So Much To Say...

Some photos from the wedding - courtesy of Alisa Smith, a great friend and photographer...

My husband, Justin...
The flowers...
Our first dance...
One of the table settings...
Noah, the ring bearer, was craving goldfish after the ceremony...
Me, right after the ceremony...
I have absolutely LOVED my sabbatical from blogging.  Of course, I've missed all of you, but seriously, what a great vacation...

A quick recap of what's been going on...

1) still no full time job, but lots of part-time ones, including dance, freelance design work, working at my aunt's real estate office...

2) new love for coupons... our last triple coupon weekend we spent $82 and saved $97!!  love it.

3) IKEA opened in NC.  Enough said.

4) the most exciting thing going on... I am working on starting my own business this summer.  Yup.  I can't wait to tell everyone about it.  I can't give you too many details right now, but I promise, this is going to be FUN!  If you have a wedding, party, or any other social event to plan - I'M YOUR WOMAN!  As I have more info, I'll fill you in.  :)

Wedding Photos...

Hi, My name is world's worst blogger.

Ok kids, here's my problem. Because of the lack of a job right now, we had to downgrade our internet connection to the cheapest version. Every time that I try to upload photos to post on my blog, it gives me an intimidating message with big fancy words, and basically, I can't post photos. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEAS? I want to come back to blogworld, and I can't figure out how!!

Also because of our one-income status, we took advantage of Harris Teeter triple coupons this weekend. That stuff is awesome but exhausting!! We saved $61 total, and only spent $113. We are hooked :)

I miss you all, don't give up on me. I will figure out how to get photos to you!

The Rehearsal Dinner

So I am so excited to share our wedding weekend and honeymoon with you!  We'll start with the rehearsal dinner.  It was at Starmount Forest Country Club here in Greensboro.  

The AMAZING groom's cake...

...the caketopper - handmade by our wonderful friend, Bonnie...

...my adorable grandparents...

...lots of friends and family...

it was a great night to celebrate and prepare for the next day... 

I will finally be coming around to everyone's blogs in the next few days to catch up and leave some comment love.  I have missed you all so much!  Hopefully, I can quickly get back into the swing of things.  Does anyone have any good ideas for a new blog name?

We're Back

We're married! And for that I am so happy and thankful :) I can't wait to show you all pictures of the wedding and our honeymoon in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

However, I need a little bit of time... while on my honeymoon, the company I work for had to do some downsizing. I found out yesterday, along with 3 others, that I no longer have a job. I promise that I will update you on all the festivities and fun soon, but right now I have to figure out some things so that I can enjoy the Christmas season.

Meanwhile, our photographer put a sneak peak of some of our wedding photos up on her blog... www.phrecklesphotography.com/blog so you can look at those to hold you over :)

ALSO, do you need some decorating help at your house? Or do you know someone with a business that needs some interior design help? ORRR do you need a nanny? or an administrative assistant? or anything? Please please leave a comment and I will get in touch with you as soon as possible.

Thanks, Y'all. This new family needs alot of prayer and support right now, and I know that my blog friends can help with that.

Butterflies

My nails have been painted, the church has been decorated, and I'm sitting alone on my couch listening to the refridgerator hum.  The butterflies have come and are dive bombing the walls of my stomach.  None of this flitty floaty princess butterfly stuff.  I guess I should get ready to go practice a wedding, instead of blogging :)

Four Days

Do you remember when there were 160 days left? This week seemed like forever away.

So, here I am.

Here I am the week of my wedding. The day I have dreamed about since oh... birth. I was the 6th grader that bought wedding magazines. I was the teenager and 20-somethinger that had file folders for dresses, flowers, centerpieces, invitations, etc. I longed for the day that I could have my dream job for a few months, and plan my own big day. I couldn't wait for the pomp, the circumstance, the cake.

So, here I am.

Here I am the week of my wedding. Will my big day look like all the torn magazine pages from my file? No. Was planning a wedding all that I thought it would be? No. Don't get me wrong, it was mostly fun with a dash of stress. Would I do it again? Of course, for a friend or for money. Do you want to know what I'm most excited about? My marriage. After years and years of looking forward to a wedding, I am absolutely thrilled beyond all excitement about my marriage. When the big party is over, I am so excited to have normal life with my husband. To have the good times, the hard times, the in between times... to just have life together. To start our own little family. To both live in the same house. To experience all that God has prepared for us in the blessing of marriage.

This week has brought a new calm to my spirit, despite the last minute party details that may or may not be addressed. This weekend our friends and family will gather around us as we say our vows and start the next chapter. Next week I'll be somewhere on a honeymoon (Did you know the trip is a surprise?), and I'll be reading New Moon, too. All I can do is take a step back, smile, and know that I am so blessed. I'm going to be a wife on Sunday.

Family Fun

We loved spending time in Raleigh with Justin's family on Thanksgiving.  The food was great, and so was our sweet little niece, Amelia, who you all know and love.  We tried to take our annual family photo on the tree that looks like a camel/giraffe in the front yard, and ended up just standing in a line.