02/27/2012.

Monday, beginning of the week, beginning of the rest of our lives.

Our "big" day began with our very early (8:45am!) and extremely short (yet sweet) civil ceremony, which sadly was missed by some of the most important people in our lives-- My sisters, Joanne and Jocelle; Jeb's Mom, Mama Nerissa; Jeb's sister, Pauline and her husband, Sam; Jeb's youngest sister, Alyssa. However, present or not, we felt the overwhelming joy they had for us and we immediately received congratulatory greetings from the rest of our family and closest friends soon after the ceremony ended.

The day continued on like it was an ordinary day but hanging in my head and my groom's head is our intimate dinner set at 7:00pm. This dinner is something Jeb and I have been planning and have been working on for three weeks, short amount of time considering that we had a goal of making the night as memorable and special as possible. It is intimate as we only invited our families and few of our closest friends and it is as intimate and personal to me because our centerpieces,our cake, our giveaways, our invitations, our table numbers and placecards, all were personalized and done by me.

With the help of my cousin Cathy and her boyfriend Josh, my mom and Jeb, we prepped the restaurant for our intimate wedding reception.

Our 38 guests arrived, and the food and drinks flowed. Little did anyone know, Jeb and I have planned a little surprise speech for our guests, for his family and mine. With me asking my dad for my first ever father daughter dance (to the song Daughters) and handing my mom a very personal gift (a locket with the picture of mom and I), tears began to flow. Of course, it wouldn't be a Jeb and Janelle wedding without a few laughs, cutting of our cake involved me putting icing on Jeb's cheeks!

I can honestly say that our entire Monday, our "Big" day was a success. It was a day of joy and laughter, a day with our family and friends, a day of love, a day to remember.

Click on the Tabs above to view our pictures.