December 31, 2016

my philosophy

2016: Our Year in Review

How is it even possible that it’s New Year’s Eve, y’all?! I don’t know about you but this year absolutely flew by. It truly seems like yesterday that we were sending out our save-the-dates for June 11, 2016 in the new year, but here we are almost exactly one year to the day of that exciting moment and we are celebrating almost 7 wonderful months of marriage. It’s so hard to believe!

So since we’re about to enter a new year full of new beginnings and adventures, I thought it would be fun to take a look back on all of the joy that 2016 brought me and the happiness and fulfillment this year brought our little family. For that, I can honestly say that 2016 was the happiest year of my life and I’m excited to show you why!

Let’s start off with my favorite memory of the year: Ben and I did the dang thing and got MARRIED! June 11, 2016 was sincerely a dream-come-true, and I can’t thank all of the family and friends who made that magical day happen so seamlessly. I wish I could go through and thank each and everyone of you again for everything you did to make that day so perfect, but it would be near impossible to properly thank y’all for the all of the love and support we were showered with during that magical time. But I can (and will) thank my incredible parents, Becky and Phil, again for everything they did to make our day nothing short of a dream, fairy tale wedding. I love you both more than you’ll ever know.

Because it's impossible to share all of the magical moments from our special day, I thought sharing the moment I became Mrs. Benjamin Farley Shehan would suffice... for now. :) Stay tuned for a brand new blog series coming in the new year! Image by The Herrintons

Because it’s impossible to share all of the magical moments from our special day, I thought sharing the moment I became Mrs. Benjamin Farley Shehan would suffice… for now. 🙂 Stay tuned for a brand new blog series coming in the new year! Image by The Herrintons

With a wedding comes LOTS of wedding planning (good thing I LOVE it, right?!) and lots of wedding-related festivities! A bacherlorette weekend in Charleston, SC, a Kate Spade themed bridal shower, a bridal shower featuring my favorite color palette – pink and gold, bridal portraits at The Greenbrier and lots of wedding prep! Oh, and a honeymoon in JAMAICA! 🙂

2016 was, of course, filled with a lot of Boonie love and cuddles (I’ll spare y’all all of the selfies of us snuggling on the couch ;)) and celebrating our sweet boy’s 2nd birthday in February! We also welcomed a new fur baby, Bodhi, to our family! It’s safe to say our pups are two peas-in-a-pod!

This year was also filled with many firsts. Ben and I moved into our very first home together and celebrated our first married Christmas! There was seriously something so magical about celebrating my favorite holiday with my husband and our family this year. I loved every second, and that’s why I hated to see the Christmas season end so soon! That might explain why I’m holding out and leaving our tree and decor up as long as possible. 🙂

We were also able to squeeze in some Disney magic this year, too! Momma and I had our very first Mother-Daughter trip to Walt Disney World! If you know us, you know we love nothing more than Disney magic, so any chance we get to go back to our favorite place, we’ll take it! Don’t get me wrong – we definitely missed our fellas while we were gone, but I have to admit that this trip was incredible and I am so thankful and grateful for the special time spent with my Momma! To experience all of the magic with the woman who made me fall in love with Mickey, Walt and his imagination, well – I can’t really put it into words. Our trip was perfect! You couldn’t find two bigger kids at heart the entire time we were there. (We also had matching t-shirts every day and even though I gave Momma a hard time about it, I loved every second. 🙂 ) Here’s a few shots from our trip for now, but more to come very soon!

I took a huge leap of faith and followed a BIG dream that has been on my heart for a while now. I launched my own wedding and event planning business in July! I’ll never forget going to purchase my business license in January, shortly after I received my credential as a Certified Wedding and Event Planner. Pure joy coupled with fear of the unknown were the emotions I felt when I held that piece of paper in my hands for the first time. I thought, what if I fail? Can I really do this? While the unknown can be a very scary thing, I felt like following this dream was the next part of my journey. My Mom has always encouraged me to follow my dreams and listen to my heart, so that’s what I did (and I prayed – a LOT). And here we are! It has been a great 6 months; I’ve learned so much and have enjoyed growing along the way. And yes, there are still moments where I think I’m not enough and question if this is what I’m meant to do. But, I’ve found that when I have those doubts, God sends me a sign and speaks to my heart telling me I’m just where I’m meant to be… and that’s all the reassurance I need, and the unknown isn’t scary any more – it’s exciting! There are some fun things and changes (for the better!) coming to this little business of mine very soon, and I hope you’ll continue to follow along and join me on this journey to see what’s to come in the new year!

 Seconds after I purchased my business license on January 29, 2016. Image by Benjamin (#instagramfiance at the time) :)

 Seconds after I purchased my business license on January 29, 2016. Image by Benjamin (#instagramfiance at the time) 🙂

A few more fun moments from 2016 below:

I know this year has been a difficult one for many. But for me, this year is one that I’ve been dreaming about for so long, and is one that I am so, so thankful for. We were constantly surrounded by family, friends and love, and that’s what it’s all about, right? Thank you for taking the time to (quickly) walk through some of my favorite moments from a truly life-changing year! Wishing you and your loved ones a happy, healthy and joyful 2017!

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  1. Sharyn Billings says:

    Exciting venture . Best of luck!

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