Happy Wedding Anniversary to Us & Happy Birthday to Vivian, too!!

Today marks 8 years since I walked down the aisle & married the Man of My Dreams. The 19th is double special for us, especially this June because Our Baby Girl today celebrates 5 months of Birth, as well. After 11 years of knowing each-other: 10 years of dating (2 and a half of which were in long distance -- I flew out to Albania 5 times during these years), 8 years of being married, and the last couple of years of moving from Michigan, USA to Tirana, Albania, we finally have a Beautiful Baby to Bless Our Future. I love you now more than before, My Darling Piro. You are not just My Husband, you are The Father of My Daughter. We made a perfect little Human Being together. Our Love is the reason she is here today. Happy 5-months Princess Vivian. Love us three, love Our Little Family!!

We were both very young (in our early twenties) as you will be able to tell in these photos, when we got married. But we were so In Love and READY. At the time, I was still finishing up my Bachelor(s) Degree while My Husband Piro was working full-time and prior to Our Wedding he was living in Albania and I was living in USA.  Our Wedding took place  in Tirana, Albania. Like most Albanian Weddings it was Large, Lavish & Beautiful. There was enough food to feed another Wedding Party and several different dishes, one after the other. I wanted to incorporate both Albanian & American traditions so we had both, including "Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Something Old & Something New". Albania has many Fun Wedding Traditions too. Of course we didn't include them all (since there are a ton!), but the main ones and some that were characteristic from our Home-towns. And one more thing about Our Wedding, it was a 2-day event. Most Albanian Weddings are 2-3 days long, some as long as 4 or 5 where the Bride especially has many Parties & Dress-Up Events as early as Wednesday. Saturdays but especially Sundays are usually the actual Wedding Day traditionally, in Albania.

Well, here is our Wedding broken down. First, on Friday June 17th we had a Cocktail/Appetizers/Desserts Party for all of Our Families and very Close Friends that we invited at the Wedding (Reception) & all the other not-close Friends & Acquaintances invited to this Party specifically. This Party was on a Friday and I wore the Fuchsia Tulle Gown by Jessica McClintock, sorry I don't have (here with me) any full-length photos to show you the Gown. But I paired it with Rose-topped Strappy, Silk Stilettos in the same color, long Crystal tear-drop Earrings & Necklace and a Baby Breath Headband made from fresh flowers from my Hairdresser. Then, I switched to a White Wedding Gown and I had my Hairdresser arrive to loosen up my curls, switch up the makeup a little bit, and help me change my Jewelry & Hair Piece. Of course, I wore different shoes. They were White, Ankle Lace-up, Closed-Toe Pumps where the Silk Laces had Pearls in them, too. They were Beautiful, but not the most Comfortable of shoes. Then, we took Saturday off to relax and on Sunday June 19th was our actually Wedding Day where we exchanged our Vows on the Balcony of the resort we had our Reception at, overlooking a water-fall, mountains, roses & wild flowers. The place was beautiful for sure. I started the day in my Main Event Gown. I could have taken the Halter Strap off but since all my other 3 Dresses were Strapless, I decided to have this be a Halter Style. I had seen this Gown on a Bridal Magazine in October of 2004 and as soon as it arrived at the store in November, I tried it on, loved it & purchased it. It was so easy picking this out. After countless looks at Bridal Magazines & Catalogs, this is THE ONE that stood out to me. I chose my 'Queen Tiara' for it, a Necklace/Earrings set by David's Bridal & a Swarovksi+Pearls Bracelet My Husband gifted to me on Our Wedding Day when he picked me up. (In Albania, the groom comes to pick up the Bride at her Parents' Home before the actual Wedding). And, for the after-party, I wore a Short Bridal number, my 3rd one from Jessica McClintock, paired with Lucite Heels that had splatters of Silver Crystals on the straps, and of course different Jewelry.



These couple of photos were from Friday Night June 17th, during the first half of Our Party. I am wearing the Fuchsia Ballgown that I mentioned. =)






This was the 2nd Gown I wore on the 1st day of Wedding Celebrations for us, on Friday June 17th. This Beautiful, Strapless Gown with an Asymmetric Ruched Skirt was by Jessica McClintock.






Pictures from the Vow Ceremony on Sunday June 19th 2005 & The Rings. I love the Sepia Photo where the photographer blurred the two of us & focused on My Ring.


The Bridesmaids & I. They were all wearing Flowy, Pastel Gowns, similar but not the same. 2 were purchased at David's Bridal & 2 from Jessica McClintock.

My Bouquet was Cascading Style with White, Pink + Orange Roses, Baby Breaths, Greenery, White Lilies & Flowing White Lace. The Bridesmaids' Bouquets were a mini version of this with 1 of each rose & a lily in the middle. What do you think of the Bouquet?











The Main Event Gown was from a Local Bridal Boutique. It truly was Beautiful. It was Silk Tafetta with Small Flower Embroidery & sewn-in Pearls. I wish it looked half as Pretty photographed, as it actually was.



In these photos I am with My Parents & My Loving (Younger) Brother. I only have one Sibling.





Pictures from the Wedding Reception where Yummy Food, Good Cake, Laughing, Smiling, Awesome Party, Great Dancing & a lot of Fun was enjoyed by Everyone. A lot of Guests changed to more Casual Outfits to enjoy the Party better. In the last photo you see my husband is burning something. That is actually a hand-kerchief & it is considered the Bachelor's Hand-kerchief. The guy is supposed to burn it on his Wedding Day surrounded by Ladies, while he dances. It is one of the Fun Albanian Wedding Traditions.







Our Table, same flowers like the Bouquets. And our Yummy Cake which was also the same colors as the rest of the Wedding. We didn't get to pick this Cake design, however. Since the resort we got married at collaborated with a Bakery and this was part of our Dinner package. But at least they kept our colors & used our custom-made Cake topper. The cake was Black Forest, Red Velvet & with one layer of fruit filler, topped with Vanilla Butter Frosting. And, you may notice the Short Dress - another Jessica McClintock. I switched into this Short, Girly Dress minutes before cutting our cake, past midnight. In this same Dress, I danced to a little Classical number (from "Swan Lake"), a little Wedding Gift/Surprise for my New Hubby.

I hope you enjoyed the Wedding Photos. I apologize for the poor quality but I do not have any in my lap-top here in Albania so these were all scanned. We actually had a Good Photographer and he took some Awesome Pictures but I only had a few at hand with me to scan. Still, you get the idea. It is the first time ever I am sharing My Wedding here on the blog. I Hope you enjoyed it. =)

But before I leave for today, if Piro is reading this I would love to say the following:
Today is a Special day. Memories flowing from June 19th 2005 when I walked down the aisle and married my Best Friend Piro - we were both so young but so in Love and so Blessed. Flash-forward 8 years later and our lives have changed so much. Now we are Parents to a Little Princess. The Most RIGHT thing we have done in our relationship, is Our Daughter, Vivian - She is PERFECT! And Our Beautiful Daughter turns exactly 5 months old today, so I am wishing to all 3 of Us A LIFETIME OF HAPPINESS, JOY, PEACE, HARMONY, GOOD HEALTH AND LOVE LOTS OF LOVE!! May we experience being Grandparents and Great-grandparents one day, Daddy Piro!! Happy June 19th 2013!! Feeling 1000% Blessed!! 

HAPPY 5-MONTH BIRTHDAY TO OUR LITTLE ANGEL AND MAY SHE HAVE A BILLION MORE HAPPY MONTHS!!

Now, Our Family and Our Hearts are Complete!!

P.S. Linking up with Get Your Pretty On, Rolled Up Pretty and Coffee Beans and Bobby Pins for Friday's Five.