The Big Day! (And other stuff)

It's been almost a year since my last post, and my entire life has changed quite a bit since that day. For one. I'm married. That's different than last year. But we'll get to that in a bit. I just wanted to document all of the stuff that's been going on since that day and tell a little bit more of my story.

July 26, 2013

Chris came home after serving a full-time mission. As the story was told to me, he arrived home at the airport, left his bags with his mom and siblings, and his dad rushed him to the stake center to get released. There was a fireside starting at 7, so Chris wanted to make it there before that. He was released, and he drove to my parents house. He had spoken to my mom beforehand (and I knew because she had been acting funny the whole week) and had asked her to be upstairs taking pictures out her bedroom window. So the whole experience was documented. Anyway, Chris came honking up the road and I ran out to greet him. He gave me a bouquet the size of a small child that was absolutely beautiful. We talked for a bit, and he said he had a question for me. I tried not to get my hopes up (hoping that this would the THE question), after all, he had just gotten home. Literally an hour before this. But sure enough....

After two, very long, very difficult years without him, I was finally engaged to my best friend. The love of my life. My better half.

For those of you who have waited for your missionary and happily married him, you probably know what I'm talking about. You know that people are just mean. I can't tell you how many times I heard, "You won't marry him," and, "He will get back from his mission, and he won't want you anymore." (These are real things I heard. I promise people have actually said this to me.) Oh, and we can't forget about, "The mission changes you. He won't be the same person when he gets back." How dare anyone tell you what you should do with an eternal decision without you asking for advice in the first place. I never asked for anyone's opinion about the matter. Many statements were coming from people that I had known for 10 minutes. What an inappropriate thing to say. You're not being nice by "warning" them. I don't care if you knew your roommate's brother's wife's sister's niece who waited for their missionary and it didn't work out.

Just......ssshhhhhh.

For those of you waiting for your missionary with complete loyalty, don't let these people crack your armor. If you have known them for a long time, they just become a better version of what they used to be. They don't really change at all. They just get better. I will admit that some days I would believe these people. A lot of these statements came from people that I believed were friends of mine. No friend of yours will ever discourage you from getting what you want. People are mean. Plain and simple. Not all of them. I certainly found a few angels along the way who helped support me in my decisions. Hahaha who gave me a roll of toilet paper, and set a trash can next to my bed when I was too sad to get up. (My roommate did this. She is a saint.) It makes me laugh now because I'm just so happy to be out of it. Anyway, wrapping up the rant. People are mean. Don't listen to them. Follow your heart. Trust the Lord. I promise He won't lead you astray. Simple as that.

Fast forward.

July 27, 2013-August 27, 2013

Wedding planning.

I absolutely loved our wedding. It was exactly what I hoped for. Here's a few deets and we'll get into the rest later. Our colors were shades of coral and tiffany blue. The theme was "shabby chic."

Invitations:

Each invitation was handmade. I sell them HERE. My mom, Chris, Chris's mom, myself, and a few others slaved away at these for a while. Since our wedding was planned for August 28, 2013, we had about 0 days to get these invitations out. So we worked as fast as we could. I wouldn't have changed anything about it though. The invitations ended up gorgeous. I couldn't love them more. Each one was different. I showed just a few examples above of the ones we had left over, but we had about 40 different covers to rotate through. The inner papers were also different in each one. We were trying to keep with the "shabby chic" theme, which is what inspired the different papers. All of the inserts were the same. Each invitation received 5 engagement photos, a formal announcement, directions to the venue, and a registry card. They all tied shut with a ribbon.

Wedding dress:

I got my dress from The Perfect Dress in Utah. This shop was fantastic, but their alterations lady was absolutely unreal. She was incredible. My dress was originally strapless. And to this day I still cannot tell you how she built up sleeves without a trace of the previous neckline. I took a few mediocre pictures just because. Later I'll have pictures of me actually in the dress.

It was actually really fun buying a strapless dress and altering it because I basically got to customize the top of it. I chose a sweetheart neckline underneath the lace boatneck. And I wanted half-sleeves, not cap sleeves. So that part was all really fun.

August 28, 2013

Yay for the big day! :D

Hahaha getting ready in the backseat of my mom's car. 

Married.

Finally. 

Look how handsome my husband is! I'm married to that guy. Forever. :) 

August 31, 2013

Having a reception a few days after the actual wedding was the best idea ever. (Credit to Chris.) There's no way we could've done both in the same day. For those of you that have, you must be superhuman. Props to you. Seriously. Anyway, the reception was held at my parent's house as a half-inside, half-outside ordeal. My mom made an insane amount of delicious food. The decor was lovely. Everything was just as I'd hoped. 

One part I wanted to highlight in particular is my beautiful sign-in book. My sister Amber makes these, and she actually sells them, so you could have one at your wedding too! I'll attach a link to her shop at the bottom of this page. And trust me, you will want one. I actually look at this sign-in book quite often. I love it because honestly, I would probably hardly ever look at a book with just signatures in them. They are nice, and they do the job, they just aren't my style. This book actually has all of our engagement pictures in it, and plenty of room for people to write a little message. The guests were able to look through it as they walked in, and see all of the photos. (Amber also makes adorable baby books if you're at that step in your life!) Obviously, I don't have a picture of every page, but you get the point. One other thing that made this book special is that Chris actually made the paper on the front cover. He was able to do that on his mission. It was just another sentimental touch. 

Seriously how beautiful are these details? Amber did amazing. 

I thought this bookmark was adorable. 

Another detail I can't forget were the large letters that were placed in the sign-in armoire with the book. My other sister, Holly made these and I know they were quite labor intensive, so I'm eternally grateful. They ended up looking fantastic! Holly and Amber are both very crafty. Holly also has a shop where she makes all sorts of cute things so I'll link her as well!

I can't thank everyone who helped out with our wedding enough. It was truly the best day of my life. We've been very happily married for almost 6 months now. (Why couldn't time move this fast while he was gone? I will never know.) I love Chris more each and every day. I'm so proud of everything he does. Stay tuned for more blog posts of our married life! Thanks for reading!

Amber's Shop: PaperLuxuries

Holly's Shop: Craftmania

My Shop: Buttons, Bows, & Bling