October 20, 2012

So I got married.

What took six months of planning and waiting seemed to be over in 26 seconds. I still try and remember what all was said and how it all unfolded bit by bit and seem to fail every time. I will share some thoughts from that Saturday that are sort of flashes in my mind.

- Feeling okay ten minutes before the ceremony. Still calm. Somewhat cool. Pretty collected.

- Being terrified standing there that once I started my vows, I would lose it. It became my turn and I   composed myself long enough to finish them and to let out a big sigh of relief afterwards.

- My grandmother dancing at the reception. My 92 year old grandmother.

- The heartfelt toasts we received.

- How she told me before the wedding that the cake goes into her mouth and not on her face and that she would physically hurt me if I tried anything…as I placed the piece of cake ever so gently in her mouth.

- The first dance. Our first official deep breath of realization that it was in fact, real.

- Watching her light up as friends and family took turns hugging and chatting with us.

- Being pulled every single direction during that reception. From what I was told, that’s normal.

I do however remember one thing about that day that’s crystal clear. And that would be the moment around 1:15 pm that Saturday, about 15 minutes into the ceremony. I remember seeing the doors open and watching her smile. I remember her walking down that aisle. A good friend told me if nothing else, remember that walk and seeing her for the first time. They said I would not forget it.

I’m hopeful that the video we invested in (and will hopefully be put up here shortly) will show just how awesome that day was. But I’m positive that I will never forget how beautiful she looked or how happy she was making me during that short walk towards me. I will never forget that moment. It’s the moment I really saw my wife for the first time and knew that everything in my life had brought me to that particular moment to join that particular person.

I simply couldn’t keep the smile off my face.

What Comes Next?

Yeah, I’ll admit it. Marriage is on the brain so shoot me. Actually don’t shoot me. Court has been reliving her love of Sons of Anarchy with me so I can get up to speed with the current season and if you did shoot me, there will definitely be retaliation. And you don’t want to face someone who learned retaliation methods from the folks of SAMCRO. Just trying to help you out, shooter.

So I can’t help to think what will be expected after the wedding day is over. Not that NIGHT, perverts. I know there’s a big feast and some sort of expected circus show. I’m no dummy. I’m talking about the day-to-day life after  you do walk out of that chapel and after the honeymoon week at some resort where you eat and drink until you are beached out by the water. After all that… then what? So much focus has been put on one thing the past 6 months, it’s weird to think that it will be over and new things will need to be figured out.

Just some random thoughts that have been popping up the last few weeks:

- Like what closet space do I really get? I get that they really only expect for you to have a total of 3 shirts 2 pairs of pants  that can go neatly on the end of the rack and the funny thing is that those 5 articles of clothing are still scrunched up to the max.

- Okay, the towel is not on the floor. It’s on the rack. Not like yours that looks like it’s straight out of the Fall issue of Pottery Barn. It’s hanging. Off the ground. Now, off my back.

- Will I get the disapproving eye when all I want at 1:00 am is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?

- Do I have to go to bed when YOU go to bed?

- If you get invited to go to the flower nurseries to check on Spring’s new line, does that mean I have to go check out the flowers with you and your friends or can I still go do ANYTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD?

- Will the amount of toilet tissue I use for everyday use become an issue after we tie this knot?

- If I want to watch 7 straight hours of Property Brothers, then I feel like I should be able to watch 7 straight hours of Property Brothers.

- I really just think that a toothbrush left on the counter is simply more readily accessible for the next usage, no?

- You can cover up with layers. I can’t peel off my skin. The fan stays on.

- When I watch movies, I don’t like talking. I like to talk when I’m not watching a movie. We good?

Funny thing is that I can’t wait to find all this stuff out. The  growing pains that awaits seems to be a good thing. Or a fun thing at least for me. I mean, how hard can it be to live with me? I only have 2 pairs of pants.

Make Your Wedding Memorable

So I’m getting married in almost a month.

Mind. Blown. Kapow.

In preparation for this day of bonding, I have come up with some surefire ways to make your ceremony the absolute best it could possibly be.  Okay, maybe not the best. How about unforgettable? That might be better.

- Say your own vows. Thoughtful and charming, right? “I vow to never let go unless we are in the Atlantic, floating on a door. This time, it’s your ass letting go…”. Turn to the audience and be amazed at all the open jaws.

- When the minister asks if there are any objections, have a buddy stand up and proclaim, “I volunteer, I volunteer as tribute!”. Then take your bow and arrow and put one through his chest.

- Insist on always staying on her side of the altar. Share that it reminds you of sharing a booth at a restaurant and that it makes you feel safe.

- Mouth the words when she is saying her vows. Make up different words and seem frustrated as if she’s getting them wrong. “Ugh, no babe… we talked about it, remember?”

- Pull out your phone and check Facebook. At any time during the ceremony. Watch your almost-wife almost kill you.

- Switch your unity candle song to something with a bit more beat. Try 99 Problems by Jay-Z but react to it as if Celine Dion and Josh Groban were fornicating the perfect song.

- Instead of “I do”, see how “Yeah, okay” works out for you.

Please don’t try any of these in your wedding. If you can’t resist, please invite me to your wedding.

 

 

How We Saved Our Date

This is my very first “how-to” post of sorts. The subject? Save The Date cards. We (I) decided that one way to not waste money was to do whatever we can ourselves. The main reason I wanted to create it was because I didn’t want your standard looking card. I didn’t want the standard wording that you see time and time again.

This project went through a few drafts. It even got the point one night of deciding not to  mess with them at all. Luckily the next morning I thought about the ideas again and thought, “what if we did it this way?”. Then it all came together.

The Idea

We wanted a magnet but not your typical one. Doing a bit of research online, I found this fantastic place that did funky business cards.

Moo. They have this very cool product called MiniCards. Smaller than an average business card and the best thing is that you can upload as many different designs as you want. We settled on 5 different ones so that there would be a variety of our mugs on fridges.

We went to the local craft store and picked up some adhesive magnet sheets. Pretty simple: Place the card on the sticky side (it has to be the sticky side or you will get them stuck to your table). Grab an x-acto knife and cut around the edges.

Next was figuring out the card. We found some great cardstock at Paper Source and paired it with my home printer. I outlined the text so that we could get 4 cards per page.

This was a must. I think everything looks better with the curved edge. Besides your thumb hurting for an entire night, it’s simply worth it.

Another great pick-up. The embosser from Paper Source. We decided to invest in one since we were needing to include return addresses on these cards, formal invitations, thank you cards, etc.  Plus it can be used for future Christmas cards, party invites.

I had to blur because of course, this is in fact the Internet, but you get the idea. Classy.

Grab some double-sided tape for the magnet and you’re almost done.

Finished product.

One special detail: A sister-in-law that rocks at writing things. The good news is that she has also been hired to address our formal invites. And we get to pay her in beer. Beautiful.

There you have it. A customized and original save the date idea. Not only was it fun to design from scratch, it saved us a couple hundred bucks. Did you know weddings are expensive?