5 years.

Five years.
That's how long we've been married, as of 4:30pm today, give or take a few minutes.



Frankly, this isn't exactly how I'd planned spending our fifth anniversary. Actually, our original plans involved spending the evening here:

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Yep. We were going to go to the Biltmore Estate for  their "candlelit evening". I've never been during Christmas, and Brad's never been at all. Now? The idea of standing in lines all night (albeit with a gorgeous view) makes my insides get all twisted up just thinking about it.

Unfortunately, medical bills will be showing up soon, and with Christmas right around the corner? It's just not going to happen this year.

But that's okay. Because this is real life. Crap happens. Dishwashers break (yeah, when it rains, it pours...), money gets tight, and... well... it's not always roses and rainbows around here.

 

And you know what? I'm okay with it. We're not celebrating our honeymoon. We're celebrating marriage. And guess what, folks. This is marriage. Where life is filled with dirty dishes, Thomas toys, and pizza by candlelight.

Brad and I had 8 and 1/2 years of fun, romantic dates. Back when parents handed us $20 for dinner. Back when we could drop everything to go see a midnight movie. Back before we had responsibilities and bills and obligations.

And those years were fun. We were stupid in love, and it was amazing.

 

Now? We're still stupid in love, but in a different way.

We're a team now. When one of us is down, the other picks up the slack. Brad has really stepped up his game this week... washing dishes by hand, vacuuming, taking care of Noah. You name it, he's done it. All without a complaint. And I've been falling hard for him again.

 

So no, he may not be whisking me away on some fancy, schmancy romantic getaway. But he's doing much better than that. He's taking care of me. I feel loved and adored. He tells me I'm beautiful every.single.day. He's an amazing dad to our little guy, and goes above and beyond to make sure we're all happy and healthy.

 

I've got a good one.

And I'm thankful every day that we met all those years ago...

 

 

 

 ...and that I was lucky enough to end up with him.

 

 

Life is fun and stressful and happy... and perfect.

 

 

 

 (Last year's post, that has more wedding details, including a video clip)



Someone Got Hitched

Whew!

I'd forgotten how much goes in to weddings... the planning, the people, and trying to squeeze in every possible wedding-related festivity within a few days. But they're fun. So so fun.

One of my favorite friends got hitched over the weekend. Kelly and I have been best buds since... well... before we were born. We didn't have much of a choice. Our parents were best friends, and we were born only a year apart. It just made sense. Her family is my family (and vice versa), and I love them to death. Needless to say, there was no way I was going to miss this.

The fun began Friday morning. We all met at a salon to get our nails all beautified. The middle of the salon is actually a big circle and is perfect for big groups. You can get your mani/pedi and still talk to each other. It's great!

 

(this is Verna, a friend from high school)

 (the bride!)

(the bride's adorable sisters)

Saturday morning, most everyone was meeting at a salon to get their hair and makeup done. Because it was so far away and too expensive, I asked my stepsister to do mine. She does this for a living, and I'm SO glad she was willing to drive over and help me out. I think she did an amazing job.

Once at the church (I should also probably mention that this is my home church, where I grew up. I also went to school here from Pre-K to 12th. The school is no longer there, so they have revamped the place. It looks amazing!), we just hung out, ate some snacks, and made sure Kel was okay.

Kelly's mom specifically requested we reenact an infamous picture from my wedding day... where she said it looks like she's about to bite me. :)

 

Check out her gorgeous bouquet!

Her cousin made it. The deep purple flower is for her grandmother who recently passed away.

Here are the bridesmaid bouquets I helped make. Aren't they cute!?

Obviously, I was a bit busy during the ceremony, so I don't have any pictures from there.

I can't wait to see those, though.

I love weddings.

And I'm so glad I got to be a part of this one.

Congrats, Kelly!

The Bachelorette

No, not that Bachelorette.
Although, I do have several friends who were around for one of those "magical dates". One of them now has a famous elbow as seen in a paparazzi photo.

No, this is a much more important bachelorette, at least to me (and her fiance).
Last night, we celebrated my girl, Kelly.

 

She's getting married next weekend, to her own Brad. Yep, he and my husband share the same name. Also? He has a daughter named Hayley. Crazy, huh?

Anyway, we had ourselves a little "passion party". They were also going out for drinks and stuff afterwards, but I'm a mom, Brad had to work, my SIL was coming, and well... I don't really drink anyways. So I had to skip out on that part. But it was still fun to be a part of her celebration.

 

 

(this might be my favorite photo of the night... their dog checking out the catalog too)

(testing out one of the heated massagers)

 (the only picture of us from the whole night. I have got to remember to pack a regular point-n-shoot!)

Less than a week to go!

Let the festivities begin!!

(which may include a much needed spray tan for me. at the moment, the photographer may be blinded by my ghostly white legs... no need for a flash!)

Wedding Bells are Ringing

So remember my friend Kelly and her fiance who came over a couple weeks ago (and Noah was crazy about her fiance)? Well, my momma and I hosted a bridal shower for her this past weekend. Really, my mom did most of the hard work... food prep, decorating, etc. I just handled drinks, coats, and gifts. I was in charge of keeping people happy and the party moving. My mom was making sure everyone got fed.

The thing I love most about the people that came is that they're all like family to me.

They've been a part of my life since I was a baby. So this party was also like a fun little family reunion for me, since I haven't seen some of these people in what feels like forever.

She got a lot of fun stuff.

[that was from me :) ] 

In case you're wondering, that's her boo-hooey face.
It's touching, just not quite enough to get some tears.

She loves me, I swear!

Eh... moving on...

My mom did an awesome spread.
Obviously, we're pretty darn good at this shower thing. Every time we throw one, people go back for seconds.

My mom had to inform the bakery lady that "congratulations" is not the proper "protocol" for a bridal shower. Etiquette is "best wishes". And yes, she used the word "protocol". My step-dad looked at her like she just spoke Chinese to the lady.
Don't mess with Emily Post.
Or my mom.

The shower was a total hit.
We had a great time, and it was nice to have total girl time while Brad took care of Noah for me. In fact, I think Noah wore him out. As soon as I got home, Brad headed for bed.

So yeah. Totally worth it.

Congratulations, Kelly!!
Oh wait. Sorry.
Best wishes!!

4 Years.

Yes, I know that getting married isn't all about the wedding.

It's about the love, commitment, blahblahblah.

Just kidding.

But I spend 364 days out of the year focusing on my marriage.

So just for today, I'm going to be all girly and share some of our wedding. Because if I could go back, I'd invite all the friends I've made in the last four years (that means you!). But since that's kind of impossible, I figured I'd share a little bit of our day with you now.

(really, y'all know I love Brad. It's the fun bridal stuff you wanted to see anyway, right?)

The details:

Flowers - assorted roses, gardenias, baby's breath.

Flower Girl - my cousin

Bridesmaids - friends from work and relatives

Maid of Honor - my bff

Groomsmen - friends and relatives
Best Man - my brother

Officiant - my youth pastor (I also graduated HS with one of his sons)

Music - prelude: harp, seating of grandmothers/mothers: "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", interlude/solo: "My Redeemer Lives" (Natalie Grant version, sung by friend from church; Jess, you may recognize her), carriage processional: "Carol of the Bells" (George Winston), processional: "The Wedding Song" (Kenny G... don't judge, it's pretty), bridal processional: "Pachabel's Canon in D", recessional: "All You Need is Love" (The Beatles)

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11

Special Touches

- my bouquet had a small Bible and handkerchief that my great-grandmother gave me when I was born incorporated in it.

- Two roses were placed to the right of us in honor of my late granddaddy (the one in the Veteran's Day picture) and Brad's older brother Rob.

- we had a sand ceremony, and the bottom layer was filled with sand from Kiawah (where Brad and I use to go every year with my family)

I just chose to share the first part of our wedding video, since it shows the majority of the fun stuff.
Credit goes to Crown Alley for the footage and putting it all together.
If you're in the Charlotte area and need a great videographer, he was amazing to work with. 
 



the essentials.

The essentials for our wedding.

Being fortunate enough to meet my husband as a kid, therefore establishing a great friends-first foundation? Check.

Romantic proposal, where he got down on one knee in the exact spot where we first met?

Check.

An awesome group of girlfriends to be my bridesmaids? Check.

BFF since birth as Maid of Honor? Check.

Some awfully handsome groomsmen? Check.

Bridal Showers? Check.

Bachelorette party? Check.

The perfect place to get married? Check.

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The perfect flowers? Check.

The perfect dress? Check.

The perfect guy for me? Double check.

Happy Wednesday!