We Moved!!!

"Our Side of Paradise" has moved!!! We hope you love our new & improved blog!

Follow Link To See:

NEW HOME!

Love, J & N

HoneyMOONING

The morning after the wedding, we left from cold, snowy Pittsburgh, PA to Cancun, Mexico! Other than our flight being delayed a couple hours, the trip getting there was fun! Our honeymoon consisted of: sleeping, eating (A LOT), sunning, working on our Spanish, beaching, swimming, drinking icy beverages, mariachi bands, and being waited on hand and foot.

The water was so crystal blue, we were up to our noses and could still see our feet! The sand was white & never burned your feet. It was 79-81 degrees every day we were there. Perfection.

We loved every second! The best part was no cell phone service. There is a great sense of FREEDOM when you are not obligated/attached to your phone 24/7. We did have Free WiFi, thank goodness, I couldn't neglect my social networks for that long! The one and only "bad" part was the 7 hour layover at ATL! But we got home just in time to celebrate Christmas with la familia! I'm thinking about making Cancun a regular Smith family Christmas tradition?? :)

A few more pics for your viewing pleasure:

Best.Mariachi.Band.Ever.

Our "Karate Gear" as Bill Cooper would say!

Private honeymoon dinner en la playa.

Paying my respects to the reason for the season :)

Is this a dream????

Cancun airport with the coolest Mexican Christmas tree ever, sad to be coming back to a Winter Weather Advisory. Gracias amigos!!!

Mr. & Mrs. Days 1-3

'Ello All!

We are officially Mr. & Mrs. Smith! Feels great.

Our timeline for the past 10 days looked a little something like this:

Day 1: Took off work, packed for wedding & honeymoon, got nails did, and drove the 6 hours to Follansbee, WV. THRILLING, I know!

Day 2: Paid for our marriage license in the state of WV where they asked both N & I if we were related to each other.... really, WV? As if you don't get made fun of enough!

Also, we picked up my BFF Kate from the airport so she went to the courthouse with us.

Heyyyy there!

Also on Day 2, we had our little rehearsal at the church followed by the best pizza EVER (DiCarlo's)! We took wedding photos at the pizza shop after the wedding... that's how much we love this pizza! The rehearsal was laid back to say the least!

Day 3: THE BIG DAY! As most of you know, I had a private family wedding in West Virginia (where I'm from) that consisted of a 14 minute (let me repeat, 14 MINUTE) ceremony and an intimate & beautiful dinner to follow & fellowship. Needless to say, it all went too dang fast!

I had so much fun all day with my girls (my mom being one of them!). Couldn't sleep, woke up to a "good morning bride gift" from my mom (gorgeous cross necklace) and egg McMuffins & iced coffees thanks to the Father of the Bride. Spent the morning at the salon, spent precious time with 3 of the most beautiful and wonderful friends in the world, and then walked down the aisle to my future of happiness (and a super good looking man in a suit & Converse!) I don't have the wedding day pics quite yet, but here are a few "amateur shots":

It was all perfect. PERFECT. PERFECT! Being able to spend my wedding weekend with my family & my 3 amazing friends from 3 different chapters in my life was a blessing in and of itself! But marrying my prince on that day was a whole new level of happiness! Can't wait to celebrate with EVERYONE on March 26!!

Timeline To Be Continued...

Final Countdown

27 DAYS UNTIL THE BIG DAY!

Whaaaaat!? Okay so I know we haven't blogged in 5 MONTHS (unacceptable, I understand). So to catch you up on our lives in one obnoxiously long run-on sentence:

Summer was great I got really tan we moved to a new awesome apartment Jacob played football He's a senior Very sad I love my 7th graders this year but am ready for a break We've made some awesome friends here in Indy We love fantasy football I've lost 17 lbs I've not stressed for one second about the wedding My bridesmaids and I are wearing pink shoes I had 2 AMAZING bridal showers and one killer bachelorette party We're decorating for Christmas and making decorations for the wedding We hate LeBron James We're having a blast.

Everything is falling into place & we're extremely happy.

I must find motivation to blog more.... Seriously.

Holy Moly!

That's right people ~ one year ago Nile & I met at my childhood friend (soon to be cousin)'s wedding. WHO KNEW!!!

These are from our first dates after I moved here last summer:

Lots has happened this year & we've both changed so much (i.e. Nile has an awesome beard now)! Unbelievable how quickly it went! And now the wedding is in 6 months!

A friend of mine tweeted the following this morning:

"One year ago, @JessicaDCooper met Nile at a wedding and was like "so wanna have one of these together next year?" And it was magical!!!"

Love it :) Thanks to all of our friends & family that love and support us every day!!! We love you SO MUCH!

love of my life discovered

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY I MET THE LOVE OF MY LIFE AND ON THAT DAY I DECIDED THAT YES I WOULD MARRY HER SOMEDAY(well that dream is coming true!) YEP ONE YEAR AGO TODAY JESSICA AND I MET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*post coming later

Wedding Info

More & more people have been asking me (so mark your calendars!!)

Bridal Shower: Sunday August 1, 2010 @ Shawnee Alliance Church in Lima, Ohio

Wedding Ceremony (We are having a private ceremony with family only): Saturday December 18, 2010 @ Follansbee Church of Christ in Follansbee, WV.

Reception (THE BIG PARTY!!): Saturday March 26, 2011 @ UNOH Event Center in Lima, Ohio.

We really wanted to get married over Winter break (in December) but don't want everyone to have to drive far a week before Christmas ~~ therefore, we are having a separate reception in March (when the weather isn't so unpredictable!!) Kinda like a destination wedding... except our "destination" is Follanbee, WV where my entire family lives :)

P.S. How ADORABLE is this Han & Leia cake topper???