dream come true.

About a month ago Julie, my wedding planner, contacted me about submitting our wedding to different websites in hope of being featured. I've always dreamed of being featured on Green Wedding Shoes so I told her to start there - honestly thinking that it was a total longshot. A few days later I got a phone call from Julie saying that we were in...we were going to be featured on Green Wedding Shoes! I was in complete shock. This site gave me so much inspiration while planning my wedding and continues to inspire me as I design wedding invites for other brides. It truly is incredible that our wedding is now on this site for so many other brides to see. 

There is no way this wedding would have been half of what it was without the incredibly talented women that I worked with. I hope they all know how much I appreciate them and all they did to make this day one that Nick and I will remember and cherish forever. I'm so glad that their amazing talents get to be displayed for all the world to see on this site - they truly deserve it. Check out the feature here.

Photo by Mikki Platt Photography

1 year ago today...

Nick asked if I'd be his forever and ever and of course I said yes! That day was full of weird sneaky behavior (on Nick's part), tears (on my part), phone calls and texts, and so much happiness. I can't believe it was a year ago. It will always be one of the best days of my life. I don't think I'd ever been so happy until that point. Little did I know that things only got better from there.

6 months.

Wow! I can't believe it's been exactly 6 months since we got married! (Technically it was 6 months from yesterday since I am a blogging slacker and can't actually post it on the actual anniversary date.) I can honestly say that these 6 months have been the very best of my life. It has been filled with more love and happiness than I could ever have imagined. I am so thankful that I get to wake up next to my amazing husband every morning - even though most mornings he is still dead asleep when I walk out the door but still manages to say goodbye and 'I love you' in between dreams. 

The whole "marriage" thing wasn't as big of an adjustment as I'd been told (more like warned) it would be but I think that may be due to the fact that Nick and I dated for so long before we were married that a lot of our little quirks and weird habits were already known beforehand. How we spend our time is definitely a little different than we were dating though.

• Being a grownup and having to pay car payments, rent, utilities, internet and phone bills sucks and will always suck. This definitely is the biggest adjustment in my opinion.
• Some date nights are as simple as making the trip out to Wal-Mart to get the best deal on groceries. We still end up losing $100+ on food so we try not to make that trip often. (What a waste of money...) 
• When we do buy food, it's the basic necessities like top roman, bagels, bread, cereal, milk, pizza, and anything else that is very low-maintenance. Maybe one day our daily menus will get a little more detailed and delicious but for now, this works for us. Some nights (okay many nights) you'll find us at one of our usual restaurants cause we're just not feeling the top roman.
• We make many late night shake runs to McDonald's because we're craving a snack and it's the only place open. He gets a Mango Pineapple Smoothie and lately I just opt for the Peppermint Hot Chocolate. Props to McDonald's for having such tasty drinks. 
• We are the worst exercisers ever. We could probably count on our hands how many times we've been to the gym since we've been married. This has got to change - especially if we want to keep up our late night runs to McDonald's. 
• We spend lots of nights watching episodes of Friends because it's the only show I won't fall asleep while watching.
• Reading books is a new hobby of ours. I bet I've read more books in the past 6 months then I had in 2 years. Of course they are all fiction books that are mainly from the teen book section of B&N. Don't judge. They are the best ones by far.
• Experiencing all of our first married holidays together has been great. We even got our first Christmas tree last weekend (blog post with details to follow) which was so much fun! Figuring out the whole rotation of what family to spend what holiday with is always a little tricky but we're lucky to just enjoy both families for almost every holiday besides Thanksgiving. 

Sorry for the rant, but I just want to remember all the things we loved to do during our first 6 months of marriage. So far each day just gets better and better so I can't wait to see what the next 6 months will bring. Being married to your best friend is definitely the greatest thing in the world. I couldn't ask for anything more. <3

our wedding brunch.

Nick and I are both big breakfast fans so when we started planning our wedding we knew that having a brunch was a must. There was that possibility we might have a little problem with the heat since our wedding was the first week of June but I was dead set on having it outdoors. Every day leading up to our wedding was so nice and cool - unusually cool for a St. George summer - so our worries were sort of put to rest. But the St. George heat decided to make it's debut on our wedding day. The brunch was a little bit toasty but I like to believe that the food and the amazing setup made it all worth it. We apologize for all those who attended that didn't feel the same way and endured the hot summer heat with us. We love you all and are so glad you came to support and eat our favorite foods with us.

I actually didn't even get to see the brunch setup until we got there along with everyone else. Normally not being able to have complete control over something as important as our wedding brunch would make me crazy. Luckily I had Julie of Middle Aisle Events there to make all my ideas come to life. I honestly don't know if I could've pulled off this wedding without her help. When Nick and I first walked down into the brunch area I was overwhelmed with happiness. My expectations for how everything was going to end up looking were blown out of the water. Everything I had envisioned was finally all put together and it was absolutely perfect.

june 4, 2011 • the first day of the rest of our lives.

Since this is my official first post on this blog, I thought it would only be appropriate to start off by posting about our first day as husband and wife - the best day ever. Our wedding day was definitely packed with all sorts of happenings and was a little chaotic at times but looking back now I don't think I'd have taken it any other way. Well, except for Nick being sick - we probably wouldn't have minded if that didn't happen. But his willingness to tough it out and put on a happy smile all the way through made me love him even more, especially because I knew how horrible he was feeling. 

I would say without a doubt the best part of the day was when Nick and I were able to be sealed together for time and all eternity. We were lucky enough to have Elder Randy Judd as our sealer and the advise he gave Nick and me as we start our lives together are things we will always cherish and remember. I have never felt the Spirit stronger than when I was kneeling across the alter with Nick. It was such an incredible experience and I am so grateful that our closest friends and family were able to be there. Just knowing that I have Nick forever and ever is the most comforting feeling in the world.

These are just a few of the pictures from our wedding day. Mikki of Mikki Platt Photography was our amazing photographer. We were so lucky to have her shoot our engagement session, bridals and our big day. She is such a talented photographer and a pretty incredible person to top it off. Eventually I will get around to blogging about the luncheon and reception - I just didn't want to bombard my first post with a million pictures. Besides, my wedding is my favorite thing to look back on and remember so the more posts I can split it up into the better in my opinion.