let’s get this party started… Well, friends I know I said it was a big year and it truly was. I am on cloud nine as I share this cherished moment with such special people (that would be you). In August, I was lucky enough to get engaged to my favorite person in the world, Bret Sano. We had a super busy fall and our families + friends were constantly asking us for a date and a plan. So! the week before Christmas decided to elope! We were married on New Year’s Eve in Glen Rose, Texas and all the fun and photos are below. Originally when we made this decision we weren’t going to share the photos with anyone but family but they turned out so darn cute and it was tons of fun so I had too! Can’t imagine a better way to kick off 2010. Very blessed and looking forward to the future.
**Sorry for not posting photos about the farm or the winner of the giveaway. I’ll post the winner on Tuesday (tomorrow) and promise to share photos of my family’s farm soon but today I thought we would focus on this special moment.**
Oh, and my apologies in advance this is a long post…
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lovely lunch
We thought it would be fun to grab a quick bite before we headed out but we knew we needed to go somewhere a little “fancy”. We decided to dine at the amazing holiday buffet at the Zodiac in the downtown original Flagship Neiman Marcus. This particular store is very special to me as I have worked with NM for many years, the store is full of 100+ years of history and I actually found my dress there after many hours of searching (at the 11th hour!) the day before.
I truly thought we would sneak in and out and that the dear friends I know who work at NM Corporate would be gone for the holiday… Not so much. The store is glamorously furnished for the holidays, full of sparkling decor and beautiful moments are all throughout. The elevators open on the 6th floor and voila! the lovely Jeny Bania, downtown PR manager immediately greets us. I crack up, she can not believe we are eloping — I said “Well, I don’t normally dress like this or wear a feather in my hair!”
We are ushered to our seats and low and behold my wonderful friend Kim Donlon is literally seated at the table beside us!! So much for secretive! Could not have been more perfect, fun and funny. Here we are, all dolled up, running into all kinds of people– Hysterical. And then to top it off, we ran into the talented and gorgeous photographer Allison V. Smith (who also happens to be the granddaughter of Stanley Marcus AND her wedding is currently featured in this month’s FD Luxe). It was all very serendipitous.
Love this comfort cup that you are greeted with filled with yummy buttery chicken broth and a mini cheddar biscuit. Oh the fine food of Neiman Marcus, how I love you… Every bite was delicious.
DESSERT!! Precious mini ice cream cones and mini donuts. Yum. Pure happiness.
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easy rainy drive
Off to Glen Rose which is a couple of hours outside of Dallas…it was a rainy cold day but we had a great time and thanks to our iphones we watched The Hangover.
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cozy little ceremony
And we have arrived! We were originally planning on the Justice of the Peace in Dallas but we went to check it out while getting our license and …honestly, we thought it would be fun and funny but let’s just say we wanted something a little more quaint, a little less, um, crazy (we’re all stocked up on crazy here).
The county of Somervell sounds like something out of the 50’s to me and I love that. In the courtroom was literally the two of us, Judge Dwayne and Judge Webb (who became our photographer). It was super sweet, lickity split fast and perfect for us.
Peonies, my favorite. I made a little bouquet and a boutonniere for B.
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wedding night bliss
After the ceremony we headed out to Rough Creek Lodge for the night, which I will do a full post about very soon, in Iredell, Texas. It’s a fabulous resort with ridiculous food and a vast array of activities.
I bought a couple of chalkboards and had recently painted this old tray with chalkboard paint so that was kind of fun.
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headed back to the Big D
Since the day before was so yucky, I convinced Bret to dress back up because I really wanted photos to share with our family. And I’m so glad he did… these are my favorites. We both knew our parents would have preferred to have been there but since they weren’t we thought if we took plenty of photos they would feel like they made the journey with us. These photos were taken on the way back to Dallas.
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our happy home
When we got back — again freezing — we took a quick photo in front of our house. It’s so 1950’s Good Housekeeping don’t you think??
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fab furry family
And then the final photos… our kids!! We have a blended Brady Bunch family of my two dogs and Bret’s two dogs AND YES, it’s crazy. Every day. All day. I was determined to get a photo with everyone. Keep in mind that either Bret or I are running into the picture after setting the timer on the camera. This is our life!!
photo credits: Jeny Bania, Kim Donlon, Judge Webb, the kind valet at Rough Creek, Samantha Sano, Bret Sano
The photos are great. Congrats again.
CONGRATS!!!! I love how you did it…just perfect!
LOVE the pictures with the dogs. They look like they’re ready to pounce on each other!
i just recently discovered your blog (from 100 Layer Cake), and am completely in love from this post. It’s like a little documentary in photos. I live in Dallas as well, and it’s nice to see that an elegant and cute (not in a bad, pinch-your-cheek kind of way) wedding can be done. I always dreamed of a wedding in a big city like NYC or Chicago. I love this blog, and will definitely continue reading!!!
congraaaaaaaaaaatulations! that is so awesome! we eloped too and it’s the best thing we ever did! i love your photos! we never had that coffee missy! hopefully the new year will be a little less nuts for you? who am i kidding, probably not. but maybe we can get together some time. congratulations again, so thrilled for you :)
oh i forgot to ask. did you make that feather for your hair? it’s gorgeous.
Oh. Nice post… whatever. Anyway… let’s talk ABOUT ME!!! ;)
[Scrrrreeeeeech!!!!] What in the tarnation?!!! Y’all eloped? But what about my circus-themed multi-colored ribbon bridesmaid dress? Eh, don’t worry about it… I’ll rent myself out as a parade float sometime. Back to YOU!!! Kids, THE BIGGESTEST CONGRATULATIONS! I am gushing right now for you both! The whole thing is pure perfection! OMG! Seriously, I can’t contain myself or be articulate in any way right now. Just know I am grinning from ear to ear and pleased as a bug in a p-patch for ya’s!!! Best wishes to you both! :)
Uncle Beefy… I am grinning from ear to ear and WE think YOU NEED to come visit us!!!!!! Just love you!!
Nicole… Yes! we need to grab coffee and no, I didn’t make the feather (God Bless Forever 21!)
Wonderful news……When I go to the Zodiac room, I’ll toast you. Many happy years together.
WOW!!!! Soooooo wonderful!! Sam & Bret, I’m truly happy for your union!
My wish for the perfect pair is a long life filled with happiness, love & blessings!!
Congratulations!
Perfect! I couldn’t be happier or more proud for both of you. Congratulations!
Wow is all I have to say. I can’t imagine anything more romantic… I’m quite jealous and I don’t even know you! LOVELY day and LOVELY wedding.
Oh my gosh what a lovely post. And the dogs! I love it.
Congrats to you both!
awww, you two sweeties…congratulations from all of us! happiness and hugs to you…
Congratulations you guys! I can’t think of two nicer and more deserving people. I am so happy for you!
aww………congrats to both of you! very excited to hear the news!
popped by from beefy and found your photos adorable! congrats and the fur babies are just the sweetest, the two bottom photos are a-mazing:)
We are so happy for both of you! You truly seem so perfect for each other … and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bret happier than he is now (and we thank you for that, Sam) :-) Bill and I used to joke that we were the “Brady Bunch” and now Bret is following in our footsteps (almost … your kids are “fur kids”). We love you both and congratulations!!!!
Congrats! You guys are perfect for each other. I hope to see the both of you soon.
Hats off to you both! And your pooches look like so much fun, too. Pics are fab, as always and the dress is PERFECTION!
:)
Kristina
Well, I was welling up enough and then I SAW THE PEONIES!!!!!!!!!!! What a beautiful way and day to do this wonderful step. Congratulations to you both. I love the dog photos, too.
So very awesome! Love your photos. Loved the whole shin dig, start to finish. I grew up in Hico Texas, just around the corner from Glen Rose. It’s really very beautiful. congratulations and I’m wild over the shots of those crazy dogs. My parents have 15 dogs in Hico. Again, warmest congratulations to you both.
I don’t think I’ve ever posted on your lovely site before, but your wedding was so beautiful and special!!! Congrats. And Congrats again for not having a cookie-cutter wedding. Absolutely unique and personal! Y’all’s wedding pics should be in FD Luxe too!
Ahhhhhh………how lovely and sweet. What a precious memory you’ll have of your special day.
Wishing you a lifetime of love and fun…..
Spencer
What a fantastic digi-album of your fun-filled wedding. Thanks for sharing and congrats! I LOVE the chalkboards and my favorite family pic is of the pups lickin’ all over Bret’s face. Love you guys!
What beautiful photographs. Thank you for sharing with your blog readers your right they were too cute to be kept secret.
just popped over from 100 layer cake. congratulations! love the “blended family” photos of you and the dogs!
congratulations, so happy for you two….love the photos!!
I love your dress! Kim Donlon is a co-worker and sent your website/blog my way. She also told me about seeing you at your wedding lunch. I’ve been wanting to see your dress since she told me about it. She was so excited, but didn’t want to say anything! She and Jennifer gave the very accurate details of your dress!
Congratulations you two! The pics are wonderful! What a fun way to get married!! Love you both!
The pictures are great and you both look beautiful.
Oh! We both loved this so much! We are so happy for you both! The photos we loved best were at NM and out in the country! Love!
Congrats!! The photos are just fabulous!!!
Well, my little one…Steph and I are so happy to learn of this wedding. Harry told us and gave me this blog page. How wonderful to see you so happy. We both wish you all God’s blessings … so well deserved.
Love you,
Valerie
I noticed your site when I was searching for something unrelated, but this post showed up at the top of Yahoo your web site must be enormously popular! Keep up the good work!
Wow! Amazing pictures and such a romantic story! Bret — I am so happy for you! It’s fantastic to see you so happy.
congrats you guys! i am so happy for you both.
Sounds like an amazing wedding! Congratulations to the both of you.
absolutely beautiful - pure love and joy in these photos. Congratulations!!
Hi Sam!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a great way to start your new chapter! I felt like I was there looking thru the pics!! Great job! You are gorgeous and you two are precious together! I am so happy for you guys! Thank you for sharing.
Sam, I just came over from 100LayerCake and I am officially smitten with your blog. Such wonderful little details and your “kids” are adorable! I was hoping someone would mention your shoes! They’re gorgeous! Details please? I’m shopping for my wedding shoes, and I am in love! Congratulations again on your elopement and thank you for sharing!
Where are your shoes from? I love them…