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Welcome to my journal. My name is Laura, and I am a junior in college. I am majoring in Professional writing (a division of the English Major).
My fiance's name is Micah. He is also a junior in college. He is majoring in Business Administration.
We will be 21 at the wedding, which most people would think is young. However, our families are ecstatic about the wedding and know that we have what it takes to make it.
We will be graduating together in December of 2002. Until then, we have an apartment set up. We have been engaged long enough to buy pretty much everything we need.
We didn't even know what to put on our wedding registry!
I hope you enjoy reading my journal.
First things first... We are having a Cinderella-themed wedding. We aren't taking it too far, still having traditional food and attire etc. It will be a traditional wedding with the "accessories" following the theme. Here are some of the stats:
- 120 Guests
- Colors: Champagne and Peach
- Catholic Ceremony (morning)
- Traditional reception (5 hours)
- 1 Best Man
- 2 Maids of Honor
- 2 Bridesmaids
- 2 Junior Bridesmaids
- 5 Ushers
- 2 Flower Girls
- 1 Ring Bearer
Now that this is covered, let's get to the good stuff!
We picked our invitations to match our primary color of champagne (and I think it goes well with the season: late Summer).
The bridesmaid's dresses are by Silhouettes, and are champagne satin. They will wear matching elbow length gloves (the jr. bridesmaids will wear wrist length), and carry arm bouquets consisting of roses in "peaches and creams".
I actually bought my gown at a discount store in my area called Building 19. They sell samples from boutiques, bridal shows, etc, all for under $200! I was skeptical when I went there, but I fell in love with my gown right away. The woman who is doing my alterations said that the fabric is worth $80/yard, and people have told me that the dress is worth over $1000!
- Shoes: White satin ballet slippers with hand-sewn appliques throughout (thanks to my mom). I didn't want to be taller than my FH! (we are both 5'6).
- Jewelery: I am wearing white pearl jewelery with rhinestone accents.
- I have a huge petticoat for my dress to go for that "Cinderella Princess" look.
- Going away outfit: Red satin jacket with big rhinestone buttons, with matching skirt with pleats in the back. I got it for only $40.00, and it is very traditional.
- I have a crown-like headpiece with a cascade veil.
The ceremony will be at a little white church. My family and I have been going there for a while now (we are Catholic). Micah and I opted for the ceremony rather than complete mass because we felt that it would be too long for most people (especially since most of our guests are not Catholic ).
We are having a Russian Violinist for the ceremony and coctail hour.
Im having my reception at King's Grant Inn. The package price was the best we found, at $41/head.
- Appetizer (3 choices)
- Main Course of Chicken or Turkey
- Choice of Potato
- Choice of Vegetable
- Garden Salad w/ Two Dressings
- Choice of 7 desserts
- Hospitality room for wedding party upon arrival
- Champagne toast for all
- Wedding Cake, and there is a whole book of gorgeous choices!
- A full band (2 choices; Backtrack is unbelievable!)
- Flowers/Candelabras for the Head table
- Engraved placecards and napkins
- All taxes/gratuities included
- Limousine from King's Grant to a hotel in Boston or Logan airport when you leave for the honeymoon.
Our first dance will be to Brian Adam's "Everything I Do".
I will dance with my dad to "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion.
Micah will dance with his mother to "Have I Told You Lately" by Rod Stewart.
Two favors will be at each place setting. I bought dove-top wedding bubbles, made my own Cinderella labels with a picture from an envelope seal which I tinted, sized, and printed on sticker paper. Then, I put the labels on and wrapped the bubbles in white tulle, tying them with white ribbon. Our guests will blow the bubbles as we dance our first dance.
The primary favors are the slippers. They are filled with potpourri sachets which I made, then they are wrapped in tulle and tied with ribbon. Each is accented with a single satin peach rose.
The centerpieces are the product of my own invention. I searched far and wide to get large pumpkin candles (I bought them online, as I did almost everything for the wedding). I wrapped each pumpkin in white tulle, to tone down the orange color. Then, I got artificial floral wreaths in "peaches and creams" to match the colors of the flowers and placed them on the top. Last, I turned them into "coaches" with some solder metal, which I bent into the shape of wheels, spraypainted, and glued to the pumpkins with household cement. The result has amazed a lot of people!
Micah found some pewter crowns with jewels on them, which happened to be placecard holders! We got them for only 50 cents a piece because they were on clearance, but they look great and go well with our theme.
The guestbook has a gold metal carriage on the front.
We have a feather pen to match.
We have a crystal castle cake topper with a pearl opalesque heart shaped arch around the top.
The cake cutting set matches our placecard holders, which I didn't realize until a few days ago!
Of course my biggest accomplishment is:
Our Website!!!
I think it is really starting to look good these days, and it gives all kinds of details with pictures, music etc. You can even watch movies like the proposal and our special presentation, in streaming video. Thanks everyone!
Hi! Things are going so well. Looks like another semester on dean's list is shaping up (finals are the first week of May, so we have a little ways to go)! Micah will be completing his RCIA program soon, after six long months. He will receive the Eucharist and be Confirmed at the Easter vigil, and I will be his sponsor! Just about 5 months to go! (ok, more like 5 3/4, but a girl can dream). Micah's going for the tuxes this weekend, and his sister is coming to visit from Michigan with her husband (they are both in the wedding party). I will update you all on some more wedding details when they come about! It feels like everything is done, so I don't know what to add. We are visiting the florist on Wednesday though, when we will finalize all of the details and I will determine whether I will opt for the big bouquet! Micah is pushing for me to go for the $250 one I saw in a magazine, but I'm not sure if I want to splurge that much.
Well, I have to get going now. I did update the site a little (as I do basically every day, making it a little more elaborate). So if you like it, come back once in a while, because I am always doing something to it.
Well, we finalized everything with the florist and paid her, which is yet another big burden that I can say is off my shoulders now. I opted for the nicer bouquet, and in doing so I think I got a good deal. Initially, it would have cost $250, so I had asked for a small, $100 bouquet. When we came back and she knew we were on a budget, I went back to the bigger bouquet, added some more bout's for ushers and readers, etc. and the price only went up by $100 altogether! I was excited about that. We will end up paying about $800 for everything. I also am not having my flower girls carry flower balls instead of baskets (they are so cute, I wish I could remember what they are called!). Anyway, we were happy with the result.
Just 1 1/2 weeks to go until Micah finishes his RCIA program!
Well, that's about it for updates on my part! The shower date has been set for June 2nd.
We just got an award on the site and, as always, I have made many updates.
Just checking in! I haven't been on here in almost a month. We hired a bagpiper to play before and after the ceremony (1/2 hr. before, then until all the guests leave the church). Now, we have him, and the violinist will play the ceremony and the coctail hour. We need to go back and finalize some things with the band for the reception. I am so glad that the music aspect of it all came together! My bridesmaid's dresses have been in since January, and finally the last 2 dresses will be picked up this Saturday. My next fitting is toward the end of June. She said that she has already done a lot of work on it, so I can't wait to see how it's coming along! (I haven't seen my dress since February!)
I found out (naughty me) some of the items that I am getting for my shower. I was actually just checking the registry out online to see if the items I added were showing up, and to my surprise there were lots of 1's in the "received" column. It is just way too tempting when you can access the registry online (we're using target)!
The only thing that isn't working out too well are the save the date cards! I still haven't sent them out so I don't know if it's too late now. It is a shame and a waste if it is! I didn't spend a lot (made them myself), but I put a lot of time into them.
Well, that's about all that's new wedding-wise around here. We can't wait until the shower! I just got through the roughest semester I ever had and still managed to make dean's list. As of August, I will have Senior status!
Can you believe it? We had our shower last Saturday, and I still can't believe how much stuff we got! I never thought we'd get so much! I finished thank you cards yesterday and mailed them out. We saw our bagpiper on Friday night and made a deposit. Other than that, things are moving slowly in the wedding world. It is so close, but there are no big things to do so I can relax and enjoy it (which was my plan... I've been planning this wedding for 1 yr. 6 months now). I just can't believe that we have just over 3 months left... Didn't the time just fly? We originally had set our wedding date for 6/1/02, but thought that was too far off into the future. It is so exciting.
We spoke with the Deacon who is performing the ceremony. He just needs us to pass in some of the paperwork we were missing. He couldn't believe that we had already finished pre-cana, picked our readings etc. and congratulated us on our being so responsible. Now we won't even need to meet with him again formally until the rehearsal!
We also met with King's Grant (our reception location) and went over all the details. We planned everything, and it was so much fun! I wish I had a picture of our cake. It was included in the package, but there was a whole book of different styles which we could choose from and they would match it to your colors. It is primarily white with some silvery accents throughout it. My Mom, Micah, and I all "ooooo"ed when we saw it, and knew it was the one. It will look so beautiful with our crystal castle caketop! We are having white tablecloths with lace overlays and peach tablecloths, which match everything perfectly (peach is so hard to match sometimes too, but these were perfect). I was worried about getting all of our items to them (our caketop, favors, centerpieces, etc etc), but she assured me that we do a complete rundown 3 days ahead and they label everything. We also finalized the menu! We are having:
Vegetable platters with dips, and cheese and cracker trays, served buffet style. (We wanted to keep that part simple, because this is the one part where we had to bite our tongues and remember our budget).
Fruit cup with sorbet.
Stuffed boneless breast of chicken.
Red bliss potato, mixed vegetables, salad with choice of Russian or Creamy Italian dressings, bread, butter, and one beverage included.
French ice cream puff with hot fudge sauce, along with the cake.
I am so glad we finalized that part! It was a little stressful because I felt almost as if it was inadequate compared to our other wedding decisions. We also went with the cash bar, after the coordinator's reassurance that at least half of their weddings usually have one. We also saw some bad things happen at other weddings with open bar! I also found out that they include engraved placecards and napkins in the package, and one of the designs for these was a castle. Now we have ordered those in peach ink, and they will be mailed to us soon. I had been making my own placecards but was struggling with them, so that was great news. Lastly, we gave all our information for the band. We showed which songs from their list we liked and disliked, gave all wedding party names and pronunciations, and listed the few songs which we will provide that they do not play. We decided to bring two Irish dances into the reception, since Micah and I have been going Irish dancing with my parents since shortly after we met.
Micah finally finalized his list, for the most part, and it hit me how soon the invitations are going out (about 3 1/2 weeks)! He also picked his tuxes and finalized his end of the wedding party. I called the florist the other day with those updates. Our next stop is getting our rings out to be engraved. We are just trying to decide what to put on them! I have a clipping from a Bridal magazine with a list of traditional and modern ideas, and we've narrowed it down to a few from those that we like.
That is everything for now! I feel on top of everything, which is a great thing. I am starting to pat myself on the back for my idea to do everything ridiculously early so that I could go at my own pace and then enjoy the last couple of months before the big day.
Hi! Well, the invitations went out yesterday. and woooosh, a bunch of people already got them today - Weird! It was a lot of work getting those invitations done, especially since I totally forgot about doing the inner envelopes until the last minute.. It never occurred to me, so that made a lot more work! Our invitations are printed in black ink, so I was lucky enough to find a font that matched them perfectly. We added gold seals at the last minute. Micah and I sat down the other night and decided that it was time to finish the envelopes and start assembling. I had already spent hours printing, getting the alignment right etc. so I was sick of looking at them! However, after about 1 1/2 hours, the outer and inner envelopes were printed, the invitations were assembled, sealed, stamped and ready to go! He always did say we were a good team. We mailed them yesterday morning, which was a great sigh of relief. It will be so much fun to get replies!
My next fitting is July 31. I wish she would just finish up and give me the dress! She keeps taking the waist in and out, and this has been going on for 4 or 5 months. I wish she'd understand that I'm just starting my wedding diet NOW, so she should just wait until a few weeks prior to take it in.
Other than these little meddling things, I feel like there's nothing to do, and that is a beautiful thing. Micah's paperwork (baptismal and confirmation records) were dropped off at the church yesterday, and we're done seeing the deacon until the rehearsal. Speaking of which, we got blank invitations for the rehearsal to print and give to our friends in the wedding party (who keep forgetting the time and date due to busy schedules). I gave my final rehearsal dinner list to future MIL, and MOH is planning bachelorette party. This seems to be about it for me! All of my appointments are made for the big day and the test runs, and everyone seems to know what they need to do. I am remaining relatively calm (except for the anxious "let's just get married NOW!!" feeling). We are also going to be able to get the marriage license soon, since it is valid for 60 days. That is about it for now! Our honeymoon is booked, and we still need to get the wedding rings out for engraving.
Well everyone, the marriage license paperwork is done. Now all we have to do is give the last piece of paperwork to the Deacon at the rehearsal, which he fills in right after he marries us. We are also getting tons of invites back, with generally good outcomes (meaning, the "cannot attend" pile is about 1/8 the size of the "will attend" pile!)
A local paper did a 1-page article on us, which was very exciting. I put the article on the web site. Also, we added lots more interesting features, like a radio broadcast and live web cam.
The rehearsal invitations went out, and most people got them already. I think FMIL is doing a good job planning it. She got her dress the other day, and she has 2 potential pew bows for me to pick from (her best friend's mother was a florist, so they volunteered to do them). I said that I would just trust whatever they like, but she insists that I pick one!
I still need to burn a CD for the band with all the songs they don't play that we want. We are going to see them one last time on Saturday night, since they will be playing a gig somewhere.
I will have more updates on the way. We also put up some new pics and pics of our new apartment, so check them out!
Well, we're almost there... We have just about 3 weeks to go. We are done; From the marriage license and bloodwork, to the bridesmaid gifts and buying thank-you cards for after the wedding. The biggest focus these days is the rehearsal dinner. FMIL invited me to go with her to the site on Friday when she makes the final arrangements. I was flattered. I gave her my final count for that, and my outfit for the evening is hanging in the closet.
There is no one left to visit or consult with, so all I have to do is make my last-minute round of phone calls in a week or two to make sure everyone knows their part. All of my appointments are in order too! Wow!
The rehearsal dinner invitations were a hit, which were made mostly for people who forgot about the times and specifics. All of the bridesmaids have their fittings done.
My bachelorette party is happening on Thursday the 13th, though I know nothing else and do not want to. The invitation replies are coming back slowly but surely. They technically have until Friday to reply, and there are about 10 cards that we are still waiting for. The turnout has been pretty good, though! We already got our first gift... A $100 check from a family friend who can't make it. That came at a great time!
Everyone keeps asking me if I am nervous, but I am not at all! In fact, the more time that passes, the less nervous I become and the more anxious I get to just run down that aisle! We are both working so much these days that the time flies. Thank goodness there isn't too much to do with the wedding right now! I do get next week off from work, though, at which time I can tie up any loose ends I might find. I will definitely keep you all up to speed with these last few countdown days, when time permits me to do so!
Well, this week has been an endless array of paper and more paper. Placecards, layout pictures of the reception room, etc. We pretty much just finished the list and had it finalized, with the exception of a few stragglers. I never though I'd find myself doing this, but I actually have this little binder with all the contracts inside, and final guest lists, menus, pricing and table layouts pasted on the covers. It's where I look for reassurance that I really do have everything done!
I made wedding programs... They came out really nice and professional looking, and of course I created an online version for the web site. My last move was to put all of the reception stuff into cardboard boxes for when we bring them down to King's Grant the Wednesday before the wedding. We have lots of weird requests, like 2 types of favors. I also made my centerpieces way too early, and only made 12. So, I had to make extras since we have 15 tables! They aren't exactly the same, so I had to designate what tables they had to go at. In the end, I found my room filled with a lot of extensively-labeled cardboard boxes. The only "wedding tragedy" to occur involved the caketop, which was knocked off the bed by the cat during my boxing adventure. I got a little shaken up when I found out that it was discontinued and I couldn't replace it, then I lucked out to find one that was bigger and even more beautiful! This one comes with a light that is hidden in the lace base, so the castle is lit up. The online store clerks were amazing, and emailed me all weekend and at all hours of the night, even though I wasn't all that nervous about it getting here on time (it actually will be here tomorrow). So, we are at a very busy stage, but I'm not bothering anyone with expectations... This is a good thing. I don't have a beauty regimen, other than hitting the treadmill every night as I did long before this all started, some moisturizing bodywash, and daily tanning salon visits.
Micah is also doing very well with his new job. He is really excited about the wedding and, surprisingly, as involved as a groom possibly can be. He's been perfect - Contributing and helping with everything, and as excited about it all as I am. I am so lucky to have gotten a guy like him!
Well, we've been planning our wedding for 2 years, and I just can't believe it's finally here. Our final head count is 105, though we initially aimed for 120. Hmm, what else, well, you will see! I will try to get the pics and video clips up super fast after the wedding. If you're a bride and have a while to go, I will tell you -- Going from 1 year left to 6 months left just drags and drags, but then those last 6 months fly... Especially the last 3! It seems like yesterday that I was saying "I am getting married in 3 months" and now I am saying "I am getting married this Saturday". I am so anxious and excited, and not nervous at all! I have never been so sure of anything or had anything feel so "right". It is just a great feeling, especially knowing that from here on out we will wake up together every morning and share everything. It gives me a sort of nervy "tingly" feeling, almost similar to being nervous, to think that it's actually here... I don't know how to describe it, but it isn't a bad thing. It's like I've been thinking all this time that the wedding is the biggest day of our lives, but it won't be here for a while... But now, it IS just about here. I was nervous about little things going right wedding-wise, and vendors knowing what they are supposed to do, etc., but now all of that is behind me and I am not worried at all.
Here's the schedule for the week... Tuesday is Micah's birthday... Wednesday, we go to the reception site to pay, give final head count and all the boxes of stuff... Thursday, bachelor/bachelorette parties, and Friday, the rehearsal. Somewhere in between (probably on Monday) I need to make those last vendor calls for reassurance and formality to finalize everything. It is just so amazing; everything! And I get happier each time I look at Micah, which is the best part.
It's almost as hard to believe for me as it is for you, but we are finally married! I lucked out today to get a chance to write all about it, so here it is!
Micah's 21st birthday was September 11, and now we know that we will never forget that day. We were planning to celebrate, but little happened because we were all so stunned and upset by everything that happened. I spent the next couple of days feeling a bit uneasy, because I felt guilty celebrating. By Thursday, our bachelor/bachelorette parties were before us, and we did manage to prep ourselves up to party. Neither of us did anything to risque or had strippers, but I got to have my first club/bar experiences, talked to people, and got very drunk! We went to another place for karaoke, then met up with the guys at Kowloon's for Chineese food. Micah had had fun too, playing pool, having some drinks, and hanging out with the guys, but still, we called each other "a sight for sore eyes" because we were so exhausted and glad to be going home together. It was a great night and everyone seemed to enjoy it, and getting everyone together was a great way to top it off.
The rehearsal made me a little nervous... Not at all about getting married, but about everything running smoothly. In the end, however, everyone knew their role and they had gotten coordinated. We were unsure about how a few things would work, because some of Micah's family couldn't make it to the wedding. They could not fly in because the airports were still closed from the horrible September 11th tragedy. Micah's Aunt Marie filled in for the reader who could not make it, and we managed to make do without our usher Scott. It was a historic night, since the nation had a candelight vigil at 7pm, a time which came just as we were leaving the church. We all stood in a circle outside the church with candles, and Deacon John led us in prayer. We left for the rehearsal dinner, and were happily surprised to see route 1 lined with families and groups holding candles and waving flags. We beeped and rolled down the window to cheer on their patriotism, since some of them were singing "God Bless America". The rehearsal dinner was sort of dragged out in terms of the servers bringing out each course, but we were having too busy to notice. It certainly was not your conventional event -- We sang and danced a lot of the time, and a party in the next room loved our enthusiasm so much that they invited me and my girls in to dance a few songs. We got free entertainment since we could hear their DJ from our room! Micah and I had a rushed but emotional goodbye, and he was off to his hotel with the guys. I dropped my car off at King's Grant and went home with my parents, exhausted! Once I hit the pillow, I was out for the night without a care in the world.
What more success could we ask for... The whole expression "off without a hitch" could not begin to describe the day -- I kid you not! The vendors were 10 times better than expected, and our personal coordinator, I am convinced, has psychic powers! I swear, any time I so much as needed a glass of water she would magically appear. I got up around 7AM and hopped in the shower. As I was blowing my uncontrollably long hair dry, the hairdresser arrived (and early). Luckily, she started on my mom first! I managed to dry my hair and get the foundation on my face before I had to run downstairs to get my hair done. The hairdresser was just the sweetest thing, and she did exactly what I wanted and even brought munchkins over for the kids. Anyway, we were starting to get down to crunch time by the time my hair was done. All my girls arrived, and I went to put on my dress.. Everyone was so busy and rushing around that only my mom was there to help put on my dress and petticoats. It went right over my head and never messed up my veil or hair, thank goodness! Everyone was rushing me downstairs because the photographer was arriving, so I had about 2 minutes to finish my makeup (but, I was happy with it). When we started pics, dad was so busy that he wasn't in his tux yet, and my sister and her kids didn't arrive until 9:45! It all ran together though, and before we knew it everyone was getting in their cars, and me and my girls were ready to get into the limo. The limo driver helped me up, held my train etc., which was so helpful. We rode to the church with the radio on, singing the whole way over. When we got there, the bagpiper was still playing beautifully and Simon, our violinist, was playing some great classical pieces inside. They had me wait a few minutes to get out, but when they were ready, the photographer and videographer were right there waiting. They asked me how I felt and what I was thinking. Before we knew it, everyone was lined up and we started rolling... Ironically, I didn't feel a bit nervous. Everyone's walk down the aisle was a great success, and even Gary, my nephew and ring bearer (who we all thought would never cooperate) walked perfectly paced, ahead of the flower girls, and he stole the show. They started "here comes the bride" and everyone rose. I felt more like I was in a movie shoot than at an actual wedding, let alone my own. Micah was beaming, seeming ecstatic to see me. My dad kissed my cheek, shook Micah's hand, and joined our hands together. We knelt before the altar and the service began. Deacon John had such beautiful words and remembered everything. The readings were smooth, and the unity candle looked great and even matched the vestments in the church. Our vows came up so quickly, and we were anxious to say them. We got very teary-eyed, but kept it together and smiled as we looked into each other's eyes. The rings were next, and they fit perfectly! We had been worried about his.Then, we finally got to have that "movie kiss" that we practiced for 2 years, and were introduced for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Everyone looked so excited and happy for us! We finished with pictures pretty quickly and were off to the reception. We just held each other the whole way over, though it was kind of hard because all of those layers in my dress got pretty poofy when I sat down! We arrived, and took pictures for the coctail hour. They found some great spots to shoot, like by the indoor pool, on the bridge in the indoor gardens (or as most of us call it, "the jungle"), and at a beautiful garden area outside that we didn't even know about! We got ready to enter the room for the reception, and when we finally got there, we were pleased to know that the band got all of the names right! They started the receiving line right away, which moved very quickly, then seated us for dinner. I was a little worried about how the chicken would be, since I had ordered baked stuffed chicken at another restaurant a few days before out of curiosity and thought it was horrible... Ironically, this was the best chicken most of us had ever had! They moved right along through dessert, and their pace was perfect because it gave us lots of time to dance but they weren't taking anyone's plates away until they had finished. We got up to cut the cake, then went out for our first dance as husband and wife. It was an emotional time, and everyone blew the wedding bubbles out onto the dance floor. My dance with my dad followed, then Micah's with his mother. After that, it was time to party! We danced to every song and never sat down. We did our Irish dance with the people who knew it, which everyone seemed to really like. My parents said that everyone was commenting positively -- they had never seen any bride, let alone one with a dress as big as mine, dance that much! Before we knew it, it was 4:30 and it was time to put on our "going away outfits". Mine was a red satin dress with a jacket, and I wore a sash across the front in the Grant plaid. He kept his tux but took off the vest and tie and put on a necktie in the MacDonald plaid (his mother's family name). We were introduced one last time amidst lots of cheers, and danced to "The Irish Wedding Song". Halfway through, I went to dance with my dad and Micah danced with my mom, then we switched over to Micah's mom and stepdad. I felt bad, because the song ended before I switched over to his dad, but I gave him a big hug at the end to make up for it (he's just the coolest father-in-law, I am so lucky!). The reception was over, but the night was just beginning.
The schiavo club was great. Micah and I got to sit back and relax because a huge limo took us there from King's Grant. We stuffed ourselves with great Italian food from a caterer, played quarters and got drunk, and danced and sang all night. We had a dj, which was great because he was able to play all the songs that we couldn't have at the reception since we had a band there. Everyone came in their comfortable clothes and relaxed, and Micah's aunt Maureen had 3 rolls of film sent to a 1-hour developing shop, so we had some pictures before the day was even over! It was a fun time for everyone. My parents drove us back to the King's Grant for our overnight stay there. Our room was very nice. We unpacked and took a quick swim before we went back to the room.
Now, we get to bask in marital bliss for 2 weeks before we take off to Florida on our honeymoon! We are both excited about it. I'd like to thank everyone who came here to read this journal along the way before I finish this story, so best wishes to all!
