The Month of May

The bad thing is that I haven't blogged in an entire month.

Where did the month of May go??

The good news is that I haven't just been sitting around.

We have been living life!

And loving almost every minute of it!

*The bad parts are all due to home issues but that's for another post.

The past month has been spent leading up to these moments:

I am so excited to share every detail of the day, and every perfect picture!

But I think it might take me awhile!

In the meantime, you can enjoy these pictures which are some of my favorites from the day,

and you can see more on my instagram where I have gone #jefferspartyof2 crazy!

Oates Wedding

Saturday in California was all about the reason we came:

I want to make a little plug for the Bay Bridge.

I feel like it gets stuck in the Golden Gate's shadow all the time.

No, its not the pretty red-orange color.

And yes, it does lead to Oakland (yikes) instead of a beautiful boat town.

But it is still a good looking bridge!

Anyways, enough about that.

We left San Francisco and took the short 1.5 hour drive to Sacramento and got there just in time for a late lunch. 

We ate yummy pizza, browsed some antique stores, and walked around the beautiful downtown area.

The weather and the scenery were completely perfect.

Then, it was on to the wedding.

It has been such a long time since we have seen all of Michael's friends.

The last time we saw Nate, Michael and I were newlyweds living in Oklahoma!

Needless to say, we had such a great time catching up with everyone!

^^Michael and some of his best college friends

^^Words With Friends-ers for life!

We were most happy to see Nate!

He is such a great guy, and was a wonderful friend and roommate to Michael.

We have missed him, and were so excited to meet his bride.

Their wedding was absolutely beautiful.

And so much fun!

From the jokes told by Nate's dad during the ceremony,

to the cute bundt cupcakes (I might have eaten 4)

to dancing and laughing with friends - it was the perfect night!

Of course, it helps when you have the perfect date.

^^Money dancing with the groom

^^More money dancing with the groom

^^The whole OC group at the wedding!

One thing that Nate's Dad kept going on about was how great it is that we are all still friends, 

and that we would travel so far for a wedding.

Its just another reason that I am so thankful for my time at OC!

It blessed me with so many things, but most of all, friendships that last a lifetime.

Prepping for a Wedding

Remember this post from way back in July when we celebrated Claire and Trey's engagement?

Well the wedding planning is in full swing now!

 A month ago, when we were in Wimberley with the Sawyers, Claire asked me to stand by her as her Matron of Honor when she says "I do" to Trey.

Obviously, I said YES!

She is just like a sister to me, and I am so honored that she would choose me.

She also asked her sister-in-law, Abigail, and Trey's sister Kinsey to be in the wedding too.

*I had to wait to post these because there were a few people that Claire still had to ask.

We are all on board though and it is going to be such a fun wedding party!

Last weekend the wedding preparations continued with an adorable engagement photoshoot.

Claire and Trey chose to do their engagement pictures at the Orchard,

which is where they are going to get married.

I have never been to the Orchard and I couldn't wait to see it.

Plus, I got to be the stylist for the day, which is right up my alley!

 ^^ The most beautiful canopy of trees as you enter the orchard

The photographer they chose, Christine Meeker, was excellent!

She has done weddings at the Orchard before, so she knew exactly where to go for great pictures,

and she even brought props! 

Here is a small peek into their engagement photos.

So perfect!

They are literally the cutest couple ever!

5 Whole Years

Its hard for me to believe that it has already been 5 years since Michael and I walked down the aisle, and said our "I do"s. 

5 years.

Whoa!

It seems like such a long time...

or like it should feel like such a long time,

but it has really gone by fast!

A lot has happened since 8-8-08 in good ole Enid.

 We have moved 3 times.

Worked 3 jobs (each).

Received 3 education degrees (between us).

Bought 1 house.

Adopted 1 dog.

And now we're going to have 1 kid!

.....

.....

.....

Just kidding!

Only wanted to A) see who really reads this, and 

B) Make it a little more interesting around these parts.

But seriously, I am loving life right now and feel like I am exactly where God wanted me to be.

I knew Michael was the perfect guy for me 5 years ago,

and I am even more sure of it today.

I am so blessed!

Here's to many more with my favorite guy!
And yeah, I made a video.
Cause I just have too much time on my hands.

Enjoy!

5th Anniversary from Brittany Johns on Vimeo.

Cody + Ashley

Last weekend I made the drive over to good ole Belton, TX for my cousin's wedding.

I was so happy because I was meeting my whole family there (minus Oliver)

but so sad because Michael didn't get to go with me.

Cody, the groom, is my cousin and he married one of my good friends from college, Ashley.

It was SUCH a pretty wedding, with so many neat little touches.

For instance, the goodies bags that were waiting for us at our hotel.

SO SWEET!

And aren't these just the cutest little candies that came in the bags?

I love how disproportionate Texas is to Oklahoma.

It was an outdoor wedding, at the most beautiful venue, on the most perfect day.

 

The ceremony itself was absolutely perfect as well.

It all started with Ashley's adorable Grandma singing a solo, which she has done for all of her grandkids.

The minister was another one of my cousins, Corey.

He is Cody's brother, and a youth minister in Edmond, and he did FANTASTIC.

I was seriously blown away by his speaking abilities.

The service was very touching, meaningful, and full of love for both Cody and Ashley.

Another highlight for me was the fact that several of Ashley's bridesmaids are some of my best friends.

It was so great to see them and be able to spend some time with them.

Even if they forced me to dance at the reception. 

It's just not my favorite.

Isn't she GORGEOUS!! So Beautiful!

BFFs!!!

One last picture of the wedding because the reception was just beautiful.

When my Grandma told me the colors were teal, bronze and hot pink...I could not picture it.

But those colors really worked well together! 

I loved it!

I'm so happy that I could be there for Cody and Ashley on their special day,

and that I got to catch up with my Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins.

It was a great weekend with all the Bairds, and we were so thrilled to officially make Ashley one of us!

1-20-13

Did I really not post about my sister's wedding??

You could count this post, and I did say I would post more later with the real pictures, I guess.

I think that at this time I was lost in the black hole that was the MFT exam,

and when I came out, I could barely remember my own name.

So here it is now, a post about Bailey and Jon's wedding!

We started Sunday off perfectly by having a small family devotional at the wedding venue.

My cousin led us in some songs, we had communion, and then my Uncle gave a wonderful sermon.

It was a really special time with my family, and the best way to start wedding day.

After the devo, we got right to work on decorations.

Those took about 30 minutes, which left us the rest of the morning to just hang out and relax.

We had lunch at the venue, and then it was time to start getting ready.

One of my good friends was so sweet and did all the girls' hair!

And she rocked it!!

Seriously, we all looked awesome!

I love this picture of the girls watching her finish Bailey's hair.

And here is a shot of Bailey right after she was finished with make up. 

Wow.

She looks amazing!!

Just breathtaking.

Bailey got all of the bridesmaids robes with our initials on them as a Thank You gift,

so we had to show them off in some pictures.

 Then it was time to get in our dresses.

Bailey had the super cute idea of adding sashes to our dresses...brilliant!

Unfortunately, I was the ONLY one that could tie them.

Which was fine, until everyone was all ready, looking cute and sash-y, taking pictures,

and I was still holding my sash in my hand.

Luckily, the good ole groom knows how to tie a perfect bow and Jon fixed it up for me!

 I really love this picture from the boys dressing room of Jon getting ready.

Once we were all dressed and ready, it was time for the couple's first look.

Can you say "Happiness"??

This picture is just too cute.

 After the bride and groom spent some time together, it was group picture time.

The biggest struggle was getting our two little ones to participate.

Sometimes they did.

Sometimes they didn't.

But no matter what they did, they sure looked adorable doing it.

Once the guests started arriving, the girls went back to the bridal suite to relax.

Or, if you are Bailey, you used this time to panic.

Sister does not like attention.

She HATES being in front of people.

Since this was her wedding day, there was obviously going to be an abundance of both.

So she panicked a bit, and possibly shed some tears.

So we all said a little prayer for her, Jon, and their marriage to encourage her.

While on this topic, I must say that I was honored to be the one to do this.

I know I was the Matron-of-Honor and everything, 

but it meant so much to me to be the one to go before God on behalf of Bailey and Jon on this very special day.

So then I shed some tears...

and Bailey still wasn't calm, and we were all trying to cheer her up to no avail.

In the meantime, I decide I should go shut the curtain that covers her as she walks to the stairs to make her entrance.

When I went out there I heard some music that sounded a lot like her wedding video I made.

Turns out they had started the wedding and forgot to tell us!

Awesome!

I run back into the room (after closing the curtain, of course) and yell "The wedding started!!"

Chaos insued.

I grab Bailey's train and run her out the door to the stairs where my Dad is waiting.

Run back to get my bouquet.

When I get to the door, the other bridesmaids hand me Bailey's bouquet, which she had forgotten.

I run that back to the stairs where the groomsmen are standing and say,

"Can someone who's not in heels run this down to her??"

The rest of us girls made it to the back of the room with plenty of time,

and I spent that entire time pep-talking my nephew Oliver, and coaching him on how to walk down the aisle. 

 Turns out he is quite the little pro.

Him and the flower girl all but stole the show from the rest of the bridal party - they were so cute!

And then I shed some more tears when I saw this.

Absolutely gorgeous!

I should not have looked, but I did look, and was flooded with emotions.

She was stunning.

And not nervous-looking at all!

A very special aspect of the ceremony was the fact that it was Michael's first to offiate.

He was pretty nervous about it, but he did an amazing job!

The entire ceremony was so beautiful!

Ow-Ow!

First kiss as Mr. and Mrs. Brooks!

We took a few family pictures after the ceremony, so of course I have to share those.

Then, it was time to party!

There was lots of dancing, mostly by Bailey, Jon and their friends.

Bailey even forced convinced me and Michael to get out on the dance floor.

By the way, this was our first dance together. Ever.

Last but not least, a wedding is not complete without the little details,

so here are some of the things that tied it all together perfectly.

- The Guest Book Board that Jon made and painted himself.

By the end of the night, it was completely full and looked GREAT!

- The beautiful and delicious cakes.

- And the most beautiful bouquets I have ever seen.

It really was the perfect day, and the perfect wedding.

I still have a hard time believing that my little sister is a married lady.

It seems like just yesterday she was the little girl with a bowl cut sleeping on the bottom bunk, 

or "the down part" as she fondly called it.

I am so happy that she has found the perfect partner to spend her life with.

I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful, loving sister, and even more blessed to have such an amazing new brother!

I love you so much Sister!!

Wishing you and Jon many years of happiness and love! 

(and babies ;)