Moving

My new state of marital bliss has not only led to a physical movement (from my parents home to the house I now share with M) but a move in the blogsphere. From now on, my posts can be found here . I hope to see you there.

Wedding Recap

My wedding celebration began on Thursday - March 19, when my close friends and family got together and threw me a lingerie shower. Jess W., the bridesmaid who organized the event went above and beyond my expecations. All of the ladies in attendance enjoyed great food and lots of laughs.

After the shower, Stephanie - another bridesmaid - gave pedicures to myself and Jess W. Then we headed to the reception site to finalize the decorations. It made for a late night but it was worth it.

On Friday morning, M's grandmother held a "bridal breakfast" for the family and bridal party who were in town. We dined on pancakes, grits, eggs, and biscuits with jelly. It was nice to have all of our family together before the big day. After breakfast, my bridesmaids and I convended at our house to get ready for a "Girl's Day Out". I took the girls out to lunch at a little place called the Garden Cafe. Then we ran errands around town. With just an or so to spare, we made it back to town to get ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

Wedding Day came bright and early. My bridesmaids and I were up at 8:00 a.m. and in the salon by 9:00. We enjoyed our breakfast while my stylist Amber made us all beautiful. We finished with hair around 12:30, moved to the church for make up, and started photos at 1:00. The next few hours went by in a blur as we took hundreds of photos. Thankfully M and I had a few moments to ourselves before the actual ceremony took place. It was wonderful!.

I will leave you with photos.

And They Lived Happily Ever After

Last Minute Wedding Details

Last night my matron of honor and I went to the home of one of my bridesmaids. Our goal was to put together all 60 of my centerpieces. We laid out all of our materials on the dining room table and ready to work. Only a few seconds in we discovered that the candles we purchased did fit into our vases - oh no! My bridesmaid Jessica nearly had a melt-down. I remained calmed and unfazed - which was quite surprising. Jessica's mother came in and we began tossing around alternatives. Soon Jessica, Lane, and I were racing to town to get the dollar store before it closed so that we could buy up their entire inventory of stock in ivory votive candles. The staff was nice enough to wait on us, even when we got their after closing. We picked up the votives and then an order of pizza. We got back to Jessica's and managed to get half of the centerpieces done - the other half will get finished on Friday once we get more votive candles.

I will be leaving town today for a work conference, and am giving up control of the wedding preparations. M has a small list of things that he needs to accomplish. And I have entrusted a few details to Lane, my matron of honor, and of course Jessica the bridesmaid/decorator. I will be returning on Thursday afternoon and Thursday night have my lingerie shower. Per Kathy's advice (see comment on post below) I have decided that if something is not done by Thursday night, then it just isn't going to happen - with centerpieces being the one exception - because I want to be able to enjoy my time with M, our family, and our friends.

I will try and post a few pictures before/during the honeymoon. But I am not sure what our internet access will be like in the mountains of Tennessee. So be sure to check back on March 30, for lots and lots of pics from our big day!

Disappointment

Last night I checked my voicemail and had a message from the mother of my maid of honor. She stated that it was an emergency and asked that I call her as soon as possible. I immediately disconnected from voicemail and dialed her number. Mrs. Carolyn answered and then informed me that Morghan, her daughter and my maid of honor, was in the hospital fighting a severe double kidney infection. But moreover, Morghan is so sick that the doctors do not expect to release her before Wednesday and they have banned her from driving or taking any roadtrips. Morghan will be unable to attend my wedding - and she is devestated.

This is classic Morghan. She is one of those rare people with a heart so big, that she puts everyone before herself. Her mom said that Morghan had been fighting flu like symptoms for two weeks but had got seen the doctor because she was too busy taking care of her job, her students, her family, and trying to plan for my wedding. I reassured Mrs. Carolyn, as I will do with Morghan when I can speak with her, that I prefer having my best friend healthy for a liftime, than her to risk her health to be with me for just a day. I will admit that I am dissappointed but that is overriden by my concern for my friend. I am praying that this episode will help Morghan to learn to put herself first....and that it can serve as a reminder to me (and anyone else) that if we aren't healthy then we are of no use to anyone else.

If you would, please say a prayer for Morghan that her body mends quickly, and that her spirit is not to weighed down by her disappointment in missing the wedding.

Home Alone

M is out of town for the weekend. A few of his buddies from work are taking him to a race down in Florida. Since he will be away, I have made an extensive list of cleaning projects that I want to get done in preparation for wedding day.

I must admit it feels weird to be the one at home - as I am normally the one who leaves for various work related activities. I hope that this is one of only a few times I get left behind.....

Home Improvement Projects

When M and I started planning on wedding, I was sure that there would be setbacks and snags along the way - and there have been. But planning the wedding was the easy part... figuring out how to join our two lives together has been much more difficult.

I guess I should pause to clarify that I am not referring to the actual marriage, as I know that learning to live together will be a life long proccess. Rather I am referring to how we are going to put all of my stuff with all of his stuff - and still have a house that is livable.

Over the last few months, M and I have paired down our respective collections of things. We then created a list of projects that we wanted to complete on the house - projects that would ease the transition into sharing spaces. And even a few projects that are purely cosmetic ( like painting the kithcen). We have planned, planned and planned these projects. But it is just now, a mere 11 days out, that we are putting the plans into practice.

As I type, my kitchen is a war zone. My Uncle Dewayne has taken over the area as he has stripped two layers of old vinyl wallpaper off, mudded, patched, sanded and resanded the walls. Today he is going to put on the first coat of our new wall color, Tidal Basin Blue . Tomorrow he will put on the 2nd coat and paint all of the trim to coordinate. Hopefully by Thursday, I can get into the room to put it to rights and clean up everything.

The other big project has been determining closet space. M has a lot of clothes, and I have even more. So we knew there was no way we could share the small 6 foot closet in the master bedroom. We had been discussing converting the "sitting room" oustide the master bath into a walk-in closet. And last night M did just that. Hanging more than 8 feet of rod for me to use. I took the time to go thru my wardrobe and pair down to just those items that a) fit, b) looked to be in good condition, and c) that I have worn in the last year. I was able to donate nearly 2 bags full of clothing - and I still used every last inch of those 8 feet. :-)

Tonight M and I will continue working on our project list as we go thru his clothing. We will also be hanging some decorative items. Then this weekend, while M is away on his boys weekend, I have organized a work party to tackle the clean up of our carport and yard. Hopefully by Sunday afternoon, our house will be neat, tidy, and ready for us to make it our home as man and wife!