Eric & Janna

[jannafin]

Well, I've been around for a little while now so I thought I'd finally share my story with everyone. :)

If you didn't get a chance to read my introductory post, I'm Janna and my hubby is Eric. We were married on April 20, 2007. This is actually my second marriage (his first), and I'm so grateful that I was able to find someone so wonderful after I was treated very poorly in my first relationship. I've never been happier!! :D

[jannafin]

How We Met

It's almost freaky...

I wasn't really "actively" looking for a relationship at the time, but that doesn't mean I wasn't interested to know who was out there, and for fun, I put up a profile on a personals site. I came across a profile I liked one day in mid-January, 2004, and I more or less gawked at it daily for almost a week. But I was kind of poor at the time (I'd just graduated from college) and I didn't want to pay $20 to message the guy and most likely be rejected.

Eric was also curious and had a profile on the same personals site. One day, coincidentally in mid-January, 2004, he came across a profile he liked, and he was so interested, he paid $20 just to send the girl a message.

If you haven't figured it out yet, Eric was the guy I was gawking at and I was the girl Eric paid to message. ;)

My jaw hit the floor when I saw the message from him! Just the night before, I'd shown his profile to a friend of mine and told her I'd like to meet him! I couldn't let this "opportunity" pass me by, so I paid the $20 and messaged him back.

That night, we chatted online for about four hours, and the next night he asked me to the movies, where we met face to face.

The rest is history! :D

[jannafin]

Some pictures...

Our first Christmas
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/meandericchristmas04.jpg

At a football scrimmage (yeah, he likes his jersey, lol)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/meandericpackers.jpg

Christmas, 2005
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/ericandmechristmas05.jpg

[jannafin]

The Engagement

We talked about getting engaged for quite a while. Towards the end of summer, 2006, after more than two and a half years together, we went together to pick out an engagement ring. Since neither of us is very flashy or outgoing, we chose to quietly make it official in our home, just the two of us-- on August 29, 2006, Eric slipped the ring on my finger, and that was it!

My two favorite engagement pictures:

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/e-pic3b.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/e-pic2b.jpg


A couple of the others:

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/e-pic14b.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/e-pic9b.jpg

(Photos courtesy of JCPenney Portraits/LifeTouch Portrait Studios, Inc.)

[lizardbnorton]

That's a sweet story. It's amazing what fate can do.... Your pictures are cute.

[jannafin]

And The Ring...

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/ering2a.jpg

[jannafin]

Thank you!!

[lizardbnorton]

That's a beautiful ring

[jannafin]

The Wedding

Deciding on what kind of wedding we'd like to have took some time. Neither of us wanted a big, traditional wedding for various reasons, and at first we started planning a small, backyard-barbeque-type wedding in June that would include our immediate families and a couple of friends. As small and "easy" as that should have been... well, it wasn't. Enough stressful details and issues popped up that we just weren't enjoying planning it. In addition to that, we probably weren't going to take a honeymoon in order to save money to buy a house.

After a lot of thought, we decided to scrap the party idea and opt instead to get married at the county courthouse on April 20, 2007. We just really wanted to focus on the two of us and have a nice, short, intimate ceremony. And we decided to go to Florida for a week for a honeymoon!

[jannafin]

Wedding Details

So, a few pictures from the planning stages...

A night shot of the courthouse
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/courthouse2b.jpg

My dress (Forever Yours)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/dress1b.jpg

My shoes ($23 at Kohl's!)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/shoes2b.jpg

[jannafin]

My DIY Flowers

I made Eric's boutonniere and my mom and I made the bouquet with silk flowers from Walmart. Super cheap, and I loved them!

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/bout1b.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/bouquet1b.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/bouquet2b.jpg

[jannafin]

Wedding Rings

Eric's
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/ericsring1b.jpg

Mine
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/weddingring2b.jpg

My set
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/bridalsetbox1b.jpg

[jannafin]

The Big Day!

The ceremony (it was really sweet!)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/ceremony1b.jpg

The Kiss!
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/thekiss1b.jpg

In the courthouse after the ceremony (it's a beautiful building!)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/courtstairs5b.jpg

[jannafin]

Pictures in the Park

After the courthouse, we went to my favorite park to take some pictures. (BTW, we did not have a professional photographer. These are all from my camera and my father-in-law's camera.)

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/weddingphoto4b.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/weddingphoto13f1b.jpg

The "Wedding Party" (us with our best friends and "witnesses", who signed our marriage license for us)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/weddingphoto7b.jpg

My favorite!
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/weddingphoto1b.jpg

[jannafin]

Us with my mom and stepdad (I have an older brother and an older stepsister but their families weren't able to make it due to the distance... and it was a Friday. ;) )
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/jparentsus4b.jpg

Me with my mom (we're very close)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/jannamom1b.jpg

Us with Eric's parents, grandma, and sisters
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/ericsfam1b.jpg

[jannafin]

FOOD!

After pictures, we went to one of my favorite Italian restaurants to eat. We had the place to ourselves since it was right between lunch time and dinner time. The food was really good and quite cheap, actually! My mom also brought a cake made by a lady from my hometown, which was gorgeous and very yummy!!

Just finishing eating
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/dinner6fb.jpg

The cake
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/cake1b.jpg

Cake cutting
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/cakeus4b.jpg

Feeding each other (no smashing!)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/cakeus9b.jpg

[jannafin]

Lastly...

A photo of the whole group
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/weddingphoto8b.jpg

After dinner, everyone headed home. The "Best Man" was staying with Eric and me that night, so on our way, the three of us stopped at a walking trail down the street and he took a few final "artistic" pictures, lol.

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/weddingphoto9b.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/weddingphoto10b.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/trail8b.jpg

[jannafin]

Okay, I have to add a couple of out-of-the-ordinary/fun pics!

My "Maid of Honor" and I attempting to do the Monkeewalk (we went through a "phase" about ten years ago, lol)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/jannaliz1b.jpg

Eric having tie troubles (we forgot to buy a clip so he ended up borrowing his dad's for the rest of the day)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/curtiseric1b.jpg


And my wonderful husband being himself...

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/ericfork2b.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/trail5b.jpg

Thanks to anyone who stops in! Hope you enjoyed!!

[jannafin]

Oh, one last picture!

Us on our honeymoon in Florida! (Don't mind the sunburn!)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x320/DisorientedAsIAm/ioaericme1b.jpg

We stayed in Orlando and went to MGM Studios, SeaWorld, and Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure, and Busch Gardens in Tampa. We had a great time!


I also wanted to note that I said my shoes were from Kohl's, but I actually got them at Sears. Oops!

Ok, now I'm done. Enjoy!!

[LVBride2Be]

It looks like you and Eric had such a wonderful time through your adventure in finding each other....marrying each other and celebrating each other!

Congrats!

(I'm done sounding corny now. lol)

[jannafin]

Thanks! We really did. I'm so lucky! :D

(Now I'm done sounding corny!! LOL!)

[Goin2thechapel]

You two DO look genuinely happy...I'm very happy for the both of you and I added you to the Beautiful Brides page :) Congratulations MRS!!!

[jannafin]

Thank you so much, Amanda!!

[Nekochanpurr]

Aw, thats so sweet! Hehe, you pictures are adorable, too!