For a trip down memory lane,

click back to see the photos from my day at 

The Royal Wedding!

PS. I'm still waiting for us to become best friends...

I know it's been hard with me being in France. 

I'll be back soon though & we can get down to business.

A Camelot Wedding: Part 2

Earlier I showed you the pretty wedding

for Meredith & Jackson...

now, on to the reception!

The reception was at 

Dallas' Tower Club.

The giant windows offered a really pretty view of Dallas

and the inside glowed with pink!

A few of the highlights:

The PINK wedding cake.

It's hard to tell it's pink in the pictures,

but I loved the subtle color change. 

And holy moly... was it tall!

The long center table.

So french. So fancy. 

Such an interesting twist 

on the standard table plan.

Warm Cookies & Mini Bottles of Milk

Midnight snack anyone?

If the pink doesn't leave you feeling all girly and gushy,

just look at how much Meredith & Jackson are into each other.

They were putting the whole wedding crowd in a good mood

just by watching them have so much fun together.

my mom is amazing. no wedding planner... all done by her!

back-lit bar with the couple's monogram. swanky!

marc toussaint is amazing. if you're in dallas, use him! he's the best.

the good news is: it looks like the like each other.

warm chocolate chip/lemon ricotta cookies.

plain, chocolate, or strawberry milk? you pick. (love the mini glass bottles + monograms!)

this picture is fantastic.

my grammy was an east texas beauty queen in the 1940's. i think she's still got it.

french garden fountain? why not.

the {other} happy couple.

*all images by Larry Sengbush Photography

A Camelot Wedding: Part 1

After yesterday's post about my friend, Julie's Wedding,
it seems I am on a bit of a roll.


I was so excited when I saw the email hit my inbox that

my sister's wedding pictures 

had been edited & released

from the fabulous photographer, Larry Sengbush. 

As it is with wedding pictures,

there were so many to choose from...

but since I don't normally blog about weddings,
well... except for yesterday,

I thought I'd really go for it with this one

and go for two big, photo-stuffed posts.

{Because honestly, who doesn't love seeing young love?}

Of course, I'm completely biased, 

but here is what was amazing 

about Meredith & Jackson's wedding:

 It proved that traditional church weddings aren't out.

While a lot of weddings are moving to rustic & kitschy settings,

it was nice to see an amazing wedding held in a traditional way.

It actually made me wish there were more like this now, 

but every couple has to do what works for them!

 The music was perfect.

No booty dancing, no grandma's covering their ears, 

no drunk groomsmen riding their pretend horsey around the dance floor...

Just a live band with rat-pack classics

that had everyone feeling flirty and festive.

 The flowers and reception were gorgeous.

My sister wanted two things at her wedding: a french feel and pink.

Both of these were running strong... 

just wait until the reception post!

These pictures offer a glimpse of the wedding,

of how cute Meredith & Jackson are,

and of my family...

because I'm just too proud not to show them off. 

It was such an amazing evening,

and I'm honoured to have been a part of such a special union!

loved her shoes. {vera wang, luna}

all the bryan ladies

lord, help the mister... who comes between me & my sister.

cutest parents in the world, i tell ya

don't be fooled. i'm still his favorite.

after years of therapy, my niece, maggie, decided to start walking the week of the wedding...

we didn't know if she could make it all the way down the aisle. but she did, yelling "mommy! daddy!" the whole way.
so yeah, we were all basically weeping at this point.

the {revised} bryan family

after shock

jackson surprised meredith with a gorgeous wedding band... one that she never expected to get.
he slid it on her finger at the altar and her face was priceless. it was great!

*all images by Larry Sengbush Photography