Wedding Recap, a Year Later

In looking over the blog and reflecting on the last year I realized that I never did a post about the wedding. The dang blog was originally titled Walk to the Aisle, but I never went over the walk down the aisle. So in honor of our upcoming 1 year wedding anniversary,  I'll do my long past due wedding recap. Since it's been a year the details won't be as fresh as if I'd done this 12 months ago, but here we go.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Alabama 4-H Center

Columbiana, AL

Ceremony at 3:00

I stayed up way too late Saturday night, the night before the wedding, making flower arrangements and finishing up wedding stuff (Andrew had stayed at his parents house). I think I got in bed around 3 am or so, then couldn't fall asleep. Of course. I had a hair appointment around 8:00, but it was on 280 in Chelsea (and we live in Alabaster) so I had to give myself 30 minutes to get there. I woke up, exhausted but excited. I was starving so I stopped at McDonald's to get some coffee and a biscuit. I ended up with a McMuffin, which I took 2 bites of and wanted to pull over and throw up. I felt so sick, then I freaked out thinking I was going to be sick on my much awaited and planned wedding day. I forced down the McMuffin and some water and kept driving. By the time I got to the hair salon I was feeling better and starting to get really excited. The hairdresser and I figured up a different hairdo than the one we had decided on during my hair trial. I wanted something slightly different so we kind of winged it. In the end it wasn't perfect, and I would have made some changes after seeing pictures, but I was happy and felt beautiful.

After my hair was set and done I headed home to start my makeup (I was doing it myself), grab all the flowers, and head to the 4-H Center. The morning was shaping up to be a beautiful day. (Which was a huge relief because the 2 previous nights had been overcast and very chilly). When I arrived the guys were already there and since they had minimal getting ready to do for themselves, I gave directions to them and our wedding coordinator, Amanda, on how to start setting up the reception area. My bridesmaids (Beth, Michele, Shannon and Kristina) arrived over the next 30 minutes and we set up in the girls room to start getting ready. I finished my makeup, the girls got dressed and we had a toast of mimosas.

*All photographs by of Callie Combs Photography*

Andrew and I had decided to do a first look, which we did in the chapel. It was really special to have that moment for ourselves and some time to admire one another. We did pictures, got in some excited kisses and then had the bridal party join us for group photos. After a while we had plenty of good shots, but were running out of time.

Once all the pictures were finished we all headed back to our rooms to freshen up and let the guests arrive. We stuffed ourselves into a few cars and headed to the chapel. After Amanda told us everyone was seated and ready we started lining up. This was it! I waited nervously with my mom for our turn. The bridal party walked down the aisle to The Sound of Settling by Death Cab for Cutie, but the Vitamin String Quartet version.

Amanda gave us the cue and my mom walked me down the aisle to the Vitamin String Quartet's version of Use Somebody by Kings of Leon. Even though Andrew and I had seen each other and it was no big surprise, the emotion got me and I teared up and almost ugly cried. Seeing him standing there, with this look on his face, it was such a strong moment.

 

The officiant, Kelly, started our service, and we were going. He paid remembrance to family members that had passed, specifically my dad. I started tearing up and getting emotional and Andrew just squeezed my hand, gave me a heartfelt look, and I felt better. Kelly had us holding hands and facing each other for what felt like an eternity. I didn't realize how long our ceremony was until we were in the middle of it. We designed it to have elements and wording that we wanted, but didn't know it would be so long! It was all good stuff but we were happy when he said kiss the bride!

 

After we walked out we hid in the car for a few minutes while guests headed down to the pavilion for the reception. We looked at our rings and smiled and kissed and said things like 'I can't believe it' and 'Thank goodness it's over!' (Ok, we were kind of tired of planning it and just wanted to be married already). Once the all of the guests except immediate had emptied the chapel we did family and group pictures.

Andrew and I slipped off to the dressing room to eat and have a few minutes of quiet while guests went to the reception and started eating. Danny with D'Armond Catering did a great job and had a wonderful spread for the guests and had some plates sent up to us. Unfortunately in all of the excitement I never really checked out the reception area to fully take in the atmosphere. That is probably the one regret I have from my wedding day. I wish I had taken 5 minutes to go to the pavilion before any guests arrived to see the full set up, and see what my months of DIY projects had turned into. We don't have a lot of pictures from the reception and sadly none of my handmade, hand painted centerpeices.

When we arrived at the reception we went straight into our first dance, Nothing Like You and I by The Perishers. I shared a dance with Chip and Howard to the song that my dad always sang to me (I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack). Andrew and Tammy danced to Stand by Me and You'll be in My Heart was the song for his mom and him. All of this was MC'd by our wonderful friend and DJ, Joe Biedron. Love him.

We then cut the cake and fed each other a bite. We had previously discussed not smashing cake. I was not on board with it. Lucky for me he didn't want to make me mad ;) I'm so sad that the picture of us cutting the cake has me making a stupid face. Boo. The cake was awesome, but in our excitement neither one of us had a single piece after the initial bite.

After cake Andrew, myself, and our two photographers, Callie and Josh, ran down to the pier to take some sunset shots on the lake. We didn't get any of the actual sunset, but we did have some beautiful lighting.

We went back to the pavilion, and at that point it was time to dance, mingle and have fun!

That's about where my pictures end, but the day didn't end there. We danced and drank and talked and had a great time. We did the garter toss, which ironically my cousin Jamie caught, and the bouquet toss which my sister Alyssa caught. Luckily she's in a long term, committed relationship so maybe the saying will be true. In reality we had a relatively small wedding (about 50 people I think) and a very small sample of unmarried [and willing] participants.

What I can't show in pictures or fully express in words is how awesome our reception was. After it got dark Joe turned on lights that he'd set up all around the pillars of the pavilion. We had glow sticks out for our exit, but a few people had grabbed them to dance with. Then it started raining. Not pouring, but a steady light rain. It tapered on and off for a while, but we didn't stop. We literally had a raving dance party in the rain at our wedding. It was awesome. Dancing in the dark, under the rain with my favorite people was so cool. I may be a dancer, but I'm not a social dancer. Ballet is more my style. But the excitement [and wine] loosened things up and I was out there shakin my tail feathers with the best of them. I wish I had some pictures of this. So much fun and such an amazing memory.

We wrapped up the night with one last dance to Ray LaMontagne's You Are the Best Thing. Our grand exit was complete with glow sticks. The glow sticks were really cool, until someone threw one and it smacked me in the head. Ouch. Bill and Beth had painted our car and Bill had strung Christmas lights throughout the car. They plugged into the cigarette lighter and gave a very festive feel.

*All photographs curtsey of Callie Combs Photography* 

And that, my friends, is our wedding recap. Oh and somewhere in there Andrew's brother, Matthew, had to run back home and got pulled over for speeding. When he explained to the officer what was going on, he got a police escort. Yea, talk about luck and a nice guy!

During all the planning I heard how fast the day would go by, to stop and soak it up, enjoy the moment. It's all true. A year's worth of planning gone in a flash. Our wedding was awesome. We got near perfect weather, a beautiful venue, great friends and family to share it with. It wasn't about the money we spent, the level of decorations, size of the bouquet, cost of my dress (which by the way, was a major steal), or how extravagant the whole thing was. It was about celebrating our love, making a commitment to each other, and doing it with our favorite people on Earth. While I can look back and pick out a few nit picky things that I would change or do differently, none of it really matters. I married my best friend, and the perfect match for me. And I wouldn't change that for the world.

Hannah: 1 Month

Somehow 1 month has passed since Hannah's birth. Talk about flying by. So much has happened in the last 30 days. On one hand it feels like I was just in the hospital getting ready to meet her, but on the other hand it feels like ages since I was confined to the hospital bed and drugged up on magnesium sulfate. So much has happened for me, our family and our new little lady.

Birth, 10 days in the NICU, coming home, learning a new [semi] routine, first kickball game, visiting Grandma, Aunt Stina and Aunt Beth, first trip to the doctor, baby's first day at the office, helping Daddy buy a car, more than 1 trip to Target, a few restaurant visits, first cold, lots of movies and football games, licks from the dog, a few too many snap shots by Mommy, first professional photo shoot, etc etc.

My dear Hannah,

At 1 month old we have no schedule. You came home at 10 days old and the first few days we were driving blind, and I was kind of going at it alone. I brought you home by myself when you were released from the NICU because Dad had to work a double shift. He had to work extra the next week to make up for all the time he'd had off while I was in the hospital for 6 days. We could have been released a day sooner but we opted for the extra day to be close to you.

To be honest, neither your dad nor I have done any reading on how to actually raise a baby. I ordered some books that should be here sometime next week, but for the most part we are just winging it. You have no schedule. You eat when you're hungry, sleep when you're tired. Once the books come in and I do some research we will start trying to be more scheduled and uniform with our daily routine. For now we are going day by day. Dad has been working a lot so for the most part it's just been the two of us. But when he is here he's great and does as much as possible to be with you and so I can rest.

We tried breast feeding and it just didn't work out for us. At 3.5 weeks I abandoned the plan and we have been happily formula feeding since. Some people may poo-poo me for that, but I'm ok with it. At first you were a lazy feeder at the breast. You'd gotten used to the ease of a bottle. Every now and then you'd latch and feed great, but for the most part you fell asleep more than anything. You would latch and unlatch repeatedly which was both painful and frustrating. The day before you came home from the hospital I had some engorgement issues and early symptoms of mastitis that required antibiotics. My supply dropped off considerably after that and you never seemed satisfied and would get frantic whenever I tried to breast feed. So I pumped and supplemented with formula for our bottle feeds. This worked but was exhausting. I still wasn't producing enough milk so I tried a few natural remedies to increase my supply (fenugreek, mother's milk tea, I bought ingredients for 'Lactation Cookies' but never got around to making them). They worked and my supply increased, but led to my second bout of engorgement with flu-like symptoms that made it very hard to care for you. I decided that it wasn't worth the frustration, tears and sickness it was causing and I was still having to use formula for over half of every feeding anyway. Since then we are 100% on formula and 100% enjoying life more. Now I sit and watch you eat with a content look on your face. I enjoy it now. It's been a game changer. I agree that breast milk would be better, but formula isn't the end of the world. You'll still be big, smart and strong. It is what works for us and our family, so poo-poo to anyone that doesn't respect that.

We've gotten to know you and some of your habits. You are either making a fist with your thumbs tucked on the inside, or your fingers are all straight out and usually near your face. Just like the ultra sound pictures. You eat every 2-3 hours and let us know when you're hungry. You are so messy. We have to put a bib and burp cloth under your chin and you still get your cloths wet. When we start putting something under your chin you get so excited because you know what's coming. You open your mouth wide, shake your head from side to side and make these ravenous sounds that are half grunt half begging. It's hilarious. You still get the hiccups all the time, just like when I was pregnant. You don't seem to mind them thankfully.

You love the bouncy seat Teresa got for you. Particularly the vibrate and music function. We can turn these on and you usually will get quiet pretty quickly. It's been a life saver. I can put you in it and work, eat, take a shower or do chores. You will sit in the swing, but you really don't care for it nearly as much as your vibrating seat.

You are kind of torn on swaddling. You prefer being able to straighten your legs and having one arm free, but once you get past the initial frustration of a full, regular swaddle you seem to sleep better. We only swaddle you at night and during the day allow you full use of your arms and legs. It's pretty funny because your startle reflex is in full swing.

Sidney is turning out to be a great older sister/dog nanny. She was really interested and concerned when you first got home. Overly interested. She's now calmed down and gotten used to you. She still wants to lick you pretty often and when you cry she comes running to check things out. She'll sniff you, take a look and once she's sure you're ok she will lay down nearby. It's pretty cute. Stella totally ignores you. She acts as though you don't even exist. Rico doesn't seem to mind you, but he isn't too interested. He likes to lay next to you if he's being petted. I guess you kicked him enough while I was pregnant that he's used to wiggling while he's laying on me.

We've done a couple of trips to Grandma's house to visit her and Kristina. Mainly on Saturdays when Daddy is working all day and we get bored and lonely. Aunt Stina loves you! We went and watched Dad play kickball one night (they lost). At your 2 week check up you were 1 oz off from your birth weight. We had a little issue with constipation but have gotten that cleared up. You've had a clogged tear duct that's given you a goopy eye off and on for the last 2.5 weeks. Some days it's clear and great then other days it's all gunky and we have to keep wiping it with a warm washcloth.

You came home 2 days before my birthday, which was the best present ever. I was pretty darn tired but it was worth it. We also did our first family outing that day. We went to Target and had dinner at O'Charleys then cake at Grandma's house. You had your first play date with Elliot, a friend we've made that was also a preemie here in Birmingham.

You think the best time to be alert is around midnight or 1 am. Guess we should read those parenting books, huh? You've been a night owl like Mommy and Daddy so far. You sleep in a beautiful cradle in our room that Grandpa built for you. Sometimes you fight sleep in the cradle so I take you out and lay you in bed with me. You fall right asleep. We didn't plan on sharing the bed but sometimes it's the only way to get you to sleep.

We love you so much and are having such a good time getting to know you. These extra 4 weeks have been so special!

love,
Mommy

1 week

2 weeks

3 weeks

4 weeks