On the topic of feeling lucky

YOU GUYS!!   I FREAKEN GOT MARRIED!!! 

The day before the wedding, I spent with four of the coolest ladies I know…  My Mom (Hi Mom!), and three friends who’ve literally been through it all with me.  Two of them are friends from grade school (Hi Jenn & Carrie!)  And the third, I met in College (Hi Stacy.)  There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t reflect on how lucky I am to have friends who I’ve literally known FOREVER.  Like, actually forever!!  I love these girls, and I honestly I didn’t think twice when I needed to call on people to help me with this wedding…  So spending the day with them, snipping flower stems, and making chocolate mustaches was quite possibly the best day ever!   Not to mention that Stacy pretty much let me take over her house and send it into complete chaos for the entire weekend…  I seriously owe her one!

But that’s really just the tip of the iceberg.

A few days before the wedding, a small group of our friends showed up at our house with a brand new (AMAZING) barbeque grill they had all chipped in to buy us as a gift.  The grill we had been using was literally falling apart, so this was a pretty exciting and spectacular gift, and one that will be put to good use…  (plans for a BBQ at Princeton House are already in the works!)

When I needed someone to run to the store to pick up a helium tank, Stacy’s boyfriend Andy stepped up, and zipped out the door before I could even say thank you…  Andy!  You’re the best!

When there were chocolate mustaches to be finished the night before the wedding, Jenn & Stacy stayed up until 2am so that I could catch some sleep.  I am pretty sure the sight of a mustache is going to haunt them for the rest of their lives…  haha.  I love you girls!

When I realized I had left my vows at the hotel (PANIC PANIC PANIC) Carrie’s husband Dylan ran back to grab them for me.  DYLAN!  I so owe you one!!

When we ran short on time, and I started to worry about boutonnieres (which I had planned to make myself), my friend Sarah – who was also my photographer  - and her assistant Christine whipped some out like being a florist was totally part of their job.

When my sweet friend Bre pulled me aside to show me the amazing handmade (and GORGEOUS) gift she had made for us… I literally squealed!  (More about that soon.)

Welcoming my friend Sarah, whose friendship I nearly lost once, and realizing the moment she hugged me how much it meant for me to have her there…

Being able to have our good friend Jon, be the one to officially marry us.

When I spilled RED WINE down the front of my dress (oh yes I totally did) and wonderful woman from the Rivermill staff whisked me off to a back room before I had even had time to process what had happened,  and she took a shout-pen to my chest in such a frenzy that in about five minutes, you could not tell anything had ever happened… NO JOKE.  I am still not even sure this actually happened, that is how surreal the whole thing was…

When I was dancing with my Dad, and he said to me…  ”You’ve been through a lot, kid... Today is a good day…” and I nearly lost it.

When I saw Jeff’s Mom, Trilly, cutting-a-rug like nobody’s business on the dance floor…  Are you kidding me?  I LOVED THAT!

Feeling my Grandmother’s presence, so strongly, throughout the day…

The kids.  YOU GUYS!  THE KIDS.  Every time I set my eyes on ANY of the kids, they looked like they were having the best time ever.  I am really not sure it gets better than that!

And after all was said and done, when we arrived at the Mountain View Grand for a few days of relaxation, we were met at the front desk with a note from Jeff’s brother Greg and his fiancé (!!!!!) Phoebe, who had not only paid for our stay, but had made sure our room had champagne chilling and chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us when we arrived…  (we cried, incase anyone was wondering, and then we stuffed our faces with chocolately strawberry goodness…)

I have never felt more lucky in my entire life!  All of these moments, plus the hundreds that have gone unmentioned – they are worth their weight in gold to me…..  To us.  Getting married is an overwhelming feeling of being completely surrounded by love…  Thank you for participating in that – even if by a simple text or facebook message…  I have never experienced being lifted like that, and having Jeff by my side was just the icing on the cake.   He is my perfect match. 

And now that it’s over (or just beginning, depending on how you look at it), there’s really only one person left to thank…   Amanda Mate – if you are reading this – well, look what you did!!   We could not love you more for bringing us together, and being the mastermind behind it all from the very beginning.

More thoughts, and probably some pictures will spill out over time…  But for now, it’s back to business…  Stay tuned for some updates!