Wedding Bells Pt. 2

I do...again, still, always.

I'd like to blame my lack of posting on a new job or something but, alas, I cannot. Although I have been job searching and making healthy, delicious meals with all my new kitchen toys...and maybe playing some Candy Crush. 

I believe we left off on The Big Day. 

Unsurprisingly, the alarm went off way too freaking early. With a quick shower and base makeup, it was off to the salon. Mom-and Sister-in-Law arrived at the same time I did, and one of my bridesmaids was already there. As a bonus, she brought her son and sister. MIL and SIL brought breakfasty foods and mimosas, so that was nice. 
I had picked out a couple of hairstyles a la Kate Middleton...they looked very similar and I wanted to mush them together into one. What I got was...nothing like what I wanted. It was okay. The real winner was 14 year old niece. When I saw her the aunt in me wanted to tell her to take the makeup off, pull her hair down, and put on some dirty jeans; in reality I almost cried at how gorgeous she looked. But that's skipping ahead.

After the salon I had time to run back to my parent's house and mostly finish up my makeup. I was hoping to do a nice dramatic smoky eye, but it didn't turn out all that dramatic. So, in a nutshell, my look wasn't exactly what I'd hoped. Can't have everything, I guess. 
Just before I needed to leave, my niece and nephew arrived. My brother has recently gone through a lengthy and painful divorce, and he specifically requested that they be able to attend the wedding and a bit of a reception. I haven't said anything about the whole situation because I don't know who's reading my blog and what consequences my thoughts and opinions could have. But here's a fun example of the way things had gone--the kids showed up very excited that grandma did face paint with mama's makeup! It took a small army and many accoutrements, but they were very cute and free of makeup. Crisis averted and no fits thrown (that I know of).  But way to be a horrible person all the time, Mama.

So off we went to church, two of my sisters escorting me. My Phantom of the Wedding was already there getting everything ready. She wanted to show me the floral altar pieces MIL ordered; it was then that I noticed the giant memorial banner. I kind of laughed about it...Happy Wedding, here are all the dead people! It was not there the previous night but...whatever. On with the show. 
My girls continued to show up and look gorgeous and I couldn't have been happier to have them all there with me. At one point the wedding coordinator came in and said she didn't like the memorial banner so, yaaay, it came down and wasn't in all of the pictures. One of the things that cracked me up: the guests were starting to arrive and one of Mike's aunts popped in and asked if she could take some pictures. I was at the mirror, which is on the same plane as the door, finishing up my lipstick. The aunt came in and kind of looked around and went "oh, the bride's not here yet?" And as I was trying to hold back my laughter my Diplomat Sister (DS) deadpanned "she's right there." I honestly don't remember how long she stayed or if she took any pictures. Maybe she was looking for a poofier dress or something. I dunno, it just cracked me up. 

Ok. So lipstick was on, the beautiful veil that my mom made was in place, and we were all ready. While we were just waiting to walk down the aisle, my Rockstar Sister (RS) asked if we should say a prayer before we went. So we all got together and she said simply (along the lines of) "may we all make it down the aisle without tripping, and may Soldier and Laura make it through life without tripping." It was simple and kind of silly, but it was touching. Then my girls left me and my dad came in. Even though we've been married for a year, I almost cried "leaving" my daddy. He even wore the decorative kerchief I'd gotten in him Paris. Even thinking back on it now it's making me tear up. Stupid feelings and junk. 

And then it was time. The door was opened and we started to walk. Everyone was looking at us, at me, but I just kept looking at Soldier. Although I did take a second to wink at my mom. I told Soldier he should cry when I walked down the aisle, but he didn't. He just looked happy...I'll take it. Mass started, and we were about 2 minutes in when I said to myself "dear God why did we pick a full Mass?!" But then SIL did the first reading, Brother did the second reading, and other Brother did the prayers of the faithful; Little Princess was next to me and DS had the ring. I listened to everyone saying the prayers and saw how many people came up for communion, and I was so glad we did a full Mass. It made my heart ridiculously full. 
When we said our vows and put on the rings, I forced myself to look into Soldier's eyes even though I'm quite uncomfortable with direct eye contact for prolonged periods of time. I was trying to take in every moment of it and appreciate all the details of our second wedding. 

And before I knew it, it was over. We had two wonderful weddings with so many wonderful people and holy crap how did I get so lucky?! 

We rushed about to make sure we got all the family pictures and...I think that's a good place to stop. I'll try not to take so long to give you the details of the party. Because you care about that. 
Cheers!

Wedding Bells Pt. 1

I do...again, still, always.

I'm sure you've all been waiting with bated breath to hear about the big wedding. I was very excited to tell you all, but also got caught up in the shit storm that is the US. But we'll just try to put that in the back of our minds for now. 


I left for the Midwest a couple of weeks before Soldier did, and for some reason I had such a hard time leaving him. My flight was in the evening and I moped around all day, tearing up and sniffling way too much. Poor guy, he didn't really know what to do with me. We got to the airport a few minutes early and had a drink, so that helped. 
Overnight flights kind of suck, but this was the best flight I've had in a long time. Everything was on time, my layovers were long enough but not too long, and my luggage even arrived to my destination before I did. Whoa. It was a good sign. 

The couple of weeks before Soldier got there were spent getting all the final details ready for the wedding. Remember those paper flowers I bitched about making? Well MIL put them together and, oh my word, they took my breath away. This one's mine. Ready for the tearjerker part? If you zoom in or look closely you can see some grass, silver ribbon, and pearl pins...those are from the bouquet my siblings sent me last year. I'm pretty sure I choked up every time I told one of them about it. 

We were also able to get in to decorate the reception space a week in advance, which was awesooome. There were a couple of last minute additions for my Phantom of the Wedding to set up, but otherwise it was done and forgotten for the wedding week. 

Soldier got in on...Monday I think. His flights did not go as well as mine: one flight was delayed and his luggage inexplicably didn't make it with him. Luckily it arrived that night. Having gotten most everything finished, we spent most of our time hanging out with our families and friends. 
We had our respective parties that Thursday. The boys went up to his family's lake house to shoot guns, get drunk, and wrestle in the driveway (in that order). 
For mine, one of my sisters planned a really nice evening of drinks and dinner. It was small and classy; she went as far as to have a menu ready and waiting at a fantastic tapas restaurant. She also had some fun questions for guests to answer about Soldier and I. It wasn't a late night and it was lovely. 

Next day we had the rehearsal. There was, of course, a little bridesmaid drama which I guess started the day before, but what would a wedding be without one of the bridesmaids deciding it's all about her? The rehearsal went well, and I got to wear my fancy party dress. 
One thing that was really important to me was making sure each of my siblings (plus my niece) had a special task. My brothers did readings, one sister carried Soldier's ring, another signed the paperwork, and the third made the toast. 

Last summer, my Little Princess (niece) and I were sitting outside and I was telling her how things were working out with Soldier, and that we planned to get married. She asked if she would get to be involved and said that she was too old to be a flower girl and didn't really want to be a junior bridesmaid (she was 13). I assured her that she would be a regular bridesmaid. She said she was probably too young to be maid of honor, and I agreed. Since we didn't have a best man and maid of honor, I decided her task would be to stand next to me during the ceremony, but I wanted to surprise her. I'm not sure she really understood until my mom spelled it out for her at the rehearsal, but I was really glad to have her by my side the whole time. She's such a cool kid.

After the rehearsal we opted to just have a party at my parent's house instead of a traditional rehearsal dinner at a restaurant. We did have it catered, but I think it was cheaper and I know it was more fun. Plus there were just a lot of people. 
Everything went well and was fun, and it was so good to have the family together. We haven't had all 6 kids in the same place in years. It again wasn't too late of a night, but you know I didn't get that much sleep. 

Next up: wedding day!

The state of the country

We have failed. 

Like many others, I woke up on Wednesday to see the results of the American presidential election. And like many others, I was shocked, confused, and dismayed. There have been so many cries of outrage, protests, riots, and hatred...and it's only been a day.

And, of course, the blame. Conservatives, liberals, the electoral college, third party voters, etc etc etc.
So whose fault is it really? Everyone's.
For not being open minded about political issues and really listening to why someone supports one candidate. For being short sighted and ego-centric. For not acknowledging that a personal belief might not be the best or only option for millions of people.  For not thinking about our families, friends, neighbors when thinking about the future of our country. For not looking at history.

And who will lose out? Everyone.
Ok, I'm not one of those "he's not my president" people  because, whether I support him or not, he is.  So I looked at his 100 day plan, and things only got worse.  (Although I will give credit that he wants to put term limits on congress, which is woefully needed.)
But, judging by his plan, Trump would like to turn America into an isolationist, militaristic country. Close the borders...build the wall...get rid of Muslims...take away reproductive rights...cancel universal healthcare (okay, I know a lot of people aren't happy with healthcare right now, but it has also given a lot of people the chance to have it)...ignore climate change...stop trying to take care of the environment...more tax breaks for corporations. Overall, just take care of the rich white man.

I'll step aside from the doom and gloom for a moment; Soldier reminded me this morning that somebody like Trump doesn't get where he is without listening to advisors and boards and specialists. Though those people would likely be more rich white men, it would give me some hope to have others there that have a clue what they're doing.


Soldier and I are currently on our honeymoon in Mexico. I wondered how people would treat us when we went out on Wednesday. I hoped that they wouldn't assume we fed into the hatred and bigotry. Of course we're staying at a resort so they're all very professional but I still have to wonder.

I truly hope the next four years go well. I hope the end of President Obama's time isn't overshadowed and that some of the progress he's worked so hard for remains.

I know that some people won't agree with this post. I do try not to get too political, but I feel very strongly about this. If we are the Christian nation that so many claim, I hope we can call on the teachings of Jesus to love and care for one another.

Even if you're not Christian, I hope you'll all join me to go forth and not be an asshole.