Back to Blogging

It’s been a minute, but not really. It’s actually been four years since I sat down to write my thoughts for this platform. To be honest, I’ve been hesitant to return out of fear that I might sound irrelevant. That my words no longer had true meaning or a place in what has become our reality post pandemic.

Between watching the world go dark, welcoming our second Padawan, overcoming challenges personally and professionally, and opening myself to new streams of work - I feel, in a way, transformed. I’m not the same person who wrote this blog and I embrace the change. Writing has always been a way to release feelings, provide knowledge, and celebrate special moments that I didn’t want passing by.

Needless to say, this post is my announcement that I’m back to blogging.

While I don’t pretend to commit myself to turning out a post every day, week, or month for that matter - it is something I feel is important not just for SEO purposes but also for my own journey in this business. Only One Mark is stretching and growing in ways I never thought it would. Blogging is one opportunity to watch that growth.

From here on out, I invite you to join me as I recap the last 4 years. Countless styled wedding shoots, personal and professional milestones, and of course many fabulous weddings and events that I’ve made memorable details for.

Garcia Party of 3 - Our Maternity Photo Session

While I try not to think about it, it felt like just yesterday that we were announcing our pregnancy and hosting the gender reveal for our family and close friends. Needless to say that the past 9 months have flown by. So much so, that I hadn't really been paying attention to any of the "timelines" or "suggested when-to-do" Pinterest, family, or friends would try to remind me of.

It was after our baby shower that I realized that we really needed to get on the ball about whether or not we would have maternity photos done. While we had some done during our gender reveal, I did want to get some professional photos of my bump and (trying not to toot my own horn 🎺) how awesome both Gus and I were looking towards the end of our pregnancy.

It was at around my 35th week of pregnancy that we met up with Amy from Aragon Photography and got to capture what would be some memorable moments. Here are some of our favorite photos.

Fun story: I found out we were pregnant on Halloween. Needless to say it was the best treat we could have ever received. I ran to Target to find a onesie to make the personalized “Beard” onesie and picked up a batman onesie too. The beard was designed to look like Gus’ beard.

We couldn't have been more content with these images Amy captured. If you are looking to have maternity photos captured by Amy, click http://aragonphotography.com/maternity-photographer-miami here for more info.

And if there was a detail you want to get your hands on, see the list below for some of the items and where you can find them.

Maternity Outfits - Amazon

Batman Onesie - Target

Beard Onesie - me

Star Wars Handmade Plushes - a gift from a family member

Wolverine/Logan Knitted Costume - DustysCrochetProps 

Jedi In Training Pajama - Disney Store (No Longer Available)

Batman itty bittys Baby Rattle Socks Baby Clothes Superheroes - Amazon

Our Baby Moon

You would be surprised at all the things people don't tell you about once you become pregnant. However, one of the things we had been told prior to finding out about our soon to be Padawan was the growing tradition of the soon-to-be parents going on a "babymoon".  Let me explain:

ba·by·moon

[ˈbābēˌmo͞on]

NOUN informal

1. a relaxing or romantic vacation taken by parents-to-be before their baby is born.

   "on the eve of my third trimester, we boarded a plane for a week-long babymoon among the quiet canals of Amsterdam"  (Source - Oxford Dictionaries)

Needless to say that amongst the adventures Gus and I have taken - the many Disney Trips, New York, Las Vegas, Arizona - we really didn't know where to go next. As this pregnancy has progressed, we both came to the conclusion that all we wanted to do was eat really good food, relax, and enjoy our last "hoorah" as #justustwo. Gus took the reigns on planning the vacay while I was solely responsible for finding where to stay. We stayed locally at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Midtown and stayed with the area of Wynwood, Brickell, and Downtown. Here are some of the yummy and fun things we did and ate.

We headed over to the Wynwood Diner to have some much craved Chicken + Waffles. Let's just say they did not disappoint. Neither was their Croque Madame.

We decided to walk off brunch and explore Wynwood. Much has change from my art school days. We even squeezed in a portrait or two.

After checking into our home away from home for the night, we decided to go over to Bayside and then back to Wynwood for Dinner and Dessert.

At 1-800-Lucky, we both ate from a different booths. Gus got the Kagoshima Ramen and I got the Sesame Crusted Sweet and Sour Chicken. Let's just say we are trying to find another good excuse to make it out there just to eat there again! 

Our Selections from The Salty Donut (in order, left to right) - White Chocolate Tres Leches, Guava + Cheese, Maple + Bacon, Nutella, Tart Cherry + Cream, Brown Butter + Salt

Our last day was spent checking out Brickell City Center. We got to watch Ready Player One and had some lunch at Pubbelly Sushi.

We took time to just relax at the hotel and even took advantage of the affordable transportation offered by Freebee Miami (meaning we didn't have to move our car from the hotel nor did we have to pay outrageous parking fees at the places we were going to visit). 

We can't wait for our little Padawan to arrive, but it was definitely a restful weekend much needed for the both of us.

Did you or will you be going on a babymoon when you are expecting? What would you like to go do or where would you like to visit?

What No One Tells You About Being Engaged

Although it feels like a forever ago, it was only a short time ago that Gus and I were engaged and planning one of the most important days of our lives. It is one of the most meaningful experiences we’ve ever had as well as one of the most stressful experiences too.

Here are 3 of the most important lessons I learned about being engaged.

Photo Credit - Dipp Photography

1. EVERYONE WILL GIVE YOU THEIR OPINION

No matter who it is - Mother, Mother-In-Law, Friends, Co-workers, that random person in the store - everyone has an opinion about YOUR big day. It’s almost like a tube of toothpaste. Once you open the cap, if you aren’t too careful, the toothpaste is just going to keep flowing out. And in no way do I mean to demean the advice of your loved ones. Most are just trying to be helpful. But too much of that help can sometimes feel really overwhelming. 

Advice - Limit what you tell folks about your big day. If they aren’t really apart of your bridal party or wedding vendor team, they really don’t need to know #allofthedetails about your plans. Some loved ones won’t understand why you want to do a first look or not want to do a bouquet toss. That’s ok, because at the end of the day, YOU and your future spouse need to be happy with how you want to shape YOUR DAY.

PHoto Credit: Kristy & Vic Photography

2. THERE WILL BE DISAPPOINTMENTS

One of the biggest disappointments from our planning experience was truly knowing the difference of a “dream budget” and what our “actual budget” was. Although we paid for parts of our wedding, we still had a lot of help from family and friends. It was truly a blessing as we were gifted some of the main items (my dress, our cake to name a few) so we could concentrate our budget on other items that were details we wouldn’t have had.  Another disappointment was the reality of planning on a tv show to real life planning. When visiting the first florist we initially booked, I fantized about a bouquet being built in front of me and hand picking the flowers, in person, that would go into the floral details of our big day. Boy was that bubble burst. Not only did they not build any bouquet in front of me, but they didn’t have any fresh flowers in person PERIOD. After two other big let downs, we terminated our contract and found an amazing florist (who did build the bouquet in front of me). 

Advice - Before you go visit any venues or book your first vendor, write out wishes and needs on a sheet of paper and have an idea of what your budget really is. You will need an initial list of guests to really help you get an idea of the cost per guest. If you need an idea of what to write down, click here to download a sample worksheet that you can work from to get started.

Photo Credit: Erica Melissa

3. HAVE FUN + ENJOY THIS SPECIAL TIME

Yes, this is one of those pieces of advice that you’ve probably heard from 90% of the people you chat with. From experience, you and your fiancé have to mentally make the decision to do so. And trust me, with all of the details that can go awry, it’s super easy to displace your anger or disappointment on your partner. This is why at one point of our planning story, Gus and I decided that any time we would spend together on a date would be just that - a date. There would be no talk of wedding planning unless we had both agreed to set that time as planning time. One of the ways we did that was by playing games of UNO until our food arrived to the table. One of our favorite restaurants even dubbed us as the “Uno Couple” because of how much entertainment they received from watching us play (it was super competitive and there may have been a few choice words shared). 

Advice - God willing, this is the one and only time you will ever plan your own wedding. That is one of my hopes and prayers for all of my brides. But you and your fiancé really need to agree ahead of time on what details or possible occurances you are willing to entertain or shoot down. This is, in a way, a build up to what marriage is like. Being a team that works together to make the best life possible WITH one another. #foodforthought

At the end of the day, everyone’s wedding planning experience is different. You can watch #allthemovies and read #alltheblogposts, but no one experience is ever alike. My hope for all my brides is that no matter what their planning experience was like, that they feel nothing but calm and peace as they get ready for their big day. I call it the “calm of the storm” GET THE REAL NAME. (Eye of the storm?)

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at the button below. I’m more than happy to share some of my experiences from my big day.