The Best Day of My Life...

After a good nights sleep, it was finally the day that we had been waiting for for a year and a day...our wedding day.  I woke up before the alarm went off and Courtney, Sarah, and Amber were still fast asleep.  I got up and quietly left the room and headed down to the gym where I got a 45 minute yoga session in.  It was so relaxing and much needed after the craziness of the week.  I didn't even turn the lights off in the gym, just enjoyed the peace and quiet of the morning.  At 8 AM I headed upstairs and got all the girls up and dressed before heading downstairs to grab breakfast.  I got to rock my slippers and "bride" robe that my sister had gotten me so it didn't take long to get ready to go.  Once we had eaten, we decided who was driving, then headed to the hair salon.

The Before...

My MOH and Best Friend :)

 I had chosen to do hair and make up at Taylor Brooks Salon because it was close to the hotel and church and it was the most reasonably priced place I could find.  I had already done two hair trials there and the staff was very friendly and easy to work with.  I also had quite a group with us, including my bridesmaids, mom and grandma and mother in law, so it was much easier to go to a salon where it would only take a couple hours to get ready.  Once we got to the salon, they helped set up some food we had brought and a mimosa stand.  Each girl got called up one by one to get their hair done.  This was part of my bridesmaid gifts to them, and some of them had also opted to get their makeup done.  Alyssa was my hair and makeup stylist and she was absolutely wonderful.  She did my mother in laws hair and makeup first while I waited and chatted with the other girls getting ready, and then it was my turn.  I had done two hair trials, and although during the trial I loved my hair, after thinking about it a couple days, I would change my mind.  I came in with a very specific idea and Alyssa made the image I had in my head a reality.  She did an absolutely amazing job with my hair, and used about a bottle of hairspray so that we would insure that it stayed curly for at least the majority of the evening (it actually lasted the whole day)!  Once all of the girls were done, they got their bridesmaid dresses on at the salon and we got all of the jewelry squared away.  We wrapped up at the salon right after 11 and we were on schedule to hit the road for the church!

The After...

We had a bit of confusion with the tie for Joe.  One of my bridesmaids makes custom ties and bow ties (https://www.facebook.com/EllisGDesigns) so she had made the groomsmen ties and pocket squares match the bridesmaid dresses and a gold set for Joe.  Although the groomsmen go theirs the night before, Joe had not gotten his yet.  She forgot them in the morning as we rushed to get to the salon, so we asked a friend to drop them off at the salon.  After failing to get in touch with her, we headed to the church where we got a quick text from her that she was with the cops (she got pulled over and had some issues :) ).  Of course, I freak out and call Joe's mom to see if a family member of his staying at the hotel could bring them to the church, and she took care of getting the tie to the church.

At the church before I got dressed!

When we arrived at the church our photographer Steve (http://jstevensphoto.com/) had already arrived to take pictures of the dress and details and my little brother showed up with fruit salad and sandwiches for the bridesmaids.  We realized we didn't have any water so he headed out to get some water and was so so helpful throughout the process. Before we knew it, it was time to start taking pictures.  It started with me reading Joe's letter, then some group pictures with the bridesmaids.  Then I got dressed while he took some pictures of Joe and his grooms party.  Before I knew it, it was my turn again and we were taking pictures in the dress with all my bridesmaids, and a small bridal shoot.  After a few hours of pictures, it was time to walk down the aisle!  I hadn't been nervous all day, and was so excited for this moment.

Tears of love...

Getting Dressed in a Pre K room :)

Getting Dressed in the Bridal Room

Bridesmaid first look...

Rockin their Bridesmaid Gifts!

Our helper for the day :)

The ceremony began at 2 PM.  It started with the procession and I cannot express the excitement, tears, and look on Joe's face when I saw him at the end of the aisle.  Everything was simply perfect.  The ceremony was short (for a catholic wedding) and we did not do a full mass.  I struggled to make it through the vows, we barely go the rings on our hands during the exchanging of the rings because they were so tight, the homily was beautifully done by the deacon, our readers were amazing, and we honestly couldn't have asked for a more beautiful ceremony to make our marriage to each other official.

exchanging rings

First Kiss

Mr. and Mrs. DiDia

Before we knew it, we had our first kiss and were announced as Mr. and Mrs. Joe and Vida DiDia and it was time for our family pictures.  The church was beautifully decorated because it was the weekend after Easter.  After about 30 minutes of photos, we took Joe's dad's car and his brother as our chauffeur and headed down to GT for a photo shoot.  We chose to go to GT because that is where Joe and I met, making it so special to us.  It was a long shot to go all the way to Tech for pictures, especially with the Hawks playoff game and the Braves game being in Atlanta, but God really was on our side and we sat in no traffic.  Joe soaked in being married and enjoyed some champagne during the drive and really just got to be together away from all of the commotion for a bit.  We took some amazing pictures at Georgia Tech since that was where Joe and I had met.  We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to take pictures outside.  Once we wrapped up the pictures, we headed to Alpharetta Athletic Club.

Pre Wedding Festivities and Rehearsal Dinner

So we had quite a whirlwind of a wedding and then departed for our honeymoon soon after.  Joe and I soaked up every minute of it but we are also grateful to have life back to normal so that we can enjoy married life.  I wanted to take some time (and probably a couple posts) to review our wedding weekend for those that were not able to spend the weekend with us.  Joe and I both took off a portion of Thursday as we prepared for the weekend.  The first task was to drop off all of the goody bags for our hotel guests that would be arriving over the next couple of days.  Below is the list of what we put in our hotel bags.  The majority of the purchases were made at Costco.

• 2 beers, one SweetWater and one Red Hare (local Atlanta beers)
• 2 bottles of water
• a granola bar
• a pack of crackers
• fruit snacks
• a pack of gum
• individually packed Advil

 After dropping off the bags with Joe's mom, we had to turn in all of our paperwork to the church.  To get married in the Catholic church you have to turn in your original baptismal certificate, 4 affidavits filled out by loved ones to confirm you are who you say you are, and a copy of your engagement retreat certificate.  I thought I had everything together, but after getting there it seems we misplaced Joe's baptismal certificate.   I ran home to check if it was at home but had little luck.  After a lot of back and forth, the church agreed to take a faxed copy from Joe's church.  After finally wrapping things up, it was already dinner time, so Joe and I headed to Buckhead Saloon to meet up with friends that had arrived for the wedding.  Courtney had already come into town as well as Steve, a fellow track athlete at GT so a lot of our friends met us there to enjoy dinner and drinks.  Although the others continued to hang out, Courtney and I headed home because we knew Friday would be a fun filled day!  We timed our arrival perfectly, because we were met by my parents who had also picked up my grandmother and aunt who had arrived all the way from Slovenia!  I am so blessed and grateful for both of them for making the long trip to America to see me on my special day.  I never really thought I would see my Grandmother in America again since she hadn't been here in almost 18 years!  We chatted for a short time before my grandmother, my aunt, and I headed to bed while Courtney and Andy practiced for their performance on Saturday and entertained my parents.  My parents stayed up very late and headed back to the airport for a second time to pick up my cousins who arrived after midnight, then headed to the hotel with them to get a good nights rest.  We are so thankful for my parents for being the taxi and putting hundreds of miles on the car throughout the weekend to insure that everyone arrived at the right place at the right time!

Friday morning was here before we knew it and Courtney and I headed out for a long walk to catch up.  After our walk, we found that my aunt and grandma were already up and had made themselves at home and made breakfast for themselves.  We all headed to the grocery store to pick up snacks for Friday so that we would not starve during the day since we had some time before my parents came back to our house.  My parents arrived shortly after with my two cousins who had also made the trek all the way to Atlanta from Slovenia.  We didn't have too much for them to do, so Joe departed for his parents house to help out with getting things together for the rehearsal dinner, and my cousin Jana, Courtney, and I headed out to get our nails done.  We met my sister, Ana, at the nail salon since she had just arrived and Doug dropped her off.  We headed to the salon while Doug headed to our house to spend some time with my parents and introduce Rose to my family in Slovenia. 

The best support system a girl could ask for...no matter what the distance is between us!

I had so much fun getting pampered at the nail salon and they were so friendly!  After the nail salon, we headed to a jeweler to get my ring cleaned before heading home. Once we arrived home we ordered some pizza for the family and everyone enjoyed Papa Johns before we all went our separate ways.  My aunt and grandma went to take a nap while my parents and cousins headed to Joe's parent's house to pack up the car with all of the centerpieces and things to deliver them to the venue.  I enjoyed some relaxing time with Courtney as she manned my phone and made sure I did not get too stressed out (she really was a lifesaver!) with everyone calling about plans, timelines, etc.  We got dressed and ready to go as well as got packed for the remainder of the weekend.  We headed to Joe's parent's house around 3:30 to make sure that we did not arrive late, and sat in a bit of traffic. 

4 Generations!

We arrived at Joe's parents house where I saw Joe for the first time since the morning, and he was exhausted from a long days work getting set up.  We had made the decision a long time ago to have our rehearsal dinner at Joe's parent's house, which made Friday quite a busy day for them.  Everyone had pitched in to help get everything set up for the catering company to arrive.  Before we knew it, it was time to head to the church for the rehearsal.  We started at 6, and I am proud to say that all of Joe's groomsmen arrived on time, while a good portion of the bridesmaids were fashionably late.  Regardless, we started the rehearsal and practiced the ceremony. A very special shout out to my cousin for being our photographer at the rehearsal!  We love having pictures of every minute or our weekend!

The whole crew!

Dad giving me away for the second to last time!

It took about 30 minutes to get all practiced, and then we headed back to Joe's parent's house to enjoy great company for the remainder of the evening.  We had about 45 people attend since our wedding party was 14.  We made the decision to only invite our wedding party and dates, grandparents, and my family from Slovenia.  The set up was absolutely beautiful, with tall tables set up outside and in the living room, a live musician, a bar that was tended by a family friend, and beautiful signs designed by a family friend.  The meal started with appetizers, including an antipasti platter that was amazing and filled with cheese, salami, pickled veggies, and so much more.  We also had two amazing appatizers served by the catering company.

•  Belgian Endive Leaf filled with Mango Curry Chicken Salad and Fresh Mint
• Thin Crust Pizza topped with Duck Confit, Caramelized Onions, Fig Preserves,
  Roquefort Blue Cheese, White Truffle Oil and Roasted Garlic

After socializing for a bit, it was dinner time!  Below you will see the menu which was catered by a local caterer, Endive (http://endiveatlanta.com/).  Below is the wonderful menu we had!

• Strawberry Spinach Salad with Baby Curly Spinach tossed with Raspberry Vinaigrette topped with Sweet and Spicy Roasted Pecans, Dried Cranberries, Crumbled Maytag Blue Cheese and Fresh Sliced Strawberry
• Seasoned Grilled Jumbo Asparagus Tips with Tomato Confetti and Crumbled Montrachet Goat Cheese
• Four Cheese Macaroni and Cheese topped with Toasted Breadcrumbs and Aged Parmesan
• Overnight Slow Roasted Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Cinnamon, Raisins and Honey served over Mediterranean Couscous
• Blackened Cajun Seasoned Gulf Shrimp over Monterey Jack Cheese Grits
• Barbecue Beef Brisket over Wilted Slaw

How cool is this!

My Beautiful Grandma!

Mom's and Grandmas!

Love these girls to the moon and back!

So much food!

Wedding Party Gifts!

Feeling the Love :)

All of the food was absolutely amazing and I think we all ate way too much! After enjoying dinner it was time to hand out gifts. I won't go into details since I will write a separate post with the details, but Joe and I loved getting to put a lot of thought behind each of our gifts.  We really hope that we did something that everyone will enjoy and use!  After dinner, it was time to cut the cake.  One of Joe's good friends, Nicole, had offered to make our grooms cake and wedding cake since she is quite the pastry chef.  Joe's request for the cake was chocolate on chocolate on chocolate with chocolate crunchies!  The design was to be GT themed.  The cake was absolutely amazing for all chocolate lovers and the buzz on the cake was perfect!

How cool is this!

Practicing cake cutting :)

 As the dinner wrapped up, I headed to the hotel with Courtney and Sarah Anderson to get a good nights sleep (thank you NyQuil!) while Joe and some of his groomsmen headed to a groomsmen's house right down the street to catch some Z's.  Both of us made sure that we wouldn't let nerves get the best of us and got 8+ hours of sleep to prepare ourselves for the long and exciting day we had ahead of us.

Everything about the dinner was above and beyond anything we ever dreamed of when we had initially decided to do it at Joe's parent's house.  We are so grateful for all of the hours they put into planning the dinner as well as all of the hard work to get everything together the day of.  We loved having room to mix and mingle during the dinner, and we were blessed with perfect weather outside.  We did not have any rain that evening and it was not too hot, making for an ideal setting.  The intimacy of the rehearsal dinner really made us feel so loved and was exactly what Joe and I had wanted to get from the evening.  Getting to spend some extra time talking to our closest family and friends really made us realize how lucky we are to have so much love and support in our lives! 

Apple-Cheddar Stuffed Chicken with Apple-Dijon Pan Sauce

And we are back to recipes!  I know it has been quite some time since I last posted a recipe, but for about two months there has been little home cooked meals!  I had been traveling a lot before and after the weddings, and with it being summertime, the weekends are spent grilling on the rooftop with friends, spending time at my in laws, and enjoying the pool!  I promise I will go back and recap the wedding slowly but surely, but for now, here is a meal that I ran across while on Pinterest.  It peaked my interested because of the odd flavor combination, but the comments on the original recipe made me want to try it.  It may sound odd, but the flavors compliment each other perfectly and it is a meal where we normally have all of the ingredients in our house!  So, to say the least, this will become a staple at the DiDia household (and yes I am still in the process of changing my name).  So, here you go!

Apple Cheddar Stuffed Chicken with Apple Dijon Pan Sauce

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
1 small apple, peeled and chopped small
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
salt & pepper
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup apple juice
2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
1-1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees then get out a baking sheet and set aside. Using a sharp knife, cut a pocket horizontally into each chicken breast then set aside. Mix apples, cheese, lemon juice,  dried oregano, salt, and pepper in a small bowl then stuff chicken with a quarter of the mixture.  Pinch closed with fingers to insure the stuffing does not fall out.
2. Heat extra virgin olive oil in a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish then dredge chicken breasts in mixture, tapping excess flour off. Place chicken into skillet then saute until golden brown on one side, 4-5 minutes. Flip then saute until other side is golden brown, 3-4 minutes and then transfer chicken to baking sheet and place into the oven to finish cooking through, I normally do 15 minutes to be safe!
3. Meanwhile, add chicken broth, apple juice, dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, and a pinch of dried thyme to skillet then turn heat to high. Cook until sauce has reduced, about 5-7 minutes, then taste and add salt and pepper if necessary. Drizzle sauce over chicken.

Recipe Adapted from here