Anniversary ABCs part 2

Annd lets begin with Part 2

Programs: Chris and I made our programs ourselves and had them printed from Kinkos.  And let me just say...we don't give graphic designers enough credit lol It was quite labor intensive and time consuming but I loved how they turned out!

Question Popping: You can read more about our story leading up to the question popping here

Rings: Chris and I had talked about rings and I had always talked about how I wanted something "antiquey" (not a real word, I know).  I cared more about the details on the ring than the diamond (not entirely true, but somewhat).  Chris' best man had recently got engaged and recommended a store and Chris coyly suggested we take a trip to the store.  He had secretly gone earlier to pick out rings he thought I might like and asked the owner to make sure they were out when we can.  I feel in love with one that he had picked out...although I didn't know it at the time.  And it had a matching wedding band so that was awesome.  Chris wanted something simple and strong so he chose a simple band of titanium.

Shoes: I love the look of high heels...however I was not born with much grace lol Therefore high heels + me often = me falling flat on my butt. So, knowing this about myself I knew I did not want very high heels and wanted something comfortable to wear all day.  I loved my shoes, they were the perfect height and super comfortable all night.

Tuxes: Chris and his groomsmen wore traditional black tuxes.  His groomsmen had gray ties while Chris wore an off white tie.  

Unique: Every wedding is unique in and of itself, isn't it?  But lets see...there were a few things that I would consider unique since we did them ourselves

     1. I wrapped votive candles in lace to be scattered around each table (do you sense the "lace" theme of our weddings? lol)

     2. I also made our place cards...this was a Pinterest find that I LOVED and  it fit into the "theme" perfectly.  I really loved how they turned out.

     3. Chris came up with the idea for our table numbers and guest book.  We bought 13 bottles of wine, printed out labels with numbers and then bought pens that would write on glass.  So each bottle was the table number and the guest book.  And, for each anniversary, we plan to drink that wine. 

     4. Something Chris used to talk about in passing was how he always wanted a bagpiper at his wedding.  I wanted to surprise him (and show him I do listen!) so we hired a bagpiper to play as people entered and left the church.  He was fantastic.

Vows: Chris and I spoke traditional wedding vows.  I remember being so nervous to be up in front of everyone talking but I just told myself to focus on what I was vowing to my husband, promising in front of God and our friends and family.  When the time came, it felt as though it were just Chris and I and the words we spoke were incredibly powerful.

I, Tiffany, take you, Christopher, to be my husband.

I, Christopher, take you, Tiffany, to be my wife.

I promise to be true to you,

in good times and in bad,

in sickness and in health.

I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.

Wedding Woes:  The only wedding woe there was, was in the morning when the florist delivered our bouquets.  My mother handles stress less than well and came to me in a panic.  The bouquets were nothing like what we had talked about and were literally doused with glitter.  My mom freaked and the woman re-did them as fast as she could.  Oh, the other wedding woe was that my father's tux was missing.  For some reason it had not been delivered when it should have and my dad had to drive to another neighboring town to retrieve it.  But honestly...thanks to my sister mostly and my bridesmaids I let these things brush off and trusted that it would all be taken care of.

eXit:  Honestly...I can't say that we did this...We stayed in the hotel that night and did not really have a grand exit or anything.  But I was ok with that.  Everyone was having a good time and once the party ended for the reception I know the rest of our guests went on to the hotel bar to continue the party while Chris and I slipped away to our suite lol

Zzz...The End:

His face cracks me up here

We love to sing and dance, can you tell?

And they lived happily ever after

Well, this was fun.  And such a great way to remember our special day one year ago.  We were, and continue to be, incredibly blessed

Anniversary ABCs

Well, I am no longer a newlywed.  I kinda love that lol  Our trip was fantastic, super relaxing, and exactly what we needed.

I noticed Patty over at Tales of Me and the Husband did something called Anniversary ABCs and it looks like a pretty fun way to take a trip down wedding day memory lane.  So, enjoy!

Attending: We had 130 people attend our wedding.  My mother's side of the family came all the way from Colombia South America and it meant the world to me that they made the trip.  It was stressful trying to "keep the numbers down" but ultimately we were surrounded bythe  family and friends who were a truly important part of our lives.

Bridesmaids: I had 7 bridesmaids.  My sister, Vanessa, was my matron of honor.  She helped me remain calm at the times when I could have freaked out and she helped remind me to keep my focus where it should be, on God.  4 of my bridesmaids (Leslie, Laura, Lindsay and Kelly) were friends from elementary/middle/high school.  Two of which I have known since I was 7.  My roommate from college (Lindsay) was also a bridesmaid and then my friend from graduate school (Danielle), a "kindred spirit."

From L to R: Laura, Lindsay, Leslie, Vanessa, Me, Kelly, Lindsay, Danielle

Cake: Our cake was made by a French bakery in Baltimore, Patisserie Poupon.  The owner and my mother have known each other for years.  They did my sister's wedding case as well.  And boy oh boy was this cake delicious.  It was layers of chocolate and hazelnut and then was decorate to look like lace.  The cake topper was loaned to us by Chris' father, and it is a Lladro that he got in Spain.  I loved it and it was so special to have something from his time in the Air Force.

Dress: I absolutely loved my dress.  It was everything I had imagine in my dress.  I knew I had wanted lace and I knew I wanted sleeves and something modest while still be stylish.  I remember watching "Say Yes to the Dress" and mocking the girls who would dry when trying on their dress...so naturally when I tried on my dress both my mother and I cried haha  When my bridesmaids later saw my dress they described it as "so me" which is exactly what you want in your dress.  We added a belt for a bit of sparkle.

Engagement: Chris proposed at the Grotto in Emmitsburg Maryland.  We had just gone to mass and were walking around and I was showing him my favorite spot.  It was all a dream come true.

Flowers: The flowers we chose were simple roses, white for me, pink for the girls with some dusty miller to tie in the gray.  The best part of the flowers were the arrangements in the church and the centerpieces.

Groomsmen: Chris' best man was his best friend Joe.  His brother's Bryan and Time were 2 other groomsmen and finally his friend from college Brian (we all called him Moy)

This picture cracks me up... imitating the photo

Honeymoon: I was still finishing my Master's degree after we got married so we decided to take our honeymoon in August, so it was a combination "Honeymoon, Graduation, and 25th Birthday"  We took a cruise to the Carribean...and it was amazing.  It was my first cruise and I can't wait to take another.

Invitations: Our invitations were beautiful, looked like lace, and to me, seemed in and of themselves a work of art.  

Justice of the Peace: Chris and I were married in a full Catholic mass by the priest from my childhood parish.  He gives the most amazing and inspiring homilies and we were truly blessed to have him witness our marriage.

Keepsakes: Our favors were porcelain flowers...this was sort of my mother's thing and was one of those "pick your battles" moments so I decided not to worry about this battle and let my mother do as she wished. They were beautiful flowers and we wrapped them in gray paper with a pink ribbon with our names and date of marriage.

Ladies Night: My bridesmaids surprised me with a night out in Georgetown.  We went to dinner in a cute little place and then went around to a few different bars in the area.  My favorite part was getting dressed up and spending some quality time with my girls.  

Music: The music during mass was traditional, and absolutely beautiful.  Our first dance was to the song Changed By You by Between the Trees and our DJ was fan. tastic.  He seriously kept everyone on the dancefloor all night and blended songs from all eras, and songs that we had on our must play list, perfectly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EBbKNp-OwE

Newlyweds: I guess we're not these any more...and I'm not really sure what to put here...but following suit, I'll post some pictures of us right after we were married

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue:

Old: Chris' mother gave me a hankerchief that had been given to Chris on his baptism.  It was a bonnet for his baptism and came with a poem explaining that it should be used for his bride's "something old."  Talk about something incredibly special

New: my Dress

Borrowed: I borrowed a Vatican rosary from my mom and wrapped it around the stems of the flowers in my bouquet

Blue:  I had my bridesmaids sign the bottom of my shoes with a blue pen

Part 2 Tomorrow!

Almost a Newlywed no longer...

This Sunday, June 16th, is our FIRST wedding anniversary.  I am so incredibly excited and am finding it hard to believe that a year has already flown by.

We decided to take a more economical approach and head up to the Hamptons in NY where Chris' grandfather has a house.  This way we are still "getting away" but don't need to spend any money on accommodations.  Chris tried to squash my mental image of the Hamptons which includes a lot of awful popped colars and women who wear 5 inch heels 24/7 while drinking a martini and ordering "the help" around.  This image brought to you by another guilty pleasure TV show, Revenge.  Apparently we won't be in that part of the Hamptons. Phew.

Honestly, I don't care where we go, as long as I get to spend some quality time with Chris remembering our wedding day a year ago and looking forward to our future together.

When I tell people that we were married last June, their first question is usually, "So how is it going?"  And when I enthusiastically tell them how much I am enjoying married life they tend to look at me like I've just stepped off a spaceship from another planet.  I remember getting fingerprinted for my job and the woman who was helping me commented on my rings and asked how long I had been married.  At the time it was more like 6 months.  She then asked the, "So how's it going" questions and I gave my response.  She then said how nice that was to hear since more often than not she usually hears from newlyweds how miserable they are within the first 3 months of marriage!  I was shocked...and then began to wonder if there was something wrong with Chris and I.  Were we a fluke?  Sure we've had our "spats" here and there, but over stupid things and they usually lasted oh...30 seconds.  Was this "too good to be true?"

Even when we were dating I used to ask myself why we didn't fight more (talk about a healthy view of relationships, huh)  Chris would patiently respond, "Tiff, I think it's a good thing we don't fight, not a bad thing.  We can actually talk about our differences without blowing up at each other"  Oh.  Yea.  I guess you're right.

It makes me sad that:

1. Our society has become so used to seeing couples married less than a year have some difficulties and promptly end said marriage.  What happened to the covenant, the vows they make before their friends and God, the sacrament they have entered into?

And

2. Apparently I have, in some small way, given into society's view.  How is is that I worry about my marriage because we enjoy each other.  We have fun together.  We laugh.  We openly talk about things and when things do get heated, we are able to come back down from it without leaving any wounds behind.  When did the images of a "healthy" marriage get flipped in my head?

Just some Wednesday morning thoughts...Thanks to those who sent me book recommendations, I'm going to either download or pick them up today to bring with me this weekend.

Before I go, I'll leave you with this cute "meme" that totally resonates with me...I can't find a picture to show up, but it says "A reporter asked the couple: "How did you manage to stay together for 65 years." The Woman replied: "We were born in a time when if something was broken we would fix it, not throw it away."

Amen.