Countdown to I DO

The stress and craziness of the wedding is over, the honeymoon was AMAZING (but not long enough!!), and we have been back to “reality” for a little over a month now.  Not much has changed now that we are married.  We still go to work, and participate in our favorite activities (yoga and hockey.)  We are still cooking for each other and for friends and family.  We still go out to see our favorite musicians and are always listening to music either at home or in the car.  We still look forward to traveling (both near and far) and continue to plan our next adventures.  What has changed is our love for each other….

I love Dave more and more everyday and he shows me how much more he loves me too.  This week more than ever I am seeing how blessed I am to have him by my side.  With a health scare and facing the possibility of surgery tomorrow,  Dave has been my rock.  He is strong, yet, incredibly patient, and nurturing.  I know we will get past this bump in the road, and I am looking forward to brighter days ahead with my husband by my side!

I’m getting married today!!! It’s 7am and I’ve been up for hours. Too excited to sleep, I practiced yoga and did a little meditation. This whole process (getting married) has been tremendous! It has been exhausting and at times overwhelming, but so much fun!! I have learned so much about myself, about Dave, about us as a couple, and about the qualities of others. They say weddings bring out the best and the worst in people and Dave and I have definitely seen both! Last night he dropped me off at the Hills house (thank you Warren, Tamara, and Olivia for welcoming me!) as a single lady and tonight we will spend our first night together as a married couple! I’m so excited for the day ahead. I’m getting my hair and make-up done with some of my favorite ladies and it is sure to be a magical wonderful day!! 9 hours to go!!

I can’t believe this day is finally here!  The out-of-town relatives have arrived, and the ever important “doll shower” took place last night.  A tradition in my family is for the bride-to-be to be invited to a shower that is hosted by dolls and teddy bears.  Other stuffed animals may get involved as well.  Last night a stuffed panda bear and a stuffed rhinoceros were also in attendance and gave great gifts!!  The idea is for the most-love dolls, bears, and animals to “share” things from the homes where they live to give to the new bride.  The tradition has evolved through the years so rather than getting only used household items, I received a new panini press, new cookbooks, and other new items, as well as beautiful vintage napkins, placemats and glassware that I love for their beauty as well as their sentimental value.  It was a lot of fun and truly touching to see how much love I was surrounded by!  And Dave experienced how crazy my family can be, especially when they start talking in “doll talk.”

I finally managed to pack for our honeymoon last night around 2am.  Final details have been coordinated with the caterer, baker, florist, DJ, photographer,  and videographer; now its time for manicure/pedicure and a meeting with our officiant to talk through the ceremony.  I have a million things running through my head and am not sure how I am possibly going to remember everything, but it really doesn’t matter because….

I love this man I am about to marry and can’t wait to call him my husband!!!

We are getting soo close now!  As the out of town friends and relatives are starting to arrive today, Dave and I were up late again last night putting together gift bags and working on some extra special surprises for the big day.  Dave even sacrificed playing hockey last night to help me- now that is true love!! 🙂

We did make some time to have a birthday toast with our good friend Tamara Hill, who actually gave me a gift on her birthday by offering me her home as my “primping and prepping palace” the day of the wedding.  Thank you Tamara, and Olivia and Warren Hill!

I have been so touched and impressed by the sincere and generous gestures that have been made for us over the past few weeks, and especially the past few days leading up to our wedding.  We are really lucky to have such amazing friends and family and WE CAN’T WAIT  to celebrate with you on Sunday!!!

The final alterations have been made on my dress thanks to my incredible mom, Judy.  Not only did she alter my dress so that it fits perfectly, she has also put hours into hand beading my veil, made pillows for the ring bearers to carry, designed new sashes for the flower girls’ dresses, and redesigned/updated the dress my grandma wants to wear (which she originally wore in 1991 at my sister’s wedding!)  She has also spent hours shopping with me and (for me) and helped me put together party favors, etc…  I am truly in awe of her talent!!  I told Dave if we are lucky enough to have a daughter, I could only wish to be as awesome  to her as my mom is to me, and to us!  Hopefully we are lucky enough to have two daughters, because I’d love for them to have amazing sisters, just like I do!  Dawn has been my wedding planner/decorator/cheerleader/go-to-girl for anything and everything I need.  “I’ll tie ribbons around the napkins and utensils for you,”  “I can decorate the flower girls’ baskets,” “Just leave it with me, I’ll do it for you!”  I am so honored and blessed to have the best sister and maid-of-honor anyone could ever wish for!   

A week or so ago, Dave tells me he wants to take me on a “date night” to one of our favorite restaurants.  He adds it to our shared calendar and admittedly I was a little nervous wondering why he was putting something like a dinner date on the calendar so far in advance… Is he going to try and recreate the proposal and surprise me with a flash mob? Last night was our date night.  I didn’t really think he would he would go to such an extreme as a flash mob, but I did suspicion he had something up his sleeve.  When we arrive at the restaurant I am totally shocked and touched to see a table filled with about 20 of my awesome friends who all gathered for one last pre-wedding happy hour celebration.  I feel so fortunate to have such amazing friends and it was a really fun night full of LOVE! 8 days away now… sooooo EXCITED!!