a honeymooning we will go...

Today is the day!!!

We are finally leaving on our honeymoon! 

In a few hours we will be on our way to the airport, getting ready to board a plane to Madrid and then another to Rome, and then we'll ride in a shuttle to the port where we will reach our final destination! The Carnival Freedom. 

Here is our itinerary:

Day 1  Civitavecchia, Rome, Italy
Day 2  Naples, Italy
Day 3  At Sea
Day 4  Marmaris, Turkey
Day 5  Izmir, Turkey
Day 6  Istanbul, Turkey
Day 7  At Sea
Day 8  Piraeus, Athens, Greece
Day 9  Katakolon, Olympia, Greece.
Day 10  At Sea
Day 11  Livorno, Florence, and Pisa, Italy
Day 12  Civitavecchia, Rome, Italy
Day 13  Civitavecchia, Rome, Italy

We have a few excursions planned for some of the ports. I'm just really excited to experience all these new places with my new husband. 

On the way home we will make a stop in Madrid, Spain for a night to visit with my Tia Lani and her family. I hear my cousin will be playing a concert that night with his band; hopefully we'll be able to catch it.

We'll be home on Saturday the 28th [which is Alex's birthday, by the way]. So we will see you all then. We love you...and yes, we will bring back MANY pictures. 

checkers champ

Last weekend Brigitte and Thomas had their engagement party. It was a lot of fun. The food was great and we learned how to Greek dance! [since Thomas and his family are Greek]

But by far the highlight of the party was the game of Checkers.
Now, I'm no checkers whiz. I don't think I've ever won a game of checkers in my life. My brain just doesn't function in that way. However, the sun was smiling on me that day and I prevailed as Checkers Champ!

My first opponent was Anne Marie...and I'll admit it, she went easy on me...but that's not my fault! She chose her own moves. Alex stepped up next and I shut him down. Finally, David, the final authority on checkers, decided he was going to take me on. I was nervous, it's true, but in the end we had to call a tie. Which means I didn't lose! And so...I retire as champion. Never again will I play another game of checkers so that I may retain my title forevermore.

kristel acevedo

I'm slowly beginning the process of changing my last name. All I know is, there's a LOT of red tape involved...and I never did like red tape. 

To give me inspiration I now have a new e-mail address! Along with a new DotMac account. Yay! kristelacevedo@mac.com

So if you wish to communicate with me via e-mail, that would be your best shot.

Also, I have an appointment at the DMV to get my new license. 

We leave for our honeymoon on Saturday, so my little project will have to be put on hold. But when I get back I'll start the tedious process of getting a new passport, social security card, etc. 

Bleh. ;-)

spare time

I've never really been one to utilize my spare time wisely. 

I've wasted many summers away by watching tv, reaching the end of the internet, and just plain farting around. 

So I've really been praying to God to help me spend my time in a useful way. And so I've made myself a "to do" list...so far I've accomplished a great deal of things on it. I've still got a lot to go though. There are many things to get done before Alex and I leave for our honeymoon on Saturday; and since he's working it's up to me to make sure it all gets done. 

Another great blessing is that Alex's mom has given me an assignment to work on for her job. So even though I don't have an official job this summer, I have been provided a way to make some extra money. Good thing, because I have my eye on one of those new iPhones!

[ahem...if anyone is interested in purchasing my current iPhone, just holler at me...I'll give you a sweet deal]

Also I have been immensely inspired to create some beautiful things. I won't tell you exactly what I am going to create, but I will tell you that it involves buttons, wire, felt, paint, and wood. It's going to be fantastic. 

So hopefully by the time summer is over I will look back on it with fond memories and not with thoughts of, "how many effing Seinfeld episodes did I watch?!?!"

alexandkristel.com

It's here!

Alex and I have revamped our website. It's not much now; there's still a bit of work to be done. But we hope that it will be a link to our friends and family as we continue in our life together. We want to stay connected with everyone, but let's face it, not everyone is going to sign up for a facebook account.

So that's what this website is for...we will blog about the latest events, post pictures of all the new things we encounter, and maybe even share a few videos (perhaps an Mtv Cribs style video of our apartment in North Carolina?).

Bookmark alexandkristel.com and check back often for the update on the life of Alex and Kristel.

Our Musical Wedding Favors

There were so many little details about the wedding that I *love*.

It was all the little details that really made it special, I think. The his & hers Converse sneakers with the date on the back, Alex's "music note" cuff links, the record player groom's cake, the daisies, the polka dots, the pearls...the music!

One of my favorite things was our wedding favors. You have no idea how much we agonized over the wedding favors. At first I couldn't think of anything that truly represented us that we could give away. When I went searching through the internet, I found nothing. All the favors seemed so cheesy. Everything I came across seemed like something that NO ONE would appreciate. Finally, I decided to forget it. I wasn't about to waste money on cheesy favors that no one was going to want anyway.

Then...it hit me! (or really, I came across the idea on a web site)

We should make a CD filled with all our favorite (non-cheesy) love songs. We love music and we love sharing music with everybody, so this would be the perfect favor.

Alex found these cool vintage looking CDs.

Patty found these covers. [we chose the green ones to match our colors]

Steph designed the neat converse sneakers logo which we printed on stickers to keep the covers shut.

And we spent hours and hours copying and packaging the CDs. It was so worth it. :-)

I hope everyone was able to take one home. Here is the playlist if you want to know...

1. "And I Love Her" by the Beatles

2. "Something" by the Beatles

3. "Always Together" by Alex Acevedo

4. "All You Need is Love" by the Beatles

5. "You're My Best Friend" by Queen

6. "How Sweet It Is" by James Taylor

7. "Till There Was You" by Rod Stewart

8. "Love Song For You" by Mike Coia

9. "Digital Love" by Daft Punk

10. "Do You Realize??" by the Flaming Lips

11. "All of You" by Ella Fitzgerald

12. "Such Great Heights" by Iron & Wine

13. "I Never" by Rilo Kiley

14. "Brighter Than Sunshine" by Aqualung

15. "To Be Alone With You" by Sufjan Stevens

16. "Ghostwriter Remix" by RJD2

17. "Noticed" by MuteMath

18. "I'm the Man who loves You" by Wilco

19. "Wrapped Up In You" by Garth Brooks

20. "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton

It makes me really happy [and humbled] that so many people have expressed a love for the CD. Apparently people are ACTUALLY listening to it...more than once. And that gives me so much joy. It's good to know that something you worked so hard on is appreciated.

Oh and if you haven't seen the photo slideshow, I don't know what you're waiting for!

Maloman Wedding Photos!

Our photographer, Stephan Maloman, posted up some photos from the wedding!!!

They are gorgeous! I couldn't be happier with the way they turned out. He is extremely talented...I can't say enough about how amazing his talent is. 

So I'll just let the pictures to the talking. 

Ch-Click.

And here's the slideshow. 

The Perfect Wedding

We're married!!!

I can hardly believe it. I have a husband. Alex has a wife. What is this world coming to???

Seriously, so far, married life is GREAT. Sure, it's only been two days...but it's been an amazing two days. 

It has to be said that Alex and I had the perfect wedding. Everything went according to plan, thank God. 

It all started with the rehearsal dinner on Friday night. Everyone was on time at the church and the rehearsal went smoothly. Then the dinner at La Locanda was delicious and heart warming. I hope to post pictures up on the website very soon! 

Saturday came and I was cool as a cucumber. I really thought I would be a nervous wreck...but I wasn't. Why would I be? I was going to marry the love of my life. I was able to sleep late and take my time getting ready.

(Also, Alex sent over the greatest wedding present with his mom...a Yashica Mat EM TLR...I love it! I sent him a microkorg.)

Once the show got started it was all very exciting. From where I was waiting to walk down the aisle I could hear the strings and organ playing "And I Love Her" by the Beatles. It sounded beautiful! After our moms and the girls walked in...it was my turn. They began playing, "Something" by the Beatles and my dad and I made our way down the aisle. 

Pastor Dave did such a great job officiating the ceremony. He was hilarious and sweet and he said all the right things. Our grandmothers read the most beautiful scriptures out of Genesis and Colossians. When Alex played the song he wrote for me, I almost cried. Almost. I had to hold back, didn't wanna ruin my make up. ;-) 

The song was perfect. The perfect reflection of our relationship. Thank you for that wonderful gift, my love. 

The ceremony went on...Alex read his vows off his iPhone, while I kept it old school (pulling the small piece of paper out of my bra). We exchanged rings, lit the unity candle, and before you knew it Pastor Dave uttered those magical words, "You may now kiss the bride."

And in came the strings and organ with "All You Need is Love" by the Beatles. Beautiful moment. 

And I'm happy to say that the webcasting went flawlessly. We were able to read the chat later on and it was funny to see what you all were chatting about as the ceremony went on. 

The rest of the night was a whirlwind! We shot photos with the BEST photographer in South Florida. We danced to great music. We ate delicious food. We enjoyed two amazing cakes. We laughed. 

In case you're wondering, here are the special songs of the night...

Bridal Party Introduction: "Flathead" by The Fratellis

Husband/Wife Introduction: "You're My Best Friend" by Queen

Father/Daughter Dance: "Till There Was You" by Rod Stewart

Mother/Son Dance: "How Sweet It Is" by James Taylor

First Dance: "Love Song for You" by Mike Coia

Cake Cutting: "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard 

Bouquet Toss: "Love Is A Battlefield" by Pat Benatar

Garter Removal: "I Belong To You" by Lenny Kravtiz

Garter Toss: "Nothing But A Good Time" by Poison

Putting the Garter on: "Do You Think I'm Sexy" by Rod Stewart

Last Song: "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton

(By the way, I know I'm not the only one who thought it was FANTASTIC when Francisco caught the garter...way to go Sisco!)

The band (Toolbox...Alex's former band from the Lighthouse) was amazing! Everyone loved them. They really got the party started. I was so happy they played for us. There really is nothing like live music...especially when they're as talented as this bunch. 

The DJ played for the rest of the night...and I was thankful that there was no cheesiness! Just good music. I danced all night. That rarely happens...but hey, you only get married once...so you've gotta live it up. 

We had the best wedding. It was great. Everything was perfect.

Thanks to everyone who came...everyone who helped...everyone who worked...everyone who danced...everyone who cried (I know who you are)...everyone that had a great time. 

Thank you!

Alex's mom has posted some photos here.

My sister has posted some here and here.

And soon Maloman will post some here. [he already has two teaser photos!]

Anyone else have photos? Let me know!