Thursday, October 29, 2009

The Australian Honeymoon -Part 1 -Sydney





















Well, off we went to the land down under!
It was a loooong plane ride (13-14 hours from San Francisco after a couple of hours to get down there from Seattle) but they were playing really good movies. I saw some of the new Star Trek movie, but fell asleep in the middle of it.
We arrived in Sydney and waited in this very organized line to get a taxi...drove us right to our hotel which was absolutely beautiful! It was the Four Points by Sheraton at Darling Harbour...wow, great lobby, super-comfy BIG bed, and a deck overlooking the harbor. A true honeymooners dream hotel. The staff was friendly and professional and took good care of us..

We were a short walk across a pedestrian walkway from the harbour, which included the Sydney Aquarium, The Sydney Wildlife Park, and oodles of little cafes, bars and shops. There is a big pedestrian/bicycle bridge that goes across the harbour, and they have a monorail just like Seattle. It was a nice warm 70 degrees while we were there...we walked everywhere and spent one day riding the monorail around town....fun times.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

my Wedding day...

The skies cleared and God gave us a beautiful afternoon to tie the knot.

Happy and so excited to marry the man of my dreams :)

Mommy hugging me as we get ready to walk down the aisle...

My honey gets emotional when he saw me for the first time in my wedding dress...this is REAL!


Hi honey...here I come!
Rings are on - let's have our first married KISS!!!


Praying and giving thanks for our wonderful life ahead of us.

Woo Hoo!! let's party everybody!!

a few shots on the beach...



Finally, we made it to the reception...


Laughing and crying with my best friend Jesse who was my Bridesman (not sure if that's a word but that's what I called him, among other things ) =) We've been best friends since 7th grade if you can believe that. He is also an artist at heart and a very creative soul who, along with my sister and several friends managed the whole wedding day so Collin and I could just cherish the moment. They did great and we are so blessed to have friends and family like we do.



Our Australia themed wedding cake-chocolate with truffle filling on the bottom and top layers, and vanilla cake with lemon curd filling for the middle layer. That topper is hand made by our cake artist as well. Absolutely delicious!!

The Nguyen Family!!

My cousin Bev (standing) showing us photos from when I was little...she brought copies for us to keep. My Auntie Joanne, Bev's mommy, is sitting down in the purple blouse. I love them so such and they came all the way form North Bend, WA, for our wedding. I am blessed with a fantastic family.

My Mommy, me and Bevie...

Collin and I are giggling with (left to right) Lee, Lynn, Amber and Erika...

My sister Johna (standing) and her long time friend Jennifer...these gals are SO photogenic!

Collin, and I with Jennifer and her hubby Jim with our yummy drinks in hand.

My beautiful sister and Callette (left) and Kim


The wedding party plus Collin's family in front of the historic train in downtown Garibaldi.


Mommy Lien, Collin, and me in a happy moment

Cheers - mommies toasting their babies.

A tender moment with mommy Lien.

Our first dance.




The Big day was finally here....it was strange to not have Collin around in the morning-he was close by though and I sent him a note saying -have a great day-meet me at the Church at 3:00 pm. You know, you never really know how these things are going to turn out and you can't control the whole day but you can control how you feel and approach any things that come up. It was a great day and we didn't have any major snafus...the cake was an hour late, but was beautiful and delicious...the food was catered by Kelly from The Pancake House in Tillamook and it was WONDERFUL!! Music and dancing and fun all night long!
I have a truly blessed life- I thank God every day that I wake up and find myself living a dream.
Namaste and blessings to you,
Dawn Estelle Nguyen