Seven Hundred Thirty Days Later

My heart still pitter patters over my groom.

I remember with joy, the hustle and bustle of getting ready with all my favorite girls.

My walk with my Daddy down the aisle still takes my breath away.

Our perfectly us ceremony still brings a tear to my eye and a smile to my face.

The concept of being a family of six has FINALLY taken hold.

 I'm so happy I listened to my mom about a bubble exit. #oneofmyfavoritepictures

Walking back to the church being Mr&Mrs holds a special piece of my heart.

I still can't get enough of our formal pictures at the Jefferson Memorial.

I still get giddy thinking about our first dance.

These pictures STILL make me laugh and smile.

Seven Hundred and Thirty Days later and I still have to pinch myself to be sure 9/7/13 wasn't just a dream. The love that surrounded us two years ago was the most amazing feeling in the world and I wish I could relive it all over again. Our wedding day was one of the best days of my life and I am so thankful I have Le Husband as mine forever. Happy 2nd Anniversary, my love, to the moon and back! Thank you for making my life a bazillion times better, you are the man of my dreams < 3!

Happy anniversary to my wedding twin and dear, dear friend, Jessi. Best day ever times two, lady! < 3

[source]

Linking up with these beautiful ladies whoop whoop < 3
waitingonwednesday

Wedding Wednesday: The Post that Never Made it Live

Until now. This post was originally created for a wedding series on another blog, but the week after I submitted it [last year] the girl randomly stopped posting. I forgot I still had it in my drafts until I was perusing earlier this week and thought I should share it here since it is almost anniversary time. Yeah, I know, my 2nd anniversary is next week too crazy, right? Anyway, I hope you enjoy my wedding nostalgia.

*******************

Hey, y'all! My name is Pinky and I blog over at PinkPersistence. We threw our wedding together in seven short months, so it was quick but a ton of fun, too. Our wedding day was perfectly us and I totally would do it all over again if I could. :)!

When did you get married?

September 7, 2013. Best.Day.Ever!

How did you meet your husband?

We met playing KICKBALL on the National Mall. Yes, kickball, haha. We were both recruited by different people to join a DC team. I was recruited by a guy I didn't even know in my league, but something told me to say YES when he called to join his team. Obviously, God wanted me to meet Le Husband, but I just went into the new team hoping to make a few new friends. Le Husband and I didn't really talk too much the first few games, but one Thursday I met up with teammates before the game and had a couple glasses of wine [with no dinner]. He had some sick play at the plate that caught my attention so [using my liquid courage] I chatted him up at the bar that night. We started talking and hanging out and the rest is history. Crazy how a random kickball team brought me to the love of my life!

Engagement story?

Le Husband super surprised when he asked me to marry him. You can find the whole story *here* but here's the short version. We had talked about the next step, but he kept asking me WHAT kind of ring I wanted so I figured we weren't close to engagement. Little did I know, he had secretly talked to my sisters, had one of my grandmother's rings sent to a jeweler and asked my dad for my hand in marriage {swoon}. I had a soccer game on a Sunday, as my routine, and when I came home I stopped by his place because he had left a rose at my place. I walked in and the whole place was lit up with candles and decorated, but I still wasn't getting what was about to happen. It wasn't until he came over and kissed me and I smelled the whiskey on his breath that I KNEW, THIS WAS THE MOMENT. I remember everything from the night and was so thankful Le Husband allowed my sisters to wait downstairs so I could celebrate with them immediately after the proposal. They had a camera/video set up so I have the entire thing recorded for my memories. Everything about that night was perfect, I was so surprised and over the moon excited.

How many bridesmaids did you have and how did you go about choosing them?

I had four ladies in my wedding party. I knew I didn't want a big wedding party and just wanted the most important ladies in my life by my side. My two sisters were my Maids of Honor and my two best friends were the other two bridesmaids. I asked them all with a cute gift box. I bought them tanks, champagne and decorated a champagne flute, all wrapped up in a pretty package. I couldn't have asked for a better group of ladies to stand beside me on my special day. They were all amazing throughout the whole process and I'm so thankful to have them all in my life.

What was the one thing you were most passionate about?( Flowers, DJ, Cake, etc)

Both Le Husband and I were on the same page with the understanding that getting married was MORE important than the wedding or the party. Period. But, we both wanted to have a fun celebration that everyone would enjoy. We both wanted a delicious cake/cupcakes [bad cake is the worst, suffered through one at a wedding last year, blech], delicious food and a fun atmosphere for all our guests. We didn't worry about the little things, but my mom did a lot of work to ensure everyone had the right rooms at the hotel and their welcome bags were received as soon as they checked into their rooms. Having a shuttle from the reception to the hotel was amazing, too. Guests didn't have to worry about driving or walking which was nice. People still tell us about how much fun they had at our wedding and that makes me so happy!

 How long did it take you to find your wedding dress?

Honestly, it didn't really take me too long to find my dress. I booked my first wedding dress appointment the week we got engaged and went to David's Bridal to get a feel for what I wanted and what I looked like in certain styles. I originally wanted a Kate Middleton style dress with sleeves but couldn't find it in any stores. I tried on every other style at DB and actually tried on THE DRESS at my first appointment. Everyone agreed it was my dress [and a few cried when I came out, however I didn't] but I wanted to keep looking [silly girl]. I went to one more boutique found a dress that I thought might be it, but kept thinking about the DB dress. I made an appointment at both places on a Saturday and when I tried on the DB dress with a veil I cried, so boom, we had the dress!!!! I loved wearing it and how beautiful it made me feel!

 

Spill some deets that went on. We wanna hear drama.

I'm not a dramatic girl, so the drama was kept to a minimum. We had a bit of number shock when we realized we were sending out invitations to 250 people. YES, 250. Both Le Husband and I come from big families and of course EVERYONE had to be invited at the start. But, as usual, people weren't able to make it [no big deal] and the numbers weren't as crazy in the end. We were even able to invite some extra kickball friends at the end, which was so awesome. The only other drama was a exfriend that brought her wedding drama to both my bridal shower AND MY bachelorette party. #classyright. I'm all about supporting a friend, but when you're demanding attention at your friend's party your true colors become a bit obvious. Both episodes helped me realized I needed to end the friendship because it was just too much drama from one person. It was very apparent she wasn't interested in the advice people gave her [same thing EVERY-TIME she told the story], but rather enjoyed the attention she received re-telling her drama. If it you walk like drama and talk like drama, you're drama and I don't need it in my life. #peaceout

What was them most awkward thing about wedding planning?

I didn't really find anything awkward about wedding planning. I will say that having people tell you they are coming to your wedding to your face and then send an RSVP as no is kind of weird. A 40 year old coworker of mine [who was a friend at the time] told me she and her husband and kid would be there but then RSVPed no and never responded to my inquires via our work IM system. Needless to say, we aren't friends anymore because that's just rude. Two weeks before the wedding we realized we were going to be cutting it close to the minimum so I physically called a few friends that we weren't able to invite in the beginning. I felt alil awkward since we were so close to the wedding, but everyone was so incredibly gracious that it ended up not being that awkward. My friends are quite amazing.

What was your color scheme and what made you choose it?

Even though our wedding was in a fall month, we wanted to have a brightly colored wedding. I'm obviously a pink girl, but wanted to let Le Husband have some say in the wedding color scheme. I found different pink wedding schemes on Pinterest and then asked him which combination he liked the most. He chose the bright, light green as our complementary color. We decided the rest of the colors using *this* pin and brought in some oranges and yellows, too. Le Husband is NOT a tux guy so we went with grey suits which were purchased at Men's Warehouse. As the groom's gift, Le Husband paid for half of the suits which the guys really appreciated. I loved our color combination and our florist did an amazing job with the different colors in the bouquets. The bright colors looked amazing the day of and I love how happy our pictures turned out.

If you don't mind sharing what was your budget and did you stay on track?

My parents were incredible and substantially helped us out for our wedding. They gave us a budget and anything over we had to pay for ourselves. I was under budget on my dress, right at budget on my flowers, and way under budget on our cake/cupcakes. I will admit that I DIDN'T keep track of small incidentals so I can't 100% exactly where we stood with the complete budget, but I know we were pretty close to it.

If you could do it all over again, would you do anything differently?

I don't think I would do much differently if I had to live the day over again. I think I would have tried to get more formal family pictures, but I'm not sure that would have been possible given our timeline. Instead of pictures at the church, the wedding party headed into DC to get pictures at the Jefferson Monument. Since the mall was a significant piece of how we met, we both felt it was important to have pictures taken there. Plus, the background was AMAZING!

What was your favorite thing about your wedding day?

Feeling surrounded in LOVE all day long. Seriously, from the moment I woke up I was surrounded in love. There were text messages from family, everyone was so excited getting ready in the morning and walking into the church I caught a glimpse of all our guests seated to watch us get married. I was so happy and smiling all day and I LOVED that feeling. I also loved the five minutes after the ceremony because Le Husband and I hid from everyone and had a quiet moment to ourselves. We just chatted about everyday things and just reveled in the fact we were married. Those five minutes are five of my favorite moments of the day and I highly suggest every bride does the same thing, you'll love it!

What was the most stressful thing about your wedding day?

I'm not a details person, at all.  I like planning, but all the itty, bitty details and phone calls are so not my forte. I'm good at the big picture and the big list, so I hired a wedding planner for the last two months of planning. Best decision, EVER! It was so nice NOT having to worry about ANYTHING the day off and our planners did such an amazing job. I highly, highly recommended getting a wedding planner, even just the day of the wedding.

What is the best piece of advice for future brides out there?

Enjoy E V E R Y T H I N G! Wedding planning is stressful, but it's also so much fun. I loved everything about being engaged and counted down the days till I married the man of my dreams. The week before my wedding was the best week, ever and it was so full of love and fun. Remember that your wedding isn't a performance and it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks/wants. Your wedding and reception is about YOU and your GROOM, so remember to take the time to enjoy the special moments. Also, remember something will go wrong on your day, so handle it and move on without freaking out too much. We had a few you can read about *here* and I just rolled with them. You can also find my "Dos & Don'ts" post *here*. Remember the reason you're getting married, and how much you love your soon to be spouse. < 3

linkinguphere &
linkinguphere 
&here

Wedding Weds: Rehearsal Video

Hello ladies!

I'm back for another Wedding Wednesday.

Over here in pinkland, we're going back in time,
to the day BEFORE the wedding.

I never blogged about it, because I haven't compiled
allllllllllll the pictures that were taken.

I'm super lucky though, because I have one talented
baby sissy aka BABYSPICE
and she created a super cute video of 9.6.13!

There will be another post with pictures, detailing all the fun
that went into our rehearsal dinner [which we catered ourselves]
and pictures of the mani/pedi time with the ladies.

But, for now, enjoy this quick lil sneak into the day before.
[I just have to say that my friends and family are hilarious.
I'm so lucky to have them all]

Rehearsal Day *VIDEO*

***Can we take a moment to check out my hand when I'm 'talking' to Le Husband. Serious much?!?!?***

 Linking up with some lovely ladies!

******Remember that you are DUST
and to DUST you shall return******

The journey to the cross starts today. 

Three Hundred & Sixty Five Days

Yesterday was 365 days since I said YES
to that all important question.

One year ago last night, I walked into Le Beau's apartment

and my world changed.

I left the world of girlfriend

and joined the world of fiance.

It was completly unexpected and I was 100% s u r p r i s e d.

I mean, I knew I wanted to marry him
and that he wanted to marry me,
but I thought we were a few months away.

Little did I know we were just seven months away
from our wedding day.

I can't even begin to tell you how much
joy, happiness, and love the last 365 days have brought.
The amount of memories, smiles, tears, good times and blessings
that I have experienced are too many to count.

I fully realized that since last year this blog has mostly been
engagement, wedding, smiles, butterflies and married talk.
BUT, I'm so glad I have this blog to look back on
and see how much fun last year was for us.


Reviewing my first 'I'm getting married posts' makes me realize
that JUST one year agomy world was so different.

Thank you honey, for making the past 525949 minutes amazing!

I LOVE YOU HUSBAND!

Pinky's Do's & Don'ts of Wedding Planning

Good morning ladies!

I hope everyone is doing well.

We're still dealing with snow and our tax dollars have been hard at work with school's & the federal government closed. Sadly, my company does not give us free days off work, so I've been 'slaving' away while others get to sleep at home. The snow is beautiful though, so I can't been too upset.

Since my Wedding OOOPS post was such a hit [thanks for the sweet comments friends], I thought I'd share my DO's & Don'ts of Wedding Planning today. I, by no means, am ANY kind of expert planner [wedding planning is not on my top 1000 things to do btw], but as one of the few post wedding girls that linkup, I thought it would be fun to share some advice that I wish I had known before planning. 

/////*********************\\\\\

DO... take time to enjoy your engagement.
Whether you choose to have a LONG engagement or a short engagement take at least a week or two to BE IN the JUST engaged bubble. It should be one of the happiest times of your life, so wallow in the happy, joy and mushiness. Once planning gets started, stress happens, so splurge on going out to dinners, having extra cuddle time and staying up late together. The magic of your love will never fade, but the magic that is the engaged bubble will, so enjoy it as much as possible.

Siiiiiiiiiiiigh, what a great moment!

DO... remember that a wedding is JUST a DAY, but a marriage is a lifetime.
YES, a wedding is important and a fun and special day. BUT, it's just a day. Marriage is a lifetime commitment and something that will last forever. Stressing about colors, dresses, gifts and details REALLY isn't worth it for just one day. Definitely take the time to make it wonderful and your own, but also concentrate on WHY you are having the wedding day too.

DON'T... let people steal your sunshine.
This is YOUR wedding, don't let anyone take the fun out of planning it.You can't control other people's attitudes, opinions or actions so don't try. You will just make yourself miserable. People won't be able to come to your wedding and they might have some opinions to share regarding things you want to have, but don't let that steal your sunshine. Sometimes compromises will have to be made, but remember it's your wedding and stick to your guns when it's something important.

DO... make your wedding unique/special to you and your fiance.
It doesn't have to be expensive or anything grand, but have something that makes you two as a couple unique on the day. Whether it's programs, gifts, cake, your dress or anything else, just have something SPECIAL and unique to you both. It will make the day truly yours and give your guests something fun to remember as well.

DON'T... be fooled by Pinterest.
Sure, Pinterest is a great place to go for ideas and pretty pictures. But, it's also very easy to hide the costs and work and make you think everything is cheap&easy. That beautiful boquet that looks whimsy, yeah probably $200 to recreate. All the shabby chic decor that looks DIY friendly, yeah probably done by a professional to LOOK that way. DON'T stress yourself out perusing Pinterest too often. I only REALLY used Pinterest to get wedding dress ideas, to find my bridesmaid dresses and for hair and makeup. Everything else was just pretty pictures and mindless entertainment. 

[DON'TDOIT!JUSTDON'T]

DO... other things besides JUST wedding stuff while planning.
Remember to date your fiance and enjoy each other. Wedding planning will take up the bulk of your time for sure, but don't forget to still date each other and enjoy each other. Make plans to be together for dinner or to go out for ice cream or just go for a walk together. You are going to be with each other the rest of your life, so make sure you keep the joy and fun alive :)

DON'T... wait too long to order your invitations. TRUST ME
Yeah, just don't wait too long, it will cause way too much stress. 

DO... delegate/ask for help.
You don't have to be superwoman girlfriend, let others help you. Unless you have horrible friends and family, this is the one time in your life where everyone is asking to help you out, so let them. Even if it's just making phone calls or if it's something as major as being in charge of setting up, delegate to people you trust so you don't go crazy.

DON'T... sweat the small stuff.
STUFF happens and there is nothing you can do about it.Things will go wrong, you'll missplan, things won't arrive on time and you can either pitch a fit and get upset [which I've done] or build a bridge and get over it [which I've also done]. As mentioned before, the wedding is just a day, so don't let minor things keep you from enjoying everything about the wedding and the fact you're getting married.

[and who wants to walk funny?]

DO... workout.
You'll need the stress relief, the endorphins and will feel better about your body on your special day. Make a plan and stick to it. Maybe you have to workout in the mornings, maybe late at night and maybe only for thirty minutes, just make sure you get some sweating time [that kind of sweating time will work too ;)] Looking back I could have worked out harder earlier on, but I think I'll be where I want to be come my wedding day. My gym sweat sessions really helped keep me from going coocoo!

DO...take a step back and remember you're getting married to the love of your life.
You're getting married, that's what matters! You will be starting a life together as man and wife and that is so exciting. All that matters is walking down the aisle after the ceremony as ONE COUPLE! If the rings are forgotten, if the limo doesn't show up, if it rains and your dress gets ruined or anything else happens that wasn't planned.....IT'S OKAY! You will still be married and starting your new life together. ENJOY the moment and the fun. WOOOHOOO!!!!!!!

/////*********************\\\\\

There are probably other tips I should be sharing too, but these are the most important ones, I think. Married ladies, any other tips you would share? Brides-To-Bes anything you wished you knew?!?!

***If you didn't see my post yesterday, please take a moment to ready Teddy's story and send his family some love and prayers***