Monday, July 22, 2013

Marriage Monday: Getting to Know You -- Link up!

Happy Marriage Monday!

Today, I am not sitting behind a computer currently typing (which is why this post will ACTUALLY be on time this week!) - instead, you can imagine me sitting on the beach at this very moment because we are on vacation!  Which honestly couldn't have come at a better time for us.  But more on that later!  We planned this vacation a few months ago and have been looking forward to it so very much.  It'll be Presley's first time visiting the beach and I can't wait to see her reaction to the sand and the waves and the seagulls and all the sights, sounds, and smells of the ocean!

This week I wanted to post something light, airy, and super fun and decided to host a link up!  One of my favorite things to do is to get to know people.  Sometimes this means getting to know new folks, learning more about the people who are already in my life, and one of my favorites... getting to know Tony every day.  Plus, seriously guys?  I do all the talking here!  I am constantly trying to think of ways I can get to know your marriages better.  Perfect way to make all these things happen?  Host a link up and find a way to involve the hubs as well.  This means... QUESTION AND ANSWER TIME!





My answers will be in green.
His answers in gray.

How did you two meet?
We met through similar interests and similar friends.  I was dating one of his best friends and we were all playing soccer at the same church. 
We met at the soccer fields of Brookside Baptist Church in Memphis.  She was dating one of my best friends, Peyton. I was riding by her and her friend Christine on my yellow mountain bike and she said hello.


What were your first thoughts when you met your other half?
Oh my goodness.  He is THE CUTEST boy I have ever met.  I can't imagine what it would be like to date someone like him.  He is way older than me and couldn't be more out of my league!  Of course, I was twelve at the time... but to be honest, I still think he is the cutest boy, ever and I don't ever forget how lucky I am to be his wife and best friend. 
She’s very pretty! And she is has to be the fastest girl out here on the soccer fields!


When did you know you were going to marry your significant other?
Hmm.  I guess that's hard to say because when started dating we were both in high school.  Not only that, but I was a freshman.  So naturally, with him being my first love, I felt certain we would end up getting married.  Over time I got that same feeling for different reasons.  Ultimately, when we lived 8+ hours away from each other and I could never keep him out of my mind, life, or heart, I knew that we would always be together. 
I can’t really remember a specific moment when it clicked, but she was the first girl I ever really loved and I wanted her to be the last and only one.


What is the one thing you will always disagree on?
(Or likewise, what is something you will always agree on?  Whichever way you prefer to answer!)
How often the car needs to be washed.  He washes our car all the time! 
What to eat for dinner? What movie to watch? Lol. I can tell you what we will ALWAYS agree on, PEPSI SUCKS! COKE RULES!! #1stworldproblems


What has your other half recently done that made you love them even more?
Anytime he washes the dishes that are piled up in our sink.  (Which is... always.)  Also, the way he automatically wakes up with Presley every morning on the weekend without a word from me.  Best husband and best father I could have ever dreamed of for me & Presley! 
Well recently and a little in the past. But she is such a great mom to Presley and I really feel like Presley is growing up to be such a happy baby and so loved and cared for. Ali takes such good care for her and always puts her first. It really cements my feelings that I married the right woman to raise my children with.

P.S. She also enjoys Top Gear (BBC) maybe more than me sometimes and bought me some laps in a badass Ferrari!! =D



And that, in a nutshell, is us folks!  Hope you had fun getting to know our marriage a little bit today.  I had a blast reading my husband's answers and love love love hearing these affirmations from him.  If you're interested in partaking in this link-up, you have the next week or so to take part so start working on those hubbys now!!!

Chasing Moonlight & Roses


If you'd like to take part in the link up, grab the button up there and start answering!  Can't wait to see what everybody comes up with so come back and share your links below!








Monday, July 15, 2013

Marriage Monday: Wedding Day ABC's {Part Two}

Eeek.  Sorry I have been so late on posting for Marriage Monday the past few weeks!  Better late than never??  Here is part two of our Wedding Day ABC's!

{Part One if you missed it!}

Newlyweds
First picture after being announced!



One of my favorite gifts from our gift opening :) Matching pillow cases!
On our way to DISNEY!!!!
 
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue
My "something old" and "something blue" was the promise ring Tony gave me for Christmas in 2006.  It is a beautiful ring with normal diamonds and a gorgeous blue diamond right in the middle!  I love it so much and was so happy to wear it on our wedding day on my right hand.  My "something new" was my earrings & my bracelet and my "something borrowed" was the bouquet charm from my sister's wedding that was a picture of our dad!


Programs
I made our programs and man... they were such a pain in the BUTT!  I made our programs into fans and at the time I was so set on having fans that the process of putting them together was almost fun... looking back, I shouldn't have wasted my stinkin' time!!!  Here is a picture of the program so you get the general idea.  The stick that turned it into a fan has since fallen off...


Quickie
Stealing a quick moment for just the two of us!


Rings
Bling bling!


Shoes
Tony, the groomsmen (and I believe my father-in-law, too?), & I all wore TOMs for the wedding!  One of the best decisions I could have made!!!  They were covered up most of the time by my dress but even if they had showed the whole time I wouldn't have cared - they were comfortable and adorable!  Not only that, but I adore the aspect of giving back that the company holds and therefore it was really a no-brainer!!!

Too bad so sad for me I ruined these beauties a few days later when we got stuck in a huge downpour at Disney!!!

Tuxes
As I mentioned before, we went through Ducky's for the tuxedos!
The guys wore black vests & had red ties & pocket squares! Tony went with all white underneath.

Bobby (our ring bearer) wore a red vest and black bow tie!

My father-in-law (who you can see in the background) and my Uncle Jeff (who escorted me down the aisle) wore black vests & black ties.

Our handsome ushers (my future brother-in-law & my awesome cousins) matched the groomsmen.
Here is a better picture of Tony's vest - it had a paisley print on it that we both loved!


Unique
Well, one unique thing we did was smash the cake in our younger siblings faces!  When it was time to cut the cake, we told our best men and maid/matron of honor to come to the cake table so that they would be in the pictures.  But really, we were doing it so that instead of smashing it in each others faces, we could surprise them by turning on them!  It was hilarious and definitely got a roar out of the rest of our guests!!!!  HILARIOUS!  We got the idea from my aunt and uncle who did the same thing at their wedding 20+ years ago.  I was shaking the entire time just before we did it and nearly chickened out!!  I told Tony, "I absolutely can't do that to Ashley!"  So we decided to smash cakes in the other siblings face instead of our own.  I'm not gonna lie, I loved getting Sean in the face!  It wouldn't have been nearly as funny if they hadn't been such good sports about it.






We also gave our wedding party sunglasses to wear into the reception and most of us ended up wearing them all night!  Which was awesome.



Vows 
We had pretty traditional vows.  I just had an overwhelming feeling that there really was something amazing about repeating words that people have been vowing to one another for years and years.  You can check out our vows here.

Wedding Woes
Oh man.  There were a few.  For example, our photographer was separated from us somehow on the way from the wedding to the reception so she wasn't able to get any pictures of our entrance!  Bummer!  You guys already know about our cake mishap.  Let's see.  Oh, another fun one is the fact that you may not know yet... the morning of our wedding day the girls and I went to get our nails done at a salon.  It was the most relaxed I had felt in weeks, probably!!!  It was wonderful.  Until I went to the bathroom and realized I was so relaxed that I had STARTED MY PERIOD.  Oh my gee.  Who does this happen to?!  Me, apparently.  So there was that.  Oh, and then there was the fact that Tony got so drunk that he passed out on our bathroom floor and puked in a flowerpot on the way out of the reception.  Our flowers were wrong.  I forgot my toss bouquet for the reception at the ceremony.  Having to set up our reception hall the morning OF the wedding because of a mistake on our wedding hall's part.  Oh and something I feel awful about TO THIS DAY??  Towards the end of the line, apparently, we ran out of food!  In addition, we didn't have enough tables and chairs for everyone who showed up!  {I am thinking there were people who changed their mind without letting us know.}  It's all small stuff in the end... but sheesh.

RemiX
One of our hilarious best friends/best men decided to turn our reception into a karaoke bar for a song (or two) and it was pretty great.


You May Now Kiss the Bride
First KISS!

Zzz, the End
One of the last photos of the evening!  Some of us definitely look like we're ready to pass out...

Still exhausted at Disney World on our third day.  Exhausted from planning, from the wedding week, from the WEDDING, and from being on the go at Disney!!!  I literally dozed off right in the middle of Epcot!



Hope you enjoyed these posts because I sure as heck did!  Come back here and let me know if you decide to recap your wedding with these fun ABCs!

Monday, July 8, 2013

Marriage Monday: Wedding Day ABC's {Part One}

I'd seen a few of my blogger friends (Caitlin & Patty) take part in this - and I thought it would be a lot of fun to reflect back on such an awesome day!  I will definitely be breaking the wedding day ABC's down into two different posts.


Attending
I honestly don't remember how many people attended after all was said and done - but I do remember that there were quite a bit more people at the reception than there were at the ceremony!  Somewhere along the way, I remember wishing we had kept the guest list down to our most intimate friends & family so that it would be an overall more intimate, smaller, and more personal affair.  I am pretty sure it was between 200-300, but don't quote me because that sounds like a ton of people.  We even had a couple of wedding crashers!!!  Okay, so they were family of one of my bridesmaids (and were most welcomed!)... but that was a big funny thing that evening!
Our wedding crashers on the right


Bridesmaids
I had both a maid and matron of honor and both of them were my sisters, Ashley & Amanda!  I had four additional bridesmaids that consisted of my cousin, Breanne, and three of my best friends - Betsy, Katie, and Becca.  At that time, only ONE of my bridesmaids lived in the same area as me - the rest traveled from Indiana, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and North Carolina to come for the wedding weekend!


Cake
Friends of ours offered to make our cake and to be honest, I don't even remember the different flavors of cake we had!  (I know one of them was red velvet.)  The only bit of cake I tasted all night was the little piece that was shoved more in my face than in my mouth by my new husband!  I wish so badly that I had just relaxed enough to enjoy a piece of cake on our wedding night!!!  We also had a bit of a cake emergency... before the wedding party arrived, the cake fell over!  They did a darn good job at salvaging everything - and thankfully it fell over onto the table rather than the floor!!!  So here is both a before and after picture.  We got so many compliments on how yummy the cake was!

Before the accident the cake had 3 tiers

After the accident it had 2 tiers!  They did a great job of redecorating by placing the flowers all over!  Love it.
Dress
I found my dress at David's Bridal during one of those $99 dress sales!  I got my dress and the slip I needed underneath for under $150 (the dress alone was originally $650!!!)... amazing!  I had already gone to try on dresses with my bridesmaids once before, but the main purpose of that trip was to choose a bridesmaids dress and to have fun trying on different wedding gowns.  We walked away that day without choosing a dress for them or for me!
Some of the dresses we tried on that day!


I went back a couple weeks later with my mom during the dress sale, not feeling particularly hopeful that we'd find "the one" - and of course, we did!  Most of the dresses I tried on were discounted, but very few of them were actually $99.  I let my mom pick a couple for me to try on - she chose one from the rack and it didn't appear to be anything that I wanted, so I almost sent it back.  I tried it on anyway and couldn't believe how much I loved it!  So cliche, but I even cried!!!  The woman helping us kept asking if I could visualize myself walking down the aisle to my future husband in each dress and when I looked at myself in the mirror, I could literally picture just that!

 The bridesmaids dresses ended up being these black Target dresses - $30!
I used the picture of my sister, Ashley, in this dress because she never ended up wearing this dress the day of the wedding!!!!!!! She accidentally left her dress at home in Tennessee and had to go out and buy one nearly just like this one a few days before the ceremony!!! She didn't tell me about this until WAY WAY WAY later and I never noticed her dress was different the day of the wedding!!! So hilarious.
I can't find any pictures that really make it obvious that Ashley's dress was different... this is the best one for comparisons.  You can kinda see that Amanda's dress is more of a "V-Neck" and Ashley's is a scoop neck!  Anyways, makes for a funny story!



Engagement
The day Tony proposed was one of the best days of my life.  To make a LONG story short, Tony surprised me for my birthday and told me to request several days off from work but he didn't give me any more information.  On my actual birthday (November 10, 2009), he told me where we were going:  Anna Maria Island, Florida to visit my grandmother and to see the beach!  I was ABSOLUTELY shocked.  He also told my cousin, Breanne, that he wouldn't be proposing on the trip and that he hoped I wouldn't get my hopes up, just to be disappointed.  (Sneaky sneaky!  He did this because he KNEW she would tell me this!  And she did.  And it worked!)  He told her he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me but that he couldn't afford the ring I deserved.  We headed down there and I went into it knowing he wasn't going to propose - so there was honestly no expectations for that on my end!  I had such a WONDERFUL time there with him and my grandmother for those few days!!!  On our last day in Florida, Tony suggested we go to the beach to enjoy the ocean one last time before flying home.  Great idea!  So we went, picked up shells, had an appetizer on the beach, and then headed for the car when Tony asked if we could sit down to soak it all in.  That's when he pulled out a poem he wrote "for your birthday" he said - and started reading.  And at the end of it he asked me to marry him!!!!  Amazing just doesn't even begin to describe it.


Flowers
My favorite flowers are carnations!  I love them because they smell good and they are absolutely beautiful.  We went through a florist at Hyvee for our bouquets and the woman was just shocked I wanted to use carnations.  She tried to discourage me by telling me they were "filler flowers" and were commonly displayed at funerals.  Wonderful.  But I was set on having them, and only them and her opinion didn't really matter to me, anyways.  I wanted them to be simple - no greenery and no additional flowers for both the bridesmaids bouquets and my own.  However, our bouquets had greenery all over them and I wish I had noticed that the day of the wedding so that I could have taken the green stuff out of our bouquets!  But to be honest, flowers were the last thing on my mind on our wedding day!!!  And that's life for ya!
Now when I see their bouquets, all I can think of is CHRISTMAS!  Grrrrr....


Groomsmen
Tony had two best men - his brother, Sean, and his best friend, Damen.  His groomsmen also included his friends Chris, Tyler, Peyton, & Nathan.  The majority of his groomsmen came from Tennessee and others came from Arkansas and Connecticut! 


Honeymoon
For the longest time we had no clue what we were going to do for our honeymoon.  I had suggested Disney World a while back but dismissed it and thought Tony didn't want to do that.  A couple months before the wedding, we still hadn't made our minds up.  Tony suggested WDW and I was ECSTATIC!  I couldn't imagine spending our honeymoon anywhere else - it was the best, most magical trip of our lives!

We were so sad to head home!

Invitations
We got the guys' tuxes through Ducky's Formal Wear - the biggest draw to Ducky's was that they offered free wedding invitations!  One less thing to worry about sounded FANTASTIC to me - so we went with them.  I looked through tons of binders to find the right invitation.  I wanted something aesthetically pleasing and simple and I totally fell in love with the ones we chose!
Clearly not our exact invites as we are not Claire & Lucas, but you get it!

Justice of Peace
The man who married us is also our pastor, Father Levitt.  Before he married us, he baptized Tony and after our wedding he baptized Presley!  Such a wonderful man.



Keepsakes
After talking to a friend of mine, we decided not to do wedding favors for wedding guests.  The friend told me, "Honestly, no one expects you to give them a wedding favor!  Back when my husband and I got married, no one did anything like that.  And I end up throwing away 90% of the wedding favors I get on the way our of the reception anyways!"  She urged me to use the money elsewhere and that no one would miss it.  I am so glad she gave us that advice!!!  Tony & I were paying for our wedding and as many of you know, things add up very quickly.  That is one bit of advice I would absolutely pass on to friends.

One keepsakes I carried on my wedding day was a photo of my dad on my bouquet.


Ladies Night
I was lucky enough to have TWO bachelorette parties - one in Illinois with my work friends and one in Mississippi with the ladies of Tony's family!  I don't have any pictures from my Illinois party - but definitely have a ton from the night out with the in-laws!!!  I cannot wait for the next occasion to cut loose with them... they are one of THE MOST fun and enthusiastic people I am lucky enough to be related to, now!!!  We spent the majority of our night at Tunica Roadhouse Casino.  We drank, laughed, rode a mechanical bull, danced to the live band's music, ran into a bachelor party (who we affectionately referred to as the evening's entertainment), did a bit of gambling (didn't we?), ate in the early AM hours and had such a great time.







Music
We had pretty traditional songs throughout the mass.  Though, I walked into the church to the tune of "Let it Be" by the Beatles and "Love Never Fails" by Brandon Health played when we lit the unity candle.  Our first dance was to "Love Song" by 311.



Stay tuned for part two!