We are MARRIED

So The Yankee and I are finally married! We are starting the next chapter in our lives together and we are delighted and excited.

Our ceremony was held on a Saturday morning, followed by a lunch reception. We started planning the wedding last December after Luis proposed at Rockefeller Center, in front of the Christmas Tree. We aggressively attacked our known differences and those that arose as we chugged through premarital counseling- a 10 month process!

We planned and saved for our day. We passed up dates, meals out, and plenty of other fun things to ensure that we were married debt-free- all while paying off our other debts! We budgeted down to the penny, while prioritizing where we would spend and where we would save. With help from my parents, our day was beautiful and our honeymoon was exactly what we hoped.

The week of the wedding, I went to California on a business trip, leaving me only one day in the office to prepare for a week and a half off- and then I found out I’d be going back to CA the week after I came back! As I type this, I am making my way back across the country. Believe me; I am sick of the airport. By the time Thursday before the wedding arrived, I was a huge ball of nerves and tension. I wasn’t nervous about marrying The Yankee, only nervous about wrapping up the loose ends, finishing the last-minute errands, and making final arrangements. I didn’t even buy my undergarments until the day before the wedding!

Our Rehearsal Dinner was exactly as I pictured it: family and friends gathered in my mom’s kitchen eating chili and cookies. There weren’t many of us; just enough for a fun crowd. That night, my brother spent the night with me at my apartment and The Yankee stayed with his best man.

I woke up ridiculously early on my wedding day- 5:30 am! When I got up that morning, all the anxiety was gone. Plans were made, payments sent, and I couldn’t control anything but myself from that point on. I had my hair done at 7 that morning by a dear friend and former landlord. Heather, my matron of honor, and I got to the church and dressed. At 20 minutes to 11, our flowers had still not arrived and the florist got a rowdy earful from my mother. Having the ceremony that early was a great idea, because we didn’t have to spend much time waiting around for things to start.

Our ceremony was short- only about 30 minutes long, and then I kissed my beloved to seal our covenant with God. As I said my vows and started to cry, The Yankee brought out a well-placed Kleenex for me from his pocket. So like my Yankee to care for me and know I would cry, even though I swore I wouldn’t. We ran down the aisle and hid in a small room off the lobby to have a few minutes to ourselves. After the photos were done, we went to the reception where we ate, mingled, cut the cake, threw the garter and bouquet and left. It was wonderful and exactly what I’d hoped for.

After the wedding and some final photos, The Yankee and I had dinner at the Melting Pot and left at 6:25 the next day for Hawai’i. The highlight of our flight happened as three babies started to cry at the same time and a small child kept pressing the call button. A flight attendant passing by said loudly, “Tell him to stop or we’ll break his fingers off!” Hilarious.

Hawai’i was tropical, warm, relaxing and crazy expensive! The Yankee and I took tours, ate, drank, slept, snorkeled, and sunburned. We are still recovering from the 5-hour time difference jet lag.

After planning for our wedding for almost a year, the day came and went so quickly I had to remind myself to stop and encode memories. I hope I’ll always remember Brynn holding my dress while I went to the bathroom, smelling my perfume as I got the alter, the stripey lining of Tadd’s suit, The Yankee mouthing “WOW” to me as I floated down the aisle, and the feeling of my father’s jacket as I hugged him. I do so love my dear sweet Yankee more than I ever thought I would. He’s my true love and the man I always wanted.

I love you MyYankee. Always.