Woooeyyy, this has been sitting in my drafts since late October:

TRAVELING. 

I miss seeing and feeling NEW. New foods. Music. People. Clothing. Architecture. Undiscovered parts of history I was unaware of. All of it. I miss traveling and learning and taking in all the sights, smells, and being in awe of a new place.

I think most of us can collectively agree we miss being able to go somewhere without restrictions. 

Aguascalientes wasn't new to Aaron, but for me? I've only been to Tijuana, Nogales, & Mexico City. Looking through photos, I already loved all the architecture in the capitol city - Romantic and colonial. But seeing it in real life...Breath taking. The city is so clean, the people are SO friendly, and yes the food was so good, but the juice drinks!? I just drooled. I think I ordered a Mango juice every day.

During the Wedding week, my 2 cousins flew down early. We grew up taking trips every 2-3 years (We are all 1-1.5 years apart in age) and this year, it would have been 3 years since our trip in San Francisco. We were in High School at the same time and in the same school. We lived in a small town, so we had to be very creative in what we did. We've fought, we've always made up, and we would absolutely fight anyone that tried to mess with one of us. Whether we were 8 or 28, it still holds true - They're the closest thing to sisters I had/have.

Normally...We are known for breaking bones, needing surgery, or getting concussions when we are together. Not sure why, but we are so "blessed" with being so clumsy! I am happy to report, NO BROKEN BONES, sickness, or emergency trips this time around! I also loved the private time they got with Aaron and also so we could just enjoy the city without having to think of Wedding things this particular day. 

Our first stop was Templo de San Marcos, the Church we would be married in later that week. This was my first time seeing the Church NOT at night actually. 

When you stepped inside, you actually felt like you were transported back in time. The physical Church was built from 1655-1765! You couldn't help but be engulfed in the tall arched ceilings, intricate murals, and the majesty of God's presence.

We walked our way down the main streets towards the city plaza area. We could smell fresh churros being made and coffee being poured. A smell we followed was a bakery - You couldn't miss it, we got there to grab some freshly baked items and to order some loaves of bread for the Ofrendas during the Ceremony at the Church for the Priest. Since we were there in early October, they were also already serving pan de muerto for Dia de Los Muertos in late October and early November - where many LatinX countries honor their loved ones who have passed. Along the way my cousin Kailey got her coffee beans, Kelle got some pastries, and Aaron got his Coconut water. All the vendors along the way were probably one of the highlights of the city. We loved supporting and indulging in all the family owned vendors.

 We are still dreaming about our 10 days in Mexico. Everything about our Wedding in Mexico was not just picture perfect, but real life perfect. We loved our civil ceremony in my home state of South Dakota this Summer and we were looking forward to our Catholic ceremony this Fall.

I had shared with social media and loved ones, that within a month of our Wedding, we had to find a new DJ, caterer, venue, hotel, and photographer. Our flights were all cancelled a minimum of 2 times. We were unsure if the Wedding would even be happening at all due to COVID19 and we were still unsure the week of the Wedding. We went from a guest list of 120 to 30. We certainly let out a sigh of relief when we boarded the plane and thought well, if anything at least we will arrive!

I will get more into Aguascalientes, Mexico, one of Aaron's hometowns later, but I am going to post about OPEN MIC and Rehearsal today. We are people-people, and because we live so far away from our loved ones, we wanted to provide times for all of us to hang out before the Wedding day - some family hadn't seen each other in 15 years. Some of us not for a few years. We wanted to really cherish this time together, because some times at Wedding, it's just Hi and Bye. But we wanted there to be a Hi, How are you, We love you, See you soon. 

We lucked out at that Hotel Modelo Business Boutique, who let us have the entire rooftop for FREE. We did rent 2 hotel rooms there, but to allow 30 people to occupy the rooftop for 4 hours was so kind of them when we know other venue spaces would charge us hourly. We spent our night playing Loteria (Mexican Bingo) Shots, Speeches from family and friends, and just hanging out. We also had rehearsal with our Wedding planner as some of the ceremony elements weren't as familiar with my Bridal party and I. For example, in Mexican culture bridesmaids are called madrinas and groomsmen are called padrinos aka godparents to the marriage. They vow to mentor, help, guide, and love us as a couple.

I love a good party, and aesthetics to me set the mood - We wanted the traditional papel picado, the fall flowers, the clay pots, and all the details to be traditional Mexicana although Open mic is not a tradition they have in Mexico. Blending our cultures meant the world and we loved getting to celebrate pre Wedding day our love, our loved ones, and the beautiful city of Aguascalientes!

THANK YOU to the vendors below!

• Wedding Planner: LILA Event Planning
• Venue: Hotel Modelo
• Flowers: Casa Mokara
• Pizza: Moloko Social Club

In the background, you can see the Church we got married in!

We had to do English and Spanish paper everything. Thankfully, my sister in law translated most of the time!

USA Family and Friends

Speech time & our lovely translators, Aaron's Madrina from Baptism and his Sister!

Aaron's family

Mi Amor y Yo || My Love and I - You really can see the Church now in the background