Howdy Friends!

Hi friends!  Hope all has been well with everyone!  Long time no see… :)

Life is good here in Nashville!  I’m LOVING the new city and being married to Adam.   It’s been really wonderful to be in the same city and to have a home. Marriage rocks.  (Especially when it’s to your perfect match). The Music City is fabulous and I’m starting to adjust to calling it my “home”.  Though I still need to explore more and check out some of the big tourist things ;)

Adam and I going out to dinner together!

 

My new job is great – I’m really enjoying the challenge, though it’s definitely intense.  I actually work in California.  Yes, the state that is very, very far from Nashville, TN.  I know, I know… kind of nuts.  I travel as a consultant and fly to LA every. single. week. I hope my absence from the blog makes more sense now. ;)  When I am home I am like a fierce lion protecting my time with Adam.  I’m still trying to figure out my routine and life here, but so far so good.  It’s just constant, I’ll say that much!

California selfie. I was so happy to be in sunshine!

 

My knees continue to be poopy diapers.  I’m back in physical therapy and doubling my efforts to get them healed up.  I ended up getting x-rays and more extensive analysis on them – but it still seems to be my inner and outer hip strength.  Which is good and bad.  I’m happy it’s not something more serious, but frustrated because this has been going on for a full year now!  In many ways I’m adjusting to my new reality of no running, though it does make me sad…this is another reason I haven’t felt super inspired to blog. Fingers crossed this round of PT will help me heal for good and I can start running again.  Though I’ve started to mentally prepare myself that maybe for the longevity of my knees even if I do heal up, maybe being a short distance runner is best.  Let’s see!

Additionally, we are in the process of buying a house!!  WOOT!!  We close in a month and I’m just so excited I can’t stand it.  Not that I’m not enjoying living in Adam’s 600 sq ft. apartment together ;)  That process has kept us very busy, but we’ve settled on a great 2 bed, 2.5 bath place that will keep us happy and comfortable for the next couple years.  We’re open for visitors! :)

So lots of great life changes and excitement and plenty of adjustment.  I’m finally settling into my new name, new city, new job, and new husband.  Great things on all accounts :) But…with all the new, I have felt an incredible lack of free time. Hence the lack of blogging.  And sadly, I’ve decided to continue the break for a bit longer.  Between my new job, new life, and  just the craziness of life I’ve had to make a decision to take an extended break at least for the time being.  Sometimes in life you’ve just got to prioritize… and right now blogging has to be toward the bottom of the list.  Though I miss you guys!   Hopefully see you back here soon :)

Our Wedding: Part 5

Hi friends!  Long time no see… more on that later.  But I’ve had some spare time and wanted to finally, finally get down the last bit of the wedding posts.  Hope all is well with everyone! Enjoy! :)

The Reception

Making our grand entrance!

The song started Usher’s “Without You” and we all individually entered.  We actually ended up doing our pairings differently so people could be announced as a couple.  We had the best man (Adam’s brother) and fiancé, then my brother and his wife, and finally my sister and the flower girls.  I loved it.

 

My sister and the girls!

After our entrance we made our way to our seats, and I finally had the chance to look around.  I looked and looked and almost laughed/cried.  It was SO beautiful!  It lookedSOOOO classy.  I was in shock.  Not that my expectations were low, but I certainly was okay with having a less than regal celebration.  But with all the hundreds of candles and decorations, it just looked perfect. Just goes to show you that tons of candles and a few flowers can really make it look like something special!  It was such a beautiful moment to look around with Adam at what we had created.  Seeing all of our friends and family smiling and chatting.  Pure magic.

 

Our lovely buffet tables and extra flowers my florist threw in!

The delicious cupcakes.

My stinking sticks that were such a pain turned out beautifully!

Pinecone instructions for the guest book. My Grandpa found this monster pinecone!

My biggest project – finding tons of pinecones and turning them into name cards.

The Dads opened up the reception with a couple quick welcome speeches.  We wanted both of our Dads to say a few words, as for us this was the joining of two families.  Adam and I were also contributing a good portion of the costs, so we wanted it to feel like a joint endeavor (not hosted by one person per say).  They said some wonderful short words of welcome, followed by a sung prayer.  About 40 of our guests were friends from a singing group we were in during college.  They sang a beautiful blessing and salads were served!

 

My Dad starting off the welcome.

Sitting with Adam at our modified Sweetheart table – you can see my grandparents to the left of Adam.

Adam’s Dad giving a welcome.

Our friends singing the blessing.

The food and wine was delicious and we soon went up to the buffet to get our food.  We went with plated salads and rolls, but a hot buffet for the entrée.  I loved it.  Adam and I have performed at many banquets, and honestly our favorite was buffets – hot food and you get what you want.  It made for an easy choice.

We managed to eat a full dinner and chatted with our family.  For our seating we did sort of a modified sweetheart table.  Adam and I sat at a sweetheart table, flanked by two large tables.  One held all of our siblings, and the other held the parents and grandparents.  We wanted them in a place of honor and close to us, but we wanted to be alone as well.  It was just awesome.

After we ate our food, Adam and I got up to start greeting tables.  I was super proud that we made our way all the way around to the “adult” tables, aka family friends or family members.  On the other side of the room was our “under 30” section and we didn’t get a chance to formally greet the tables – but we saw a whole lot more of them on the dance floor.  Plus we greeted them at the church.

Once we greeted tables and the buffet line was winding down, we wanted to get going right away on the rest of the “official” reception duties.  We ended up switching our order because of some reason that I honestly can’t remember (maybe something about clearing the buffet?).  But we knew we wanted to power ahead, so we just went with the change.  Up first was cutting the cake.  Our song came on “Hit me with You Best Shot” and we started the cut.  I couldn’t believe how much Adam took charge.  He meant business!  He put his hand on top of mine and cut that stinking cake!  And here I was thinking I’d be the lead ;)  We cut our two small bites and Adam sweetly fed it to me.  I was surprised.  Not that I thought he would smash me, I thought he might give me a little bit of a hard time.  I took my bite and as carefully as I could smeared it on his lower cheek and lips.  Success!  I didn’t make a hug mess, but I managed to give him a little bit of trouble.  In turn, Adam grabbed me and sloppily kissed me, smearing frosting on my lips. There’s the Adam I know and love.  It was super cute and playful, with no mess to clean up.  Perfect.

Cutting our cake!

In the aftermath :)

Up next, the speeches from our siblings.  My sister gave the most incredible speech.  To say she blew me away was an understatement.  It was touching, fun, loving, and FUNNY.  Not that I wouldn’t say my sister isn’t funny, but the speech was laugh out loud funny.  It was so great.  Adam’s brother did an amazing job as well – funny and heartfelt.  The two speeches complimented each other perfectly.  I was so so touched by them both.  Perfection.

 

My beautiful sister giving her hilarious speech.

We really enjoyed it.

Kyle’s speech was pretty amazing as well.

Adam lost it a couple times.

Grandma enjoying the speeches.

Cheers!

Next up – the scary part.  Our first dance.  We danced to our song “Where You Are.” It was an easy choice as that song has just always been the song of our relationship.  The big catch though – we had secretly choreographed part of our dance.  2 minutes of the song we did the typical slow dance mush gush middle school style, and then BAM at 2:14 we broke out into a Viennese waltz!  The reaction of our friends and family was priceless!  The surprise effect was awesome.  But in the moments leading up to the bridge and our cue, I kept hugging Adam tighter and tighter.  I was SO nervous.  We had practiced as best we could, but we had never done the full thing in my dress!  We made it through successfully and had such a blast.  The cheering from everyone at the end was amazing.  Totally worth all those extra rehearsals ;)

 

I love these photos.

Checking out Adam’s new ring.

Aww….

The nervousness starting – it was almost waltz time!

Onto our ‘fabulous’ waltz – we had a lot of fun.

Adam and his Mom did a sweettwo minute version of Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me.”  It was touching and sweet.  Though I was a bit nervous through it, because my Dad and I had something a bit unconventional up our sleeves.  We chose the song “Danger Zone.” Yeah… the song from Top Gun.  Backstory: My dad flew fighter jets and that was the song of our childhood.  I have such happy memories running around pretending to be an airplane BLASTING that song. When I sent my Dad a list of 5 or 6 songs as contenders I was hoping he’d pick it.  And sure enough he did.  :) We “choreographed” running at each other from opposite ends of the long dance floor as planes (clearly I have no shame) and then danced atwo step of sorts.  It was so ridiculous and I loved it.  Our flower girls joined us, wanting to get in on the fun and we all just danced around in a circle.  The band leader told me it was his strangest father daughter request in all his years in the biz.  Haha.  I take it as a compliment ;)

 

Adam and his lovely Mom.

Something funny happened!

My Dad and I being goof balls.

I bite my lip when I dance. It’s a problem.

The girls joined us on the dance floor!

With the dances, speeches, and cake over – it was time to just relax!  The band started playing their open set and the magic began.  We danced our socks off AND so did everyone else!!  We couldn’t believe how many people were on the dance floor the whole night.  It was incredible.  Our decision to base our wedding date around a band was confirmed as we saw our guests have an incredible night.  We were complimented ENDLESSLY about the band.  Adam said at one point he went to the bathroom and sort of forgot it was a band, they sounded so much like the original songs.  Best. decision. ever.

 

As the night wore on we were amazed by how many people were still at the reception.  With the snow, we really thought people might bail a bit early.

Before everything was over the band leader made an announcement and called Adam up to the stage.  A few months before I asked the band if Adam could sing with them.  I told them Adam is a phenomenal singer and Jessie’s Girl is his go-to Karaoke song.  I knew he wouldn’t disappoint.  But I knew if I asked Adam in advance he’d say no and be mad.  But…. I also knew he would have a blast if it just “happened.”  The band loved my idea, and I kept my secret from everyone.  I knew what was happening as they called him up.  Adam looked at me with wide eyes and I just smiled coyly. He went up and the band started giving him a hard time, explaining that they heard he was a singer and wanted him to join in, but they weren’t going to tell him the song.  The crowd was pulled in, and we all started cheering.  I was SO happy as the opening chords to Jessie’s Girls started.  Adam owned the stage and if he was feeling any reservations he hid it – he rocked that song like a professional.  And let me tell you, we all LOVED it.  Adam eventually pulled me up to join him on stage and I danced around with my rockstar.  It was perfect.

As the night wore on, the dance floor remained packed and I danced like I never knew a bride could dance in a wedding gown.  I LOVE dancing and once I get going, I just can’t stop! (Seriously, it’s a problem…) It was so much fun.  The final song came on as planned, a 60’s medley.  It ended with “Ain’t No Mountain” and it started sinking in that this was it!  The band made a quick announcement that we were going to take a group picture and our sparkler exit was about to begin.

You like these moves?

The whole group together!

There was just one problem.  When we planned a sparkler exit it was because we thought there would be about 50 people left behind…. we probably had 125-150 people left behind.  It was a bit of madness to get out and we sort of ended up doing a receiving line while we waited to sign the bill (yeah, odd we had to sign the bill at the end of the night).  It was awesome to greet people but I know it really slowed things up.  This was probably the biggest thing we didn’t anticipate, but eventually we made it out and to our SUV.  Allie tucked us in the car, along with our cake and my bag. She closed the door and we opened the window waving at everyone standing outside.

 

Married!

As we pulled away, I sat back in my seat and turned to look at Adam.  The happiness of the day sunk in.  We were married.

 

Our Wedding: Part 4

“I now pronounce you Husband and Wife.”

You may kiss the bride!

Our pastor made the announcement and I couldn’t believe it was over!  This was it.  We did it.  I was so excited that after we turned around to face the congregation I wanted to just march right out of there.  Adam tugged my hand and we waited for the cue of the music.  Our dramatic musical march out (to one of the Olympic theme songs) started and we headed out of the sanctuary.  On the way out I finally got to see the faces of some of our family and friends in the pews.  I even got to wave to Adam’s grandma who was viewing the ceremony through FaceTime due to health problems.

Hey Grandma!

 

We did it!

We walked out to the lobby and just hugged each other.  It was the realization that we did it.  It was both climactic and anticlimactic at the same time.  A rush of emotions met with, ‘well that’s that.’  An interesting combination for sure.  I did feel a lot of relief.  The hard part was over.  I wasn’t feeling super well physically prior to the ceremony and I was feeling thrilled at this point.

Marching back in to greet everyone.

Adam and I almost immediately went back in to greet our guests.  It was the perfect way to say hi to everyone.  We wanted to ensure that we got to say hi to all in attendance.  I’ve been to a wedding where I never had the chance to say hi to my friends and it was a bit sad.  Everyone knows you can’t really chat forever, but a few words are always nice.  We hugged and greeted everyone before heading up to the altar to sign the official paperwork. My sister and Adam’s brother came with us as we signed the license.  That was that!  We were married!

Making it Official.

We made our way to the family room where everyone was enjoying a quick cookie before heading out to the reception.  Our wedding coordinator made the announcement and we made our way through the tunnel of our friends and family.  Our indoor, winter version of the send-off.

What goes together better than winter and bubbles?

We made our way quickly to our janky bus to realize it was SNOWING.  More than just our lovely dusting – it was definitely starting to really come down.  We decided to cut out any possibility of making any stops along the way for pictures or drinks.

We made our way straight to the reception and popped some champagne on the way.  It was perfect.  Our flower girls had been working VERY hard on some art work during their downtime and gave it to us.  Talk about the most adorable thing ever.  I put them on our bulletin board at home, they are just so cute.

 

We finally arrived at the reception venue (the snow really delayed us).  The beautiful thing about our janky bus is that we had a ton of space.  Katie ended up tying my bustle right in the bus.  Talk about efficient.  We made our way inside in the heavy snow and were whisked upstairs away from the reception room.

All of the ladies went immediately to the bathroom to refresh ourselves.  My sister fixed my hair and I reapplied a bit of my make-up.  I also took my anti-halo eye drops (a side-effect from a failed eye surgery a few years ago).  I was READY!  We made our way back into the little lobby, it was just about time…or so we thought.  The coordinator at the reception site came to us and let us know that we only had about half of our guests there.  Apparently the snow was causing a little bit of an issue.  Did we want to wait or proceed according to our carefully planned timeline?  We decided to wait 15 minutes and see where we were at.  Honestly it was a bit relaxing having some downtime to just be.  Eventually though we decided we wanted to just go ahead, we only had our band until 11 and we wanted to feed people who were on time.  With the decision made, we went downstairs.

Standing at the door to our reception it was such a strange feeling realizing we were here.  We were married and this was our reception.  Total shock.

Our Wedding: Part 3

Life is crazy folks!  New job, new city, new name, new husband, new, LOTs of excitement and change blah blah blah.  Hoping things calm down soon and I can get in a new routine and in the swing of things. (Umm…at this point, I think I actually have forgotten how to work out…gah!) In the meantime…until I get my life in order, more wedding fun!

Check out: Part 1 or Part 2

The Ceremony

The music had started.  We were lined up and ready to go.  This was it.  I was getting married.  I could feel the emotion starting to flood my body, that and adrenaline.

Don’t cry, don’t cry!

My nerves started to subside and in place I felt calm.  Kind of eerie calm.  The kind of calm you feel when you’re getting ready to marry your best friend.  I couldn’t wait to see Adam.  I couldn’t wait to stand next to him.  I couldn’t wait to enjoy our ceremony together.  All I had to do was see him.

I saw my sister start to make her way down the aisle and I just about lost it then and there.  This was real life!!  She looked beautiful as she made her way down the aisle.  Next up: the absolutely adorable flower girls.  And right before me: our 3 year old ring bearer.  To be perfectly honest I didn’t expect him to make it down the aisle.  But to my shock and delight he trotted right on down the aisle with an adorable purpose in his step.

Adam walking his parents to their seats.

The girls were ADORABLE.

The doors were closed.  Wow.  Deep breath.  This was it.  My Dad and  I made our way up to the doors.  I repeated to myself, “Walk slowly.  Walk slowly.”  The aisle was extremely short and my Mom would hurt us if we didn’t slow down and soak up the moment.

The music began: Prelude in C by Bach.  The moment I had played in my head over and over and over again was happening.  The piano was calming as my eyes met Adam’s.  My Dad and I started tentatively walking down the aisle.  SO many people, I could feel and see them in my periphery.  My eyes stayed locked on Adam’s.  I wanted to soak up this moment, holding his eyes in mine.  We made our way down the aisle with a smile on my face and tears in my eyes (and maybe face?).  Thank goodness for that blusher veil!

It’s time!

My handsome groom!

Dad and I finally reached the altar.  The church was incredibly silent as our pastor said her first words.  My Dad lifted my veil, gave me a kiss, and placed my hand in Adam’s.

Let the waterworks begin.

I could feel the tears streaming down my face.  I was never more relieved to be facing away from the pews.  We planned our ceremony meticulously, and first up had a few dear friends do a couple readings.  My future sister in law read the poem “I carry your heart” by ee cummings.  It was incredibly touching and at one point she choked up, whispering a soft ‘I’m sorry.’  Honestly I credit this moment with saving my emotion.  Her unexpected emotion made me chuckle, and helped me sort of get myself together.  The rest of the ceremony was lovely and very touching.  Honestly it was just perfect.  Here’s our ceremony in a nut shell:

• Seating of the families – Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (Bach)
• Wedding Party Porcessional – Canon in D (Pachelbel)
• Bridal Processional – Prelude in C Major (Bach)
• Welcome & Statement of Purpose
• Scripture Reading – 1 Corinthians, 1-8
• Responsorial Psalm – Blessed Are Those Who Love You
• Poem Reading – i carry your heart with me (cummings)
• Wedding Message
• Declaration of Consent
• Affirmation of Family & Friends
• Marriage Vows
• Exchanging of the Rings
• Lighting of the Unity Candle – Make You Feel My Love (Dylan)
• Blessing & Benediction – Go Ye Now in Peace (Eilers)
• Prounouncement & Recessional – Bugler’s Dream (Arnaud)

A dear friend doing one of our readings.

You may now kiss the bride!

HOORAY! We did it!

ADAM! WE’RE MARRIED!

Happy. Pure happy.

My favorite highlights of the ceremony:

Vows

I loved that we ended up doing traditional vows.  Honestly as  an incredibly emotional person even in rehearsal I was struggling to speak.  I couldn’t believe how hard it was to choke out my vows (I honestly had somehow forgotten that I needed to say stuff).  Saying the words that millions have said before me was pretty powerful. We initially were a bit sad that we didn’t write our own vows, but it ended up working perfectly for us.

Adam saying his vows.

Family Advice

One section we added into our ceremony that was a bit unique was something we called “family advice”.  We asked all of our Aunts/Uncles/Grandparents (on both sides) to share their best marriage advice.  It was optional, and we asked those who wanted to participate to email my Uncle their thoughts (50 words or less).  My Uncle gathered all of the advice, added a little intro and closer and gave the most wonderful ‘reading’ of sorts at the wedding.  We loved hearing from all of our family members, it was really special. Having my Uncle share it in one concise reading made it efficient, without losing the meaning.

Uncle E sharing the family advice.

Music

Adam and I both love music.  And conveniently enough we have a lot of talented friends that we could incorporate into the ceremony.  We had the most lovely music in our ceremony from all the singing to my friend playing the flute, it was just perfect.  We got so many comments on the caliber of singing in our ceremony, one of the perks of having friends who can sing! :)

Lovely friends singing!

Dismissal

We knew we wanted a way to greet all of our guests after the ceremony, but thought a receiving line would be a bit cumbersome for us.  Our solution was to dismiss our guests ourselves after the ceremony.  It was so smooth and allowed us to say hello to everyone.  It took about 15 minutes, but gave us a chance to say hi and hug everyone.  The beauty of the dismissal is that everyone is watching you (waiting themselves to be released), so they don’t talk long.  With the whole congregation watching people typically just say congrats or other quick well wishes, instead of a conversation.  Instantly we could greet everyone, but didn’t have to take 30-45 minutes for a receiving line.  Efficiency at it’s best.  I LOVED getting to see everyone  right after the ceremony.

Heading back in to do some dismissing!

The Cookie Bar

Because we knew there would be a little bit of a wait while we dismissed guests, we had a cookie bar in the family room!  It was perfect – it allowed guests an initial chance to mingle while waiting for us to finish dismissing.  We put the Moms in charge of making the delicious cookies, which was fantastic.  It gave people a chance to eat a little something before heading over to the reception as well.  Once we finished dismissing the last guest we made our way to the family room for a bubbly send-off and went straight to the reception!

Yay! We’re married!

It’s reception time!

Our Wedding: Part 2

Check out Part 1

Our First Look

Once Adam and I were ready to go for the day and had taken a couple of solo pictures, it was time for our first look.  We decided to see each other before the ceremony because it made sense for us, our timeline, and our personalities.  Honestly, Adam has a very calming influence on me – the idea of spending more time with him on our wedding day seemed like a perfect way to relax and enjoy the day (our ceremony wasn’t until 4:30).  Another big factor: we love efficiency…and the efficiency of doing all the pictures ahead of time is pretty hard to beat.  And another big thing – I cry.  Like.  A lot.  We needed to do our nice pictures before I got all emotional and mush gush during the ceremony.

We did our first look outside in the courtyard across from the inn.  This worked out perfectly as it allowed for family members to watch the first look from the windows.  It allowed them to be involved, while giving us an intimate moment together.  Adam went outside first (brave soul – it was about 25 degrees out).  I made my way down with Allie, and my sisters.  We crossed the street toward the courtyard with Adam and our paparazi.  He had his eyes closed and back towards my direction.  We started getting closer and I was just so excited to finally see him.  It had been hard keeping all the secrets about my dress, I was excited to officially start our wedding day together.

Aww poor cold Adam waiting on me.

With my entourage making my way to the first look!

Almost ready!

Okay Julie, now count to three!

My plan for the first look was to walk toward him, instead of the usual tap on the shoulder thing you often see.  I wanted to emulate walking down the aisle, since he will already have seen me at that point.  My sister called out 1….2….3… and Adam opened his eyes.  I started laughing and walked toward him, my dress dragging in the snow.  I remember thinking “man, I shouldn’t have stood so far away from him!  This is a long way to walk.”  Finally I reached him and we hugged and kissed.  I think it was starting to sink in that we made it to our wedding day.

No peeking :)

I think he’s showing some emotion!

Don’t sob. don’t sob. don’t sob.

Hellllooooo there!

Oh hey family creepers.

 

Showing Adam the full look!

Happy and together.

Despite the cold, we took several pictures at this point while waiting for the limo to show up.  It was freeeeeezing, but everyone was really a trooper as we took a couple of different combinations of pictures.  I ended up switching into my winter boots, and I must say… those were LIFE SAVERS.  They made the day so comfortable and really helped me feel very toasty warm.  I LOVED having them.  I can’t recommend having warm feet enough if you’re going the winter wedding route.

My boots rocked my world. So warm!

Hey let’s hide under my veil. Like you do.

With my ladies!

Wearing our gloves Adam’s grandmother made for us!

Hey let’s hide behind these balloons and kiss.

Eventually we saw a small janky looking bus pull up to the Inn.  “How funny, someone else must have an event!” Well… turns out that crazy looking old bus was for us.  Dreams of our lovely limo vanished as we all piled into the bus (that also had a bathroom with no door).  We were all laughing at the change of plans, and honestly it worked out kind of great having all that space.  It wasn’t that nice, but it was spacious.  And it gave us something to laugh hysterically about – for some reason that day we all thought it was really funny.  Plus, it was a vehicle that was on time so we didn’t even think about fighting it.  Not worth it.

Enjoying our spacious vehicle.

We made our way to our one photo location.  Initially in the planning stages we wanted to stop by a couple places around downtown Indy.  But the more Adam and I discussed it, the more sense it made to stick to one location.  It would cut down on wasted time and make for a more stress-free time.  It turned out to be a brilliant decision as we had a lovely time, never felt rushed, and still got a variety of pictures.

We chose to have our photos at the downtown library for a few reasons.  One, it has a ton of variety – it was renovated and has a really neat old-fashioned looking part and a stark modern area as well.  Two, Adam and I are big dorks that love to read.  Three, we went on one of our first “dates” at the library for Adam’s med school prom (yes, that is really a thing).  Honestly if we had a big budget, we would’ve chosen the library as our venue – it’s just GORGEOUS.

With my ladies again!

The whole group looking fancy.

The handsome gentlemen.

Getting ready to go in the library. There may have been a bit of heckling by random people hahah.

Completely fancy people. I mean right??

Ooooo… so handsome!

A little “Beauty and the Beast” no??

Let’s snuggle on the stairs in the library.

Once we had our fill of the inside library… we realized it was SNOWING.  So we just HAD to go outside and capture all that glorious snow.  My dream was coming true.  Snow on our wedding day.  Pinch me!

Pretend like you’re not cold and cheer!

Let’s be all dreamy and kissy… and freezing.

Both of us were on cloud 9 with all this snow.

Cuddly almost spouses.

Just giddy!

After about 45 minutes at the library we piled back in our silly bus and made our way to the church.  It had just started to snow, so it was a good thing we were making our way.  Once we got to the church we did all of our family pictures.  We had another 45 minutes or so to do all of the combinations of family members.  It ran like clockwork as we spent a lot of time coming up with an order that would be extremely efficient.

Family photo fun!

Once all the photos were complete I made my way back into the children’s nursery to hide out.  At this point I was starting to feel a bit of a headache/light headed.  I pounded some water and advil, and ate about 4 cookies from our cookie bar.  Hahah, it worked out perfectly :)  

I was very surprised how nervous I was getting.  It seemed like the morning and photos were all fun and games… and it finally was dawning on me what was happening.  I started thinking about all of the people out there and got a little overwhelmed.  Honestly these feelings caught me a bit off guard.  I perform and am used to doing things in crowds… but for some reason I was just anxious.  I sat down in one of the rocking chairs and just tried to calm down/zen out.  I think all of the busy-ness of the day and emotions were catching up with me.  I was happy that there were no photographers or videographers with me.  It was very welcome to just have a bit of time alone.  Everyone did a good job of giving me space without me even asking for it.  I think having a bit of downtime on such a busy day made for a much more successful rest of the evening.

It reached 4:30 and I knew we were getting close.  Due to the snow I knew we’d delay start until 4:35, but no later (we told them to only delay 5 minutes in case of snow).  The clock seemed to be counting down incredibly slowly, but quickly at the same time.  Eventually I heard the music of our singers start.  This was it.  Time to go become Adam’s wife.

Our Wedding: Part 1

Happy Valentine’s Day!  Adam and I are planning a perfect evening of Olympics-watching and writing thank you notes.  Ahh perfection!  Things around here have been surprisingly busy: lots and lots of writing.  Of the thank you note variety.  I must admit….somehow it doesn’t seem fair to write blog posts when I have so many thank you notes I should be writing.  But we’re making excellent progress on those.  Plus new job prep (did I mention I need a whole new wardrobe for it?? Yeah a whole other post for a whole other time), and all the stuff that goes along with moving…I somehow feel busier unemployed than I did with my job.  With my last few days of ‘freedom’ looming before starting my job next week, I figured I should finish up a couple wedding posts! Especially now that I have the professional shots back! Can I get a woot??!

Wedding Morning

When I woke up on January 18th I distinctly remember thinking

“I really don’t want to wake up…”

Despite it being my wedding day, I just couldn’t muster the desire to get out of the warm, warm cozy bed. To be honest I was a little surprised…aren’t you supposed to be pooping rainbows, sunshine, and happiness on your wedding day??  Was something wrong with me?? After about 10 minutes of battling waking up in my head, my ‘bridal coordinator’ Allie arrived.  With Starbucks.

Allie and I have been friends for 7 years and have planned on being each other’s ‘person’ for weddings.  Essentially you need a run around person that isn’t needed for pictures that can just do stuff for you.  A grunt, if you will.  Having Allie around to just help keep the timeline on track, answer my phone, and make sure I ate/drank in the morning was priceless.

Allie wasted no time accessing the situation (of me grumpily clinging to the bed).  She ordered me off to the shower, and what a difference a shower can make.  I soon got out of my sleepy fog and realized IT’S WEDDING DAY!  We all got some breakfast and drank our Starbucks, making sure everything was ready to begin.  We rented an adorable inn (with 11 rooms) for all family and had all the make-up/hair gals coming our way to get ready.  This made for a relaxing morning logistically – all we had to do was stay put!  With the winter/snow aspect of it, I really didn’t want us driving around from place to place.  Right before the make-up folks arrived, the nerves set it.  I don’t know if it was drinking coffee (not a usual coffee drinker) or what… but my stomach was churning.  I took some tums, chugged some water, and sat down to get my hair done.

My lovely shoes! (Found these puppies on sale for 30 bucks!)

The dress!

While I tried to soak in the morning and relax, Allie was buzzing around making sure things were moving according to schedule.  I had created  several documents in advance that she essentially just had to execute – it worked out perfectly.  She executed my vision while I could focus on getting ready and being a happy and sweet bride :)  While getting dolled up I invited several close friends over for a “bridal luncheon” – essentially eat lunch, drink mimosas, and giggle was the plan.  It was awesome getting to see them all in the morning before all the madness began.  I created a “getting ready for wedding” playlist to help set the mood. Allie made sure that everyone arrived and found their way to the right place.  Again, it was awesome not thinking about all that myself.

Allie keeping things on task.

Who doesn’t love a mimosa?

The yummy spread.

Look at all that healthy stuff!

The getting-ready process went pretty smoothly as I had already done trials, and pretty much knew what to expect.  Though I must admit, we did have a little bit of a hair panic.  And by we, I mean me.  My hair initially ended up looking a bit differently than we had settled in the trial.  I looked in the mirror and just about cried. We had already eaten up our time buffer at this point, so I was starting to sweat.  I told my hair gal that I needed to move on and get my make-up done, but there were a few things I wanted to adjust after to look more like the trial.  I sat down to get my make-up done and my stomach was now a little churn machine.  Inside I was borderline panicking about my hair.  I put on my best actress face to hide any frustration, as I really didn’t want any negative energy to spoil the morning.  Afterward my sister told me she had no idea I was upset – success!! Once my make-up was complete, my hair was touched up.  Pretty soon I was feeling much better.  It still wasn’t perfect to what I had envisioned, but my stomach no longer hurt about it…good enough for me!  And honestly we didn’t really have time to fiddle with it anymore.  At that point, it just needed to work.  I tried hard to shake the internal stress of the morning and just let it go.  Again, I really didn’t want any outward stress or negative actions to affect the mood.

One of my adorable flower girls getting ready.

Carolina getting all dolled up.

Make-up time!

Are they not the cutest??

My beautiful sister.

Once we were all dolled up and ready to go, Adam and I exchanged little gifts.  Honestly we viewed “throwing each other a wedding” as our gift, but wanted to do something small and sentimental.  Allie ran mine over to his room and collected mine.  At this point the videographers arrived to capture the rest of the day moving forward.  Adam gave me the sweetest letter that instantly had me crying (he even put ‘P.S. stop crying’ at the bottom) and a picture frame with a few sentimental tokens/pictures in it.  It was perfect.

Reading Adam’s letter.

He’s so sweet.

Must. Stop. Crying.

I gave Adam a journal that I kept since we went to dating long distance in July.  It was full of pictures and words of excitement about the wedding and our life together.  Later Adam told me I managed to squeeze a tear out of him, which completely shocked me.  Prior to that I’d only seen him cry once.  Ever.  And it was maybe a tear.  I do all the crying for the two of us ;)

So cute!

Adam reading his gift.

Once we opened our gifts (in separate rooms in the Inn), we each got dressed and took some pictures solo.  Adam got ready in his room with his Best Man (brother) and Best Groomsmen (my brother) and his parents.

Tying his shoes. He’s so talented.

The guys getting ready.

Adam with his lovely mama.

All 3 ready to go!

I’m glad we had this time built in, as it also helped me calm down from the morning. Putting on my dress was a magical feeling.  It was really happening.  This was it.  I was so so happy.  I made sure to have my mom zip me up. As I kept adding the different details (veil, shoes, etc) I just kept feeling more and more bridal.  The stress of the morning washed away – it was time to be a bride.

With my sisters!

Saying goodbye to friends after the “Bridal Luncheon”

Getting ready!

Mom zipping me up!

With my Dad.

My Grandparents looking at the final result!

Future sister-in-law Katie helping me with the veil.

Grandma helping me with my bolero.

We grabbed about 30 minutes of ‘bridal portraits’ before heading out to see Adam.  We wandered from room to room in the adorable Inn grabbing shots.  It was a lot of fun and the perfect way to sort of calm down before the day REALLY began.

With my bouquet.

Hello, I am a bride.

Looking all fancy.

In the hallway of the inn.

Touching my veil. Like you do.

Looking all old-fashioned.

Funny fact: this photo was taken in a bathroom (with awesome light), but still a bathroom.

Also taken in a bathroom.

Adam and I settled on a “First Look” in order to expedite our picture-taking and have a smoother timeline for guests (since we weren’t having a cocktail hour).  We did one final check to make sure we had everything ready to go before heading out to see Adam and really get this day started…

And here I feel like I should say “Stay tuned for the next wedding installment!”  ;)

Happy Friday!!

Kelly

 

 

Ch ch ch changes!

It’s been a whirlwind of a few weeks!  With the wedding behind us I’m now focusing on the next major life event: relocating to Nashville, TN.  I’ve made it to The Music City safely and there are no words to express my excitement and contentedness.  It’s just so amazing to be reunited with Adam and live in the same apartment.  We keep reminding each other “Hey I’m your wife/husband and we live here together.” Pinch me. Okay…yeah, vomit.  Sorry.  But seriously, we’re just so thrilled.  All is right again!

Hooray! Officially a Tennessee resident!

Adam is working nights and I still haven’t started my new job yet, so we’re in this strange twilight world land all the time.  But… I’ve been using the time to do all the work that you sort of forget about when you get married: thank you notes, name change stuff, moving stuff, etc. etc.  Most of it requires a lot of paperwork and running around, but I’ve made some decent progress and I’m feeling good!

We also drink out of these fancy glasses when we’re bored.

Speaking of work… I found a new job and I’ll start in a couple weeks!  The position involves a LOT of travel, which I’m excited/scared about.  I used to travel a ton for another job and it makes ‘balance’ in life a very tricky thing.  HOW WILL I BRING MY WEIGHTS IN MY SUITCASE?!?  A crisis I still haven’t settled.  I know being healthy on the road will be a challenge, but something that will force me to be more creative than ever before!  Plus I’m so used to this whole ‘healthy’ thing and I love it.  Well, I love how it makes me feel.  That’s something I definitely don’t want to give up.

Speaking of healthy… as promised I am just giving myself a get out of jail free card and just enjoying food to my heart’s desire.  Honestly the week or so before the wedding I was pretty stressed and didn’t do a good job of “everything in moderation.”  I didn’t really purposefully deprive myself, but let’s just say I was really ready for some pizza after the wedding.  (Note: we did order a pizza the Sunday after the wedding).  But… now that I’ve had my fill of chocolate and chipotle and deliciousness I have been reminded of why I generally try to eat well in the first place (And why I stay away from deprivation: it just makes you want more).  You. Just. Feel. Better.  I’ve toned down the candy this week and I’m already feeling a bit more like myself.  Adam and I are planning to start P90X3 one of these weeks before I start my job and I’m looking forward to getting back into a routine.  Though this mental break from exercise and meal planning has been welcome.  I’m a huge fan of planned breaks – it always is a good reminder of why you put in the work to stay healthy in the first place!  Though I do feel a bit rebellious to admit how little I’m exercising and how much chocolate I’m eating. Wahaha. Everybody needs a break right?? :)

And finally… my “bridal style” has been featured on a blog!  I know, right!?  Nuts.  I’m planning on doing a couple wedding posts once I get gather the energy to do it right :)  So in the meantime, check out the blog post with a few of the professional shots!! :)

Yay fancy wedding pictures!

 

 

http://www.theblacktiebride.com/black-tie-bride-style-kelly-at-the-fountainview/

Have a great week!

-Kelly

We’re Married!

The teaser pic from our photographer.

Hellllooooo!!!  A big hello from the new Mrs!  We did it – we officially got married!  And I’m happy to report everything went off without a hitch.  Well, we did get hitched… har har har.  The day was lovely and we’re just so excited to be married.  Le sigh.

Anyways, we just got back from our honeymoon in Key West and I’m in packing overdrive mode  lazily packing things while watching TV to get ready to join my husband in Nashville, TN.  Lots of excitement to report.  :)

I’ve got some more wedding thoughts/tips/details posts coming up once things settle down.  But in the meantime… some proof that it happened!!  Note: Settling for iphone pictures until the official photos are back!  Enjoy :)

Friday started with getting pretty nails.

My sister and I at the rehearsal dinner.

Saturday morning started with Starbucks!! A very close friend was my “bridal coordinator” which meant she managed my timeline. She’s a boss.

Getting all dolled up.

Once I was dressed we did some solo bridal portraits and pictures with my family.

We went to the public library to take most of our pictures because it’s gorgeous and offered great indoor and outdoor spaces. Yep… needed for a January wedding.

So excited to see how the video and photos turn out!

We did all of our formal and family photos before the ceremony.

You may kiss the bride!

We did it! Officially married!

Hooray :)

Touching up before the reception.

With my Matron of Honor, Carolina.

Getting ready to cut our cake!

Can you see the devious thoughts on my face?? ;)

My beautiful sister gave an awesome speech. Who knew she was so funny???

On the stage with the band!

It feels pretty awesome to be married, and it was just such a lovely day.  More later…hope all is going fabulously!!

– Mrs. Kelly

 

Make-up and Hair Trials!

Today is the LAST double digit countdown day before our wedding.  Did you read that!?  Just TEN days to go.  Seriously, where did the time fly?  I feel like it has gone by in an instant, yet also has slowly and painfully crawled by…  if that’s possible.  On the wedding front things are feeling fairly under control (winning).  My new full time job is the wedding/moving/packing, and my days have been very full.  It’s a nice full though.  I’m plenty busy, but I’m working toward an awesome and exciting deadline.  (and the incentive prize is a week in Key West!)

Today and yesterday I’ve spent labeling, boxing, and organizing all of our reception decorations.  Adam and I have been doing them all ourselves, and borrowed most of the them from a close friend.  We are having family/friends set it all up the morning before the wedding  so I’m working meticulously to make things as clear and as organized as possible (gosh I wish I could set it all up myself on Friday, grrr).  My boxes include labels with table numbers, pictures of the final setup look, and room layout.  Essentially, I’m trying to make it fool proof.  And more importantly, easy on our helpers.  We are SO appreciative of them helping that we want the setup process to be as stress free and “fun” as possible.

Ooo the start of fun wintery centerpieces!

Another big task this week is sending out individual timelines to all involved parties.  Which in our case, is a lot of people.  I haven’t completed this task, but I’ve made a good dent and should have them all out by Friday.  I’ve helped out with many weddings, and there is nothing more stressful than not knowing what is expected of you.  These timelines should help people understand the key points where they are needed (ie. alerting family of family photos, alerting singers of rehearsal times).  Here’s to an easy day!

Who knew there were SO many logistics in planning a wedding!?  I do a lot of organization and planning in my work-life, so I feel skilled to handle the job… but holy moly, I can TOTALLY see why people hire wedding planners.  I honestly thought they were a frivolous luxury, but if you aren’t an organizer or don’t have a lot of helpers, it really would be a huge, huge help.  Especially if you have a lot of moving pieces like ours has turned out to have…oops.

We are hiring a day-off coordinator (different than a planner turns out) who will help us set up/tear down the reception and be there to put out any fires.  We found our gal through a friend of a friend.  She’s super sweet and is in college working to build her wedding experience portfolio.  It’s a win/win for both of us (not super expensive for us, and lots of experience for her!).  Best money spent, I feel so relieved I don’t have to bark orders in my wedding gown.  Nicely bark.  Efficiency people.  But even sweetly barking brides in a wedding dress somehow come off as a Bridezilla.  We definitely don’t want people to think I’m cray – I’m just passionate about organization!

My 3rd most important task this week: checking for wedding blizzards.

Anyways, it’s been a fun week, and I’ve truthfully been so busy it hasn’t really sunk in that my last day of work was Friday.  I still feel full-time!   Full-time WEDDING!

One exciting piece of the wedding process recently came together and I’m just thrilled with the outcome.  I had my hair and make-up trials!  WOOT!  Now I know what I’m going to look like.  That’s a pretty fun feeling to be able to picture the day with those details.

Make-up

Because I’m a make-up snob I went with the highly rated (with the highly corresponding price) make-up place here in Indy.  And after my make-up trial, I’m thrilled that I did.  I’ve always felt like I could do a pretty solid job on my make-up, but when I walked out of my trial I felt like royalty (WAY better than I could’ve done).  She did a super job and really focused on the things I wanted: strong brows, even fresh skin, a deep lip, fabulous lashes (individual lashes, not the strip).  I can’t wait to see the final product on W-day!

Oh. my. brows. I love eyebrows.

Hair

Surprisingly, I ended up being pickier on my hair trial than I was for my make-up trial.  I think this is because I didn’t have a 100% clear vision on the look.  I knew roughly how I wanted, but couldn’t articulate the exact hairstyle.  I ended up having two hair trials because my lady is so sweet and accommodating.  The first trial went well, but I ended up thinking it was a bit too simple.  I wanted something with a bit of “Wow” factor without screaming “hey I’m going to prom!”  My thinking was old hollywood glamour.  The vintage look is very popular now and I’ve always styled my hair in vintagey swoops, that I knew it would be  a good fit.  Plus a lot of those hair styles are very classic and elegant which is exactly the adjectives I’m going for!

Front!

Side! oooo look at all that lovely swoopage.

Some soft details that hopefully don’t scream PROM!

So what do you think??  (Note: it’s too late to have a bad opinion, if you hate it lie like you’ve never lied before.  IT’S STUNNING KELLY, would work quite well).

Excited to see the final combined result??  Hard to believe it’s just around the corner!  My vision of “classic, elegant” bride is coming together and I’m so happy with the results so far!

Hairpiece

My final detail that I just finished up today is a hair clip made from pieces of my Mom’s veil/headpiece.  I’m so happy with my handiwork and it will be SO special wearing a bit of the SAME thing she wore down the aisle. Oh gosh, the tears are already coming.  I’m going to be a mess.  This puppy will tuck into the back of my hair and peek out.

I’m a crafty lady.

Anyways, wedding progress is great and I’m still alive! :)  More later and hope you’re having an awesome week!

Kelly

Being a Genuine Blogger

Blogging is funny.  It just is.  When I sit and think about it, honestly it’s kind of nuts. I’m sharing stories and experiences from my life to just be read by WHO KNOWS out on the intarwebs.  I’ve often asked myself the ultimate blogger question: are you automatically vain/a narcissist if you’re a blogger?  Which always gets me thinking about why I started a blog, why I keep blogging, and why I read blogs.  (the whole narcissist thing is another question for another time – haven’t worked through that one myself yet).

I’m so vain, you probably think this blog is about me, don’t you don’t you?  

Okay humor clearly isn’t my strong suit. (though I must stay I’m still chuckling about my song to myself :)).

I’ve come to the conclusion that I love reading blogs because I love relating to other people.  I love learning about other life experiences.  I love the inspiration that comes from reading blogs.  And most importantly I love the ability to connect with other people.  There’s definitely a community feeling when it comes to blogging.  And it’s pretty cool.

I love writing my blog because I like putting out my experiences out there for others going through something similar.  There’s something very basic and human about “hey she’s experiencing that, cool it’s normal.”  It’s something that I have found in other blogs “oh good, glad to know I’m not the only one.”  It’s a very unifying feeling.  By nature I feel like I’m a “helper” – I work in corporate training so I’m always teaching and coaching people through learning something new, it’s in my genes perhaps.  This blog has been a way to potentially help people going through similar things (planning a wedding, dealing with an injury, learning not to hate yoga, lifting weights). Another reason I love blogging is because I enjoy creating things – it’s really fun to see something grow from the ground up.  And selfishly, it’s kind of cool to have a record of life.  Something I imagine will come in handy when my memories have faded.  Yeah so I guess there’s that narcissist piece ;)

Whenever I ponder all these “blogging life universe questions” one common thread runs through my thoughts: genuineness.  Whether it’s in the blogs I read, the blogs I enjoy most, or in my own posts there is nothing I love more than someone (or myself) being genuine.  Being real.  Being relatable.  Being you (or me, in my case).  So here are my top ways to be a genuine blogger.

1. Be yourself.  Blog your own blog. Use your own voice.  In the beginning of blogging I often had the thought “well this seems to be what people do, so I should do that!”  And while it’s awesome to get inspiration from different types of blogs and posts, the most important thing is that it’s YOUR blog and you don’t have to follow a formula.  You don’t have to fit a mold.
2. Blog about what you’re passionate about.  This has been a big one I’ve struggled with.  I started this mainly as a running blog (yeah with lifting and other jazz thrown in).  But, it’s sort of tough to blog about running when you can’t run.  Womp. And honestly my injury has been kind of depressing – I don’t want to blog about something depressing (at least all the time).  I want to share feelings of genuine interest and excitement.  This is why I don’t feel too badly about blogging about the wedding or other ramblings.  It’s something I care about and it’s my blog so it just makes sense to blog about it.  You can’t really fake passion. Is there anything worse than boring posts about something you can clearly tell the writer isn’t jazzed about?  It’s like a high school English paper.  Doing it because you have to.
3. Build blog friendships naturally. This is a tricky one.  I know that one of the most recommended ‘tactics’ for getting more readers is through comments on other blogs.  I learned this from other blogs haha.  But here is the thing, it seems really disingenuous to put repeated comments on blogs you aren’t super interested in.  One thing I’ve tried to do is only comment repeatedly (you know, like completely barrage) on blogs that I really enjoy and connect with. Somehow that feels more real and straight forward.  That way I’m not trying to just gain something from a blog, I’m actually starting a connection or a friendship from it.  Not to say I haven’t ever once commented on a blog I don’t follow or read regularly – that’s totally great.  Comments are fun and don’t automatically equate to ulterior motives.  I just mean that I don’t want to view comments as a bartering tool.  I’d rather look at them as ways to connect.
4. Blog posts that aren’t just for an audience.  It’s important to write things that are interesting and relate-able, and I always strive to do that (yeah I know I sometimes miss the mark, GAH wedding brain)- but that doesn’t mean blog ONLY about things that will get some huge stats and millions of followers and help you take over the world (wahaha cue evil laughter).  Because it’s often when you TRY for it, that it can come off as potentially fake.  I honestly think there’s a balance between ‘blogging for you’ and ‘blogging for an audience.’  The balance is really the sweet spot – at least that’s what I find in blogs I enjoy most.  For example a healthy mix of some recipes or workout tips (something one blogs for an audience, to help, to share) but also sharing a personal life experience (maybe blogged for the blogger to release some emotions, work through something etc) is my favorite blend.  You can relate to the blogger (and feel connected), but also feel like it’s interesting and you can learn something too.
5. Be willing to be open.  Now I don’t mean SHARE EVERYTHING….because that’s a whole ‘nother disaster zone.  I just mean be willing to share some bad with the good.  If I came here everyday like GUYS, I worked out every single day, ate perfectly, and managed to keep my life 100% together this week… it would seem, well, a little impossible.  And likewise if I came here like a negative nancy bohooing about who knows what every day, that also seems a bit impossible too – really, nothing is good in your life negative Kelly? I try to be honest and share some real struggles (like my knees or anxiety about being skinny enough to play Judy).  They aren’t super fun but they’re also a real part of my life.  That just seems genuine to let people in a bit.  I also like to be positive and share some of the fun, great things!  Because happiness bears more happiness.  It’s contagious!  And those are the types of feelings I like to spread.  Magical rainbows, butterflies and unicorn vomit for ALL!  Yeah, I know.  It’s a problem.

Well there you have it – some of the things I’ve learned in my 10 months of blogging.  I know, I’m quite the expert.  What can I say.  I’ve loved blogging (except when I’m tired of it) and it’s been such a fun way to make new friends, learn new things, and feel new inspiration every day.  What do you love about blogging? Hope your 2014 is off to an awesome start!

-Kelly

How are you a genuine blogger?  Is my list whack?  Do you have more to add?  Is being genuine overrated?