Viva Las Vegas! Happy Anniversary weekend Hubs!

One year ago today my loving Hubs and I were frantically scrambling around and trying to catch our plane to Las Vegas!  We ran through the airport Home-Alone-style and boarded the flight minutes before they left the runway, and because it was Southwest and we were late, I sat a few rows ahead of him dreaming about our wedding which was only 2 days away.

A year later I thought we'd be in the beginning stages of growing our family, but could never have dreamed we'd have our honeymoon baby in our arms while planning our one-year anniversary.  For his present (as if the beautiful baby I carried for him wasn't enough!), I got Hubs a trip to Fed Ex field with a "backstage" tour of the stadium.  He was an adorable tourist, and he carried his video camera all over the stadium.  We got photos taken with a photographer who encouraged me to "shake the baby" to wake him up.  Ermm... that's not how babies work buddy...

This one is my favorite, though obviously Little Man is not a big Redskin fan...

For my anniversary gift, Hubs bought me a Louie Vuitton wallet and a beautiful canvas that he had printed with the dates of all our "firsts" on it. I love the canvas and can't wait to hang it up! Sadly, it has a misspelling that means we will have to either doctor it up or get a new one, and he is so upset about it.  I asked my two craftiest friends for advice (thanks girls!) and they think it is possible to fix it, so we'll be trying that asap. I love having a husband who remembers the sentimental things like our first "I love you" and our first date.  The spoiling me rotten part is pretty nice too, but the goopy sweetheart piece of him is what stole my heart.  He is such a romantic, and he brings out the best parts of me.

Our first New Year's Eve together

This weekend we will go out for a nice dinner and just enjoy each other's company.  Little Man is probably going to visit Ex, so we might get a relaxing night with no Thomas the Tank Engine or SuperWhy! as background noise.  Just our Baby Vegas snuffling around and wanting cuddles.  Our actual anniversary falls on the Sunday, so we'll be spending it with family and both boys.  Oh that reminds me... I have a giant block of cake to pull out of the freezer!

The entire top layer of this cake traveled home with us from Vegas.
It is probably very freezer burnt.

Happy Anniversary Hubs!  Here's to many, many more!  I'd give this first year a 10 out of 10!

Our Vegas Wedding - Part 3

Serious slacking being done over here.  But hey, my vacuum is cleaned out and washed thanks to Pinterest, so I've clearly been doing something...

Our wedding morning dawned bright and early.  Which was rough, because I am SO NOT a morning person.  I kissed Hubs goodbye and raced down to Christophe's Salon to get a full morning of hair and makeup done.

On the bright side, I was the only person there at 9 am besides my stylist Eric, so it was nice and relaxing.  After I settled in with my cup of tea, he asked me for a picture of how I wanted my hair done.

Um.  Oops?  Was I supposed to research that ahead of time?  

So I told him I wanted a fifties hairstyle, with the curls.  My exact words.  And he was magical and French, and it took him no time at all to make my hair look beautiful.  Whew.

Then came makeup, and a woman whose name I can't remember right now asked me what I wanted done.  So I told her to match the hair and whatever she did I'd be happy with.  And I was - so it worked out.

The minute my makeup was done I had to rush to the chapel for the 11 o'clock wedding.  I got into the bridal changing room and couldn't stop shaking.  I was ridiculously nervous.  My sister finally came in to get me into the dress, and I tried to hold it together.  At one point the minister tried to drop by and got a full view of my fancy bride underwear as we were tying my corset.   After that people started knocking.  Hahaha!

Fifteen minutes after I arrived, the ceremony was ready to begin.  As the wedding planner brought me into the hall, I ran into my mom and my mother-in-law, who were waiting to walk down the aisle to light the tapers for our unity candle.  This almost made me cry, but I held it together and a got a quick hug from each of them before they began the ceremony.

After the moms walked down the aisle it was my turn to make my big entrance   I had decided to walk down the aisle alone, because my brother would have been the one to give me away.  In honor of him, I walked down the aisle to "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" by Israel Iz KamakawiwoʻOle, which was one of his favorite songs.  It was really nerve-wracking to walk in all alone, and I have several pictures of me making awkward faces while I enter because I was terrified.  But then Hubs met me halfway down the aisle and helped calm me down a bit.  

I was still shaking so badly that Hubs held my hands the entire ceremony, and it didn't take too long before I was holding back tears as we said our vows.  I'm a huge sap that way though.  We lit our unity candles to the Beatles song "In My Life" - which was a nod to spending the night before seeing the Love show with our friends and family, as well as the lyrics which we felt had amazing meaning to us both.  Seeing Hubs smile at me when he heard the song start was a moment I won't ever forget.

The ceremony was brief but meaningful, and if I hadn't been so emotional I probably would have winked at my sorority sisters as the minister recited First Corinthians - a nice surprise!   After the rings and the kiss, Hubs and I walked down the aisle as Husband and Wife to the theme song from "Friends".  Totally "us", absolutely perfect.

Before we could say hi to anyone we were whisked away to our photography session, which was part of our Hollywood Glam package through the chapel.  30 minutes later, we were finished and ready to meet our family and friends who were waiting outside... 

It's official!  Hubs and Wife!

We took dozens of pictures with friends and family, and enjoyed post-ceremony cocktails.  All the nerves were absolutely gone as I got to talk to the girls about what they thought of the look and ceremony, and the boys bonded over 32 oz margaritas.  

Our reception was at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant in the MGM, and it was absolutely amazing.  They had a private area in the back of the restaurant set up for us, and we had picked a menu we thought everyone might like - Caesar salad, salmon or chicken, passion fruit cheesecake, and of course - the cake!  The servers were adorable, and when they heard that I only like sweet wine, kept on bringing me Riesling instead of the Chardonnay everyone else was drinking!  The two hours flew by, and we took full advantage of the open bar and delicious food.  I got to spend a little time with everyone who'd come to the wedding, and I felt like a princess the entire day.   I was so excited to give out our wedding favors too!!!  They were playing cards with our names and wedding date printed on each card - they turned out so cute and I was thrilled everyone seemed to like them.

After we cut the cake and got wine to-go, Hubs and I went back to our room to relax and take naps.   We got a great surprise before that though- one of my friends had come up and put a "Mr and Mrs" banner on our door, and there was champagne and strawberries waiting for us in the room.  

We ended our wedding day with karaoke night - apparently a local favorite, as we were some of the only tourists there.  Most of our friends met us out at the random out-of-the-way casino and we waited forever with ridiculous rules to get our chance to sing karaoke, but the company couldn't be beat!  By one am, we were all exhausted again and ready to call it a night.  We stumbled back to the hotel and collapsed - and we still had a full day in Vegas left!!!

One of my favorite pictures from our photo shoot.  

Our Vegas Wedding - Part 2

Friday dawned bright and early despite all the partying from the night before.  Hubs and I lazed around the room with coffee and breakfast sandwiches until I met my mom and sister downstairs for some shopping.  Then we left for the courthouse in yet another limo!  By that point I felt ridiculously spoiled transportation-wise, since until Vegas I'd never been in a limousine in my life.

After we sped through the courthouse we ended up back at the MGM for a quick happy hour at Emeril's New Orleans Fish House.  A must try if you are ever at the MGM,  we loved every thing we ate there.
We lucked out with our bartender and ended up getting some amazing free appetizers, and then kept ordering drinks and food as various family members stopped in to join us.  We ended happy hour(s) with a champagne toast with both our families, a moment I really enjoyed.

That night was dinner and show - we had tickets for a group of us to all see LOVE by Cirque de Soilel.  Before the show my mom, sister, two of my friends and their guys headed with us to Samba, which featured an all you can eat Brazilian BBQ.  The meats were all good, and next time Hubs has vowed to go back with an empty stomach so can eat twice as much.   Between the food, the great drinks, and the even better company, it was a nice relaxing Wedding Eve dinner.

Being cuddly before Cirque began...

The show was breathtaking - the music, the acrobats, the dancing... I loved every minute of it!!  Poor Hubs was so tired from the time change that he might have dozed in a couple spots (it was a 9:30 show)... but he liked all the parts he was awake for (sorry hun!).   After the show almost all of us were ready to crash and call it a night, but one of my best friends had been recruited into steaming my wedding dress with me back at my hotel, and she (and her husband) generously gave up more sleep in order to make sure my dress was pressed and ready for the next day.  Lifesaver.  [K- You know I never would have gotten it done.]

And so Friday went off without a hitch.  Next would come the best part - wedding day!

Our Vegas Wedding!! - Part 1

Today I am finally well enough to start writing the posts that at least three people have been waiting for! ;)   Hope it was worth the wait...


So Thursday morning started late, of course.  We had to get the pets to the kennel, the Little Man needed to be washed and packed up for a week at Ex's, the bags needed last minute everything - our plan was to leave at 9:30 and we definitely left the house closer to 10:30.   By the time we dropped off Little Man, we ended up doing the Home Alone dash through the airport, racing to our gate just as the last two people were boarding the flight.  Of course that means on Southwest that we didn't get to sit together -ugh- but I made friends with a nice couple and we watched movies together the whole flight.  I assume Hubs had fun, he sent a beer my way with apologies as a celebration, and we were on our way!

When we finally navigated our way to the MGM and talked to the wedding guests (most of them had arrived on an early morning flight), we made plans for that night's bachelor/bachelorette party.  After a quick dinner in the food court everyone went back to their room for naps/drinks before the night began... and it was an absolute blast.  Nothing went according to plan of course, because that's how I roll... the guys and girls decided to stay together instead of splitting up, we left an hour late because of excessive picture taking (and because girls take forever to get ready), everyone was exhausted, there were no cabs to be found - but somehow it all managed to work out amazingly.  We got the guys in free everywhere because there were plenty of girls with them, because there were so many of us we got pulled out of the long cab line to a limo service that was even cheaper than two cabs would have been... Everything just worked out great!

I had so much fun that night, and I couldn't have asked for better support from my friends.  They took care of all the hassle of collecting money and calling the limo driver for return trips, getting us into a club without waiting in line, making sure I didn't get kicked out of a club due to a drunk girl stealing my tiara - it was fantastic.  It really hit me that night that everyone had gone out of their way to make my wedding an amazing event that I would never forget.  I knew right then that a destination wedding was a perfect choice for us.

Because my best friends have not given me permission to make them famous, I leave you with pictures of me and Hubs enjoying our night in style.

He cleans up nice doesn't he?  

I hated my shoes, but they were oh so cute. 

Limo kisses for the future Hubs.

The One Where I Get Married For The First Time All Over Again

Tomorrow morning we leave to get married.  HOLY SMOKES BATMAN.

We are heading out to Vegas with 28 of our closest friends and family, and it is going to be an amazing, epic, fantastic, legendary weekend of fun.

I just finished packing, got my very first spray tan, my nails done, and my eyebrows all cleaned up.  I feel ready, but also not ready.  Makes no sense I know, but that's what it is.

I feel like this is my first wedding, even though it is not.  I suppose it is because I feel like this is the first day of the rest of my life, the day we will begin our family, the day we commit to making a home for all of us. 

I am in a completely different place than I was when I got married to Ex. I would never say I regret that marriage or the short time we had as a family, I feel like he supported me through one of the more difficult periods of my life.  But we were not compatible in the long run, and so I am also forever grateful he had the foresight to realize that I was much better off without him we didn't make a great team.  My "failed marriage" makes me cherish every single moment I have with Hubs, and it will make me value our marriage all the more. 

I am in love with Hubs, and we are an amazing team.  I am finally at peace with who I am and who I will become.  I am no longer lost in my own skin.  I don't have doubts.  I don't have fears.  I have confidence that this is the person I am meant to be with.  We've seen the worst and the best in each other and dealt with it together.  He loves all of me just as I love all of him.

And so I prepare for tomorrow like I have never done this before, because I haven't.  I haven't walked down the aisle as this person, this happy, well-adjusted, healthy person that I am now.   This relationship that we have is a special and wonderful new chapter in my life, and I am ridiculously excited to start it.

It is going to be a beautiful wedding.

The One with the Tiny Dress

One week til the wedding of the year!  If the year we are counting from started from September 23rd, because there was a pretty epic wedding the day before I really can't compete with (nor do I want to, it was awesome)...

It has been a busy couple days, with the elections wrapping up and finding out on Monday night that my wedding dress needed alterations.  YIKES!

When I bought the dress several months ago I got an amazing deal.  There was only one problem... that day when I tried it on, the bridal store employee stood behind me fussing with the zipper/corset combo swearing that it was "only a little too small" and if I lost maybe 5 pounds it would EASILY zip.  So I took the plunge and bought the dress of my dreams at the price of my dreams, and kept on chugging at my weight loss goal.  I ended up surprising myself with my dedication to weight loss, and was relieved to realize I had lost 15 lbs since the day I purchased the dress.  I went to try it on on Monday night and was actually worried it might be a little loose!!  But as my mom tried zipping the dress we realized that it was not going to fit unless I removed a rib.  

Normally if I heard a story about a girl buying a dress too small and then being offended that come wedding time it didn't fit, I'd probably laugh. I think it is ridiculous that some women place so much stock in what size their dress is instead of worrying if it fits them properly and makes their body type look great.  But I didn't buy my dress because I was positive that one day I'd be small enough to fit into it.  I bought it because it was ridiculously cheaper to buy the dress off the rack in the sample size (8) than it would have been to buy it in the size the store said I would need (the next size up, 10).  Like over half price cheaper.  I was between sizes then as well and they said it probably wasn't worth it to get the ten if I was going to keep working out and losing weight.  Oh - and I am all about a good deal.  So when the bridal shop also told me that if I lost five pounds it would probably not even need alterations, I was totally sold.  Besides, five pounds is a bad stomach flu.  I had 5 months to lose weight.   Easy as pie, no problem, fork over that dress please thanks.

Anyways, long story short, dress didn't fit even with all the weight loss.  Shame on me for waiting that long to try it on and being so sure it would fit.  But with the help of my besties (they are amazing) I calmed the eff down, emailed a couple seamstresses, and found one that would rush the job and get alterations done by tomorrow night.  For sixty bucks.  Total, including the rush fee.  Today, I feel like a champ.  Monday, not so much. I drank a lot of wine.

And when I look at the pictures of myself from the first time I tried on the dress at the shop versus trying it on for the seamstress/mom this week... I am reminded that just because my dress didn't fit does not mean that losing the fifteen pounds doesn't make a difference.  I felt great about my body this week and am so pumped about showing it off a bit in Vegas!

This week coming up should be insanity... I have orchestra rehearsals several days, driving up north to pick up my dress Friday, finishing up the shopping and packing for the trip, all in addition to the usual household stuff I take care of during the week.  But I've gotten a sudden burst of energy and excitement and I am so ready for this wedding!!!   I can't wait!

The One Where This Wedding Is Creeping Up On Me...

Less than three weeks til the wedding, and I am slowly turning into a nervous wreck.

I don't know if I've mentioned before that I hate planning.  I'm sure I have.  If not - I do.  The only times I've planned events that have gone successfully have been times where someone else helped me get through it.   Or that time I decided to throw a 26th birthday party even though I was on Day 2 of a horrific stomach virus.  That actually went really well, despite the warning signs.

But seriously, I sent out invites to my first wedding via Facebook because I didn't think to get enough wedding invitations - from Staples, where we'd picked them out.  I'm that kind of planner.

The last couple days I've been Facebook chatting nonstop with a group of my friends who have urged (possibly begged) me to make some sort of concrete plan for when we get to Vegas.  So I (or maybe one of them) found a website and booked 17 tickets to see Cirque de Soilel while we're out there.  I thought that would really be the extent of planning, because hey that's a big outing, but now I'm slogging through websites (also given to me by the girls- thank God) trying to find restaurant and club reservations - because apparently you can't just walk in to a club out there! 

The part that gets me hung up when I plan is that I try really hard to please everyone, and then worry that I'm not doing it right.  I want everyone to have fun, everyone to feel comfortable, everyone to know that they are being considered... and it makes my head explode with the pressure.  And then I invariably end up pissing someone off because I am too wound up to realize that I am making a huge error somewhere, and that just perpetuates the stress... you get the picture.  

So today I am covered in itchy hives, and was up last night til four in the morning tossing and turning and freaking out.  Hubs got rudely awakened more than once by my sniffles that I am ready for this wedding to be here so I can go back to not ever planning a huge outing ever again.  I also managed to do something bad to my abdomen last week that feels like my skin is being stretched super thin on the right side... I keep looking down to see if I'm getting stretch marks there!  I assume it is probably a pulled muscle.  Or my liver trying to break free.  Something like that.  I can't wait for health insurance.

I'm taking the day off from planning.  I hate that I get myself all worked up and start to dread something I should be enjoying.  This is going to be a great wedding and a fabulous vacation with a group of people I love more than any other people in the world.  I need to relax and breathe. 

Wish me luck.

The One With Panic!

Today is a great day generally.  It's my mother's birthday.  It is also my grandpa's birthday.  Best birthday gift to a dad ever, so I hear.

Today is also a really effing stressful day.  It is exactly one month til my wedding.  Goodbye nonchalant attitude!  Goodbye "Oh yeah I'm not really thinking much about it."  Goodbye "we have time til the wedding, I'm not worried."

I'm starting to panic.  I went from completely fine and calm to OMGTHEWEDDINGISCOMING.  I'm having nightmares that everyone hates being in Vegas together and they all regret coming.  Or that I served fondue at my wedding and the pots wouldn't turn on so all I had was cheese lumps.  Or that I can't find a dress or a veil or anything...

I have a To-Do list, which basically says "Get Everything Done".  Every time I look at it I freak out.  Every time Hubs asks me to do something wedding related I snap at him like he's just asked me to solve the problem of world piece in twenty minutes or less.  Last night I freaked out at him because at 11:30 PM he casually brought up that it might be nice to settle on a cake design by the next morning.  No really, the "fight" ended with him going "I just don't understand what happened, I wanted to look at cakes and now you hate me?"

[Sidenote: I don't hate him, and I am baking him gingersnaps today because I was acting a fool.  Yes I bribe him into forgetting I'm crazy, isn't that what everyone does in relationships?]

I am also 4 pounds away from my wedding goal weight, which is going to be hard to get to because I'm eating my feelings. 

Why don't I feel better??

 



 



So while I want today to be a positive day, and deep down I swear it is... please don't be surprised if you see me FREAKING OUT.  Or eating a bag of popcorn covered in butter.  Both of these things are interchangeable.