Our Honeymoon

Brandon and I left on the Monday after our wedding for our Honeymoon. We chose to spend our honeymoon in Charleston, SC. Neither of us had ever been before and we had heard so many good things about Charleston and all of the good things we had heard definitely proved to be true!

We arrived on Monday afternoon without any travel issues! When we arrived at the hotel, we dropped off our bags and headed out. We did some exploring and found a local bar to grab a quick bite to eat. We headed back to our hotel, the Harborview Inn, and unpacked. I totally crashed!! After such an amazing yet exhausting weekend, I finally had time to relax and relax I did! Brandon decided to head out for a bit more exploring before he decided to relax.

On Tuesday, we headed out to take in the beautiful historic city. We started at the open air market which had anything and everything of which you could think! We bought our touristy t-shirts here. I was excited for Brandon to have the chance to eat as much seafood as possible. I on the other hand, had a lot of burgers (ha ha) since seafood is not for me! After exploring the city, we headed back to our hotel to get ready for our evening tour. Brandon talked me into doing a night time Graveyard tour which turned out to be really neat. It was fun to hear the history added into the tour. We headed to dinner after the tour where Brandon had some oysters (ewwww).

We had an eventful day on Wednesday. We started out at the Magnolia Plantation. We took a tram tour which no joke, when through swamps throughout the grounds. We were told there would be the possibility of seeing alligators and we did! We ended up seeing two baby alligators, although babies, they were not small in the sense of baby by any means! After doing some more touring of the grounds it was time to head back to the hotel. We grabbed some wine and cheese from the daily, complimentary service at our hotel and then got ready. We headed to our dinner cruise which toured the harbor. We had a great time. The food was great, the drinks were great, the sunset was perfect, the weather was great and we saw dolphins!! It was amazing!

On Thursday, we started with a carriage tour of the city. Of course I had a million questions about the conditions for the horse prior to me agreeing to take the carriage ride ;) Once I was convinced that the horse would be ok, we took the tour. It was really fun and very historically informative. After the carriage ride, we ate lunch at a crab house. Brandon got a steam pot that had so many different kinds of seafood in it. He was in food heaven!! After some more sightseeing, we needed to get ready for our final honeymoon dinner. The restaurant we went to was just around the corner from our hotel. It was called Blossom and came highly recommended by staff at our hotel. It sure was good! I had a fillet and Brandon had rabbit. It was one of the best meals we had ever had. After dinner, we went to a roof top outdoor bar where we had amazing views of the harbor. It was a great time!

Friday came very quickly. We couldn't believe it was time to leave already. After a 3 hour flight delay at the airport, we finally took off and arrived home safe and sound. Rusty sure was excited to see us when we returned. He definitely let us know that he was not happy with us for being gone that long! We really had a great honeymoon!!

We're Married!!

August 1, 2009 has come and gone but will not be forgotten any time soon! We had an amazing wedding day! We could not have asked for a better wedding and reception! It was everything that we hoped for, planned for and dreamed of (well at least what I dreamed of, ha)! It was so hard to believe that the day had come. It was such a long time coming! It was also so hard to believe how quickly it was over. One of my friends had given me some advice prior to the wedding which I truly came to appreciate the day of the wedding. He told me to take Brandon aside, just the two of us, at the reception to really take in what we had accomplished. He advised us to take a look around the room to see our closest family and friends all together celebrating us. I took this advice to heart and planned for Brandon and I to have a sweetheart table just for the two of us. It was great! We had a few moments to spend together alone at our reception prior to spending the rest of our wedding day with our family and friends. We were truly blessed to have a few moments together allowing us to spend quality time with those so near and dear to us!

The day sure was long but so well worth the time! The girls started out with a 9 a.m. hair appointment. Then on to breakfast as we would have no other time to eat during the day. After that, we headed back to the hotel where my friend, Jamie, made us an even more beautiful bridal party by doing our makeup. Then, we were quickly off to the church to get dressed and ready to go! Then it was time....time for one of the happiest moments of my life. I felt so proud yet so nervous walking down the aisle on the arm of my Dad. The ceremony went off without a hitch! I really remember feeling like the luckiest girl in the world! It all became so much more meaningful when I was reciting my vows looking into the eyes of my groom and seeing small tears of joy which only I could see.

After the ceremony, we completed pictures in the church. Then, the wedding party piled into a party van, popped the champagne and began the party! We headed to an outside overlook of the lake for more pictures and then back into the party van for some more champagne on the way to the reception. We arrived, were introduced (Mr. and Mrs. Brandon and Kristina Landas) and had our dances. Brandon and I danced to Every Time I Close My Eyes by Babyface. My Dad and I danced to My Little Girl by Tim McGraw and Brandon and his Mom danced to I Am Your Child by Barry Manilow. Tyler (Best Man) and Laura (Maid of Honor) completed the toasts which were awesome and so thoughtful!! Marquelle gave the blessing and then it was time for dinner. We selected a buffet dinner of salad, veggies, potatoes, chicken and beef tenderloin. After dinner, we were able to speak with guests by visiting each table and then it was time to enjoy the reception! We sure did have a great time!! We gave major kudos to our DJ who did a fantastic job! Before we knew it, it was the last song of the evening (I've Had the Time of My Life) or so we thought. My Dad and Cindy so graciously offered to extend the reception by one hour. The hotel approved and the DJ was able to stay so we had an extra hour to spend with our guests in celebration!

We will always have fond memories of our wedding! We will always have fond memories of everyone who helped us celebrate! We will always have fond memories of those who celebrated with us in spirit! We feel very fortunate to have such fond memories!

On Sunday, we packed up both cars (thank goodness we brought both cars!) and headed back home to VA. On Monday, we left for our honeymoon to Charleston, SC. I will post honeymoon details on another day.

Married life has been great! Brandon and I are looking forward to our future together and all that it holds for us!

If you would like to view our photos please follow these steps:
1. www.isabellphotography.com
2. Enter site
3. Click on Customer Log-In
4. Find 8-1-09 Baker Landas Wedding and click on it
5. Enter password: love2009
The photos will only be posted until the end of October.
Enjoy!