Wedding Day

Well, I didn't meet my goal of posting a wedding blog by our one month, but I'm skidding in before our two month anniversary, so surely that counts for something.  The thought of putting that big day into words (and pictures) has been very intimidating.  I definitely want to communicate the joy and fun of the day without the annoying undertone of "perfect fairy tale."  And as I reflect on these past 56 days of marriage, I'm reminded of the true sovereignty of God and his faithfulness to bring a man into my life who is far better than I ever imagined or deserve.  I'm truly the lucky one.

The whole wedding weekend was the best days of my life thus far.  All of the hard work and planning came together perfectly and I felt like I was able to just relax and soak up the day.

I guess when you're the bride, there's really no need to have your phone with you throughout the day because anyone you love is with you and anybody else can just wait another day (or 7) to hear from you.  So I really don't have a ton of pics on my phone to upload at this time.  We've begun the oh-so-overwhelming process of sifting through professional photos, so maybe those will make an appearance on the blog at some point.  At this rate, could be months from now.  :)

The girls all got ready in the basement of the church while the guys camped out in classrooms upstairs.

Nothing like feeling like a princess all day!

Wouldn't be a Sauder girl pic without 3 mouths wide open :)

Our florist was Stems at Woodlawn & Central and they did an amazing job! 

Everyone said the day would fly by and boy were they right.  I really don't think I've ever been so giddy & excited before and we've got about a billion pictures with my silly facial expressions & wide-open grin to prove it.

Our videographer was Free Spirit Production  and they were amazing! They spent the entire day with us & provided a top quality highlight reel & wedding ceremony video.  If you are in the market for a videographer, look into them! 

Cutest little flower girl and ring bearer you'll ever see.  And they walked down the aisle like champs! 

I didn't think I would cry during the ceremony, but it turns out I was wrong.  All of a sudden during our vows I lost it.  I'd like to think it wasn't an all out ugly cry, but more of a choked up, light tears, pretty kinda thing. 

Most beautiful Matron & Maid of Honor

The reception was at the Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview and they were excellent to work with! Always went above and beyond to help with the planning process and the execution of the day.  

Scott and his brother, Terry, spent countless hours of hard work creating these LOVE letters.  Needless to say, we loved them and they were a huge hit!  We've even talked about renting them out to people for the right price. Haha.

It was so fun to have all of our favorite people in one place for the day!  We had our send off from the ceremony (with a butt load of bird seed that we seemed to find for days), so we didn't have a set departure time from the reception.  And it turns out we were having so much fun that we stayed till the very end when the lights came up & clean-up began.  I really didn't want the day to end.

The past two months truly have been the best days of my life and the journey is just beginning.  We've enjoyed making memories with our families over Christmas and are headed down south to cheer on our Wildcats for the Alamo Bowl! Let the good times roll! 

A Spooktacular Night

Wow...I knew life had continued to move along, but I had no idea it had been over TWO months since I last blogged.  To say life has changed would be the understatement of the year. Major milestones have taken place and must be documented.  Bridal showers were enjoyed, wedding details fell into place, a Halloween rehearsal was had, and the best day of my life thus far took place!! Oh...and a sweet honeymoon with my hubby to Jamaica was in there too.  Life is good.

How on earth do you capture all of this eloquently in a blog post weeks later?  I'll jump in with October 31st, our wedding rehearsal.  Of course, we took advantage of the obvious theme and Halloween costumes were worn by all at dinner.  Scott's family did such a fabulous job with the rehearsal dinner, complete with the cutest Halloween treats and a witch's cauldron with dry ice.  Can you say awesome!?

Just a flapper girl & her werewolf 

Scott and I were so impressed with how much everyone got into their costumes.  We had everything from mimes, bacon & eggs, dog & fire hydrant, to Pink ladies, a ninja turtle, and a hot dog. Basically we have great family and friends.  Here are some table pics.

Greatest parents ever goes to bacon & eggs. The pork production man had the perfect outfit. 

The sweets table 

Because who doesn't want to use skull goblets at their rehearsal?? Cheers to the Peltiers! 

The wedding weekend really was the best weekend ever!  Everything came together so perfectly & I just kept thinking I wanted the day to last forever.  My goal is to have  a wedding post up before our one month anniversary.  No guarantees...I haven't been so great at this blogging thing lately.  I'd like to think it's because I've been slaving away in the kitchen using my new wifey skills, but I just don't think that's it.  We're headed to Great Bend for Thanksgiving to be reunited with family and I couldn't be more excited. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!  We sure do have so much to be thankful for!

Fall Frenzy

Well, my six-week hiatus can only mean one thing: school is back in session. (And we are currently in the trenches of wedding planning)  FORTY DAYS!!

I am in shock and disbelief to think we are nearing the end of September.  I have zero fall decorations out and I'm still thinking we're in the "first few weeks of school" (Six weeks is just a few, right??)

Although I feel like I've been chasing my tail the past month, we have accomplished a lot.  Scott and I ended the summer with a house project.  We (I say we...I'm sure it was mostly his idea) decided to re-tile the bathroom floors.

A before of his master bath

This was our first big to-do together since being engaged.  We joked that this could serve as our pre-marital counseling because many decisions were made, conflicts were resolved, and plenty of quality time was put in.   It really was so fun!  It became our routine to start around 7pm, after the day's activities, and work till about midnight each evening.  Scott was in charge of cutting and placing tile while I back-buttered the tiles.  Yes, I definitely sound like I know what I'm talking about, don't I.

The mastermind behind every good house project.

This is as close to a finished pic as I've got. Pre-grout and finishing touches.  You'd think after several days of work, I'd at least have taken a finished picture. Just know that it looks awesome!

We had so much fun on the first bathroom, we decided to re-tile a second while we were at it!

This is when we began to question why on earth we started a whole new bathroom. 

Again, as close to a finished picture as I've got.  What was I thinking?!

In early August, a close friend of mine from college got married!  It was so fun to be engaged at the same time and get to be in each other's weddings.

Mrs. Lauren Klug! We'll switch roles in 40 days. 

My forever wedding date.  Wouldn't want to cut up the dance floor with anyone else. 

September has been jam packed with wedding planning.  We've successfully assembled and mailed out invitations.

We've met with the florist, church wedding coordinator, dress alterations, cake tasting, caterer tasting, The list goes on and on.  I suppose this is how it works when you plan your wedding in 4.5 months.  Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.  Life has been flying by, but what a sweet life it is.  So thankful for this season God has Scott and I in.  I've been trying (very sporadically) to journal throughout our engagement, so I'll be able to look back and be reminded of all the fun times we're sharing together.  So many more to come!  

At this rate, I just might be a married woman by the time you hear from me next!

Engagement Pictures

Well, it happened.  Summer up and left us and has been replaced by Mr. Responsibility.  He and I are not near as close.  Today was the first day for my little sixth graders.  I was much more mentally prepared for their millions of questions, faces of pure panic, and the feeling of holding my pee all day because anytime I stepped out my door I was faced with a lost child.  Last year was such a shocker going from teaching seventh to sixth grade.  Oh sixth graders.  I still vividly remember my first day of middle school and the anxiety I felt as Jana dropped me off in the parking lot on her way to high school.  I'd like to think she was super sympathetic and comforting, but I remember otherwise.  :) I also remember her threatening to leave me if I wasn't outside sooner after school when she got there to pick me up.  We've come a long way.

Anyway, all this to say I'm sure there's something school related I should be working on right now.  Pouring over my lesson plans one last time, editing the graphics or fonts on my power point, or browsing Pinterest for the latest and greatest in all things classroom related.  But let's be real; I'd much rather watch TV and share my personal life with you all.  So without further ado....here are some engagement pics courtesy of Scott's sister, Lisa.

And just because you can't take life too seriously, I'll leave you with a few blooper pics.  Enjoy!

A bit windy that day.

79 days!!

Parties, Pictures, and Places

It's almost that time of year again.  That time when my body cringes at any and all things "back to school" related.  Seriously, I've even dreaded going to Target lately because of all their school supply aisles.  If I'm not having a good time at Target, something is really not right.  A responsible adult would be working on getting in bed before 1am and out of bed before 9am at this point in the summer.  Apparently no responsible adult around here.  If anything, my sleep patterns have only gotten worse over the past couple of weeks.  August 11th, I dread you.

Since the engagement, summer has really seemed to fly by.  We've been busy planning and booking and things are really coming together. Three months and one day, people!  Needless to say, at this point in the summer I'm usually reading books like, The First Days of School, by Harry Wong (yes, unfortunate name) but instead I'm currently reading, The Meaning of Marriage, by Timothy Keller (great book!)  Luckily, years ago Jana and I came to the conclusion that the back to school book really boils down to one thing--don't be a bonehead.  

Scott had his annual 4th of July party where we celebrated with family and friends.  He and I decided to go all out with our apparel and just let everyone know how patriotic we are.  Feast your eyes on this.

I mean, if this doesn't say, "God bless America," then I don't know what does.  The party also served as a fun engagement party for us at the neighbor's backyard pool.  They truly have a slice of heaven in their backyard and were so kind to host our large group.

I could get used to living across the street from this :) 

Festive cake pops and fruit pizza.

Our friends Scott and Rebekah.  They chose a more subtle attire for the evening. 

I know the 4th of July was almost a month ago, but I told myself if I blogged about it before July was over, then I was good.  Here's to a personal win for me.

I also enjoyed a trip to the Wisconsin Dells with my parents for the National Pork Industry Conference.  Yep, very official.  This was my third time to go and it really is so much fun.  Usually my mom and I lay poolside (my summer talent) and hit up the awesome outlet mall (my mom's talent).  However, this year we were there to enjoy the Polar Vortex and watched as the lifeguards walked the pool in misery and coats.

Notice rain and coat...Cue sadness 

Never a dull moment if you're a Moose Jaw pizza delivery boy.  And no, this isn't blow up...it's a legit fake moose. 

Ice Ice Piggy....(I'm sorry, I had to) 

                                            

This is the only picture I got on my African safari vacation....oh wait, that's the elephant statue outside the Kalahari Resort. 

Another highlight for us this summer was taking engagement pictures with Scott's talented sister, Lisa. Here's a special sneak peek of the fun! 

Here's to less than two weeks left of summer!  You can find me screeching into Sonic for half price shakes after eight...or still in bed before nine...thirty.  Look forward to a post on Scott and I's fun with re-tiling his (soon-to-be our) bathrooms.  If we only had a quarter for every trip to Lowes.....