Today Is Our Day

On the day of the wedding, I had my alarm set to go off at 6:45.  I awoke around 6:15 and was about to turn over to go back to sleep when the thought hit me: I'm getting married today!  After that, it was impossible to sleep.  I didn't want to wake Jaymi up since I'd kept her up so late the night before with my excited chatter, so I stayed in bed, playing out the expected events of the day in my mind.  I posted a comment on Jeff's facebook page from my cell phone: "I get to marry you today!"

Surprisingly, I was calm enough to lay in bed for the next half-hour, just thinking about what the day would bring.  When the alarm finally went off at 6:45--I had set it to play "Going to the Chapel" to wake me up--Jaymi popped up and confessed that she had been awake as long as I had, but she had kept quiet "to give me my moment".  Most understanding sister ever.

Finally free to get out of bed, I jumped up and began running around getting ready.  I was a nonstop chatterbox. (I tend to talk a lot when I'm excited.  Or nervous.  But in this case, it was mostly excited.)  I couldn't hold still--I even danced around the room while brushing my teeth:

Exhibit A.

I had breakfast with my parents and sister at the hotel.  I had so many happy butterflies in my stomach I could barely eat.  I only managed a piece of toast, coffee, and a few pieces of fruit.  Regardless of my atypically small meal, though, it was still the perfect start to the day: a quiet breakfast on the patio with my family.  I don't even remember whether we talked about the wedding, I just remember being so happy that we were all there together.

My family.  ♥

Entirely too soon, I realized that it was nearly 8:00 and I still had to get ready.  We hurried back to the room, showered and packed, and rushed off to the hairdresser.  My mom and Danielle met us there, and while talking beauty secrets and celebrity hairstyles I nearly forgot what we were there for. 

Jaymi all dolled up.

Danielle having her hair curled

We finished up a little late, just as Jeff's sisters were arriving for their hair and makeup.  We had a chance to say hi and give advice about which hairstyles we liked for them before we headed out to the venue.  It was so much fun to get those few minutes with them and share the excitement of the day.

My mom left early to get to the venue and give directions to the caterer and rental company.  My mom's best friend and her family also got there early to help set up and put the finishing touches on the DIY projects I had started.  Jeff and his dad had picked up the cake from the baker that morning and brought it to the venue, then stuck around to help set up.  So when Jaymi and I got to the Red Horse Barn it was already a flurry of activity.  Jeff came out to the car to meet us, and I was *so* unbelievably happy to see him! We had decided to do a first-look before the ceremony so it obviously wasn't important to us to not see each other during the day.   I gave him a kiss and my mom, right behind him, teased us "Not yet!" 

It was already 12:30, and formal pictures were supposed to start at 1:30.  The hour flew by--setting up decorations, greeting and giving directions to vendors, and trying my hardest to thank everyone who was there helping.  Around 1:00 everyone started telling me to go get dressed, but I kept insisting: just let me straighten this vase, put favors on the tables, set out the games and coloring books for the kids.  Before I knew it, it was 1:30, the guys were dressed, and we were officially behind schedule.  I was ushered (ok, shoved) into the bridal suite to finally put on the dress and become "the bride".  Up next, professional photos and the whole story of the wedding.  I can't wait!

Last Night of Freedom...Sort Of

The night before the wedding was all sorts of crazy.  Since our nail appointments ran late, I had to rush home afterward to meet Jeff.  I changed clothes and grabbed my overnight bag, and we were out the door before I could even register what was happening or say goodbye to the cat ('cause I'm crazy like that).

When we got to Jaymi's house it was already swarming with our families--Jeff's parents, sisters, and grandparents, and my...well, my everyone.  Because Jaymi is the only family I have in Southern California, everyone else had to travel to be here for the big day.  Grandparents, aunts and uncles, third cousins even...her house was absolutely full of our sometimes-crazy, always-awesome family.  Don't believe me?  Check out the evidence:

Jeff's mom, sister, dad, and grandparents

Jeff & me

My parents

My brother-in-law Mike and my Nana, with a whole crowd behind them

My grandpa, great-aunt, and grandma

About half of the group...the other half ducked out early.

Dinner was so much fun, but it was just a whirlwind of introductions, hysterical laughter, and old stories told for the zillionth time.  By the end of the night I was exhausted.  After the last guest had left and we had done our best to restore order to Jaymi's normally neat-and-tidy house, my parents, sister, and I left to spend the night at a hotel.  Jaymi was so sweet to stay with me so I wouldn't be alone the night before the wedding, even leaving her poor husband behind at home to finish cleaning up from the chaos my family inevitably creates wherever they go.

When we got to the hotel we were all worn out by the day's crazy schedule, so Jaymi and I said goodbye to our parents in the hotel lobby and headed up to our room.  What did our night-before festivities consist of, you might ask?  Well, we did amazingly fun things like ironing Jaymi's bridesmaid dress:

Doing our "beauty routines", which resulted in me temporarily looking like a swamp monster:

 And taking pictures of wedding rings because I was took excited to hold still:

Mostly, though, we just hung out:

(Sorry for the poor picture quality.  I blame the hotel room's bad "mood lighting".)

We read trashy celebrity magazines, and gossiped, and traded advice on everything from the best hair conditioner to the best recipe for chicken marsala (her recipe, hands-down).  It felt like we were in college again, and I couldn't imagine a better way to spend my last night as an unmarried girl.

Eventually, though, the fatigue from the hectic day set in.  Jaymi started nodding off.  I was so excited I thought I would never fall asleep but, surprisingly, as soon as the lights were out and my head was on the pillow I was out.  I slept better than I had in a long time, knowing that in just a few hours I would wake up to marry the love of my life.

A Girly Afternoon

Having procured the perfect wedding shoes, it was time to meet up with my bridesmaids, flower girl, and our moms for lunch and mani/pedis.

We went to a restaurant/bar that my bridesmaid, Danielle, and I used to frequent in college.  We hadn't been there in years, but it somehow seemed appropriate to revisit it on my last day as a "single" woman.  We had a yummy lunch of sandwiches and french fries (I was SO over the "wedding diet" by this point and figured it was too late to really change the way I'd look in my dress the following day).  We chatted over mimosas and tequila sunrises, catching up on each other's lives and discussing wedding day plans.

 Me and Jaymi

 Jaymi and our mom

Lunch was also when I gave them their bridesmaids gifts: tote bags with their monograms, necklaces (with tiny diamonds), their favorite wine, and flip-flops (for when their shoes inevitably started hurting them during the reception).  I gave our flower girl a bracelet with her initial, a ring pop, and bubbles.  The girl seriously loves bubbles.

And ring pops, clearly.

After our slightly boozy lunch we walked down the street for our mani/pedis.  I have to confess something here: I was a pedicure virgin.  I'm kind of weird about feet, in that I think they're gross and I don't want to touch anyone else's or have anyone touch mine.  So I was obviously terrified of getting a pedicure, but I figured it was just one of those things you have to do before your wedding.  I couldn't have jacked-up toenails peeking out from my perfect new peep-toe shoes, right?  Everyone told me I would love it if I just tried it, and that it's the most relaxing thing in the world.  So, I gave it a go.  The verdict?

.

 This is me, so far beyond uncomfortable it's not even funny.

I hated it.  HATED.IT.  I was so uncomfortable and squirming in my chair.  It was really a good thing we drank at lunch, I don't think I could have gotten through it otherwise.  Yes, I'm being a big baby and a bit overly dramatic.  And no, I will never get a pedicure again.  Hear me, Jaymi?  Never again.

Here's Jaymi, loving her pedicure.  Well bully for her.

At least I got pretty toes out of the deal.  And I loved the manicure: having my hands massaged and my fingernails pretty-fied is much more my style than having my feet submerged in creepily warm water and some lady's fingers between my toes.

The mani/pedis took quite a bit longer than we had planned, and as soon as our nails were dry we all had to run home to change and get ready for the out-of-towners' dinner Jaymi was hosting at her house that night.  The wedding weekend was rushing by, and I was just trying to keep up!

Shoes: Revisited

Where last we left off, it was the Friday night before the wedding.  The cupcake favors were baked, my parents were spending the night with my sister, and I was at home packing for the weekend.  I got the bright idea that I should wear my wedding shoes around the apartment while packing and cleaning, just to make sure they were broken in (genius, I know).  I slipped on my pretty silver shoes and proceeded to fold clothes, organize wedding decorations, and put away books and magazines that had accumulated around the living room.  Only, something wasn't right.  My pretty (comfortable!) silver shoes...suddenly weren't so comfortable.  After 10 minutes I felt a blister beginning to form on my pinky toe where it was being rubbed by the shoes.  After 15 minutes there was another one popping up on my big toe.

I had read over and over online and in bridal magazines that you should break your shoes in before your wedding day, and I had written this off as a no-big-deal checklist item, something listed to pad otherwise sparse lists in that crucial final month before the wedding.  I KNOW shoes, ok, and I had never worried about breaking them in before.  But now, taking off the clearly torturous shoes, I began to see the error of my ways.  How was I going to wear these shoes for 6+ hours on my wedding day if I couldn't even wear them around the apartment for half an hour?

As panic began to set in, I did what any sane person would do: I put the shoes back in their box and completely ignored the problem.  I gave it no more thought as I finished packing, chatted with Jeff when he got home, and finally went to bed.

Then, the next morning, the realization hit me: I had no viable wedding shoes!  The day before my wedding, and I was without shoes.  How the hell did this happen?!

I had planned a nice, relaxing morning before meeting up with my bridesmaids for lunch and mani/pedis, but that plan flew out the window as soon as I grasped the enormity of the situation.  I threw on some clothes, skipped the makeup and hairdo, and ran out the door with no clear plan of where I was headed.  I began driving toward Long Beach, where the bridesmaid lunch was going to be, frantically searching for nearby stores on my phone's navigation system (I know, googling while driving=bad move, but it was crunch time, people!).  I found a Ross a few blocks from the restaurant and made a sharp last-minute left turn onto the street, leaving a wake of honking horns behind me.  I parked quickly, threw a couple of quarters into the meter, and ran into Ross.  I scanned the shelves and found nothing but platform flip-flops and bad white shoes (and we all know by now how I feel about white shoes).

Disparing at my lack of wedding shoes, I hung my head and left the store.  As I stepped out into the blinding sunlight I paused to put on my sunglasses and, looking up to identify a smudge on the lens, noticed out of the corner of my eye a Nordstrom Rack on the next corner.  My heartbeat quickened.  I had never been to a Nordstrom Rack before, and I wasn't sure I would even be able to afford any of the shoes there.  But I had to look.  I mean, clearly the stars were aligning for me to check it out, right?

Nervous beyond belief, I entered the store and ignored the racks of cute shirts and sweaters as I made a beeline for the shoes.  And I have to admit, there were some amazing shoes--just not amazing shoes in my size in colors that would work for the wedding.  I lingered for more than half an hour, examining every size 10 shoe in the store, then every size 9 1/2.  And nothing.  Don't get me wrong, there were shoes I *loved*, but none were "wedding shoes".  I finally gave in and tried on a pair of silver Kate Spades that were a steal at $120, but were still way out of my price range.  With a sigh, I put them back on the shelf and turned to walk out, passing the size 11 rack as I went.  And as I passed it, something caught my eye: well hello there perfect champagne-colored shoe.  What a pretty peep-toe you have, and--oh!--is that an ever-so-slight platform I see?  Too bad you're too big...

I leaned in to look closer and, lo and behold, the tag said size 10!  I snatched the shoe off the rack and thrust my foot into it.  And...it was perfect!  It fit, it was a great color, the right height, and the style matched my dress!   I could already tell they were more comfortable than the silver ones, and really, at this point I was willing to risk it in new shoes rather than endure inevitable foot torture in my current ones. I nervously turned the pretty new shoe over to check out the price tag on the bottom.  I nearly fainted when I saw the price: $20!  Half the price of my original shoes.  I had reached shoe nirvana.  I literally skipped to the checkout, a giant smile plastered on my face.  This was it, the sign I needed: I was ready to get married.

And, because I've kept you in suspense this long, I won't wait until the wedding recaps to show off my pretty new shoes.  Here they are, in all their fated glory:

Shoes in hand I gleefully headed off to the bridesmaid's lunch.  Everything was going to be ok!

I'll Have my Cake, and Eat My (Cup)cakes Too!

I love dessert.   Truly, love is not quite strong enough a word for my feelings about all things sweet.  So while I knew I wanted a real, tiered, pretty cake at my wedding, I also knew that that alone wasn't gonna cut it.  I toyed with the idea of a candy buffet, but really my love leans more toward chocolate than hard candies, and I was afraid chocolate candy would melt at our afternoon outdoor wedding.  Browsing wedding sites online, I ran across the pure awesomeness of a cookie buffet and immediately began scheming to make this happen.  I had grand plans of each close relative baking a batch of cookies, collecting them on one buffet table at the wedding, and passing out family recipes to all the guests.  My mouth watered at the thought of multitudes of cookies: chocolate chip, chocolate-chocolate, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin...

Oh, hi there.  Sorry, I got lost in cookie dreams.  What was I saying?  Oh yes, the plans.  So.  I told my mom my cookie-madness plan and she not-so-helpfully pointed out that the majority of our guests (all of my family included) were going to be travelling 500+ miles to get to the wedding.  Meaning that they would not have access to kitchens in which to concoct these freshly homemade cookies.  Sigh.  This totally put the kibosh on my cookie buffet plans, as I had no desire to single-handedly bake hundreds and hundreds of cookies right before the wedding.

Enter my amazing sister:  She was at Barnes and Noble (our mutual favorite store) looking through wedding books, because she's awesome like that, when she came across the best.favor.ever: cupcakes in mason jars.  Um, hello perfection.  Have I mentioned that mason jars play a major role in the wedding's decor?  Perhaps I neglected to mention that.  But when she told me about this, I knew we had found the answer to my sweet-tooth dilemma.  And she's so awesome that she also volunteered to bake all of these 100 cupcakes herself.  I know, I can't believe it either.

So, two days before the wedding, while I was still chained to my desk at work, my sister and my mom got down to the business of baking favors for my wedding.  They used boxed cake mix and baked them directly into the 4oz. mason jars I had bought online for less than $1 apiece (including shipping).  My sister, who's an amateur-ish cake baker, made homemade buttercream frosting in yellow to top them with.  I have no idea what goes into making buttercream frosting from scratch, but let me tell you the results are truly ahhh-mazing.

My boss was nice enough to let me leave work early that Friday so I was able to join them for the last half of the baking extravaganza.  When I got to my sister's house I was greeted with dozens and dozens of chocolate cupcakes in mason jars...pure heaven.  I rolled up my sleeves to get to work, but I'm sort of hopeless in the crafting department so my main contribution was in taking pictures.  Behold, cupcake-favor fest 2010:

Cupcakes in jars, pre-frosting.  Already looking yummy!

My mother the saint: cleaning up the sides of the jars to make them prettier.  I would never have thought to do that.

My awesome sister piping (yellow, homemade!) buttercream frosting onto the cupcakes.  Did I mention she's awesome?

Nom nom nom!

About half of the finished cupcakes, tied with their mini forks and all.  Just waiting for the wedding day!

This project was insanely time-consuming for my two favorite ladies, and it ended up being one of my very favorite details of the whole wedding.  I still can't believe how sweet they are for spending their entire day on this.

After the baking madness was over, my parents, sister, brother-in-law and I had an early dinner at Chipotle (yummy, filling, and quick!) and then I called it a night and headed home to get some rest.  The next day we had a bridesmaid luncheon and mani/pedis scheduled, followed by a dinner party for all of our out-of-town guests at my sister's house.  This was going to be the last night I spent at home in my own bed until after the honeymoon and I wanted to enjoy it.  Jeff was at work, so I took a bath, watched bad TV, and packed my bags for the next few days.  This was it, the last night of normalcy for a long time.  The wedding weekend had officially arrived!

The Week Before

I know it's a cliche, but the last few days leading up do the wedding were honestly a blur.  My parents were in town all week to help with the final wedding details.  It was my sister and brother-in-law's anniversary.  I worked a full forty-hour week because I was taking so much time off for the honeymoon.  I had projects to finish and contracts to go over.  You get the picture.

The first big event of the week was the rehearsal.  We had to have it on Thursday--3 full days before the wedding--due to officiant and venue scheduling conflicts.  Our rehearsal took an hour and sadly I don't have any pictures of it.  But really, it's nothing terribly new or exciting: we stood at the altar, we walked up the aisle, we walked down the aisle, we practiced handing off the rings.  Repeat.

By the time we got to the rehearsal dinner, we were all excited about the wedding and, more importantly, we were STARVING.  We headed to BJs pizza (keepin it classy, y'all) for delish deep-dish pizza and pizookies.  Our wedding party is so small--just 2 attendants on each side--and we didn't have any out-of-towners to entertain yet, so we were able to simply make a reservation for a large table and have everyone order what they wanted.  And let me tell you: it.was.awesome.

Seriously, dinner was so relaxed and it was so nice to finally--finally!--have a chance to chat with all these people who are closest to us.  I had been so busy with wedding-planning that I had seriously neglected some of these relationships, and I was thrilled to get to spend quality time with all my favorite people.

Some of my favorite pics from the night:

Soon-to-Be Bride & Groom

Jeff's Parents

 Jeff's Sisters

My sister (and MOH) & her husband

Jeff's groomsmen

My bridesmaid & flower girl

Not pictured: my parents.  We somehow didn't get any pictures of them that night, but I promise they were there, and they were looking good!

I demanded that everyone get pizookies for dessert.  If you've never had one I demand that you get one too: they're warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies topped with ice cream.  It sounds simple, but trust me it's soooo good.

After we had stuffed ourselves silly, laughed until our sides hurt, and discussed every imaginable wedding detail it was time to call it a night.  For the girls, that is.  The boys all got together afterward and went to the pub/restaurant/microbrewery down the street from my apartment.  To my immense surprise, my dad joined them, and stayed out until midnight.  My mom and I waited up for them, and I was FEELING IT at work the next day.  But there was no time to complain, because our biggest project was up next: the favors!

After the Honeymoon

Roberta: "Truth or dare?"
Chrissy: "Truth."
Roberta: "Are you happy?"
Chrissy: "Yes!  I'm so happy I could just burst and spread happiness out everywhere!"

As I sat down to write this post, that quote from my once-favorite movie (Now and Then) kept running through my head.  That's all I feel today, back from the honeymoon and eating breakfast with my new husband: pure bliss.

The wedding was perfect.  Absolutely everything went right (well, maybe a few very minor snafus, but not one thing bothered me on the wedding day).  The whole day was exactly what I'd hoped for, and more.  It was beyond amazing to spend a day with our family and friends, and with each other.  The amount of love that surrounded us that day absolutely floors me.

I love being married.  Love love love it.  I know it's only been two weeks, but honestly it just doesn't seem fair that I'm this happy.  We got back from our honeymoon at midnight on Friday and went straight to bed, exhausted.  Yesterday was spent doing copious amounts of laundry, unpacking, and otherwise getting our lives back in order after the wedding and honeymoon chaos.  But the funniest thing was that I didn't mind these chores as much as I used to.  An overwhelming peace and happiness pervaded everything I did.  I went grocery shopping since our fridge was totally empty, and the whole time I had an inner dialogue running through my head: "Oh, I should get bananas, my husband loves them.  I'll pick up a case of Sierra Nevada since it's my husband's favorite.  I think my husband is nearly out of aftershave, I'll have to get him some more."  Every time one of these thoughts crossed my mind an enormous smile crept onto my face; I got some strange looks from other shoppers as I smiled beatifically at the produce.  I slip the words "my husband" into conversation whenever I can (so far it's been 4 times).  I know how cheesy and mushy that all sounds, but I'm honestly just too happy to contain it all.  I can't believe my luck that I found a man that makes me this crazy-stupid  happy, and I feel like everyone I talk to can see it as well.

As soon as I get the professional pictures back I'll post all about the wedding.  Until then I have honeymoon pictures and lots of stories to share.  But for now I'll leave you with one sneak peek photo, taken by my aunt:

Love.