March 26, 2010 Journal Entry

8:08 am: Woke up with knot in stomach.

8:15 am: Heather starts to straighten hair.

8:37 am: Ran last minute errands. Bought cake cutter, lolly-pop sticks, goodie bags, candles. Took items to Heather’s house.

9:50 am: Heather still straightening hair.

10:56 am: Chuck gets into town. Met at SpringHill Suites.

12:02 pm: Lunch at Chick-fil-a with Mom, Karli, Kevin, Kerry & Chuck. Barely got down a chicken sandwich. Table had a wobbly leg.

12:30 pm: Heather still straightening hair.

1:14 pm: Heather’s relatives from Lakeland arrive in town.

2:07 pm: Heather & Harrison Family are off to get manicures and pedicures.

2:15 pm: Mom, Karli, Kevin, Kerry & Chuck go to Kohl’s to buy last minute clothes for rehearsal dinner. Black socks for Kerry. Shirt and tie for Nic.

4:12 pm: Let Billy & Tracy into the house.

5:00 pm: Heather straightens hair.

5:50 pm: Heather goes to closet to get dress.

5:53 pm: Heather cannot find dress.

5:54 pm: Kathy goes to closet to look for dress. Cannot find dress.

5:55 pm: Don goes to closet to look for dress. Cannot find dress. Heather starts to cry.

5:56 pm: Heather’s entire family goes to closet to look for dress. Cannot find dress. Heather continues to cry.

5:58 pm: Kathy goes back to closet and finds dress in same place everyone was just looking. Heather stops crying.

6:06 pm: Everyone arrives at SouthWood Community Center for wedding rehearsal. Grandparents, Wedding party, Parents, Sisters, Nephews, Musicians & Friends.

6:17 pm: Practice entrance, vows, ring exchange, exit. Determine order of wedding ceremony.

6:28 pm: Try to keep from throwing up.

6:55 pm: Make jokes with T.J. to take my mind off the ceremony.

7:03 pm: Ask Karen & Don 7 or 8 times what the order of the service is.

7:35 pm: Arrive at Marie Livingston’s Steak House. (Best steak house in Tallahassee!) Ordered the steak. So did my fiancé. Mashed potatoes, sweet tea, salad & cheesecake.

8:29 pm: Give groomsmen and bridesmaids their gifts. Shoes for the boys. Purses, necklaces & wine glasses for the girls.

9:03 pm: Kiss my fiancé goodnight for the last time. Say goodbye.

10:14 pm: Heather and bridesmaids put together bouquets. Writes checks for vendors.

12:00 am: Lay in bed and think about how amazing it is I get to marry my best friend.

Work Hard, Play Harder

And so it began…

The wedding planning, that is. And boy was it stressful. Who knew that planning the most exciting day of your life, the day that you dreamed about since you were a little girl-- you know, the kind of dreaming that had your wedding day planned to perfection. From your wedding dress with crystals and poofy sleeves, to your colors (mine always fluctuated, but I thought I would choose turqoise because it looked good with my hair), to the bridesmaids (you know, those friends that you chose when you were in elementary school that you just knew would be your friends for life), to even your husband (mine was always Jeffery)—those childhood dreams… who knew they could cause such chaos and stress. And it seems that the more you had dreamt up, the harder it was to plan because that Bridal Boutique sure doesn’t make that poofy-sleeved wedding dress with crystals that you had imagined in fourth grade.

I’d like to think I was an easy-going bride. In reality, I just hated to make decisions. But when I had something in my mind, no matter how hard, I was going to find a way to accomplish it.

Hence going in the back yard to test the popcorn…

And putting together our own flower arrangements… even if my slaves and I… I mean bridesmaids… stayed up until 2am the morning of our wedding…

And painting signs with wood we found on the side of the road…

And I definitely can’t forget the invitations and programs that I… I mean my Dad…worked so very hard on…

Oh, the planning… I miss it already!

But with great planning, comes great partying… And my girls threw me some fabulous parties!

Let me start with my bridal shower. The only word that I feel describes my bridal shower is sweet. From the fresh flowers, the cream puffs, the tangy lemonade, the lace tablecloth and of course, the chocolate covered strawberries, everything was delightful. But I think what made it so sweet and so rich were the guests. I just remember sitting in that room, surrounded by several women, young and old, all who loved me and loved Nic and supported “us.” Each and every one of them had made a huge impact on my life in one way or another, and to have them all gathered in one room to celebrate our marriage was beautiful.

Not to mention the hosts of the shower… Karen, Kaley, Bethany, and Missy. Thank you ladies for making that afternoon so perfect.

And the Lingerie shower… it was amazing. One of my best friends, Christine, planned the entire thing. When I walked through the door and saw all of the decorations, I was speechless. Christine should definitely take up party planning as a part time job.

We started off the evening with dinner, drinks, games and of course, lingerie at Christine’s house. She had thought of everything, and no one went home empty handed.

We then brought the party with us out on the town, and can I just say, when there are girls, dancing, a bridal sash, and a “last night out as a single woman” checklist, you are sure to have a good time. And I think a good time is an understatement… So I will leave you with pictures…

The Start of Us...

Nic and I committed our lives together in marriage on March 27, 2010. Every day since has been magical, yet it seems our lives have been zooming by. We are starting this blog to archive every significant moment that passes by including coexisting as husband and wife, celebrations together, vacations, the trials and victories of our careers and all the small things in between that create this beautiful life.

The start of us…

Let me begin by taking you back before March 27^th. When two lives collided and changed forever…

Like most girls, I had always dreamed about the day I would get engaged. I would watch show after show on TV about surprise proposals, and I would cry as if I personally knew the couple getting engaged. I would even joke about it with Nic saying that New York would be the perfect backdrop for a proposal. But I never imagined how special it was really going to be…

It was the spring semester of 2009, and I felt that any day Nic could pop the question. Every day that passed, I became more and more anxious. The more anxious I became, the more nosey I became. I tried to analyze every situation, and I tried to pull any information concerning our engagement out of my friends and family. But Nic had me completely fooled.

May 9, my sister flew in from Birmingham and Nic’s Mom and sister came into town for Mother’s day… or so I thought. Even though we had family in town, Nic insisted on taking me out to dinner to a local Italian restaurant. I was actually a bit irritated that we had to go on a date when we had company, but Nic would not back down. We were seated at a table in the front of the restaurant, and after we ordered our food I remember chuckling to myself. Nic asked me what I was laughing at. I remember telling him that I was a little irritated because I thought he would have proposed by now. Nic had this huge smile on his face, as if he new something that I didn’t, and he knelt on one knee in the middle of the restaurant. He said, “It’s funny that you would say that because…” and he pulled out the ring and asked me to be his wife. My mouth dropped because I was in complete shock! I remember saying, “Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh,” over and over again, and I remember staring at him and staring at my ring. It was the best feeling in the world!

As if the night couldn’t get any better, Nic told me that John and Karen were at the dance studio teaching some lessons, and he wanted to stop by to tell them the news. I was fine with that, but I wanted to make it quick because I wanted to go home and surprise my family. As we pulled into the parking lot, I began to recognize a few of the cars but I didn’t think anything of it until I saw my good friend Meryl’s car. I said “that looks like Meryl’s car,” but I stopped there because I didn’t want to ruin anymore surprises. As we walked up to the glass door, I could see my Dad standing inside the dance studio, and I began to cry. Nic opened the door, and standing there were all of our friends and family. I could not believe it! Even family from out of town came to help celebrate our engagement! I could truly feel all of the love and support surrounding us. I have never felt anything like that.

And to top it all off, there was a huge poster on the wall of New York City. He brought New York to me. It was a dream come true! That was the BEST day of my life!

TO READ MORE ABOUT OUR STORY INCLUDING HOW WE MET, FEEL FREE TO CHECK OUT OUR WEDDING WEBSITE, http://www.mywedding.com/nicandheather/stories.html