Tuesday, 12 February 2008

• 3 years

  Three years ago today, i woke up, looked over at my best friend, and groggily but excitedly said "I'm getting married today!!!" 

  All of the girls and I were staying at my soon to be in-laws house and had been packing and doing last minute wedding prep before crashing around one a.m. Crystal and I woke up around 6 ish, I think everyone else was up aroud 7 or 8. I went to breakfast with my mom, dad, and brother one last time as a family...but of course I was too excited, talkative, and sentimental to really eat. Then all of the girls and I went to go get our hair done around 9. Sometime around 10 (I think), I was brought flowers and serenaded "Top-Gun style" by the groomsmen right there in the beauty shop! After getting our hair done and doing our make-up, the girls and I went to the church and got dressed.

  I then had a few very precious moments alone with the man I was about to marry. We were in the church, just the two of us (and the photographers) the first time he saw me in my dress. Chad was on the stage, facing the choir loft with his eyes clothes and I walked up the center aisle a little bit before he turned around so he could see me coming down. It was so special! It was neat that I really got to see his reaction instead of being so far away at the end of the aisle and having to dodge people's heads to get a glimpse of him. What a neat time we had--it was probably what kept me so calm and (mostly) collected during the ceremony. Anyone who's married knows the craziness that comes along with wedding planning and wedding week stress, it was so great for me to be able to get a big bear hug from my man and just breathe a sigh of relief that "it's almost over" before the ceremony and remember why we were even there in the first place--for each other.

  The ceremony was beautiful!! It was everything that I had ever pictured and more. We had so many little personal touches in it, which made it unique to us and our families. I'm not sure if I could pick one favorite moment of it--I loved it all! The video of pictures from childhood and together during our brief and kinda different dating relationship, saying our vows facing our friends and family instead of facing the choir loft, singing to my groom...all of these things and more were so perfect!  

  We headed to the reception which was so beautifully decorated by friends and family who volunteered to help out that day and the afternoon before. It was nice to see friends we hadn't seen in a long time and chat with them a for a little while. We had a beautiful cake and danced to "God Blessed the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts. Then, we "faked" our departure to friends and family holding up sparklers along our path to our getaway car--the Plymouth Prowler Chad surprised me with at the Bridal Luncheon the day before! We drove around the block, got some Red Bull , and came back to the reception where I was actually able to dance and relax!

  Chad and I then drove to Orlando, slept in the next morning, went to Starbucks, and made our way over to Universal Studios (thanks to our friends Jamie and Scott, we had free tickets and didn't have to worry about what time we got there!). We had a very fun day! The next day we drove back to Titusville, but didn't see anyone we know because we went straight to the port and boarded a 5-day cruise to the Bahamas...where we were finally able to rest, just be togther, and start our life and husband and wife!!

  ---

  Chad, I am so thankful that God put us together! I'm so glad for our journey-where we are now and where He's taking us in the future! This has been a great year! This next year will be full of more changes and challenges and I'm glad we'll be sharing all of them together. You'll be there to get me through my tough days and I'll be there to support you in yours. I know you will be a wonderful father. I love you!!

  • 10:28 AM
  • 21 Views
  • 4 eProps
  • 2 Comments