Wedding 'Reception'

Since Rhett and I eloped we wanted to have a small celebration with our friends. We rented out the small but charming space in the back of our favorite neighborhood wine bar. We had our own private wine tasting, shared some yummy food, and viewed our wedding photos on a slide show. Many thanks to our lovely friends for helping us celebrate our marriage!

Domo!

We added the latest addition to our family this weekend - Domo Arigato or 'Domo' as we call him. This is the name his original family gave him and it suits him well. He is a 1 year old Bengal. Now anyone who knows me knows that I have never been or thought I would ever be a cat person. But since Rhett is and I know how a good marriage involves compromise, I decided to be open minded about Rhett's desire to get a cat. Rhett chose him since Bengals generally don't cause reactions for those like me who have cat allergies. I admit that I have been a bit cautious towards and indifferent about cats but Domo has quickly won me over. He is super sweet and is even warming up to our little spazz Bisou pretty well. Here are a few cute pics:

More wedding weekend photos

Here are more pictures from the wedding weekend. My family stayed in a beautiful beach home in the picturesque town of Seabrook. John made us a scrumptious pasta dinner the night before the wedding.









Taking some photos in the gazebo before Rhett and I arrive:

Here we come!

Some photos from our casual wedding bbq:

Our Wedding!

Saturday, August 8th, 2009
Pacific Beach, WA

Rhett and I always knew we wanted to have a very small wedding. We considered only a few locations for the wedding, the first being in Italy. However the logistics of organizing that quickly put it out of the running. Rhett owns a small plot of land in Pacific Beach and it has been our little weekend getaway over the past year so naturally we thought it would be the perfect place to get married. We found the most lovely and peaceful spot for the ceremony:

Fortunately for us, my brother has the ability to perform wedding ceremonies so it was very special that he served as our officiant. Here is a clip from the end of our ceremony (my eyes were running like a faucet..)



We will have the formal photos posted within the next 2 weeeks but here are some that our family took.

It was a wonderful day and weekend. We are so humbled and grateful to have found each other. I've included the words of gratitude we shared at the beginning of our ceremony:

We would like to mark the beginning of our union with our deep and humble feelings of gratitude. We honor the amazing workings of the universe and our spiritual guides for leading us through our individual life journeys. We are thankful for the joyous times, the difficult times, and for all the life lessons that have given us the clarity and prepared us to clear our pathways for one another. We are thankful that our prayers have been answered and the life of our dreams has come to fruition.

We would also like to thank our parents for being our guides on this earth. Thank you for nourishing us and loving us. We are deeply grateful to you and cherish you always.

We would like to thank our sisters and brothers in blood and in law, our precious friends, and the delightful children in our lives who are inspirations for children of our own.

Thank you all for your love and never ending support and for holding on to your vision of our happiness even in times when we could not see it for ourselves.

We thank you all for being here today to celebrate our most joyous partnership. We are so grateful to you all and love you so much.

My father also wrote and recited a beautiful poem for us called 'The Moment'

There are millions, billions of moment
That are strung together to make
Days and years of our lives

However, only a few of them
Stand out to help our memory
Rich, delightful and meaningful forever

One day of August in 2009
Is definitely one of those moments
To us, the Han Family

Alison, our daughter
The prettiest, most beautiful, charming
Compassionate, and a symbol of grace

This moment is for her and
For us all, the Hans
The 8th of August, 2009

Though it is just a moment
It is unforgettable, most cherished
The moment has arrived to the family

Alison, our sister
The most maternal, gorgeous, generous
Considerate, caring and a role model to all

This moment is for her and us
Along the beach of the Pacific Ocean
Calm and peaceful breeze touches us all

Rhett, her partner, our son, our brother
Handsome, wise, thoughtful, kind, loving, responsible
Most of all, fun to be around

The Han family is blessed
By the moment
God has bestowed upon them

August 8, 2009
Kenneth N. Han
On his daughter, Alison’s wedding

And now for a humorous bit. Mary Grace, our photographer asked my brother to make us laugh during the photos. Vince has always been quite the clown.. he had us all busting up:

After our wedding ceremony Rhett and I headed back to our rented beach house to change. I remained in my dress to take a few photos with little Bisou who had to stay home during the ceremony. As Mary Grace was leaving we were waving goodbye and her natural eye caught this fun Americana-esque shot.