We did it!

We got hitched on 10.6.12! It feels great to have made it official and our connection feels even more special and strong. Our wedding day was absolutely perfect and we truly had the best day ever. We are so grateful for everyone's help, love and support. We are so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful people. The week of the wedding was totally crazy, but I still managed to host my best friends over for dinner to thank them for all of their help and support and give them little gifts. My best friend, Vanessa, in from Germany, came over early to help with everything. Thank goodness she did. She was such a great helper - she cooked all of the steak for the steak salads and helped with everything else I needed. She was basically my co-host and I'm so grateful for her being there! It was so fun to give the girls their gifts and cards that I have had for months. I framed collages I put together of different photos of us from over the years and picked out different nail polishes that I thought they would like. I made them all cards that said "you're my favorite" because they are all my favorites. The night ended with lots of laughs and smiles. I'm so glad that I got to share that time with them before our big day. The next day I was able to get my nails done with my friend Jamie, in from Michigan. She was great about getting me whatever I needed and keeping me calm even though I felt very stressed! We took her to the venue to show her everything afterwards because she so kindly agreed to help run everything since she's a professional wedding planner - seriously, how lucky are we!? After that, Rob and I headed to the suburbs for our "night before" dinner. We reserved a room at a place called Grady's Grille in Homewood and it was the perfect size for our group. My mom and brother came early with some flowers and centerpieces and it really brightened up the place. Our immediate families, Rob's Grandpa and friend, my aunts/uncles and cousins, our family friends the Holmans and the Shaklees joined us for the special occasion. We enjoyed catching up, eating dinner and then we got to pass out more gifts! I love giving gifts and we spent so much time putting thought into everything - it was a highlight for me. After gifts we went over details for the next day and helped get everyone informed. After that I said goodbye to my fiance and headed back to the city for a night on my own. A lot of people think it's strange I wanted to be by myself, but I really wanted time to center myself, enjoy some quiet moments and think about the next day. I was able to watch Father of the Bride - which is what I've always wanted to do the night before I got married. Ofcourse I got absolutely no sleep due to being overexcited, but I still woke up feeling energized and excited! I just couldn't wait to see my husband to be and to start the festivities! I'll write more about the wedding day itself soon!