Wedding Day!!!

The day was perfect!! Everything I could've dreamed of! The girls(me and my bridesmaids) all  spent the night at the Elms after the rehearsal/dinner the night before. We had a delicious buffet at the Elms amidst some crazy thunderstorms on Friday night.  Then we spent my last night as a single woman drinking wine, hanging out in the pre-decorated reception room, and practicing the Thriller dance with my bridesmaids.  We finally got to bed around midnight or one and was able to sleep in until about 8:30. The girls had a friend from church coming to do their hair at 10am and I got to relax and hang out until my hair appointment at noon. Many thanks to all the friends and family who helped to get the reception room ready that morning!!!It was absolutely beautiful.

Once my hair was done, everything became a whirlwind. All the girls had to get dressed(I wasn't getting dressed until we were at the church). Before I knew it, it was time to take the walk down the aisle!!!! The ceremony was beautiful and funny and though I barely remember my vows, I do have them on video!!:)  The real fun started at the reception!! After getting all the required things done(dinner, cake cutting, dance, garter/bouquet), it was time to party!!!!!  All of my friends had been working for weeks to get down the Thriller dance and pulled it off quite nicely. Maybe i can figure out how to get the video uploaded. At some point, one of my uncle's came to me and told me that some "ladies of harley" from topeka were interested in coming in and dancing!  The more the merrier!  So we had one big party with wedding crashers!!! It was so much fun! I wish I could play that night over and over again!!!! Once I get the pics back from the photographer, I will post them on here. Should have them on Tuesday

Wedding week reflections

In 3 days (4 if you count the day of) my life is going to drastically change. Life as I have lived for the last 29 years will cease to exist. Well, while that may be a taaaad dramatic, it is true that my life is about to make a huge change!I feel like I have been going, going, going and have not had much time to reflect on some of these changes. Obviously I have been thinking and praying for a long time about the marriage decision and what it looks like to be a wife. But it suddenly seem a lot more daunting when you have to put your money where your mouth is!:)

It's beginning to sink in that we are actually leaving the comforts of home cooking, free refills, and yard space to head for a very foreign country where we know very few people(although the people we do know, have been amaazzzing and such a great support and encouragement!), have to walk/ride a bike everywhere, and are a 10 hour plane flight away from everything important to us(besides each other). For those who have been following this journey so far, we got an apartment!!!! Well, we have sent the money and the signed contract in so if we were dealing with America, I would say it's as good as done but based on the experiences we have, I'm not going to breathe a sigh of relief until the keys are in hand;) But it appears we will not be homeless! more to come with pictures later!

This week has been great having Dan back. For a few days, I forgot we were planning a wedding and just basked in having him near me. We got our marriage license on Monday. I teared up when were getting it...I think that's a bad sign of things to come regarding wedding tears! Dan says the $60 is non-refundable so there's no backing out now:) That same night, I received an email from my DJ telling me he will not be able to DJ my reception due to moving for a job...after bursting into tears and having a "moment", I did what any sane person would do...posted my need on facebook. It was amazing the responses I got. Everyone is so wonderful and it looks like we will have a DJ for the same (great) price our original DJ was going to do!!! So, first major wedding crisis averted.

After that fiasco, Dan and Meg spent part of the night rolling out tulle, using tulle to recreate Madonna's "Vogue", and helping me check one more thing off my list.
They are wonderful and I love them for their help.

People keep asking me if I'm nervous and then reporting that I don't seem to be. It's true, I'm not. Come Saturday I'm sure there will be butterflies and if someone could catch me if i faint walking down the aisle, that'd be fantastic:) I'm confident in the decision that has been made. I'm excited to marry my best friend. I'm excited to start this new chapter in our lives.  I'm excited to see what kind of crazy plan God has for us overseas. And I'm excited to live in a "flat" in a building that was built in 1650, on a street named Hogewoerd (yep, sounds just like Hogwarts).

RING!

These are pictures of my new ring! Dan used his grandmother's setting and diamond to propose to me. The original setting was yellow gold with this beautiful diamond in it.  Dan had always planned to get me a different setting and he had picked out this amazing, hand engraved, Martin Flyer ring. He didn't have time to get it set before the proposal and we thought he was leaving the country sooner than he did. So, long story short, I have been waiting all summer and today we went and picked it up from the jeweler!!!!!

He wanted to "repropose", make sure i still wanted to marry him:) So, after driving to Columbia to get the ring, I told him I would wait outside while he was with the jeweler ( as it was supposed to only take 15-20 minutes) so he could surprise me with this ring. Well, 15-20 minutes go by, 30-45 minutes, and I'm walking around downtown Columbia in 95 degree heat. Finally I decide to stop at Jimmy John's for a drink and to clean out my purse. After an hour and 45 minutes I decide to check in at the jeweler, make sure that Dan hasn't taken the jeweler hostage or something. 20 minutes later, he is finally done. "Oh! It's been 2 hours baby? I didn't even know! The jeweler and I were having a grand ole time talking." nevermind his anxious fiance' who has been waiting 4 months..no...7 years and 4 months! for this ring.

We walked to the park where he got down on one knee again and told me all the things I couldn't remember from the first proposal and how excited he was to marry me in one week! I can't wait!!! I can't believe it's only 1 week away!!!

Surprise!!!

I have a love/hate relationship with surprises. Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that I hate surprises and always try to ruin them. In reality, i LOVE surprises but am just too much of a control freak to go with the flow and get surprised!:)Well, today I got a big surprise that I loved and was caught off guard, even after i thought I figured it out. 

Dan had told me on Wednesday that he was going to be out of touch all day Thursday because they were doing work on the internet at his work. He had forwarded me an email stating such. I was bummed of course but knew I would get to speak with him on Friday. Well, Thursday I decided to check his itinerary for next week to double check he had the right flight booked and see what time it was coming in. As I was looking at his itinerary, I noticed that it said Friday, August 19. Well he was scheduled to come in on Thursday August 19th. So of course I started freaking out, thinking he had booked the wrong flight. Then my super sleuthing mind took over and I got to thinking that maybe he had altered the itinerary he sent to me and that he was really coming in on Friday(Today). So i checked and yes, you can alter an itinerary you send through email( in case anyone wanted to know) . So that got me thinking that maybe, just maybe, everything was an elaborate ruse and that he was coming into town early.

So i figured that Meagan would go pick him up but this morning came and went and Meg was still snug in her bed when she should've been picking him up. Then I thought that maybe his mom had driven down and was going to pick him up and then they would surprise me at The Elms. Well 2 hours at the Elms came and went and no dan. I finally got a hold of him and I was convinced that all my hopes were dashed and he was still sitting in Leiden. So I was sad and grouchy the rest of the day(ask my mom, meagan and dan, they will all verify). 

I come home after a long day of shopping and other things I wasn't in the mood for and about 30 seconds after I get in my house, there is a knock at the door and upon opening it, there is the most handsomest, amazing man, down on one knee, holding a bouquet of flowers. His name was Ted. HAHA just kidding, it was DAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am still on cloud nine. He meanwhile, is passed out asleep on the couch, exhausted from spending over 25 hours traveling and adjusting to a 7 hour time change. :)

More to come tomorrow about the meanness he attempted to do and the people he tried to ensnare in his devious plan:)

Last full week before wedding week!

This is my life right now. Chaos. I have made a goal for myself to have everything done by this weekend so I can enjoy the week of wedding without being stressed. So, I am packing like a mad woman, throwing away tons of stuff and wondering how I'm going to fit everything into 3-4 suitcases. Luckily, a few of my friends are coming over on Wednesday to help me finish up packing. I start packing and then get sad so I stop. But with 12 days left until the wedding, it's time to dry up the tears and buckle down and finish things up!!!

And we're still homeless so if you could send up some prayers for our housing situation, it would be much appreciated. Dan was scheduled to look at one tomorrow but lo and behold, they rented it out over the weekend. He has a few more to look at tomorrow. We are definitely down to the wire.

Tulips

I came across these images while searching for something for the wedding. These are tulip fields in Holland. I can't believe I get to see them in person!!! and you can to if you come visit in the Spring!!!

Short engagement video

My mom took this right after we got engaged. I was very happy. Obviously.

Wedding Preparation and News from Leiden

2 1/2 weeks from today, I will be marrying my best friend!! Hard to believe after all this time that is actually happening! This week has been wedding madness. After going to a friend from high school's wedding this weekend and realizing that 3 weeks from the exact time of their ceremony, I would be getting married, I decided I needed to kick my butt into gear! So this week has been wedding mania, with the majority of my days filled with running wedding errands, working on programs, checking with vendors, etc. Last night my mom and I spent 7 hours and were up until 1:30am, working on "already made" programs. Sometimes technology makes our life harder.  

But tonight, my aunts, mom, sister-in-law and maid of honor all got together to put the programs together, become expert bow-tyer's, and enjoy some good girl time. I'm so thankful for all their help and so thankful that it's done! Wedding planning is fun until you reach the wall and then it's just time to be married.

Dan is hanging in there in Leiden and getting like the city more and more. He has got to spend some time with friends in his department this week, even going to Amsterdam for dinner(don't worry, no red light district for him!:) ). He enjoys getting to know all the new people and is enjoying his work. 2 weeks from tomorrow, he will be here!!!!! We are still on the house hunt and are hitting panic mode. I'm sure something will work out but it's definitely getting down to the wire.

Next week starts more of the serious packing projects and getting it all done so that I can live out of a suitcase and "Bask in the fun and savor every moment of my last week here" as Meg says. So...if anyone has some time on their hands and wants to aid a pal in packing, let me know! It's always more fun with more people!  :)

Shower

I had another beautiful shower thrown by my Maid of Honor and best friend, Meagan. Along with a lot of help from her sisters and mom!! As usual, they went above and beyond and we had an amazing night! I received lots of pretty things to wear on the honeymoon :) and got some great/interesting advice. See the pics below!!!!

FYI

It is NOT a good idea to attend a wedding, 3 weeks prior to the day and time of when you are getting married. Your face will look like this...

At that wedding I also realized how quickly the night will go! 19 days and counting...