Roomie

me: I've had over 30 different roomates.
kathy: that's a lot.
me: yeah, but a bulk of that 30 is because I lived in a big house with 11 bedrooms for 3 years. And we rotated quarters and subleased all the time, so there was always someone new in the house every quarter.  It was a lot of fun though and I loved it at the time. But no way in hell would I ever do that again.  I only have one roomate now though.  Good thing I like him a lot since he's  a permanent one.
mike: And we share a bedroom. What's up roomie?
me: That's right baby, roomates for life.

We fist bump to make it official. That's the dorky part. The sweet part is that we made sure it was our wedding bands that bumped.

Here Comes the Bride (ME!!)

So, I haven't even blogged about the wedding! After blogging about the bubble of tulle for a year, I have yet to show and tell about the happiest day of my life.  This will be a pretty heavy picture post (which for me, means something like, 5 photos), but I don't think any of you will mind!

The whole whole weekend was perfect, everything went smoothly, the weather was great (hot, but no rain) and everyone had a great time it seemed. The beginning of the reception was a bit sloppy from the dj and a few communication blips with our venue, but the day was still just perfect.

The day started with a Thriller dance lesson: 

Seriously. Flash mobs don't just happen on their own

Then onto the salon where we were the weirdest bridal party ever to them

Fun fact: Jeanne's grandma made my veil. It was beautiful and perfect and I hope to pass it down to my children and/or grandchildren one day. That and it was super fun to dance with like a cape! 

We headed back to my parents' house for lunch and to get ready until the limo arrived to take us off to the theater

We got held up in some graduation traffic on the way, and I wondered if I needed to call mike to let him know I was on my way. Then someone pointed out that the entire bride's side not there yet would probably be enough of a clue .

Waited excitedly in the dressing rooms for a few minutes before I got ready to walk down the aisle

My heart was racing a thousand miles a minute but it was a good racing!

Walked down the aisle and met my groom

He was up there waiting for me while I tried my hardest to not sprint up there and squeal out loud!

Got married 

the first 'official' kiss
(without thinking, we had kissed hello the second we met at the alter!)

Took lots and lots of pictures

 lots and lots of happy

And then partied down! Which included: 

Dances with our parents: 

Too Marvelous for Words for me and my dad, and The Man That You've Become for Mike and his mom. The dj played a different version of the song my mother-in-law picked out. I think this picture is when they figure that out, but obviously every one's too happy to really care

The coolest groom's cake ever

Everyone LOVED the shark cake. And the wedding cake was beautiful too!

The aforementioned flash mob: 

Thriller! My wedding present from my high school crew. Nothing says happily ever after like zombies! 

Cake cutting

We're both thinking: how do even cut the shark cake?!

And cake eating

They were both quite tasty in addition to being beautiful

More dancing: 

I just love this picture of my sister

And the happiest couple in the world: 

Best. Day. Ever!!!!!

Chapstick

So, my bridal party was probably one of the weirdest bridal parties the salon had ever had.

• reason 1: I didn't want any glitter anywhere on my face, near me, or my posse. My bridal portraits/trial makeup run, the makeup artist used a glitter eyeshadow at first, which was just not me. And you don't want glitter/shiny makeup that day anyway because it can photograph weird.  And my face was just too "done" for the portraits. (in fairness to my makeup artist, I didn't have a good idea of what I wanted, and it's not her fault she couldn't create something in my head that I couldn't even explain) So wedding day, I brought my own makeup (with no sparkles), and (honestly) loved the results.
• reason 2: I was not a picky bride in the slightest. With the exception of the dress color and skirt length, I didn't dictate what anyone's look should be in general. When it came to hair and makeup, I didn't care what anyone did or didn't do, as long as they were happy with the result.  If they wanted an updo, they could have an updo. If they wanted down, that was cool with me.  I guess they are used to brides who want everyone to look the same so that the bride stands out more, but I figured my big white dress and overall giddiness would be enough for people to know who I was. 
• reason 3: We had to convince my mom to get her makeup done in the first place. So when she was done with her hairstylist and came into the makeup area, my sister and I both squealed with surprise and delight that she had an updo. (as far as I remember, my mom has never had an updo. I don't think I've ever even seen her with a ponytail)  She was so cute!  But she was thinking that she would do her makeup at home. I love my mom very much, but she doesn't do her own makeup well. (a good place to start would be if bought makeup that worked with her skin tone, and didn't just use whatever random stuff my sister and I have left behind) And this was a big event for her too (mother of the bride and all that business), and she had every right to go a little fancier than normal.  So after my sister and I told her to "just get a little something done," and the makeup artist said with fancy hair you need fancy makeup, she got her makeup done. Of course, having to convince her to get her makeup done in the first place, means she understated what she wanted makeup wise.  
• reason 4: We all super understated what we wanted. I warned my posse about trial makeup, so we were all a little wary of how heavy they put makeup on. We all know that you can always add, but taking away/toning down is much much harder.  Plus Priya and Jeanne had a male makeup artist who had a full face of makeup on himself.  And, while his makeup was beautiful, gay man logic implies our idea of full face of makeup was about 14 levels below of what his idea of full face makeup was.  You could tell all the makeup artist were reigning themselves in and tampering their own version of done, but the end result is that everyone liked what they had.    
• reason 5: LB doesn't wear lipstick.  She doesn't wear a lot of makeup in general, and when it came time to put the lipstick, the makeup artist was at a slight loss. 
• makeup artist: what do you wear on your lips?
• lb: chapsick.
• makeup artist: seriously?
• lb: yes
• makeup artist: Wow, that's a new one. We've heard 'clear,' or 'gloss' and even 'tinted lip balm'. But chapstick is a new one. That's going on our facebook page.

So yeah, we were a very odd bridal party to them I bet. But the end result was that everyone looked great, everyone was happy with what they got done, and the day was fabulous!

See? We all look so pretty!
And I think I stand out pretty well if I do say so for myself

16 candles

scene: after the rehearsal dinner
me: I'm going to head back home now. I'll see you all at the salon at 11:30.
everyone: Good night!
me: Thanks!
jeanne: Think you'll be able to sleep?
me: Yeah, I think so. I didn't sleep well last night so I'm fairly tired.
lb: Do you want something* to help with that just in case?
me: Hmm...no, I think I'll be ok. But thanks for the offer. Plus, I haven't taken anything of your caliber* ever, so tonight of all nights is probably not the best night to try that out.
lb: Good point. And we've all seen that movie.

*LB's our resident pharmasist.
**and this is why LB has the best dream recaps.

Protect Me

I was getting a pedicure at Aveda before the wedding and the girl doing my nails was chatting like you do.  When she asked if the pedicure was for a special occasion, I (of course) said I'm getting married that Saturday.

Now, when you say the magic W word to a (very young) 20 something year old girl, they typically start pressing you for any details and gushing over them.  And if they've been with their boyfriend for a year or two more, they will also, quite typically, tell you that they have discussed marriage with their boyfriend and that he is the one.* I know at her age, I was the same way,** so I didn't scoff. (no really, I didn't) And besides the girl was sweet and I didn't mind chatting about the wedding with her.

This girl though, seemed to have a fairly decent head on her shoulders, and wasn't rushing to take the marriage plunge or pressuring her boyfriend either. She admitted that there were a few things that made her unsure.  Nothing deal breaking, but just a few things to hold off on marriage for a little bit. The biggest thing was that she wasn't sure if he could protect her.  And the only reason she thought that, was because he doesn't know how to shoot!

Ok, I admit I laughed at that one. That was sole deciding factor? That he just can't shoot a gun? But oh well, if that's the reason she wants to hold off on marriage, then more power to her! 

* I don't really believe in "the one" or any other of those 'when you know you know' one true love mantras.  Yeah it's nice for fairy tales, but real life happens. 
**I really was. At 20 I totally knew my boyfriend at the time was the one, I would have an engagement ring from Tiffany's at my final crit, and we were going to get married the fall after we graduated. And he did end up proposing right after graduation, to the girl he broke up with me for by the time we were 21.  No, I'm not bitter***
*** Of course I was bitter!  I was something like 22 at the time. But thank god my life didn't work out as I planned it would when I was 20.  I mean, it's been almost 10 years since we dated, they're still together and as far as I know happy, (we didn't keep in touch for obvious reasons) and I have dr soc who I love more than anything in the world. I'd say it worked out well for everyone.

12+ month pregnancy

me: What I learned on my run today: I definitely need new sports bras.
laura: Or you're prego.
me: Of course! You know what else I learned? Once you're married, your birth control stops working.
laura: And people accuse you of being pregnant all the time. True facts.
me: It starts when you're engaged. But if you tell people that your dress has no seam allowance for a baby bump, they stop for a few months.

Nothing Kinda

coworker: Oh, we kinda match.
me: What? We're both wearing blue?
coworker: No, our hands, our rings.
me: Umm, sure, ok...

me in my head: No our rings definitely don't match. they don't even kinda match. Why? Because my rings are my wedding band and engagement ring from my 32 year old husband, and your ring, is a promise/class ring you wear on your ring finger from your 21 year old boyfriend of 2 months.
Soooo, no. Our rings don't match.

Triple Crown

Today is the Belmont Stakes!
Oh wait, what's that? The horse that was a triple crown contender has been scratched?
Oh, never mind.

I'm actually glad the horse was pulled from the race due to an injury.  There are people who don't agree with any aspect of horse racing (though they are wrong, because it is awesome), but running a horse at the risk of a career, possible life ending injury is something I think is cruel. However, pulling I'll Have Another now means no one will watch the Belmont.  One of the reasons I love the Kentucky Derby is because it's the first in the triple crown.  The Derby is what starts it off. 

So, now we wait another year. Oh well!

Pack Light

me: Do you have pj pants I can borrow? I forgot to pack mine.
jeanne: Sure thing.
lb: You also forgot to pack a sweater to wear in church.
me: That I did.
matt: Wait. You forgot to pack pj pants and a sweater, but you remembered the dress to wear to church for the baptism?
me: Yep.
matt: How how did you forget pj's and not a dress?
me: Because I packed something like 4 dresses just in case.
matt: So... You pack like N?
me --pause--: Yes. I pack like your 2 year old.

Princess

Mike forwarded a coworker who couldn't make it to the wedding the slide show our photographer put together. (BTW, my photographer ROCKS. She not only did she have the slide show of photos edited, she also had all our proofs up in less than a week!).  The coworker had her 3 year old daughter with her that day and when she (the 3 year old) saw the pictures, she called me a "pretty princess."

Which is awesome. Because princess, especially from a 3-year-old, is pretty much the highest praise you can get!

Different

So I don't know why or can explain how life/this:

my favorite engagement picture

 

feels a little different than this:

one of my favorite wedding day pics (so far)
hint: I'm the one in the dress

But it does somehow. 

Our living arrangement didn't change, the dogs are still spaztastic, and I wear 2 rings instead of one now. On the surface, it doesn't seem that different.

But our stuff got nicer, dr soc wears a ring, and I go by mrs dr soc now, which does feel different somehow.  I can't explain what exactly it is, but just different. A good different. A comfortable different. A happy different.

Different's nice!