Our First Anniversary!

I know that I've graduated to my baby blog, but this post only felt appropriate (and it is my 150th post!) for my wedding blog.

One year later... it blows my mind to think of the fact that I was a newlywed just one year ago today. I remember waking up and feeling that first hint of sadness that it was all over. But then I quickly got to go down to our breakfast and gift opening, and then spent the day watching football and playing trivia in my favorite environment to make it all feel ok. Not to mention, we left for our honeymoon the very next day and Tahiti certainly helped to ease the post-wedding blues.

Then an entire year flies by, and  I found myself in tears as Kyle and I danced at our friends' wedding to "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys, one of our wedding songs, on Saturday. I can blame it on the pregnancy, or I can admit that I can't believe how fast time seems to go, only reminding me of the limited time (although it may feel like eternity) we have here. Perhaps it is just the overwhelming thought of all the changes that are about to happen and a little bit of the fear that we will never get a chance to accomplish our goals as a couple once we are no longer "just the two of us".

Who would have a thought that our first year of marriage would have given us so much?! A dream vacation to Tahiti, numerous weekend mini-trips all over the U.S., family celebrations from births to engagements, memories to last forever. Here's to many, many more anniversaries and many, many more celebrations, vacations, and of course, new adventures.

The moment we sealed the deal- September 29, 2012! (photo courtesy of Devon Adams)

We visited Sedona for our first anniversary (although the plan was to revisit Vail, my big bump has some travel restrictions)

Practice Makes Perfect?

Ah, the joys of the wedding week chaos and last minute issues. I would have taken the entire week off, given the opportunity! It was so hard to close up a quarter, pack for 3 weeks and a 50 degree difference in temperature, remember all the wedding requirements (forgot some), and get my butt to Colorado. I get the "local" wedding benefits now, but in the end I wouldn't have changed my location or plan for the world!

This post is primarily discussing the day of the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Let me tell my story!

The day of our rehearsal, my planner and various other brides gave me the advice to "escape" the family for some alone time with Kyle to de-stress. Being that Kyle makes me really happy, I figured this was a great plan. Being that he can also drive me crazy because he is so laid back, this could have also backfired. Luckily, I was proven to be calm in the face of adversity when, after the massage and little fall hike, and a light lunch downtown Vail, I got a phone call.

My officiant was terribly ill, his car had broken down (transmission), and he wasn't going to make it up to Vail for our rehearsal.

Ok, this we can work with. I begged him to rest up so that he could make it up to our actual wedding, which he promised he would! Then I calmly called my planner, and told her it was all her for the actual rehearsal. We were just meeting up in a park, and the real "practice" was the walking order and standing formation. It would have been nice to run through the ceremony and the music, and our vows, but we had a copy of the complete ceremony so we knew what we needed to do. We should have taken the time to practice the first dance flash mob (more on this later) and the toast we planned for the end of the ceremony (which got left out in the actual wedding anyway.) In the end, it all worked out although I was pretty overwhelmed and a bit stressed out with so many people paying attention to me at the park.

Kyle would explain this afternoon a bit differently:

Phone rings.
Erica: "What! Oh! Ok, well, will you make it to the wedding itself?! I guess that is the best we can hope for..."
to Kyle: "Um, omg, we totally don't have an officiant and we have to run the rehearsal ourselves!"
Kyle: "Call Johnna."
Erica: calling her mom "Ok, so we just got news that our officiant is not coming. Hopefully he'll make the wedding tomorrow. If not, at least Brett is ordained."
Kyle: "Call Johnna."

Later that afternoon, arriving at the rehearsal at the park.
Erica: "Why is everyone asking me questions and wanting to talk to me!?"
Kyle: "You're the bride. Where's Johnna?"
Erica: "Can you just make everyone give me some space and leave me alone?"
Kyle: "Johnna, can you get everyone away from Erica so she can stop freaking out?"
Erica: "Kyle, why aren't you taking charge and telling people what to do?!"
Kyle: "Erica, you are the only one who knows anything right now, besides Johnna. Ask the right person!"
Erica: "Let's just get this over with. I can't handle all the attention."
Kyle: "That's a first..."

Lesson in this: Get a planner.

Anyway, in the end our rehearsal dinner at Montauk was a lot of fun! Lots of friends, wine, and gifts for the wedding party. Kyle got his groomsmen cooler bags, grilling spice, koozies, and a meat brand that said "Bite me".

I got my bridesmaids custom necklaces and earrings to match the colors of their dresses, monogrammed tote bags, pashmina shawls to keep warm, and nail polish (which I had sent earlier).

We also presented our parents with gifts of thanks. We got Rob an authentic Buddhist prayer bowl (that rings, hard to explain but it is freaking cool) from India and Peg a strand of Tahitian pearls. We got my dad guitar pick shaped cufflinks that said "Dad, you rock!" and my mom a necklace engraved with my parents' anniversary date and then our anniversary date, adorned with the the stones for each month of the weddings, a pearl and a sapphire.

Enjoy some of my favorite pictures.

With my gift bow bouquet in front of our venue.

Kyle and Jared practicing the first dance.

With the savior Johnna, our planner

Handing me off!

Practicing in the park- with the most beautiful of backdrops!

Speech!

The Davis Kids and spouses! Nick, Shannon, Karen, Casey, Kyle, me, Brett, Anji.

My favorite picture- our Vail Gondola, which we have 3 pictures in now!

With aunt Pat and uncle Jim

Groomsman gift

Parents gifts

Happy flower girl Lotus!

Happy flower girl Rory.

My family- Bryce, Amanda, Cassie, Mom, Dad, Brian, Irina

Kyle's boys all matched for the occasion! Dave, Brian, Nick, Pat

I just love this face!!!

Gifts for my maids of honor

The necklaces were all personalized with their initials and colors.

100 Days Until our Wedding!

I am so excited that we have reached this major milestone. It is a great relief to know that I have crossed the threshold and the wedding will be here before we know it! One, because I am excited to have more free time without having to plan a wedding. Two, because I am still actually excited to marry Kyle. Who would have thought?! We have survived nearly a year of our engagement with minimal wedding-related conflicts.

Our last weekend in Colorado, besides actually getting stuff done for the wedding, we got to have a lot of fun! We attended the Frisco Barbecue Festival, and avoided the temptation of many treats (although we still ate some meat), the Breckenridge Kingdom Days Outhouse Races, and trivia night at our favorite bar, The Cala Inn. We love spending time in Colorado, and always seem to get along the best with the beautiful atmosphere of the mountains. Perhaps it is the fresh air and peaceful sound of the breeze through the trees, which don't exist in Phoenix.

As a part of our pre-wedding fitness plan, we made sure that we got our work outs in each day! Here are some pictures that commemorated our weekend away.

On Hoosier Pass Loop

Relaxing with our healthy snacks at the end of the trail.

Kyle "reflecting" on the landscape :)

We were laughing at where the GPS showed our arrow. Notice all the surrounding civilization on the map...

This little lady stalked us and held us hostage by hiding under our car, and on the tire, for over 10 minutes!

We added a new pass to our database (we take pictures at all the pass signs we drive over!) It was sleeting on us!

At the top of an unnamed mountain along the Continental Divide Trail near Loveland Pass. It was REALLY windy.

With Grey's and Torrey's in the background

The mountain we just climbed as we drove down Loveland Pass. It was a lot higher than this picture looks. 1000 feet elevation gain!

Wedding planning week continued...

The rest of wedding planning week in Colorado was so fabulous!!! I told you already about my visit with the florist, who I am so excited to work with to help achieve my vision of my wedding venue. I am so much more excited for the wedding now that I've consulted with various other vendors, too.

First, I met with my planner, Johnna, who is a gem. She is so genuine in her anticipation and excitement for our wedding, that I am not feeling anxiety at all, but rather pure excitement for the results, and reassurance that she is on the same page as me! She is so vital in the planning process, and will assure that I have no worries wedding weekend, (like that is possible) but will allow for me to feel like I am taking a wedding "vacation" instead of just putting on a huge event with a lot of pressure attached to it.

Then I met with our DJ, Courtney, for a walk-through of the venue. It helped me to remember the set up and gave me a spatial idea of what the layout for the reception could be. I also met with her with Kyle, so she can really cater to our style throughout the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. She is super willing to work with our vision (ok, it is really MY vision), and is willing to try new things like with our slide show.

After all this, I had the opportunity to shop for tuxes with Kyle finally, and we chose one for our groomsmen! It was so easy, it was almost sad that it took us as long as we did to start to look.

On top of all of this, I designed the invitations, ordered our favors, planned the outline for the day of the wedding, tasted the rehearsal dinner options, set the contract with the hotel for the weekend of the wedding, and took in the mountain atmosphere (both figuratively and literally), enjoyed a Rockies game with my brother and his girlfriend, AND maintained my diet!!! I couldn't be more happy at the conclusion of the week.

I feel a total sense of accomplishment.

Rockies game! They have a gluten-free food stand!

We had some storm clouds but no real storms

More to come on the tuxes and the troubles, and the weekend of fun Kyle and I spent in the mountains!

Wedding Planning Week: Day 1

I am in Colorado. Real rough, I know. I have one week here to work on finalizing some of our wedding plans so as to feel a sense of relief that all is how it should be (done, or in progress at least). I have a fairly busy schedule meeting with vendors to assure this, and I hope the result is that I can relax and start focusing on other things, like my accessories.

My expectations for the week include time to relax, like the dinner I enjoyed on the deck of my father-in-law's house with my "fake beer" (sugar free, gluten free, black cherry cream soda and root beer) this evening. I also got to see some people that I don't see often enough, although pretty frequently lately: my brother and his girlfriend, Irina, and my bridesmaid Jenna and her son Arthur. I hope to get re-excited about my wedding, and get stuff done! I also hope to exercise, maintain my diet as best I can, and spend time outside. I found that I have time to sleep, read, and shop online without the distractions of home!

Overall, I look forward to the entirety of the week, and plan to share all my accomplishments as I go!

Roughing it...

Monday Meet and Greet!

Lenny, it is your turn! Lenny was my sorority "mom" in college, which was a blessing as at first I was skeptical about sorority life. The fact that we wound up together was fate, as she was president, then I became president, and the love for the anchor sealed our friendship. After Delta Gamma, I also helped to set up Lenny with her husband, and was a bridesmaid in her wedding way back in 2003. Needless to say, she has rightfully earned her spot in my wedding.

Beyond the commonalities we shared in college, Lenny and I have an uncanny ability to talk like we only saw each other yesterday, even after weeks of not having a conversation, or months of not seeing each other. There is never a dull moment when we are together, laughter fills the air and hurts our stomachs. We love martinis, girly things, and we are both neat freaks. She is going to be an extremely vital resource to me when we start to have children, with 3 of her own, and I thank her for taking one for the team and having kids first to help us and provide hand-me-downs.

My memories with Lenny range from sitting on her front porch and playing "Traffic", to spending countless hours at the DG house working together as a part of Chapter Management Team, to visiting her and Nick in New Jersey and touring around New York. I can say that whenever a major event happens in either of our lives, we have always been a part of it. She was the first person to answer my late-night text when we got engaged!

So Lenny, thank you for being my friend for the past 13 years, and keeping me from going crazy.

We even found an anchor at her wedding- July 19, 2003!

My surprise 30th birthday trip to Colorado Springs (from Kyle) at my favorite bar- Jack Quinn's!

Monday Meet and Greet!

Kaycee, bridesmaid number 3 that I've profiled, is another former college roommate. Best known for her late night missions, from raiding friends' houses to making stops at Wendy's after the bars close, she was my partner in crime. We wore our sunglasses at night, and black hoodies, and drove with the parking lights on to remain discreet. One time I tried to get a free burrito from Seven Eleven, which failed because I fell on the ground in front of the cashier. She shared many a Grateful Dead with me at Jack Quinns, danced with me on our hydraulic kitchen table senior year, and made sure that the Air Force boys didn't take over our apartment every weekend.

Senior year, I lived with Kaycee in our 3 bedroom apartment, where one room was for all our many guests. Her original late night missions started with renting carpet cleaners from Walmart when she couldn't sleep. Then we escalated to breaking in our friend's when they turned us down for a guy. We soaped a car window once with evil messages about leaving our girl friends alone so they could spend time with us. We also spent my most memorable Super Bowl ever together, where we didn't care about the teams at all, but made the entire thing a drinking game so we could make it through.

Beyond the crazy college antics, Kaycee is the friend I can call on whenever I need to vent about life. She is supportive of my emotional stability. She may live in the middle of nowhere Colorado for now, but even there we found fun in the gas-station-converted-to-yoga studio. I couldn't imagine my wedding without her yelling at me to stop freaking out, or handing me the bottle of champagne to ease the tension. I got a chance to be in her wedding, and now both she and her daughter are in mine!

Thank you for keeping it real, Kaycee. And making me laugh. Keep those tricks up your sleeve in the case of tears on my wedding day, please!

At Kaycee's Wedding

A preview of part of my wedding party!

Knowing when it's right...

I may have led you astray in that title, because I am not here to talk about knowing when you are ready to marry the right man, as the famous cliche would allude. I am sharing with you the lesson this past 6 months of wedding planning have taught me, that I need to just go with my gut. I shared with you that I just knew that I needed to retry on my wedding dress (the one I chose) because I couldn't get it out of my head. Then I also shared how I subconsciously did not pay for the first officiant we found and liked because he seemed rather pricey.  Well, all has fallen into place as we wrapped up another week of wedding planning in Colorado last week. We hired our officiant, Josh, and spent a wonderful hour and half at our favorite local joint, the Dam Brewery, outlining what is set to be an amazing wedding ceremony that captures our humor and fun-loving personality as a couple, but incorporates the very real love we share and want to express to each other in front of our closest friends and family. We also got our contract with our caterer, who is by far the best deal we've scored so far in this wedding planning, and after the tasting we had (more to come), is not just a value but a talent! We got a videographer, a florist, and a rehearsal dinner lined up as well, and all because I stopped worrying about doing "the right" thing and started to go where my heart led me. After all, it is how I found Kyle, why couldn't it also apply to our wedding vendors?

Lake Dillon, CO as the sun rose our last day. It is the only time we've seen a glassy frozen lake, due to lack of snow.

2011 Review

Of all the years of my life, each one seems to get progressively better. 2011 was an amazing year. I have so many wonderful people in my life, as shown by the tremendous support I've received for my wedding, my blog, and all of life's other activities. I cannot wait to see what 2012 will bring. Here are my top 11 memories of 2011 (in no particular order).

1. Our 2-week fall road trip through Colorado in October. Seeing the beautiful colors that covered the state instilled a sense of awe at Mother Nature and renewed (like it was ever gone) my love for the mountains and fall colors. I got to see Aspen and hike the Maroon Bells, go to Crested Butte for the first time and stay in my first hostel, and visit Palisade and the Colorado National Monument.

2. Experiencing the births of many of our friends' first children. It has been amazing to watch (from afar) the little ones grow and learn.

3. Camping trips with two great groups of people, my coworkers and our annual camping trip friends, and getting to tour Tonto Natural Bridge and enjoy all of Payson's natural beauty, namely tall trees and the Rim.

4. Getting 8 ski days in last winter, with the best snow Colorado had seen for years. I skied Winter Park, Copper, and Steamboat with family and friends.

5. Running in the City Search Challenge in Phoenix, a sort of "Amazing Race" for the locals. It was more work than I anticipated, but a memorable and fun experience. 

6. Getting to go to Chicago not once, but twice, for 2 conferences for work. Common Core left some things to be desired, but NCTE (National Council for Teachers of English) was well worth my time.

7. On that note, getting ENGAGED in Chicago on June 26/27 and feeling more loved than ever before while enjoying each minute of our engagement thus far.

8. Christmas with both families, 3 in 24 hours to be exact, and making it work out so that we could be with everyone and see their faces while they opened all the gifts. 

9. Wedding planning, when it was not too stressful, meeting our photographer and planner and getting excited about the final product (our wedding) with everyone's creative input.

10. Sedona, AZ engagement photo session, from climbing in the freezing cold Oak Creek to get that "perfect shot" to changing outside the Chapel on the Rock to get pictures in my favorite outfit before the sun set altogether.

11. Going to Tucson for Kyle's birthday in January and touring the Mission San Xavier, Colossal Cave, and horseback riding through the desert.

Of course, there were many more memorable nights with friends and family, too many to count, and I have realized how lucky we really are to have the life we have. Aside from the events mentioned, successfully reaching over 5000 views on my blog has made me feel even more blessed and has been more rewarding than I ever imagined. Continue on! See you in 2012.

Maroon Bells October 2011

Kyle lounging with Maroon Bells

Fall Color!

My first family bar outing (the youngest is finally 21) in Denver October 2011

"The Bean"- Chicago, IL

City Search Challenge Starting Line

Christmas #3 in Minnesota

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

9 Months!!

Holy cow! We've been engaged for over six months, and have only nine to go until our wedding day! We celebrate the occasion today with half of each family, flying from Minnesota to Colorado this evening. We just took a 2-hour walk in the unseasonably warm MN winter weather, and it was then that I realized the date. I am so excited!!! Cheers! [holding up my hot chocolate and Baileys mug]

At my Master's graduation from ASU (limited pictures since I'm not on my own computer!)

The Never-ending Guest List

Disclaimer: Even if you or the group you are involved with seems to be alluded to in this post, it is not you, per say, but the concept that I am discussing. Do not take this personally.

Ok brides, I need some advice.

What in the world do you do to corral your never-ending guest list?!

When we first met with vendors, we quoted "about 100" as our tally of guests. We figured we really didn't have that big of families, we are having a destination wedding, and let's face it, we're really not that popular.

But now, it is getting out of control. Problem #1- Everyone we know has children. Problem #2- We know everyone. Problem #3- We can't say no to a Friday night dinner date (or 2, or 4, on the same night). Problem #4- We've attended nearly 20 weddings together already. That is 20 couples to invite. Problem #5- Colorado is freaking beautiful.

We are party people, the more the merrier, right?

Or am I wrong. Totally, utterly, wrong. I am truthfully considering inviting ONLY family at this point.
(But let's face it, that wedding would seriously lack some Jack Daniels shots and inappropriate dance moves).

So, now we are in a conundrum. We truly love all our friends and family and want to share our day, a day we've been waiting for over 6 years now, with everyone we love. I am somewhat ashamed to admit that the list is nearing 200 if you count all the children. The main issue with this is the budget, being blown out of the water with an extra 50 or so unanticipated guests. A second problem is the size of our venue. Seating for 98 at the ceremony site might just lead to some uncomfortable and unhappy guests.

In truth, I have a feeling all will work out in the end, and I hope that this issue is resolved like the other snafus we've hit, like practically breaking up for good after I was still sans ring when the 6-year landmark hit. :) But at this point, I am open to suggestions. I am also offering this word of advice: for future brides- try to come up with a guest list before choosing a venue or getting quotes from vendors.

Whatever shall we do? In a quagmire.

52 Weeks Out

We are traveling through Colorado on a fall color tour, and of course our first stop was Vail for a preview of what our wedding back drop will look like next year! Here is what we found.

Fall color!

Donovan Pavilion- Our wedding venue

The Wedding Deck