I Do!

11-12-13
We chose a date that would be easy to remember.  We chose a location that would be beautiful weather, even in mid-November.  Plus, I am and probably always will be, a California girl at heart.  There is nothing like an ocean breeze and California sunshine.  We chose eachother to spend the rest of our lives with... and I believe we chose wisely!
My life hasn't been the same since Mike entered the picture.  I didn't think I would find love again.  Now I am excited for what the future brings.  Mike is an amazing man, who has taken on 3 more people to care for.  He works hard and loves deeply.  He is 100% committed to our family, and doing whatever it takes to make our lives better.  I find him amazing, and I believe out of ALL the fish in the sea, I found the best :)

The morning of our wedding day, the weather was so beautiful that we decided to take some more pictures that morning.  Just when we were ready to start the ceremony, out of nowhere came a terrible windstorm... it felt like we were in the middle of a hurricane.  It was so strange... we had to secure the canopy down and be okay with non-curly, wind-strewn hair.  It was a nuisance, but we did not let it sour our happy moods on our special day.  The pastor who married us even joked, saying that the windstorm symbolized how our love would be able to weather any storm :)  Directly following the ceremony, away went the winds and the calm, sunshiney day was back.  Of course... oh well, it makes a great story and we will definitely never forget it!

We were very pleased with Dreambeach Weddings (a husband & wife team), who put together our lovely beach wedding, and made it special for us.  Here is one of their lovely decorations- the Alicia & Mike chalkboard sign :)



The adorable flower girls were a little confused, walking down the aisle, not sure where to go... they couldn't have been cuter though, trying to throw those petals down with all the wind fighting against them.

Not that you could hear the music with all the wind, but I had a special song playing for the girls as they walked down the aisle.. I found an instrumental version of the song from the movie, Rapunzel, the girls' favorite princess... it just melted my heart.

There he is!  Talk about handsome!  The seagulls flying overhead even wanted to check him out...

Our families brave the storm together...

Father daughter moment :)



Aline (the reverand who married us) had us hand over some beautiful appreciation bouquest to our moms.  The bottom right shows a pic of the m&m-filled bottles that Mike and I custom made for our guests.



Precious moments...



I am trying not to freeze in the ocean wind.

Aline had us combine 2 bottles of sand in to one, representing the blending of two families.  The candid McKel shot is one of my all-time favorites.

Our first kiss as husband and wife!

Its official!  We said I Do!  And now we are a happy Mr. & Mrs. Mike Andrus

LOVE him.

One of the happiest moments of my life :)

Had to snatch a shot with the girls before they crashed.  McKel missed a nap and was so ready for some sleepy time.

Lots of love in this family!

The entire wedding party... we are so grateful our loved ones came to be with us on our special day.

The bride's side of the family:  Arleen, Adrian, Avril, Spencer, Alicia, Mike, McKel, Gayle, Jared, and Brittney

Grandpa Dennis Andrus with his grandson, Bret

The Newlyweds!

Probably my favorite wedding picture of us :)

Mr. & Mrs. with the bride's siblings, Adrian and Jared Parkinson

The Mr. & Mrs. with the bride's parents, Gayle & Spencer Parkinson.  We had all the bridal party wear our wedding colors, blue and green, in case you hadn't noticed yet ;)

Me and my parental figures just chillin at the beach :)

My dad and I share a mutual love for the ocean :)

My mamasita and I.  She was a tremendous help with the girls and making us all look good...

The Mr. & Mrs. with all the parents...

All the groom's side:  Brenton, Steven, Charly, Harlow, Alicia, Mike, Valerie, Dennis, and Bret

The Mr. & Mrs. with the groom's siblings Charly and Brenton (Mike has one more brother, Alex, who was unable to make the trip to California)

The Mr. & Mrs. with the groom's parents :)

My sweetie with his parental figures

A proud mama with her son

 

A handsome pair, father and son



Another father and son shot :)



The Mr. and Mrs. with our super tall 16 year old, Bret

A date to remember...

Mike and Alicia Andrus, wed on 11-12-13 :)  LOVE the bouquet, too!

Can't get enough smooches!

Check out my dirty feet!

:) Ain't love grand?

Cool idea I found on Pinterest :)

Thank you so much to our families who made the trip out to San Diego for our special day.  We are off to Fiji now!!!

Wendell did an absolutely AMAZING job with this video. We couldn't be happier with it. THANK YOU. We will treasure this memory forever :)