It's hard to believe the wedding has already come and gone! Over a year of planning and it was over in the blink of an eye. I really didn't think I was going to make it the last three weeks. Poor John... He put up with so much. I remember sitting on the couch crying telling him I could barely tolerate myself and I didn't know how he put up with me. I'll admit it.... I had been a grouch. I was overwhelmed with work projects, and with the wedding coming up, my brain was overloaded. Wedding brain... not as bad a pregnancy brain (so I've heard), but still pretty bad.
I was scrambling to finish stuff the week before we left for Florida. I took off of work early two days before we left. My goal was to come home and finish a whole bunch of wedding stuff. LOL! Silly me. My Silhouette cutter kept jamming and the printer was putting lines in all the photos I was attempting to print. Thankfully John managed to fix the Silhouette. The photos simply had to wait.
This was our forecast for the week.
Yes, we ended up stocking up on umbrellas for the big day.
After we arrived in Florida, we shopped, did printing for the wedding, put together favor bags, and ran a whole bunch of errands. All that in between hanging out with the family. Wednesday night was when I realized that the folder on my desktop that I had zipped and emailed myself didn't have the photos that I had painstakingly sorted and renamed for a wedding reception project. So I had to track down the original emails with the files, re download, re sort and THEN begin printing. Three hours and many frazzled nerves later, I was done. *Whew*
I think the highlight of the week was applying for our marriage license. Not that the process was that exciting; but how many people can say they applied for their marriage license at the Mental Health Counter? Yep, way to go Escambia County, FL!
Friday was a hectic day. One of my "other mothers", Vickie Mullins, was having her retirement reception that afternoon. So after getting my nails done and picking up the dress, we rushed over to visit and share stories of how she has impacted so many lives. I'm a little sad over the fact that she is leaving Santa Rosa UF/IFAS Extension, but she has definitely earned her retirement!
Fast forward to the rehearsal... nothing too crazy. During the rehearsal I realized that I walk WAY too fast. What can I say? I'm a woman on a mission ;) It was great being able to take the time to catch up with everyone at the rehearsal dinner.
After the rehearsal dinner I got to spend some time with all of my bridesmaids back at the hotel. It was wonderful just to sit and chill for a while. Well, I say chill...I realized that I needed a different size photo for my guest photo frame. Thankfully I had an amazing engagement photographer who was able to work some magic and send me a link so I could download pics to have printed. My sister crashed in my room the night before the wedding. Which wasn't so bad... until I woke up to her laughing in her sleep. That was a little creepy.
So on to the big day... I was a bundle of nerves. I wasn't nervous about getting married.... I was nervous about everything turning out OK. The event planner part of my brain would not shut down if my life depended on it. I woke up on the big day and it was raining, go figure. I went over all my checklists for the reception and relaxed a little before having my hair done by the amazing Amanda Hicks. After that it was put on my face and grab my bags!
We were finally ready to load the cars and head over to the church! I was heading over to my twin/bestfriend/MOH, Kaitlin's car when she saved me. A guy was backing out in his minivan and apparently didn't see us behind him. I just froze. I saw the van backing up toward us and I couldn't get anything to come out of my mouth. Suddenly Kaitlin starts yelling at the driver to watch where he was going. That was our first close call.
The wedding was AWESOME! I'll never forget making that turn to walk down the aisle and I hear my friend David whisper "Breathe!!" I almost started crying during the ceremony, but made myself suck it up when I realized that no one had tissues. I'm so thankful that John got all of his ear scratching out of the way before the ceremony (groomsmen joke). I am forever thankful that John and I were able to spend our special day with such great friends and family. Looking back, I'm glad I had such a nice gap between the ceremony and reception. Granted, I thought pictures would take a bit longer than they actually did.... but since pictures ended early (I hired the most AMAZING photographer) the bridal party was able to snag a beer at the Pensacola Bay Brewery which was right across the street from the church.
We were finally ready to load the cars and head over to the church! I was heading over to my twin/bestfriend/MOH, Kaitlin's car when she saved me. A guy was backing out in his minivan and apparently didn't see us behind him. I just froze. I saw the van backing up toward us and I couldn't get anything to come out of my mouth. Suddenly Kaitlin starts yelling at the driver to watch where he was going. That was our first close call.
Our second close call was on the way to the church. I didn't know what side of the church the Pfeiffer house was on, so we had to circle the block again. Kaitlin forgot that the street was a two way street, not a one way. So I'm on my phone texting someone and I happen to glance up. I spot a truck waiting patiently at a four way stop for Kaitlin to get on the right side of the street. So I start shouting "Wrong side!! Wrong side!!" and Kaitlin quickly swerves to the correct side of the road. Thankfully, we were able to laugh about it. :)
The wedding was AWESOME! I'll never forget making that turn to walk down the aisle and I hear my friend David whisper "Breathe!!" I almost started crying during the ceremony, but made myself suck it up when I realized that no one had tissues. I'm so thankful that John got all of his ear scratching out of the way before the ceremony (groomsmen joke). I am forever thankful that John and I were able to spend our special day with such great friends and family. Looking back, I'm glad I had such a nice gap between the ceremony and reception. Granted, I thought pictures would take a bit longer than they actually did.... but since pictures ended early (I hired the most AMAZING photographer) the bridal party was able to snag a beer at the Pensacola Bay Brewery which was right across the street from the church.
The reception was legendary!
Such an awesome group of people (and an awesome DJ). I bawled my eyes out during toasts. All the dancing... and the singing...the reception flew by in the blink of an eye! At one point I ended up with champagne down my dress, and my bustle came undone so I ended up toting my train around (what an arm work out!). By the end of the night my feet hurt so much from all the dancing and walking around.
The rain did let up long enough for John and I to get a few pictures outside.
We even had a wedding rainbow :D
All in all it was an amazing day, and despite all the craziness I wouldn't trade it for anything. Oh yes... in the midst of all the wedding prep- two days before the wedding, we found out we'll be moving to California in the spring! John and I are super stoked. Now to figure out how to get out of Alaska with two pets and two vehicles in the middle of an Alaskan winter!
If you are planning a wedding in the Pensacola area- I would definitely recommend these additional vendors that made our day so awesome:
Day of Coordinator- Legacy Event Design
Caterer- Culinary Productions
Bartender- Richey's East
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