That time I got married Part I

I'm about three months behind in my wedding recaps, but life is busy!! It's funny, because in life...I make it a habit to procrastinate (almost) nothing...but in the blog world? ha!!

Right...well, I got married!! It's crazy to me, because it was never in my life plan to do so. But, sometimes, you meet someone...and they shake up your life plan a bit ;)

Erica snapped this the night we met :)

I did all the wedding planning myself. My experience with that is a topic for another post...but boy, it is a lot of work!! Someone told me early on to enjoy it and to have fun...and I am grateful for that advice, because it does put it all into perspective.

I was fortunate enough to be able to take off the entire week before my wedding. I departed LA exactly one week before and headed home to Maryland. When we landed...I checked the weather forecast:

Hey o!! Saturday looks perfect!!

I was so excited for the warm and perfect weather with 0% chance of rain!! I texted all my bridesmaids!!  

I had a great week at home working on all my wedding tasks. My mom was awesome with helping me run all my errands and do all the crafts I needed to get done. My local bridesmaids came over for a craft night and helped me with errands too. I don't often get to go home for any extended amount of time, so it was really fabulous to get to spend so much time there and catch up with everyone. It was a busy week...up at 7am and in bed at 1am...but it was oh so much fun :) 

Craft Night

Welcome bags for hotel guests

Final Dress fittings

Working on Maddie's amazing sign

Unfortunately, about two days after arriving home, the leftover remnants of a tropical storm moved up from North Carolina and sat stationary over Maryland for days and days. This storm system just DUMPED rain and my perfect weather forecast went to this:

Noooo!! Rain!! Rain all around!! Our venue was an outdoor venue and while it could have been done to accommodate the rain...it was just better to be OUTDOORS!! I prayed to everyone I could think of. I did anti-rain dances. I tried to focus on the important part of my day...it wasn't the weather!! It was marrying Preston!! But, gosh darnit...marrying him sure would be nice if we could do it outside ;)

As the week drew to a close, my California bridesmaids arrived :) I picked up Gianna in DC and we had a great dinner with my Aunt and Uncle. It was nice to have some downtime with them before the madness set in. I got to bump into my beloved and his family as they arrived around when Gianna did. Meredith and Erica came later.

Due to the pouring rain...we didn't get to do much sightseeing, but we did walk the mall a bit. Another speed bump for the wedding week was that the government was shut down. Many of my guests had planned to tour DC over the weekend of the wedding, but no such luck :-/

The day before the wedding was a busy one!! I was just completely exhausted. The girls came over early in the morning to my Mom's for breakfast and to make our own bouquets. This saved me a ton of money and luckily Preston's Aunt Andi was the daughter of a florist!!

Smocks on!!

Preston's mother and sister in law threw me a wonderful bridal luncheon, which was the perfect way to have a moment of calm with my friends. It was at my favorite restaurant and we actually ran into some other of my wedding guests :) The rain continued to POUR down. 

Yummy cupcakes

After lunch, about half of us went for pedicures and manicures. It was a nice break, but it took a looonnng time!! We rushed around afterwards to get ready for the rehearsal dinner and I even ended up being a tad late...to my OWN rehearsal!! I spent a few minutes in the car alone listening to the steady fall of the rain and trying to gather my thoughts. 

We had our rehearsal dinner at a well known Frederick restaurant. Preston's parents rented a great big room. We had a small practice about where to stand, etc and then ate some delicious food. Preston's dad opened up the floor for anyone who wanted to say a few words. I was beyond touched by the things that people said...on both sides. My family isn't one for public speaking (unlike Preston's crowd!!). Both my Aunt Sherry and my Aunt Anna spoke and it was so meaningful to me. Gianna, Meredith and Erica said wonderful things. I feel teary eyed even now thinking about the kind things that they said. It was a wonderful evening and quite an experience to be surrounded by SO much love and support. 

My awesome Aunt Sherry organizing it all

After the rehearsal, we had a sort of meet and greet at a bar downtown.  By this point...my photographer had canceled, the make up lady had the completely wrong time and I was dead on my feet. Nikki drove me home and put me to bed, but I was in for a sleepless night :) 

Cluttered

Barren 

Our apartment is a complete mess right now. I feel like it's some outward manifestation of my mind :P 

Between trying to get things at work to a place where I feel better about leaving (ridic, right?) and saying farewells to friends and trying to research and book an around the world trip and packing up all our belongings and deciding what to take in only a carry-on for 5+ months, I feel a bit muddled. 

The hardest of these is...what the heck to pack for this trip!!  A great resource that I've found is herpackinglist.com.  This site offers lots of advice on packing, reviews of travel supplies, and even example packing lists. It's definitely food for thought.  

We have less than two weeks to go. It sure is bittersweet!! I've really loved living here in Long Beach and I've made some really great friends and had some exceptionally good times. I've grown a lot as a person, found my independence, gained a tremendous amount of confidence and met the love of my life.  My coworker said to me the other day "Kelly, don't worry about anything on your trip...you won California...it's just on to the next thing". When I asked her what she meant...she said, "California. You came. You conquered." Haha. You know what Marcy? I think I have to agree ;) 

I mean, nothing says "I conquered" like having clothes on your dining table ;)

My Happy Place?

I went to two grocery stores today and wandered around. Two. It's this weird thing I do. I'm somehow comforted by grocery stores. I buy groceries like other girls buy clothes or shoes. 

I guess this goes back to the five years I spent working summers (and after college) at a grocery store. I guess it's my happy place? I don't even know what to make of this :)  I feel like I should spend some time one day writing down some funny stories from my days at the grocery...there are some great ones.

I'm SO glad it's Friday. Like, SOOOOO glad. I've not be this "TGIF" in quite a while :P Work is just NONSTOP. I guess many people might mentally 'check out' of a job they know they are leaving, but not me. I have this innane sense of responsibility. Since I've been with my company since it's start, I have a lot of pride in it and I want to make sure I leave things as easy as I can for my coworkers. Gosh, though, it's so much work. There is SO much to do before I go!! 

Christmas is coming and I'm just NOT ready. Not ready at all. I'm overwhelmed this year. The wedding and now getting ready to travel and packing up our apartment...Christmas? I just, can't. I can't. Trying trying though. I strung up some colored ball lights in my kitchen tonight, despite the fact that I'm supposed to be packing stuff away, not taking stuff out :D I've done a tiny bit of online shopping. Anyone want to throw some gift ideas my way?

Christmas, work, changing my name, packing up all my belongings, trying to plan a world trip...whew. I'm wiped out. TGIF. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some grocery store aisles to go weave through and find my zen.

California Bridal Shower

My best friends (and bridesmaids) in California threw me a lovely garden tea party for my third bridal shower. It was a nice way for me to celebrate with the girls from California that couldn't attend my wedding.

Years ago, I found a collection of my great grandmother's old hats. I brought these to California for the party :)

Everyone brought a dish and we enjoyed a warm and wonderful afternoon under the sun. 

Maryland Bridal Shower

Being the INCREDIBLY lucky girl that I am...I got to have THREE bridal showers. That's right. Three. :)

My second bridal shower was held in Maryland.  I flew in for the weekend and my cousin (and one of my best friends) Amanda hosted my shower. The shower was held in the "Barn", which is the community center for the neighborhood where I grew up.  

I hadn't been to the barn in years. Amanda (and our mothers) had it decorated so nicely!! Finger foods (my fave!!) and lots of desserts were served. I had such a great time seeing so many of my friends and family. Preston was even able to stop by.  My favorite part was when some of the little girls helped me open my gifts :) It was a great day and I felt very loved. Amanda did a wonderful job!! 

Big Deep Breath

Oh my gosh. I quit my job. Well, I gave notice. I gave a 2 month notice. Terrifying!! 

It's hard to believe that after talking about taking a big world trip for SO long---that I am REALLY going to do this. We are committed now. I WANT to do this. I've been thinking about it for years and years.

I must say, though, that now that it's actually becoming a reality...it's really scary!!

I'm really going to give up my job, my apartment, my life in California to travel into the great unknown?!!? 

I've done it before...I had the same thoughts and motivations for moving to California. It was a big leap of faith and it turned out just fine. I hope that this trip will be all that this adventure has been and more!! 

Leaving this job after nearly 6 years is bittersweet. I will miss a lot about it and I will miss my coworkers most of all, but life is about growing and moving on. You can't stop change from happening...you can only try to stay ahead of it, I guess? 

Those are my deep thoughts...for today.