I'll Follow You
Merry, Merry Christmas Eve everyone!
Fair warning, this post got a bit out of hand... I realized while writing about our wedding I never wrote about our engagement, so this is kind of the whole shebang in one blog post. It is 10 years in the making after all :) Thank you for reading and following along! It truly was the best day ever for Justin & I 💙
Our early dating years involved eating lunches together at NC State, Friday night parties at Wolf Creek, nachos and pitchers of PBR at Raleigh Times, and oh yeah... making iPhone games and apps together. Justin gifted me my first drawing tablet on my 21st birthday and the rest is history. We spent many hours together recording weird noises for our app iAnnoyU, buying whoopie cushions for iWhoopie, and working nights and weekends to finish our first game.
In 2011 we both graduated with their Master's degrees and started full time at the same company. Then, after years spent daydreaming, planning at the lunch table at work, talking about the "what ifs" and the "one days"... in the fall of 2013 Justin took the leap and started working on our own company full time. I followed one year later and we still can't believe we get to work on video game tools every day. It's truly a dream come true for both of us.
While working together is a huge part of our relationship, we've also enjoyed road tripping along highway 1 in California, cruising to the Caribbean, learning to scuba dive together, going on our first dive trip to Bonaire and most recently, our epic adventure Down Under. Traveling is a passion we both share and on most of our trips the ocean has been the focal point. Whether it's relaxing on the beach, cruising the wide open seas, or diving beneath the waves, the ocean is simply our favorite place to be. So when deciding where to get married, Hawaii seemed the perfect choice.
Once we got to the CBD, Justin was on his phone constantly and I got mad at him to get off it while we are walking towards the Opera House. Little did I know he was trying to get on wifi to tell his parents he was going to propose to me. We take a few pictures from a distance with the Harbor Bridge and Opera House in the background, then walk up to the main steps where Justin suggests we get a picture together. Chris takes a couple normal pictures of us, then next thing I know Justin is on one knee.
I was honestly so surprised... I mean when you've been together over 8 years and even when you know the moment may be coming soon it's still a shock when it actually happens. I was also a little confused since I knew he didn't have a ring and I was careful about taking him seriously haha. But he was serious, and I said yes! Also the ring situation worked out perfectly as I wrote about in an earlier blog - we were able to design it together in the city known for opals which is what I've always wanted. We had Justin's wedding band made at the same shop earlier this year and shipped from Australia.
Anyway, the three of us spent the rest of that Christmas Eve celebrating at several bars in The Rocks and ended the night playing monopoly and drinking champagne :)
Mom, Vera, and I spent the rest of the morning/early afternoon getting our hair and makeup done by the amazing Heather, from Hair and Makeup by Heather. We had snacks, iced coffee, and eventually a little champagne to calm the nerves :) Some of the girls joined us up there once they were ready too. Huge thank you to Diana for taking these getting ready pictures!! <3
Meanwhile, in the other condo, this is how the groom spent his morning... I guess it's good he was relaxed right? hahaha. Thank you Nov for this gold!
All wedding photography is by Caitlin Cathey, she's amazing!
Justin and I wanted Hawaiian traditions to be in our ceremony, which included the blowing of the Pu (conch shell), a lei exchange, and Hawaiian blessings. We also had a Hawaiian song, "E O Mai", sang to us on the ukulele before our pronouncement... it was so beautiful. "E O Mai" essentially means "come to me".
Portrait of wedding day emotions as shown below haha:
We loved our officiant, he was the perfect blend of heartfelt and funny... at one point he paused after proclaiming us husband and wife so Justin and I just kissed automatically. He then laughed and let us know he hadn't said "You may now kiss the bride" (he did it on purpose of course haha). So here is our kiss and then laughter following... and of course we kissed again officially :)
Officially husband and wife!!
We did the cake cutting first while the photographer was still there, and of course it got a bit out of hand (although I'm the one that started it).
For appetizers we had lamb spring rolls, sesame seared ahi tuna sliders, and baked brie with seasonal fruit & macadamia nuts. The first course was Justin's choice of chow fun noodles with shrimp & pork which were super yummy. We enjoyed a warm goat cheese and arugula salad for the second course. The entree was a choice of fresh thyme, lemon, & sichuan peppered kona kampachi or a filet mignon. And finally wedding cake for dessert which was macadamia nut with mango filling.
But really, the star of the show was the mai tais... we all agreed they were the best we'd ever had!
Justin and I could not have imagined a more perfect day that was so very, well, us. I will never forget the feel of the ocean breeze and my feet in the sand as I said I do to my favorite person in the whole wide world. I said before it felt like we were already married because of a decade of doing life together, but from this day a new chapter began which we are both so excited for.
So folks, Mosi is officially Maui'd! Thank you for all of your messages of love and congratulations! We chose a very small ceremony but we know all of you were with us in spirit, and we especially loved celebrating with some of you beforehand at our send-off party 🌟 And finally, huge thank you to our wedding planner, Fawn (Maile Maui Weddings), who is a superstar and without whom I could not have planned a wedding from 4500+ miles away.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Mosimans!! Wishing you a wonderful holiday!
💙
Sarah
"I'll follow you down to the eye of the storm
Fair warning, this post got a bit out of hand... I realized while writing about our wedding I never wrote about our engagement, so this is kind of the whole shebang in one blog post. It is 10 years in the making after all :) Thank you for reading and following along! It truly was the best day ever for Justin & I 💙
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| November 4th, 2018 |
J+S
Justin and I met in the summer of 2008 while interning at the same company together. Several kickball games, gym dates, and dinners later... we "officially" started dating July 6th, 2008.Our early dating years involved eating lunches together at NC State, Friday night parties at Wolf Creek, nachos and pitchers of PBR at Raleigh Times, and oh yeah... making iPhone games and apps together. Justin gifted me my first drawing tablet on my 21st birthday and the rest is history. We spent many hours together recording weird noises for our app iAnnoyU, buying whoopie cushions for iWhoopie, and working nights and weekends to finish our first game.
In 2011 we both graduated with their Master's degrees and started full time at the same company. Then, after years spent daydreaming, planning at the lunch table at work, talking about the "what ifs" and the "one days"... in the fall of 2013 Justin took the leap and started working on our own company full time. I followed one year later and we still can't believe we get to work on video game tools every day. It's truly a dream come true for both of us.
While working together is a huge part of our relationship, we've also enjoyed road tripping along highway 1 in California, cruising to the Caribbean, learning to scuba dive together, going on our first dive trip to Bonaire and most recently, our epic adventure Down Under. Traveling is a passion we both share and on most of our trips the ocean has been the focal point. Whether it's relaxing on the beach, cruising the wide open seas, or diving beneath the waves, the ocean is simply our favorite place to be. So when deciding where to get married, Hawaii seemed the perfect choice.
Engagement
Exactly 2 years ago, on Christmas Eve 2016, Justin, Chris, and I were headed to the Opera House for the first time having arrived in Sydney a few days earlier. I sat in front of them on the bus ride over to let them sit together, and unbeknownst to me Justin wrote a secret message to Chris on his phone telling him he was going to propose to me at the Opera House (!!). Side note, he literally decided to do this on the bus that day. He says he knew he was going to do it in Australia at some point and decided that morning the Opera House would be the perfect place.Once we got to the CBD, Justin was on his phone constantly and I got mad at him to get off it while we are walking towards the Opera House. Little did I know he was trying to get on wifi to tell his parents he was going to propose to me. We take a few pictures from a distance with the Harbor Bridge and Opera House in the background, then walk up to the main steps where Justin suggests we get a picture together. Chris takes a couple normal pictures of us, then next thing I know Justin is on one knee.
I was honestly so surprised... I mean when you've been together over 8 years and even when you know the moment may be coming soon it's still a shock when it actually happens. I was also a little confused since I knew he didn't have a ring and I was careful about taking him seriously haha. But he was serious, and I said yes! Also the ring situation worked out perfectly as I wrote about in an earlier blog - we were able to design it together in the city known for opals which is what I've always wanted. We had Justin's wedding band made at the same shop earlier this year and shipped from Australia.
Anyway, the three of us spent the rest of that Christmas Eve celebrating at several bars in The Rocks and ended the night playing monopoly and drinking champagne :)
Almost 2 years later, on November 4th, 2018....
It's our wedding day!! Honestly half the day went by feeling so surreal, I just couldn't believe it was finally the day!The Morning Of
Justin and I had a super relaxed morning... we woke up and made breakfast together. It was nice doing something we normally do on a not very normal day, and fun to see each other before the craziness began. After breakfast the girls and I did a little yoga session, which was an awesome way to calm myself down and get into the right mindset.Mom, Vera, and I spent the rest of the morning/early afternoon getting our hair and makeup done by the amazing Heather, from Hair and Makeup by Heather. We had snacks, iced coffee, and eventually a little champagne to calm the nerves :) Some of the girls joined us up there once they were ready too. Huge thank you to Diana for taking these getting ready pictures!! <3
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| Don't know what I would do without these two!! |
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| Ready!! |
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| a sleepy groom |
The hours flew by and soon it was time to leave for the first look... Stephen
and Lara were awesome and drove me to the forest to meet Justin.
First Look
We decided on a first look because Honolua Forest just looked so beautiful and we wanted a mix of greenery in our photos. I thought it also would be a special moment for just the two of us and it certainly was (minus the mosquito bites). It was a bit muddy so that's why I'm holding my dress in some pictures.All wedding photography is by Caitlin Cathey, she's amazing!
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| So much anticipation! |
Ceremony
We chose Ironwood Beach as our ceremony location, it stood out in the planning stage with the expansive beach and the gorgeous cliffs on either side. I loved having the flower circle to define the space for our ceremony, as it is a public beach :) Although I was oblivious to anyone else on the beach that day... in some photos you can see some people in the background but I honestly don't even remember noticing! |
| It's go time! |
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| A walk I will never forget <3 |
Justin and I wanted Hawaiian traditions to be in our ceremony, which included the blowing of the Pu (conch shell), a lei exchange, and Hawaiian blessings. We also had a Hawaiian song, "E O Mai", sang to us on the ukulele before our pronouncement... it was so beautiful. "E O Mai" essentially means "come to me".
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| Justin giving me my orchid lei |
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| Giving Justin his maile lei |
Portrait of wedding day emotions as shown below haha:
We loved our officiant, he was the perfect blend of heartfelt and funny... at one point he paused after proclaiming us husband and wife so Justin and I just kissed automatically. He then laughed and let us know he hadn't said "You may now kiss the bride" (he did it on purpose of course haha). So here is our kiss and then laughter following... and of course we kissed again officially :)
Officially husband and wife!!
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| I just love this photo... hugging our siblings afterwards <3 |
Ohana
Following the ceremony we took pictures with everyone... I absolutely loved our flower circle!
Sunset
After the family pictures, everyone left to head to the restaurant for cocktail hour while Justin and I took sunset pictures. It was fun having this time, though knowingly being documented, to soak in the fact we were married just the two of us. Our photographer and videographer were really fun and made us feel comfortable the whole time.
Reception Dinner
The photographer kindly drove Justin and I to Merriman's, the restaurant we chose for our wedding dinner. Merriman's is located right on the water so the views of the ocean and Kapalua beach are just gorgeous. Once we arrived everyone commented on how beautiful the views were at sunset. Justin and I want to go back to experience it since we were on the cliffs at that time and arrived after dark :) The food was set courses and everything was delicious!
We did the cake cutting first while the photographer was still there, and of course it got a bit out of hand (although I'm the one that started it).
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| I wouldn't be surprised if this is Justin's favorite wedding photo LOL |
For appetizers we had lamb spring rolls, sesame seared ahi tuna sliders, and baked brie with seasonal fruit & macadamia nuts. The first course was Justin's choice of chow fun noodles with shrimp & pork which were super yummy. We enjoyed a warm goat cheese and arugula salad for the second course. The entree was a choice of fresh thyme, lemon, & sichuan peppered kona kampachi or a filet mignon. And finally wedding cake for dessert which was macadamia nut with mango filling.
But really, the star of the show was the mai tais... we all agreed they were the best we'd ever had!
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| Thank you to Lara for the photo! |
Late Night
At one point we had a bar reserved for the "after-party" but instead we chose to go back to our condo for a really fun and chill evening. Although we did get in trouble with the resort guards twice haha :) We were too loud outside then we all went to the hot tub after hours ;) The night ended laying on the beach drinking and looking up at the stars... it was absolutely perfect.
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| Impromptu "First Dance" to our song by Shinedown, "I'll Follow You" |
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| Awww the homies decorated our bed!! <3 |
Justin and I could not have imagined a more perfect day that was so very, well, us. I will never forget the feel of the ocean breeze and my feet in the sand as I said I do to my favorite person in the whole wide world. I said before it felt like we were already married because of a decade of doing life together, but from this day a new chapter began which we are both so excited for.
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| Thank you to my Mom for the shirts!! |
So folks, Mosi is officially Maui'd! Thank you for all of your messages of love and congratulations! We chose a very small ceremony but we know all of you were with us in spirit, and we especially loved celebrating with some of you beforehand at our send-off party 🌟 And finally, huge thank you to our wedding planner, Fawn (Maile Maui Weddings), who is a superstar and without whom I could not have planned a wedding from 4500+ miles away.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Mosimans!! Wishing you a wonderful holiday!
💙
Sarah
"I'll follow you down to the eye of the storm
Don't worry I'll keep you warm
I'll follow you down while we are passing through space
I don't care if we fall from grace
I'll follow you down to where forever lies
Without a doubt I'm on your side
There is no where else I'd rather be
I'm not about to compromise
Give you up to say goodbye
I'll guide you through the deep
I'll keep you close to me"
I'll follow you down while we are passing through space
I don't care if we fall from grace
I'll follow you down to where forever lies
Without a doubt I'm on your side
There is no where else I'd rather be
I'm not about to compromise
Give you up to say goodbye
I'll guide you through the deep
I'll keep you close to me"
~ Shinedown