We were enjoying our time in Colorado so much that we almost forgot that we had a wedding to prepare for…
Just kidding.
No one forgot about the wedding.
I got to play dress up on one beautiful Colorado day and get my pictures taken. I had my bridal portraits taken at Fountain Valley School of Colorado. It was perfect. I got to try on my dress and make sure everything fit right. For those of you who may not know, my grandma made my dress AND all the bridesmaids dresses. She is a wonderful woman and I like to think of her as super-grandma.
After all, how many people can say that they have enjoyed a freshly brewed Guinness at the top of the brewery overlooking the city with their grandma who also climbed 500+ steps to kiss the Blarney Stone who also climbed 800+ steps to view the city of London from the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral?! {She. is. a. rockstar.} I love you, grandma!
I was baptized and received my first communion in a gown that she made just for me and now I have also been married in a gown she made. It means so much to me. I could have never afforded a wedding dress so beautiful and one that fit me so perfectly. How blessed am I?
For my bridal portraits, my florist made me a practice bouquet and I had a trial run for my hair and make-up that morning. It was literally a dry run of turning me into a bride and everything turned out perfectly!! The weather was wonderful, the location was breathtaking and I felt like a bride for the first time. It was then that the fact that I was getting married had finally sunk it. My very own fairy tale! 🙂
I don’t have the digital copies of the pictures just yet, but I promise to post pictures once I do get them. For you brides-to-be, this is something I would highly suggest you look into. It made the wedding day go so much more smoothly (we were able to focus on getting the other important pictures) and I have some stunning bridal portraits of myself that I will cherish forever. I thought this was a rather new thing that brides were doing, but as it turns out, it is an old tradition that is coming back. My grandma also had bridal portraits taken before her wedding!
Now that I felt like a bride, it was about time to plan the par-tay!
We spent several hours decorating and greeting guests at the hotel as they arrived. Every time I walked through the lobby I saw another guest! It was so wonderful seeing so many familiar faces in Colorado! The decorating started on Thursday, which was a huge relief because Friday was jam packed with festivities.
Me, the Viper Pilot, and Joy (my K-2 teacher and our vocalist) |
Decorating went really well. We had a lot of help and all the little things I had prepared were all ready to go. We only had to go to Hobby Lobby once! Other brides had told me to not worry about the little things and that the little things would go wrong — but nothing went wrong at all!! It was a huge success and I attribute that to all my helpers. Aunt Janice, Uncle Mike, Hannah, Jack, Maddie, mom, dadoo, Dennis, Sondra, Erin…everyone was wonderful!!
Then it was time for the ladies to peace out and hit up the nail salon and the boys went off for the Viper Pilot’s bachelor party. Us girls dominated that nail salon and they did a phenomenal job! Even the little ladies were princesses!
Hannah and Maddie getting the royal treatment. |
Sondra, Erin, Shelby, and me gettin’ our toes did. |
We had a blast. When we got back to the hotel, we found everyone gathered in the lobby/common area (where there was a conveniently located bar). Most of our family and friends had arrived! I joined in with their fun — and what a riot we had. The boys showed up for a bit to say hello. We were in for quite a surprise. Apparently, their first stop of the night was a thrift store. This is how we found them:
Sean, Derek, Alex, Mike, Grady |
Spiffy. I like the flip flops. It’s a nice touch.
Well, I’m off to make dinner. I’ll catch up with you all later!
CHEERS!