7 Fantastic Moments Of 2016

Usually, at the beginning of each year, we like to sit in front of the fireplace and recount some of the special moments that made our year memorable. It’s like we have taken mental photos throughout the year while we are taking digital photos as well! We discuss the highlights and lowlights. We talk about what we did right (like creating a new brand that is totally us!) and what we could’ve done better (like buying a $300 subscription to a plugin for our website that we ended up not using at all! Whoops!).

But today is about the good moments. It’s about the great days that kept us afloat mentally when the tough ones came along.

And even though we didn’t sit by the fireplace this year because it’s 70 degrees in Greenville, and even though we didn’t wait until the complete year was over because we have weddings on the next 2 weekends, here are 7 of the top moments in 2016 that we would love to relive again and again! (See our favorites from 2015 here!)

1. Our Florida Vacation

In February, we took our first vacation in a long time! Now we travel a good bit for weddings and engagements, but as far as vacations, we don’t take very many. So we decided to take a little time off and head down to Amelia Island, Florida! We ate some amazing food, we played some golf and we gave ourselves a chance to unwind for a change! Check out our full post about our vacation here!

2. Published On Southern Weddings

We have loooong been big fans of the Southern Weddings magazine and blog! So imagine our pure joy when we got the word that they wanted to publish our work on their blog!!! Mark & Diane’s wedding was to die for and so it was not surprising that Southern Weddings wanted to publish it! Honestly the hardest part was holding onto those images until it was finally on the Southern Weddings blog. See the feature here!

3. Connect Retreat

Last year was our first year at the Connect Retreat. And we knew we HAD to go back this year! So we did! And, of course, we had a blast. We fellowshipped with old friends and made new friends in the process. We improved our marriage through deep conversations and real talk. It was a highlight for sure! Read all about it here!

4. 2nd Annual #RABRIDES party!

In 2015, we hosted our first ever #rabrides party! We invited our recent brides to our home to meet each other and have a wonderful time! Well, it went so well, we did it again! Except this time…we invited the guys too!!! We had 30 couples attend and it was fantastic. We ate amazing food, played games and we wish we could do it every single day! You have to check it out!

5. French Couture Styled Shoot

We were so excited when Shannon of Bespoken Weddings asked us to be a part of a gorgeous styled shoot taking place in the same venue where we had our party above! We will let the images speak for themselves. Check out the post here. And also, check out the amazing video below by Howard Photo!

 6. Speaking At Media Camp

We have a lot of regret that we don’t have any good images of this one. But the memory is one that we will carry forever! We had the opportunity to speak at a summer Media Camp for kids a few months ago and it was amazing! We have to admit being pretty nervous. Would the kids like us? Would we forget what to say? Would our presentation be 10 minutes long instead of an hour?

But all of those fears turned out to be unfounded and we had an absolute blast teaching them about the art of storytelling. What a blessing for us!…and hopefully for them! Haha!

7. New Ryan & Alyssa Brand!

One of our huge projects this year was to create a new brand and website that truly expressed who we are and gave our couples the experience they deserve. It was a long, winding road, but the results were more than we could’ve ever wanted! Obviously, you’re experiencing our website right now, but click here to see the home page and get the full experience!

We could’ve added 10 more moments to this list, but these topped the list for sure! We can’t wait to see what 2017 holds. We already have 2 or 3 items that we KNOW will be on the list next year!!!

Follow along with us on our adventures this year on Facebook and Instagram!