Well, this is a post-nuptial blog, so I guess I'll start with the beginning...THE WEDDING!

The wedding itself is such a blur. Everything moved so fast. I was told that it would, but it was faster than I expected.

I took the week off before the wedding, and one of my bridesmaids took time off starting that Wednesday to run around town with me and do last minute errands. The week started pretty normal, just finishing up things that were little details. I actually can't remember now what those details were, but I was getting them. Thankfully, one of my bridesmaids was able to run errands with me.

Our rehearsal and rehearsal dinner went very smoothly. Everyone arrived on time. Everyone had a good time, and magically, we didn't take too long during the actual rehearsal like I've experienced before. For dinner, we went over to the church gym, where Travis's parents had prepared a sports-themed dinner. We had hamburgers and hotdogs and I can't remember if people wore sports attire or not. Either way, it was something that I thankfully didn't have to plan. The food was good and everyone enjoyed themselves. We played slideshows of Travis and I growing up as well as us in our relationship together.

That night, Alissa, Kim and Crystal (all bridesmaids) spent the night at my apartment and we were able to enjoy each other's company, and finishing any final tasks, included and not limited to making the guestbook (something I'd forgotten about) and packing for the honeymoon. I didn't get to sleep until around 3am, but we weren't starting too terribly early the next morning.

We woke up, got dressed and went to Kim's parents' house, where our bridal breakfast was being hosted. Kim's mom made all sorts of good things from muffins to eggs, sausage, bacon, a fruit tray, etc. It was all delicious and settled well in everyone's stomachs. I'm wishing now that I would've been smart enough to take pictures.

After breakfast, we went to get our hair done at the salon that happened to be right across from my church. My stylist (and long-time family friend) had prepared a table of goodies with fruit, crackers, cheese and another snack foods. It came in handy, I started getting sort of shaky around 1:30 (we arrived at 11) probably due to the hype of the day.


After we all finished with our hair, we went across the street to the church to get ready. My bridesmaid, Alissa, sells Mary Kay and does an excellent job with make-up, so she was elected as my make-up artist. She did a wonderful job! She was also gracious enough to do my mom's make-up as well.



Travis and I chose not to see each other before the ceremony. We wanted to be traditional and wait for the moment when I come down the aisle. The nerves were definitely building up. Once I was wearing my make-up, I ran over to the sanctuary where the ceremony was to be held to put set up the guestbook and put the programs out for the guests. Upon entering the church, my eyes began to well up with tears. It was just so pretty. Exactly like I had imagined it would be.

After that, I went back to the parlor where we were getting ready and put my dress on. I had to step into the dress instead of putting it over my head so that it wouldn't mess up my hair, and let me say...that was a task in itself. Stuffing all of those layers took more than one person.


While we were getting ready, the guys were far away, hanging out and taking advantage of the photographer. I'll admit, I'm jealous that they had time to just hang out and that guys are ready in a matter of minutes. However, they got some great pictures.


Then it was time to get started. All of the excitement and plans were finally coming together for this moment: the ceremony. They told us it was time to go, so we all walked over. Thankfully, it had warmed up a bit since we were standing outside and waiting to go in. My wonderful bridesmaids were going in one by and with each one that walked out, the more anxious I got. All I could think to myself was, "Don't cry going down the aisle, you'll look stupid!" Let me just say that pep-talk was worthless. The minute I saw him, I got all sorts of emotional. I think it was due to the nerves of the day, and furthermore, the beauty of the moment. The song was perfect. The decorations were perfect, and there he was, looking perfect.

For the life of me, I have no idea what was said at the ceremony. I remember thinking to myself that I really liked what he was saying, but I cannot remember any actual words said. It was over really fast. I do, however, remember regretting accidentally handing my 'just-in-case' tissue to my sister. I needed it much sooner than I got it from her.

As far as the ceremony goes, I've heard nothing but compliments. That makes me a happy banana.



Our limo ride from the church to the hotel was...interesting. The radio was set on a Hispanic station and we couldn't figure out how to change it. So for a good 10-15 minutes we were just thinking "I really hope he changes that soon."

Turns out, the radio was right across from where we were sitting and we just didn't see it. Lame.

We arrived and I couldn't wait to see the way that the ballroom had been decorated. We brought our decorations to the hotel and they took care of the rest, so I was just crossing my fingers that they did it the way I was envisioning. We were waiting to be introduced, and the hotel manager cracked the door, and I got warm and fuzzy when I saw just a glimpse of it. I knew it was what I wanted. We were introduced and it was a little overwhelming to have everyone cheering and clapping for you. Once we were introduced, we took about 15 minutes and went to each table greeting everyone and thanking them for coming. After the meal was the dinner.

We served an Italian Buffet, complete with Lasagna, Chicken Parmesan, Tomato-Basil Salad as well as a pasta station. I have no idea what was with the pasta station, because I didn't eat from it. I barely ate anything, actually. They brought us the plates and I just couldn't eat. I tried, but all of the excitement from the day was just too much. We also had a hot chocolate bar which people have raved about, and I didn't have any. I was really hot from running around and the idea of drinking a hot beverage was more than I was willing to have.


Once Travis and I gave up on the idea of eating, we decided to go back to visit with people and enjoy ourselves. Once everyone was finished, we did our formal dances and then cut the cake and did the toasts. The one bite of cake that we had for the cutting was the only cake that either of us had that day, but we had some sent home and put in the freezer. We haven't touched it yet.


After that, it was just dancing and enjoying ourselves for the rest of the evening. A large portion of our guests were older, and ended up leaving early due to crazy fog, so we ended things earlier than anticipated, but it all worked out. We were exhausted and ready to just relax anyway.

We were able to escape for a few minutes and get some shots together, though I wish we would have done more. That's one of my few regrets regarding the wedding. Not enough pictures that were candid of the two of us.

We had an exit with sparklers that was a little disorganized (they had us leave from a very narrow doorway, so that was quite frightening) but it all worked out. I am, however, still unhappy with whoever threw birdseed directly into my face.



People, when throwing things at the couple, throw it up in the air, not directly in their faces. It hurt and made for an unattractive face in the photos.

We stayed the night at a hotel next door, where Travis had put rose petals all over the room. We actually ended up being really romantic and grabbing a late-night bite at the IHOP that was next to the hotel. Yes...we love romance.

We left the next morning for our honeymoon at Walt Disney World. But that's too much to post about now. This has taken me forever to write this.

Until next time.