Our Wedding

Well. I tried to write a clever, witty blog about "adventures" in being a bride. Here is the truth. Being a bride sucked. I hated it. There was nothing adventurous about it.

I hated all of it. I would have just skipped to the wife part. The wife part rocks.

So catch up everyone. Bride: suck. Wife: rock. Ok. Moving on. Let's re-cap this puppy.

Paul and I moved to Florida together in November of 2010 and 4 days into our new living situation, in our pajamas on a Tuesday night he got on one knee and proposed. Perfectly beautiful. 

Eeek.  Looking at my beautiful ring I thought....I guess I should plan a wedding? Nah, I'll set a date way in the future so I don't have to think about it.

Wait...the wedding is 5 months away? Shoot. I guess I should, I don't know, plan something. 

Oh wait...my sister is pregnant! That's way more exciting! I can put wedding plans on hold even longer! 

Planning our wedding was a mish mash. (Is mish-mash hyphenated?) I knew I wanted to get married on the water but not on the beach. Yup, no sand here in sunny east coast Florida. Finding that should be a piece of cake....

But I did find it!  Found a 5 star restaurant on the waterfront with no sand! Holla! Rented the whole place out for just us. Easy. The food cost was worth every penny for what we were served. It was all AMAZING. 

We got married outside, on the dock, on a perfectly beautiful - sunny - 74 degree - no humidity-  November - Florida day. Say that three times fast. 

Got ourselves a pastor to hitch us up. We met with him and said we didn't want too much "God" in our marriage service....but just like- a little "God." He said to us crazy people (who were both raised Catholic mind you) "Oh I see. Like a great piece of steak, you don't want to pepper too much or it's overpowering. I'll just lightly pepper in the "God." Um, BINGO. You're hired.

Saw a dress I loved. Didn't try it on. Ordered it the same day. Boom.

Sister offered me her headpiece and veil. Done.

Hate florists. They tried to charge me a thousand dollars for what I wanted. Asked how much twelve dozen pink and white roses would cost outright. $300 bucks for 144 roses? Heck yes I'll do my own centerpieces and bouquet.

Literally made this the night before the wedding

and wrapped the stems with my wedding dress fabric shards. 

Skillllz.

Bridesmaids? Who wants to wear an ugly dress? Not anyone I love. No bridesmaids it is.

I didn't care what Paul (the goat) wore. Black tux? Done.

Hair and makeup costs how much? Um, no thanks. I went to MAC and bought all the makeup I'd need to look like a bride for $200. I did my own hair and makeup. Besides...I want to look like me. Not some zombie cookie cutter bride who looks like everyone else.

Rings? Paul got his online. I got mine at this little store called Tiffany & Company. Blue box and everything. My ring was nearly half the entire wedding budget. But I love it! It's timeless! It's timeless I say!

Invites: Etsy baby.

Photographer....found her through a co-worker. She was so nice. The cost for her and an assistant for the entire day was completely reasonable. Plus I own all my photos in digital!

Cake from the grocery store? Sure did. Honestly...it was the best wedding cake I've ever tasted. EVER. And Paul and I ate the cake top after our honeymoon. That's right people. We ate it. Didn't save it for our first anniversary. Took that bad boy out of the freezer and had cake for a week. Just us. Ha!

Picked the cake out 2 weeks before the wedding! 

DJ? No thank you. iPod loaded with our songs? Yes please!

Honeymoon? Graciously paid for by my amazing Auntie. Spent a week in Orlando at an Italian style 5 star resort in a private villa and visited Mickey Mouse every single day!

What else is there? Oh wait...booze. We ended up tripling the booze budget for the 30 people who attended. Couldn't lay off the hootch, could you people!!

And....poof. Married.

Even have a little piece of paper that says we are legal. Boo-Yah.

To be serious for a minute....I honestly don't remember a lot about our wedding day except Paul. I remember his face. I remember feeling so lucky this man wanted me. I remember being really happy. And that was what I wanted. That and crab-rangoons.

We had the best little wedding. It was so us. Nothing fake...nothing stuffy. Just us and our loved ones having fun.

Proof I didn't want too stuffy or formal? Here is the one photo we had professionally framed to hang over our someday mantel:

We look like lunatics. Perfection.

By the way...none of these pictures ever hit Facebook. Paul and I chose to keep them to ourselves. But in an attempt to be REAL....here a few of my favorite shots of the day:

 Mr. & Mrs. Goat-Herder

Check out my mad bouquet skills!

You know what? I'm happy it went the way it did. Sure, there was some drama along the way...but I got to be married to this hottie at the end of it all. 

So. Yes. I was a bride.  Honestly, I never thought that would happen. However, when you find someone AWESOME who loves you for you...even though you look like a hamster when you wake up in the morning...snag that man up.