I love being married.

The wedding and honeymoon are over...holidays (Thank the LORD) are over! Alex and I are slowly getting into a routine that unfortunately will have to include school next week. I still haven't completely moved all my things into the apartment due to hectic holiday get togethers but that will hopefully happen this week. Good thing is my family lives in Chattanooga so it's not a huge deal about me moving my stuff immediately.

Here are some recaps of what's happened. It's long and drawn out but I just want to document it while it's still fresh on my mind.

Wedding:

Everything went perfectly, although the days leading up to it did not lead me to believe it was going to go very smoothly. The Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before the wedding I was sick with what a Nurse Practitioner thought was a milder version of the flu (thanks so much flu shot!) because my brother's flu test was positive. Not only was the bride sick, so was a groomsmen. Did that stress me out? I'll let you guess...my blood pressure was 135/76...it's normally 115/70. I didn't feel stressed but my body for sure was. So I missed work, did horrible on the last test I had to take for school, and laid around the house because I was too weak to work on last minute wedding stuff. What last minute wedding stuff did I have left? Oh, only DIY stuff that I spent money on and was too stubborn not to do. I made wreaths by tying bows around a wreath form that hung on the doors to the reception and the door to the church. I also made paper illuminaries by cutting paper doillies and glueing them inside white paper bags. We had to fold the programs, finish the slideshow, finish the playlist, and catch up on thank you notes before the motherload of presents came in. With the help of my wonderful groom and parents, we got everything done Tuesday night and Wednesday.
Well, lucky me when Wednesday rolled around (the bachelorette party was scheduled for Wed night btw) the weatherman started predicting some nasty, icy weather to roll in around evening time and leave some ice on the roads until morning. So while I was supposed to be relaxing while I got a manicure and pedicure Wednesday afternoon, everyone in the world starts texting me about this nasty weather. Not something the bride wants to hear let alone could do anything about. I also couldn't text back because my hands were all gooey and wrapped up. My phone was buzzing the whole time and there were threats of not having a flower girl! She had had pneumonia and her baby sister was fighting ear infections and her dad (also a groomsmen) was sick. I tried my best to just let everything roll of my back and not get in a tizzy before the party. The bachelorette party was a blast, and even while rain was falling and freezing on the roads my friends and bridesmaids toughed it to Apison to celebrate! The rest of the details of the night are not to be mentioned... ;). Don't worry...we didn't go wild, believe me. It's hard to do anything crazy when cars are sliding off the road and the interstate is shut down. It was the perfect bachelorette party for me...good, fun times with my best girlfriends.
Thursday came and went quickly! I woke up and drove home since the roads were fine the next morning (Thank the Lord!). I still had to pack some things for the honeymoon and straighten up my room and get all the wedding stuff in the car and take a shower and get ready for that night because I was not coming back home! Whew! Somehow I got it all done and we were only 20 minutes later than we had planned getting to the church. With the help of his mom, my mom, Jon, Lizzy and Abbie, we got the room ready for the rehearsal dinner and as many decorations up as we could for the reception. There was a surprise when we went into the sanctuary and the stage wasn't cleared off and we couldn't find the altar table therefore couldn't decorate it for the next day. But the wedding coordinator, Kelly Stack and the rest of my bridesmaids and friends and groom told me over and over that it would get done and not to worry about it. I then went to the mall with Kaylyn to exchange some things and then rushed back to the church for the rehearsal. She was amazing and went to pick up the cake for the rehearsal dinner which was a Coca-Cola cake from Cracker Barrel...one of Alex's favorites.
The rehearsal was surreal and it really hit me then that "Oh my goodness, this is really happening...tomorrow." It was fun and weird and nerve-wracking! The rehearsal dinner was a blast. We borrowed something from our friends', Jon and Lizzy, rehearsal dinner where friends and family attending were invited to say something about the bride and groom. Several of our friends and our parents got up to speak and it was really, really amazing to hear how much each person had to say. Once the rehearsal was over we got the room ready for the reception and headed home! I said my final goodbye to my studly fiance as he headed out for his bachelor party and I went home, took a bubble bath and watched Friends until I knew I was going to fall asleep and stay asleep.
The next day I woke up nervous. The second I opened my eyes I felt butterflies in my stomach. My mom and I again loaded up the car with my luggage and things for the wedding I needed that day. We headed to Walgreen's for more last minute things and then headed to the Bridesmaids Luncheon at a tea room in Collegedale. My grandmothers, aunts, cousin, both mother-in-laws, sister-in-law, neice and bridesmaids were there and we had such a fun time! It was both relaxing and made me more nervous as it got later and later in the day. After that it was time for me to get my hair done! Unfortunately, she was behind schedule and took me 30 minutes after my scheduled appointment. That threw off my schedule a little bit but I was not worried. The photographer was there which made me more nervous and excited than ever! Before I knew it, my hair was done and we were heading to the church. All the girls were ready by the time I got there so we all headed to the bathroom, I mean we all went, and they watched my attempt to do my own make up. I say attempt because before I did anything I would say, "Like this?" or "Does this look ok?" or "What do I do?" With the help of 6 of my favorite girls in the whole world, I got my face put on. Then it was time to put my dress on and start taking pictures. Gah! You cannot imagine until you are in that place how nervous a person can be. I have never and don't think I ever will be that nervous again. Pictures went by and then it was chill time before the ceremony. Right before the ceremony I asked if Alex and I could do an around the door picture. Alex and I weren't planning on seeing each other until I walked down the aisle but this way we could get a picture of us holding hands, with me on one side of the door and him on the other. As soon as I heard him say hi, I broke down. My eyes watered up and I could not believe I was getting married in less than an hour! I'm so glad we did that. :)
The ceremony was perfect. Unlike some people that say they don't remember anything from their wedding, I obviously remember everything. I remember how I felt when we said our vows and put the rings on each other's fingers. I remember his face when I was walking down the aisle and his face when we had our first dance. It was the most fun I've ever had. Everything went perfectly. Just as I wanted it to. All of a sudden it was about 11:15 pm and we were ready to leave. We left to sparklers and a few inside jokes yelled to us as Alex helped me into the car! Drew chaffeured us to the Sheraton downtown. :)

Honeymoon:

We woke up and went to Alex's college graduation. Ha! Everyone said we were crazy and while we did not want to wake up and do that on the morning after our wedding I'm so glad we did. After lunch with his family we finally were on the road to Charlotte, NC for the first leg of the honeymoon! Why Charlotte? That was the only place he could find a direct flight to Cancun, Mexico without a layover! We saw "It's a Wonderful Life" as a radio show (way cooler than anything we'd ever seen before) and "The Nutcracker" ballet in Charlotte, ate at some amazing restaurants, got room service like nobody's business, and relaxed, relaxed, relaxed. The weather was perfect and we got bonus hotel upgrades, so our room in Cancun had an ocean view and balcony along with 24 room service at no extra cost! Except for our car not starting as we were ready to leave for the airport to fly to Cancun, and the taxi lady in Cancun forgetting to give our credit card back, everything was perfect. The Hilton sent someone out to jump our car off, and we still got to the airport with an hour and a half to spare before the flight. The taxi person drove us back to the airport so we could get our credit card back, then drove us to the hotel. :) No problemo! Perfect after a stressful wedding week! Alex did a AMAZING job planning and surprising me with that!

So after everything has come and gone, I am more happy than ever. I love being able to go home to my husband after a long day at work. I love having a home that we get to put together. I am looking forward to what this new year holds and thanks be to God that Alex and I have each other through the good and bad of it all!