A few more pictures....

This last one is from Sunday, after our "day-after" shoot. We came home, still all dressed up. These our our "kids", for now!

I'm a Mrs.!!

I still can't quite believe it when I say it, but I'm a married lady now! A "Mrs.". It's still strange to me, but I like it!

The week leading up to the wedding was busy with all the last minute things you need to do, but overall it was pretty calm. I colored my hair, painted my fingernails and toenails, went and got a spray-tan, assembled the programs, went to pick up the beer and wine with Chris, tracked down a freezer storage container for the top layer of our cake.... But it all just kind of fell into place, no big crises or problems popping up. I didn't really have a lot of time to sit and re-think things, which was good. I think it also just sunk in that, you know, there wasn't much I could do to change things anyways!! It was all done - and I was glad about it! I was just calm, but excited, and really looking forward to Saturday.
I was so sure I'd be nervous, especially walking down the aisle, but other than a quick shot of nerves when we first loaded into the car to drive to the Y, I was fine! I wasn't nervous, I was just happy and excited, and really looking forward to the whole thing! It was really surprising, even to myself, but it made the whole day that much more enjoyable. I don't really have any specific advice or know of anything exactly that helped me, all I can say is that I knew at that point, it was all going to be happening - and to just let everything that I could "stress" about go. I didn't worry too much about my dress - it fit, which is all that really mattered (nobody's going to tell you that you look ugly in your wedding dress!!!). I didn't worry too much about my hair - it was fixed, and I wouldn't have even attempted to redo it (plus, I really liked it!!). I just didn't really worry or care too much about anything that day, except trying to be "in the moment" and having a good time!! This all was kind of surprising to my family and Chris, who all thought I'd freak out about the wonky-crooked cake!! That's right - the cake was a little lopsided. But you know what? I couldn't really do much about it, and at the end of the night, nobody had really noticed or said anything if they did. All they talked about was how delicious it was! I'm not trying to say that none of the details mattered, because there were little details that I really did notice and like - like the extra garlands used on the banister for the stairs, the beautiful candlelight all around, and all the pretty roses tucked into the mantle and onto some chairs lining the aisle. There were lots of really pretty little details, but I realized that not everything had to be perfect, because life isn't perfect. And that it wasn't worth getting upset if something was not exactly right or going as planned. I was so happy that day, that nothing could have spoiled it!

And for that, I really have to thank all the brides and brides-to-be out there!! I think that reading about everyone's experiences and hearing the stories really helped me to put everything into perspective, and it really helped me to focus on what I really wanted to get out of the day - and that was to really cherish our ceremony and have a great time at the reception!

Some of the funnier things that happened, though, I have to share with you all. First of all, the night of the rehearsal dinner (Thursday night), I accidentally cut and irritated my gum while flossing! Just to the right of my front teeth, it was swollen and really red!! Luckily it went down enough for the wedding on Saturday - I was sure that it was going to look like I had something stuck in my teeth!! Here I'd be, the bride, and people would think I had something stuck in my teeth, but wouldn't want to really tell me because I'm the bride!! ;-) But seriously, that had never happened to me before, and I remember thinking at the time "Really?..."
Then there was the lopsided cake. It was still beautiful, but was just a little crooked. I decided that this made it look even MORE delicious because it made it look real and homemade - not so perfect that it looked fake. And it was super delicious. Really really really good cake!!
When I was walking down the stairs, I made sure to hold onto the railing and walk slow. The stairs being marble, I didn't want to slip. But as I got down to where everyone could see me, under my dress my right shoe almost slipped off! The back strap came off, and the shoe slipped almost off my foot. So, on the next step, I had to slip my foot back in and luckily, the strap slipped right back on to the back of my foot! Disaster avoided.
One of the flower girls - our 17-month old niece - decided to lay down during the ceremony, flat on the floor. And she wouldn't wear her shoes. The ring bearer was playing with the pillow and dropped it a few times.
But by far, the funniest moment would have to be on our exit. I haven't seen any pictures of this, but I kind of want to. When you come out of the doorway, there is a step. I knew this, but as we were coming out to jump into the carriage, I totally missed it. I tripped and nearly fell! I think the fact that Chris had my hand was my saving grace. While it wouldn't have probably been as funny if I really did fall, the fact is I didn't fall, and now all I can do is giggle at the memory that when we were trying to make our "grand" exit to the carriage - with everyone looking at us and cheering, throwing lavender - I almost bit it. ;-)

I am by no means trying to make anyone else out there more nervous, or trying to complain about my day. There's nothing I would change - I had such a blast and loved every minute!! I just hope that this can show you all that have still to walk down the aisle that your day will be wonderful - no matter what. And I figured that all of you guys would get a chuckle out of my shoe nearly falling off, or me nearly falling.... because I did!

We took the plunge!

That's us on the zipline tour in Cabo... notice who's coming in first???

The wedding was AWESOME!

I'll post more about it tomorrow, but it was beautiful and wonderful and we all had such a great time! I was so pleased with how beautiful everything was, and I WASN'T NERVOUS AT ALL!! So I was really able to enjoy the ceremony, which made me all the more happier. There are just not words available to express my joy that day, and I can't wait to really share it all with y'all.

But, in the meantime, here are some pics my dad took of us that night:

And the real countdown begins...

It is my last day here at work as a "single" gal...and I get off early today!! I'll be off the rest of this week and all of next - when I'll be in sunny Cabo San Lucas!!

*both photos from tripadvisor.com of the hotel we'll be staying at!!

I think I'm just as excited to take some time off of work and get out of town as I am to get married!! At this point though, there's so much "little" stuff going on that it's starting to drive me crazy. So a vacation will be nice.
Last night was a big showdown over the timeline for the day. When to cut the cake, when to dance with our parents, when to give the toasts.... I actually don't care as much about this as Chris does - yet I am in the middle of it trying to make sense of it all. Add to that, different people have different wants and things they want to do that they only tell you AFTER you've decided on a plan of action. Trying to make as many people as happy as I can and not hurt any feelings is difficult and stressful. Can it just be Saturday yet??

Last night we also got our programs printed off, and now we just need to assemble them. That will be tomorrow. I still need to get my mani/pedi at some point, go do the Mystic tan on Friday, color my hair. And we need to pick up the alcohol and start to chill it, pick up my dress (and hope it still fits), pick up some chocolate chip cookies for the reception, and just make sure we have everything that we really "need". On the plus side - we have the license, we have the rings, and we have a place - so all is good there. ;-)

I know I'll still be updating this week with any crazy business going on, but next week I'll be in beautiful Mexico drinking loads of tequila!

Hope you all have a great Tuesday!

EAD Living!!

I have to say that I'm pretty excited about this! A little birdie told me about it a while back, but I was sworn to secrecy for a while....
The girls over at Elizabeth Anne Designs have launched a new blog - EAD Living!
It's going to be a really great site focusing on decorating, food, books, travel... all fun stuff. And I was fortunate enough to be asked to be one of the guest columnists, which I am really looking forward to after the wedding. My column will focus mainly on decorating, but you will probably see some recipes thrown in there as well!

Tagged: Part Deux!

I was also tagged by Kelly at My Island Wedding!!


Here are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by including links to their blog.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog!

So here we go!!

1. I love ghost stories!!
2. I've never cared for coffee - it's too bitter for me. But I am (somewhat) addicted to Diet Coke.
3. As a little kid, I used to build houses (with interior floor plans) with my blocks, as well as rake out mini-floorplans in the leaves. I now work in the Interior Design field.
4. I drive an old 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It's paid off and runs well, and I can use it to haul a lot of stuff around.
5. One of my very favorite cities in the world is New Orleans - hey, they have lots of ghost stories and great architecture!!
6. I can (and often do) talk too much.
7. I am tall (5'8") and have been this height since I was 14. I was always a tall child!!

Since it's Friday, I'm not going tag anyone specific - but feel free to tag yourselves!!

I've been tagged!!

I was given the UBER AMAZING BLOG AWARD by the lovely Jenny Lee over at Soon to be Mrs. Gentry!!


The Uber Amazing Blog Award is a blog award given to sites who:

• inspire you
  
• make you smile and laugh
  
• give you amazing information
  
• are a great read
  
• have an amazing design
  

The rules of this award are:

• Put the logo on your blog or post
  
• Nominate at least 5 blogs (can be more) that for you are Uber Amazing!
  
• Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing award by commenting on their blog
  
• Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from

Thank you Jenny!!!

I pass this award along to:

1. Kelly at My Island Wedding
2. Peonies and Polaroids
3. Sabrina at Introverted Bride
4. Linda at Silly Little Mischief
5. Jenna at That Bride
   

One week and 50 and one half hours to go...

Catching up:
My parents, wedding coordinator, and I met with the caterer on Tuesday night, and we're all set to go there! Final numbers are in, the table layout is done, and I'm getting chair covers!!! I know this is not really exciting news to many, but since we are saving a bunch on table linens, and there are less people attending than was originally quoted, they squeaked by to fit into the budget. I wasn't planning on losing any sleep over my lack of chair covers, but since we are getting square tablecloths that won't go to the floor, I do think they'll make a big difference in the "look".
Last night, Chris and I met with the guitarist who is playing at our ceremony. I'm really excited to have him - he's very talented, and I think the classical guitar will be really pretty and very romantic. Much of what he plays is Spanish-influenced (he studied in Madrid for a year), and I just think it's beautiful! Can't wait for that.

Work has been really really busy the last week or so, which is great! But needless to say, I'm really looking forward to the weekend. (I can't believe that this will be my last weekend as a single-lady!!) I do want to share with you all the bee-u-tifulllll rug that I am borrowing from work (with my boss' permission) to use for our ceremony. Since I am responsible for it, I didn't really want a big runner. Plus, having a "runner" was never a big deal to me anyways. Many of them are just long stretches of thin white or ivory material, and they're EXPENSIVE!! With this rug being almost 5' x 9' makes it easy to fold up and carry around. Plus, I thought it would be pretty special to have something so nice to stand on while we exchanged our vows.



In "real-life", it has more navy and blues in it than what it looks like. But it's so pretty, and I'm so grateful for being able to borrow it.

And I haven't forgotten about being tagged!!! Thank you, Jenny Lee!! I'll work on that tonight.

When life hands you lemons, just add sugar and make some lemonade

I've read the blogs from the brides who were just married, who all say that something will go wrong. It may be big or small, it may happen before the wedding, or the day itself. But all of them are in agreement that you need to just roll with the punches. And most of them all say that either 1) it ended up not being a big deal 2) they didn't even notice it or 3) it made the day better!

So, I've been waiting and wondering, what would go wrong on my day? Not in a terrified doomsday type of panic, but more in a humorous and curious wonder. As long as we're both there, the officiant is there, and we don't lose the wedding license.... we're good. So, I've been kind of waiting and wondering.

Well, Sunday morning the first "thing" happened. You all remember my centerpieces??

Well, my mom is taking care of them. She's responsible for getting them all put together and set up. And she, along with my dad, decided that they were not going to use the goblets/wine glasses of the bunch because they were afraid they'd tip over if the table were bumped. It's a good idea, and I totally understand the reasoning behind it, it's just that we had more of those than anything. Plus, we weren't overflowing with the glass to begin with. So it had me a little worried. I had this picture in my head of how they were going to look, and now.... not so much. But I realized that if this is the only thing that doesn't go according to plan, then we're in good shape. After all, I'd rather have the centerpieces look a little differently than to catch something on fire. You want to talk about something going wrong!

And so I'm still waiting. We haven't booked the carriage yet, so there's still a chance of not getting one. The food or the DJ could be terrible. But as the clock winds down, I'm actually finding a little inner peace. It will all be okay in the end. Too bad I can't bottle this up and sell it.

Tonight we meet with the caterer for the last time. The head-count for food will be 140. For seats, 135. Not too far off from the 150 we estimated, which is good!