I'm so happy to be married to this man.

Our wedding day included a last minute switch to the historic wedding chapel across from the Ringgold Courthouse. The lady pictured here is the owner and she saw us getting out of our cars and convinced us to get married in the chapel rather than the courthouse. My sweet younger brother, who was there with his family from Illinois, paid for the ceremony and also walked me down the aisle. It was awesome. 

My nieces and nephews got in on the impromptu action as well by acting as flower girls and ring bearers.

My nephew JT even found a piano at the coffee shop we went to afterwards and played a special song as a gift to us. 

It wasn't traditional but it was still the loveliest of all days.

We're Married

Hello good people of North America, and apparently somewhere in Moscow! I thought I would post a few random updates about what is happening in our lives lately. Here goes:

1.) I got hit in the head with a gravy boat. It hurt. It fell from the top shelf and hit my forehead. You really do see stars...that's not a metaphor.

2.) I'm getting married Friday. It's taking FOREVER to get here.

3.) I made my first cake from scratch last weekend. It was a trial run for Friday since I'm baking a wedding cake for the day's festivities. As usual I was a little hasty which resulted in it being a little lopsided and lumpy where I frosted it before it was cooled completely. I've got to say though that it was delicious. I followed a recipe found on the Bakerella blog.

4.) For Mother's Day, Patrick and Lydia picked me some wildflowers. I can't believe how good they look. Why pay for flowers in the spring time...ever?

 

5.) We briefly decided to move to Illinois and then changed our minds at that last minute. In the end I was relieved to not have to leave the TN valley that I love so much and so was Patrick. Lydia was a harder sell on staying, but she just made the dance team at her school and is looking forward to the coming year. Chattanooga never, ever fails to impress me. It has it's "shady under-belly" (Gilmore Girls reference) but there are SO many wonderful things about the town. I will post our pictures from Mother's Day at Coolidge Park shortly.

Hope you are having a fantastic week!

click here for the MOST adorable video of our new kitten playing with our dog. I love the way daisy just nudges the kitten with her nose. She seems to know she has to be careful. These two will be best friends I predict. By the way, meet Marie...

I never thought I'd be the "type" to get married in a courthouse, but the further along into wedding planning I got, the more I realized my wedding day would be a huge amount of work for Patrick and I. Several days ago we had a conversation that led us to agree a courthouse wedding is JUST what we need. The more I've browsed through photographs of other couples getting married by a judge, the more confident I feel that this is right for us. Everyone just looks so happy!

No sheen of sweat or forced smiles. No last minute panic when 12 of 15 bridesmaids forgot an essential part of their outfits.

Yes this is definitely the way to go in my opinion.

 

This is the county courthouse in Ringgold GA where we'll be getting married, followed by a coffee toast at one of my favorite locally owned coffee shops just up the street with a few of our friends. It also happens to be the same place Patrick's parents were married.

In case you haven't heard, we're getting married in less than a month. This wedding is going to be an almost entirely do-it-yourself affair. Yes it's a lot of work and is stretching me creatively, but I want what I want and don't have a $30,000 budget. I finished my first "project" a couple of days ago....this bridal hair wreath.

 

All it took was one trip to Hobby Lobby for floral tape, wire, and few flowers. The ribbon was re-purposed from my wedding dress since I'm replacing it with a different sash. Obviously it needs ironed. I may post a tutorial on my projects at some point. 

One of my biggest concerns through all this planning is that I sometimes lose focus on the whole point of this shindig...my relationship with Patrick. The wedding planning can be all consuming, but in the interest of the many, many years to come I want to be focused on starting day 1 of our marriage on the right foot. We hold our married life in our hands, covered and protected from the world...from outside influences...from the stress of daily life. We do our best to fortify the walls so any ammunition bounces off. We will work even until we're exhausted to make it strong. Personally I know I can do better and am disappointed in myself when I've spent time just coasting along and co-existing with the man whose hand I will hold even on my last day on earth (or his). It's a sobering thought.

 

I found these little ballet flats on clearance at Old Navy. I love the color...love the umbrellas...not fond of the toe cleavage. I still love them anyway.