The Wedding Party

Sooo, I was that bride. You know the one, having all of the fun on the dance floor with a glass of chardonnay in her hand all night. I planned my ass off for a year carefully thinking through every detail of the wedding, so I was ready to celebrate! The days leading up were crazy, fun, and very stressful. The day of was hectic with a few snags but luckily I had a great group of people helping me.
My husband's dad is the owner of The Diamond Cellar and I had picked out a pair of earrings and simple drop necklace to wear. The morning of the wedding Jesse called and said that someone had purchased the necklace and him and his dad would pick out something else for me to wear. As a planner, this made my heart flutter, stop, and fall out of my butt. It wasn't until they arrived at the house with the replacement jewelry that everything in me calmed...

Jesse and I did a first look the day of our wedding. We debated this decision for quite a while, but I am so glad that we decided to because it was one of the best moments of the day. To have the time, no matter how brief, to be alone together, see each other and calm some of our nerves was so precious and helpful. 

All this being said, by the time we got to party I was SO ready to jump and dance with my husband and all of our friends and family. We had an amazing DJ Byron from Buckeye Entertainment who also did Jesse's brother's wedding in late July. At some point someone stepped on the lining of my dress under the bustle and it completely ripped. I couldn't really dance because people kept stepping on it and it was making me trip, very much impairing my awesome dance moves. Tiffany Ayers, one of my bridesmaids located a few safety pins and tried to pin it up but as soon as I got back out there it came loose, the fabric was too heavy. Finally, mother of the bride to the rescue!! My mom went to the front desk and gathered their binder clips, clipped together the lining underneath and redraped the dress, yay mom! Back to the dance floor for me!

Me and my momma on the dance floor

My too cute niece Emma taking over the dance floor!

Journey to the Aisle

If this blog were an album, this post would be my title track. Though very delayed, I have been waiting to write a post like this for over a year now. Jesse and I have been together now over six years and he proposed July of 2013 in the waterfall canyons of Yellowstone National Park. Long before that I had dreamed and imagined what it would be like to put on a white dress, walk down the aisle towards him, and make promises to love each other forever. What I never imagined, even a year ago, was that I would be walking alone. 

Despite a year of being the fun newly engaged happy couple and wedding planning which was so much fun for me, I also had the year from hell. My family for all intents and purposes, fell apart (*spoiler, we're better now, can't keep us down). The family business that I had grown up around ceased to exist to the Smith clan, lots of shady meetings/business, police reports, court dates and a month later there were no more Smiths working there. My dad, mom, brother and sister were looking for new jobs. I had left the business only a year earlier and had never been more thankful. I remember making the decision to fly the family business coop, it was very tough and not received well in the beginning. Mainly because I handled it poorly, had nowhere lined up to go, and couldn’t explain my reasoning very well. It was an overwhelming, urgent feeling that I needed to do something new, learn something new, and for some reason…get the hell out of there. So, I’m sorry to all of the people that I confused and thankful to all of the people who supported me when I wasn't making much sense.

 It’s been a year and my parents are divorced, dad remarried, brother has a new career, beautiful two year old daughter and a week old son, sister happier at work than I’ve seen in a long time (and I used to work with her) and I am a wife!! When Jesse said proposed and I said yes, we had no idea what was headed our way. We had already been through a lot together, but this by far took the cake. It was lot to deal with in general, but especially with me working a new job, him finishing school (which he graduated in May!!), AND planning a wedding, sometimes it was just too much. But, he was patient with me, I tried to be as aware of my emotions as possible, and we always actively loved each other. We have an AMAZING support system of family and friends that carried us through this year as a heartbroken but so in love girl, and a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders, all the way to the aisle. When the time came, Jesse and I made the decision that I would walk alone down the aisle to a halfway point, he would meet me, and we would continue down it together. For us, it was very symbolic of our relationship. Me being stubborn and taking care of other people all of the time but when it comes to Jesse I’ve always wanted him right there next to me, even in things I could handle myself. Better together, always and forever.

We had a beautiful wedding surrounded with so much joy and celebration. Many people were painfully missed that day, but we know they were all celebrating in spirit. We've been married almost two months now and it feels like home. Here are some pictures of the actual Journey to the Aisle...

My brother officiated our ceremony : )                                         

Had to include all of the amazing people in our wedding
Jesse's grandpas were our ring bearers!

....
 

WE DID IT!!!!

Huge thanks to Ashley of Henry Photography for capturing this day for us! www.henryphotography.com
http://henryphotography.com/jesse-priscilla-corazon-wedding/

Mr. & Mrs. Johnson!! - Pre Ceremony

Haven't posted in so long with all of the craziness surrounding the wedding!! It was a gorgeous day on June 6th in Dublin, OH at The Venue at Corazon. Jesse and I were surrounded by so many amazing people that we are blessed to have in our lives. Thanks to everyone for all of the love and support that we were showered with!!

Here are some of our pre ceremony photos taken by Ashley Henry of Henry Photography
www.henryphotography.com

Springtime Dinner

Fresh corn on the cob, grilled chicken in red pepper infused oil, and baked gluten free sweet potato fries

RECIPE: Mexican Tortilla Soup

In my world, soup is a main food group. I stockpile it, order it at restaurants, and lately I make it myself! Soup recipes are great because you can change little things to cater to your specific tastes and also great if you have a busy schedule because you can start it in the crockpot and let it sit or make a big batch on Sunday night and have throughout the week!

This soup is made using Swanson 100% natural Mexican Tortilla flavor infused broth.

Below is the Swanson recipe/instructions, but I can't do spicy so I substituted jalapeno peppers for 1/2 green, 1/2 red, 1/2 yellow, and 1/2 orange peppers all chopped. I cut fresh tomatoes and used some sunburst. I used canned shredded chicken but before I have grabbed a rotisserie chicken, pulled the white meat off for the soup and put the rest in gladware for other meals, so easy!

I sprinkled a tiny bit of Mexican cheese on my bowl and ate with corn tortilla chips.

INGREDIENTS

1 teaspoon canola oil
1 large onion, diced (about 1 cup)
2 large jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped (about 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained or 3 small tomatoes, diced
1 carton (32 ounces) Swanson® Mexican Tortilla Flavor Infused Broth
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
Tortilla chips or strips 

INSTRUCTIONS

1 . Heat the oil in a 6-quart saucepot over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and peppers and cook for 2 minutes or until tender-crisp, stirring occasionally.

2 . Stir in the tomato paste, corn, beans, tomatoes, broth and chicken and heat to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Serve topped with the crushed tortilla chips or strips.