The Wedding Story

It's one week later and now that I have the photos, I can tell the story of our wedding day. :-) It's going to be long, so grab a coffee or something and get comfy.

I would venture to say that I'm one of the few brides that would goof around all day and then wait until 3pm to get ready for her 4pm wedding (where we needed to meet with the planner at 5 till, lol). The majority of you reading this know that I'm not a frilly-fou-fou kind of girl, though, so 40 minutes is enough time for me to get ready.

Fortunately, MommaShyner and Kiddo were in the connecting suite so all I needed to do was just open a door. With this tag team combination, I was able to do my makeup while they tried to get my dress all trussed up in the back. Makeup application was pretty simple thanks to a quick tutorial from the color manager at Sephora before we left. Otherwise I'd really have no idea. Also, it's Cancun and the ceremony was outside and half my face melted off anyway.

Because I do almost nothing in the normal and traditional manner, there was no big surprise for the groom to see the bride; we walked down to the ceremony together.

Sidebar: Have you seen any of the YouTube videos where the bridesmaids come dancing down the aisle? Well, apparently an older gentleman in the elevator had and he just happened to be playing "I Got A Feeling" in his iPod when we got in the elevator and he shared it with me. So of course I danced right out of the elevator!

Upon arrival at our meeting point, the photos began. The Shaman blessed us both and then we headed out to the beach.

I don't think that the hotel was full on Saturday and there were at least two other weddings going on at the same time as ours, but we were what you might call a SHOWSTOPPER! Everyone in the bar stopped to watch. People in the pool stopped to watch. People were looking out over their balconies. I think that we had the smallest huge wedding ever.

Everyone removed their shoes and stood outside of our circle for the beginning of the ceremony. There were more blessings given to each the north, south, east and west for health, prosperity, love and other good stuff.

Part of what I really loved about this ceremony is that while everyone was gathered around and could hear most of it, there were parts that were only for the ears of the Shaman and the happy couple. A touch of privacy even in the midst of all of our family and friends.

The Mayan dancers performed two celebratory dances that were just beautiful. Everyone came into the circle to share in the fruit tarts and the tequila to celebrate the union. I know I'm skipping over things but the pictures (and the 130 more to come) really tell the story.

When we came back in from the beach, we had applause from everywhere. It was really awesome to have complete strangers share in our happiness. For the next 2 or 3 days, we were constantly being approached about the wedding. Another couple went to our wedding planner and wanted to have the same ceremony the NEXT DAY!! She wasn't able to do it on Sunday, but they did have it on Monday.

There was a gazebo on the beach that overlooked our ceremony. In it, another wedding was going on. The groom from that wedding complimented me on ours. He said, "We just had a plain old Catholic ceremony. Yours was really fantastic." I'm pretty sure that I knew from the start that I had made the right choice with this ceremony, but that sealed it. Also, other brides were shooting me the daggers but hey, I didn't come all the way to Mexico to do a wedding I could've done at home.

So, you know how I love Mexico and all things Mexican. Well, my new brother-in-law (Lovey's sister's husband) pulled some strings and got us mariachis at the reception. Yup, I pretty much was crying again. I just don't have words for how much I enjoyed this, but you should just know when I run out of words, it must've been a sight to see.

And that's it in a nutshell. I'll post more as I think of it and there's still the rest of the trip to talk about, but that's for later. I have to go enjoy our last day of living it up. I hope you enjoy the pictures. Talk to you soon.

Cancun - Days 1 and 2

For the sake of your eyes, I'll break this up into smaller pieces rather than my typical rambling. The 1230 crew arrived on time and unscathed at the Cancun airport at about 1 or so on Thursday. As is usual, I suppose, we spent a good long time getting through both immigration and customs. Once we made it, our ride to the hotel was waiting. It took approximately 35 minutes to get to the hotel since we had to drop folks off at their hotels first.

First impression of the hotel? Un. Bee. Leave. A. Bull. OMG. It's just gorgeous here. There are photos and a couple videos on my Flickr page. So, after arrival, we basically just walked around, taking it all in. The pictures just don't do this place justice. We have the one bedroom suite. You can tour it in the videos. Some of my favorite things include: hammock chair on the balcony and reading there at 6:30 am listening to the waves, 24 hour room service with a "magic box" which means we never have to see the people if we don't want to, the totally kick ass shower with the rain faucet AND four jets along with a hand-held shower head AND it's also a steam sauna, and having a jacuzzi in the room.

Thursday night we went to dinner at La Distilleria where they make tequila on site. None of that for me though on the first night. You gotta pace yourself, ya know?

Friday involved more arrival of friends and family and more relaxing. We also met with our wedding coordinator to go over a few last minute details. They really, for the most part, make everything very easy on a bride as far as planning goes. The good stuff comes tomorrow. :-)

10, X, Ten

Ten is just a crazy number. Sometimes it's perfection. Ten fingers, ten toes, she's a 10. It's also the date that we leave for Mexico. It isn't really ten days until the wedding though. Unless you count today also, then I guess it works.

I went and picked up my dress yesterday and I am happy with how it looks once it's on. There might be one thing that I would've changed, but it's so small that I'm probably the only one that would ever even notice it. Let it slide. Woosa.

Today, after purchasing a new keyboard...for my laptop...I await the arrival of the Sears delivery men. Since my efforts in fixing the dryer were thwarted by a basic lack of knowledge and the fear of electrocution, we broke down after about four days and ordered a new washer and dryer. One trip to the laundromat was really more than enough for me. It isn't terrible. I can go and read, but it's just kind of a pain. Lazy American!

Dear self: those favors really aren't going to put themselves together so you might wanna get on that also.

I was asked very recently if I was excited for the wedding/Cancun/moving. Oddly enough, not yet. Somewhere along the line, I think I broke my excited bone (hahahaha, yeah, add your own joke here) and it never got repaired. Maybe it's some sort of self-defense mechanism. If I'm not excited, I won't be let down when I actually get to do things. Maybe I'm just a little bit nutty. Yeah, probably that. I think that the last time I was excited about an event was in January when we went to the Steelers game.

I'm considering heading over to Tumblr for my various rants. Apparently it's easier to do music and photos there. But, seeing as I have a hard time just blogging daily, I don't know. Although, it might be that much easier to do Tumblr. We'll see.

Thanks for putting up with this ridiculous brain emptying as I work on actually preparing myself to write something meaningful. Hang in there! I'll get interesting yet!

D-day

No, not as in war rememberence. Today is the day that I go to pick up my dress with all of its alterations. You should be able to see it here. It looks as though they aren't making it any more, but that's cool by me. I'm not one of those frilly girly girls so let me just tell you that me putting on this dress and going through all the preps is really a once-in-a-lifetime thing. You're welcome, mom. I'm sure, though, that putting on this dress for about an hour will be worth all of the P90X torture that I've put myself through, lol.

It's hard to believe that we're leaving for Mexico in a mere 8 days. It really seemed like it wouldn't get here forever and now it's right on top of us. Sorry that these posts turn into my "honey do" lists for myself, but I've gotta focus! Still left to do before we go:

• Prep the favors
• Build the playlist
• Pick up dress
• Buy shoes (for all of us)
• Figure out hair and makeup (I'm so not good at that!)

I'm nearly certain that I'm forgetting something as this list is so small. Hopefully it'll come to me though. I'm going to have to go to the mall and let them paint me like a clown so I have some sort of clue how to work out this whole makeup thing. Yuck.

Yesterday, I made a suggestion to someone and that someone told me that my suggestion was "ugh". Well, that I can deal with. Heaven forbid that something "ugh" is done for someone besides me. There's nothing quite like being at the bottom of the totem pole, but hey, I don't let these sorts of things keep me down. The selfishness and self-centered-ness of others will not throw me off of my game.

With that, I bid you farewell for I have things to get done. See you tomorrow for day 3 of trying to create this new habit of writing daily.

June 1, 2010

Let me make up for that lame post title with this:




That's right, just 12 days away from the wedding now. It's just crazy. I still have a couple of things to do that I'm procrastinating on but they really shouldn't take that long and I know that I'll get everything done before 4pm on the 12th, lol.

The month of June also brings us Sundress Month. (check the hashtag on Twitter) Unfortunately, the first of June is also the first day of hurricane season, so here in Miami, it's not exactly a sundress day. I'm hoping, however, that it'll clear up at some point and I'll be able to get out into the sun in my dress. I am currently awaiting shipment of two new sundresses from Victoria's Secret to use this month whilst I lounge in Mexico.

Speaking of Mexico, we have free internet in the room, but it'll cost me an arm and a leg to use the data plan outside of the hotel, so all Facebook and Twitter updates are going to happen at the same time and likely not for very long. For those keeping track, however, I'll be uploading photos to my Flickr account and possibly video to my YouTube channel.

In other exciting news, this coming Sunday, I'm going to substitute teach....a pole class!! Realistically, all I have to do is the warm-up and do some spotting. I'm not going to teach anything new. We're only working on three moves, but I know those three and I hope that I can give pointers to help everyone else in the class get those moves down. I thought my teacher was crazy when she asked if I'd do this, but I need to get out of this shell sooner or later and it might as well be sooner. Balls to the wall is my married life motto, lol.

Just as a reminder to myself, I have two book ideas that are, in my head at least, very viable plans. I can't tell you what they are just yet, but so I don't forget, it's about legends and it's about having a daily before bed.

There is much to do today and every day, so I take my leave. I need to try to get back into the daily writing habit...we'll see how that goes over. Have a great short week!!

Sometimes, the days just sneak away...

Wow, its been a few days, huh?

I suppose that's just fine and dandy as I never promised I would write daily, at least I didn't promise it to you guys. I only promised myself that I would try to write more often if for nothing else than to try to keep my sanity. So here I am. Hi! *waving*

At times, these things are likely boring to you, but I need to keep track of them and I like to look back at my blog down the road to see what was going on back in the day. :-)

With their fifth consecutive win, the Pittsburgh Steelers take the Denver Broncos....and stuff them mile high. Great game. Thank you, gentlemen.

The countdown continues. It's a mere 16 days until my first 5K. I already did my registration and everything. I just have to pick up my packet in a couple of weeks. I am hoping against all hope that Ida will be long gone tomorrow morning. She caused a little havoc yesterday morning as I TRIED to run. But, when the wind is blowing at about 15mph with gusts up to 30, it's a little tough.

Next on the agenda is vacation! I can't believe there are only 45 more days! We have most of the big stuff handled like flights, house, and equipment so now we only have lessons, food choices and the ever-important spa day for scheduling. I picked up some sweet Under Armour that I really hope does a good job. I hate being all bulky on the mountain!

Holy smokes, shortly after vacation finishes, 36 days to be exact, is graduation! It took me a while, but I'm proud to say I'm finally getting that paper. The question becomes what will I do with this elusive piece of paper and will it mean anything to anyone of importance? These answers and many more on the next episode of Soap.

Do you think that's enough to worry about? You're right, it probably is, but I'm not being me if I'm not overloading my plate with things to do. As such, the short list of the rest of it is below. The first bullet deserves its own paragraph or entire post, but that's for a later date.

• Hi, wedding. I guess you're not gonna plan yourself although I have thankfully little to do to plan you. But every time I think about it, I remember something else. Aargh.
  
• Group fitness instructor training - Yes, I ordered all your stuff today. I hope to be certified by the end of January. That's certified, not certifiable, which I already am.
• Social networking - It's more than just talking to you guys! :-D And I told my chiro that I'd see what I could do for him. Is it weird that I would only be able to do the whole social networking thing for someone I know/something I believe in?
• Business plan - So I've got this idea. I just need to gather materials, put in some labor, create a website, register a domain name. OMG I have a lot of crap to do! As I'm getting closer with this idea, I'll share. I promise.

I suppose that's enough brain dumping for now. Thanks for listening/reading. I may get back to normal blogging without countdowns soon!

Countdown, now with Mexico!

No, not Ron.

Did you miss me yesterday? Psh, now, don't tell fibs to spare my feelings. Thanks for stopping by. :-)

The good Reverend MiamiShyner is not in attendance today but she wishes you all a ROCO Friday nonetheless.

As we all may know, the countdown now stands at 20 days until I try to run this 5K. I have faith that I can do it. I'm training and I can do the distance. I'm just hoping that it's not excessively hot/cold/windy that morning.

Even though formerly Hurricane Ida, currently TD Ida and probably Hurricane Ida again in a few days is a ways away from us, we're still feeling some of her effects, namely wind. Due to the wind, I was surprised to have come in at under 28 minutes this morning. Not super quick by any means, but way better than I ever imagined I would be when I started the program 8 weeks ago.

You should stop reading here if you do not want to read my sappy relationship stuff.

Who has so many countdowns going on at once? No one in their right mind which means me. :-D

• Turkey Trot in 20 days
• Vacation in 48 days
• Graduation in 92 days
• And the latest addition to the list, 218 days until the wedding

As some of you may have known, Lovey and I had plans to make it official in the early summer of next year. I was super excited and ran through several location options before deciding on Vegas. Then I changed my mind. I'm a chick, I'm allowed.

Vegas seemed cool but it was also a little bit of a hassle. I'm not all for the details, I just want the end event to be nice (and I don't want to hire a wedding planner). Vegas fell by the wayside. I found a place closer to home. Literally 5 minutes away from our house. It was beautiful. It was perfect. It was.....$20K! WTF man. For one day! I am not ballin' like that.

At that time, I basically scrapped all wedding plans. I am just stubborn like that. I want it all or I don't want anything. I'm pretty sure that my mom was bummed about it but I was done. I figured that the money I was saving for a wedding could be used for several other things. I was a little sad but I've really never been the one for tradition.

Fast forward to yesterday. Whilst perusing the internet, I came across something that just blew my mind. I could have a ceremony that was far from traditional in a place that was far from home for a price that was far under the place that I had been so excited about. SCORE!

So now, it's back on. Mom's excited. Lovey's excited. Kiddo's excited (this will be her first time out of the country). I'm excited. I get to have a beautiful beach ceremony in the country I love most right under our own. Seriously, I love it so much that I feel like it's like going home. I get to spend 9 days being treated like a princess and I can't wait.

Now, to search for that perfect dres....remember, buck tradition!

Have a great weekend, folks! There's football to be watched. Let's go STEELERS!

Holy wedding dresses!

Over the last couple of days, I've looked at 3,000 wedding dresses. That is not an exaggerated number. It's really how many I've looked at online. In that time, I've come to realize that there's a certain style that I'm leaning towards and possibly a designer. My main issue is finding something that I absoutely love that will look superb on me (hard to dress we, the short people) AND fits my personality.

I'm sure that I have plenty more searching still to do along with many tryings on and fittings and such in the fairly near future. I'd like to get some feedback though. If you know me (and you probably should if you're reading this), and some will know me better than others, let me know which of these you think best fits my personality (insane) and body type (short but brick shithouse!).

Let's just call them 1 through 7. Obviously, 5 and 6 have two views because I thought it important to show the back. :-)

Love you guys!

Wedding Blues

It's been four years and six days since I turned in my playa stripes and a good time it has been. No matter how young I still look (that would be very...still get ID'ed to play the lottery sometimes), I know how old I am, and with this age comes the time to stop, um, hopping and stay in one place.

Lovey and I have been engaged for about a year and a half now. I guess for some people, the whole process has been a long time, but for others, it's way too short. Can't win 'em all (unless you're the #Steelers - hopefully!)

Sidebar: How awesome would it be for them to have a perfect
season?!?! Who's gonna talk smack then? Seven rings AND a perfect
season?

Anywho, the original plan had us getting married in the summer of 2010..the year we make contact. Ha. Of course, I am woman, hear me change my mind because I'm not hearing your complaints. Part of it is due to the economy and part is that I just can't make up my mind.
At various points throughout the process, I've said "Fuck it. Let's just go to the JP." You see, I've never been 'that girl'. The big-princess-wedding-tw0-point-five-kids-white-picket-fence girl. I suppose it's the result of growing up with mostly guys.

I am prepared. If I ever get this nailed down, I have my calligraphy set ready to go as I will do the invites by hand. I might even send them to people that I know won't be able to show up just because they wouldn't believe I was actually getting married otherwise. :-)

I've toyed with the idea of having the wedding at a resort where I used to work in Florida. Dress code = togas. Wedding cake = baked alaska. Lactose intolerance be damned, I'm having baked alaska. Convenient for my family + his family. That idea sorta got chucked although it may get revived.

Another thought in the process is/was Vegas. Keep the togas, change the location. Keep it somewhat low-key (for Vegas, anyway). Airfare is a little bit of a pain though. And hotels. And the organizing. Yikes. Maybe not.

We vacationed in Key West just a few weeks back and almost got married there. This is what happens in KW. You go into a bar and order a drink, er bucket, the big burly biker dude (BBBD) and his new bride ask the bartender why he didn't offer them this drink. He said that we came in and ordered it. (True. I looked it up on their website and knew that I had to participate in this train wreck.) Not to be one-upped by the short black chick and the Cuban dude, they ordered one as well. Then it became a contest to who could throw it down faster. When we were ahead, BBBD said something along the lines of, oh yeah, well we just got married. We countered with we're engaged. BBBD responded with, yeah, but we're married. The bucket almost talked me into going to get married right then and there as not to be one-upped, but I figured that my mom would be pretty pissed if I did it that way.

I believe that, in the end, I have to decide how important it is for people to be there (outside of our families). I don't expect people to drop stuff and fly across the country (for some of them) to attend, but it would be pretty cool. I guess I should make this decision sooner rather than later as I hear that weddings take a while to plan. But when you have your own personal dressmaker (Hi, Mom!) and you have your dress pretty much picked out, I suppose all that's really left is a time and a place.

What say you, dear reader? Resort wedding? Vegas? Take it to the JP and just have a big party afterwards? (no need for household items for gifts, we have enough, lol)