This post is sponsored by Artifact Uprising. As always, all opinions are my own.

Guys, I can’t believe it has already/only been a year since our wedding day!! It’s impossible for me to put in words how much that day meant to me, but I can tell you that it was the start of the happiest year of my life. We have experienced so much life together in this past year. We added our sweet and hilarious Puddles to the family, explored places like Hawaii and Charleston, made our house a home, grew our businesses together and grew even deeper in our love. I wake up each and every morning and go to bed every night feeling so thankful to have a husband who loves me the way that Cameron does. I couldn’t ask for a more loving or supportive husband, and being his wife is a gift and an honor that I treasure.

When I think back on this day last year, I don’t think about any of the silly things I worried about before the wedding like the seating chart or the ceremony order… I think about the love we felt and the personal touches that made our wedding day one-of-a-kind: my great grandmother’s necklace, our ceremony songs that were each so special to us, my robe that was made from my mom and Mimi’s wedding dresses. Instead of using any old guestbook, we created a custom photo book from Artifact Uprising for our guests to sign. It sits on a shelf in our living room and serves as a constant reminder of the love and pure bliss we were surrounded by that night. For more about our wedding day details, check out my blog posts here and here.

For our first anniversary, I knew I wanted to do something really special with our photos by our photographer Teale Photography so I had another layflat photo album made by Artifact Uprising. Yes, it took me a whole year to do this, but it honestly made going through all of the photos and reliving the little moments even sweeter. I also love how cohesive it looks with our guest book. I chose a 10×10 album in a beautiful Pacific Blue color and I focused on photos that reminded me of special moments I never want to forget. Whether that was a detail shot of my mom doing my makeup, a photo of me giggling at the note Cameron wrote me, or simply a landscape shot of our beautiful venue… I very carefully chose photos that were the most significant to me. Artifact Uprising makes it easy to create custom and meaningful items to preserve those moments that matter most.

Now Artifact Uprising has taken this a step further by offering design services. I personally enjoyed the process creating our layflat photo albums, but totally get that it can be overwhelming choosing from thousands of wedding photos. So if you’re not sure where to start (or just need to quickly have something made so your mom will stop bugging you about printing photos from the wedding), you can now let AU’s design team curate and design a custom book for you. The process is easy. First, you simply sign up for the service and hop on a call with one of their album designers. After you’ve talked through your style and the details you’d like in your album, you send the photos from your photographer. They even offer unlimited design reviews to make sure your book is 100% perfect before placing your order. Easy as pie!

One of my most cherished childhood memories is sitting on my great grandparent’s living room floor thumbing through old photographs. In the digital world we live in, we oftentimes forget about the magic of stumbling across an old printed photograph. It’s so important to print pictures to preserve all of those precious moments. As I grow older, I’ve started to appreciate those little things even more. Whether you’re more creative and hands-on or you simply just want a beautiful print to hang in your home, Artifact Uprising makes this process simple and enjoyable for everyone.

Below I’m sharing some of the most important lessons and advice I’ve learned in our first year of marriage and a fun giveaway you don’t want to miss! 

WHAT I’VE LEARNED IN OUR FIRST YEAR OF MARRIAGE

1. First things first, marriage truly is what you make it. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people ask how long we’ve been married and then say something about “enjoying the honeymoon phase” or “just wait until you’ve been married for __ years.” What they usually don’t know is that we’ve been together for ten years, and we are still having just as much fun. I truly love being married and the joy that it brings to my life every single day.

2. The smallest things make the biggest difference. Cameron brings me a glass of ice water to bed every night before bed and it melts my heart. I know that probably sounds so silly and I’m perfectly capable of pouring my own water, but this tiny gesture is the smallest reminder of how much he loves me and always makes sure I’m taken care of.

3. You know how people use the term “old married couple” in a negative light? Well, I think being an old married couple is actually something to strive for. Sure, we may go to bed a little earlier these days and we don’t party quite as much… but I cherish our early morning walks with the dogs and chats over coffee in our pj’s. Those old married couples have it figured out y’all!

4. No matter how long you’ve been together, there are still things you’ll have to adjust to when you’re married. Who will pay the bills, wash the dishes, do the laundry? What about sleep? Do you always go to bed at the same time? Who will take the dogs out at 6 am? These questions will look different for everyone, but once you answer all these questions your life and daily “groove” will become a lot easier.

5. You gain a whole new appreciation for each other. You start to realize that someone else relies on you for safety, compassion, comfort, friendship and support and that is such an honor. You begin opening your heart and mind to the other person’s passions, quirks, hobbies and things they love and learn to enjoy them.

6. Marriage feels different than being in a relationship (in the best way). Though nothing really changed from the outside when we got married, things definitely do feel different. Life isn’t perfect, but this past year I’ve probably felt happier and more content than I have in my whole life.

Because preserving those precious moments is so important to me (and I’m in love with how my photobooks turned out), I’ve teamed up with Artifact Uprising to bring you guys an awesome giveaway. One of my readers will receive (1) layflat album with design services ($350 value). All other entries will receive a complimentary gift from Artifact Uprising once the contest is completed. Giveaway ends Sunday September 16th, winner will be selected and notified Monday September 17th. To enter, fill out the form below. Thanks for reading and good luck!

LAYFLAT ALBUM +

DESIGN SERVICES GIVEAWAY