WOW!!!

Here it is two months later and I still can't believe it is all over....or as Ryan pointed out to my mom, it's just beginning :D

So for those of you who weren't able to join us, we missed you and are sending you our love.
To those who did come to the temple, the reception, and the open house: Thank you for coming to celebrate with us!

I feel SO grateful to my mommy!!! She is so amazing! I would've had no wedding without her! LITERALLY!!! It is all thanks to her!!! She did the planning and taking my visions and dreams and making them a reality! The day was perfect! Absolutely unforgettable!

Thank you to Sister Evanson so much for helping my mom and for how lovely and perfect the reception was!!! It was perfect! Even better than I could have possibly envisioned!

Thank you so much to everyone who helped set everything up for the reception, helped run the reception and luncheon, helping with the flowers, and everything in between!!! It could never have been pulled off so flawlessly without everyone's hard work and love! I'm so appreciative!!! Really!!! If I didn't get the chance to say it to you personally when we were there I apologize, but really thank you so much everyone who lended a helping hand in any capacity!

Thank you for a beautiful open house mom, Aunt Shelly, and Sister Lawrence!

Big thanks to mom and Sister Morgan for setting up our NC attic honeymoon suite! It was so cute!! We had so much fun in North Carolina!

And then the cruise...was SO fun!!! HUGE thank you to mom and dad for that!!!!! It was such a fun adventure for us that we will never forget!
(P.S. for those of you who haven't already picked up on it: Mommy=my mother, Tara. Daddy=my father, Steve. Mom=my mother-in-law, Marie. Dad=my father-in-law, John.)


I'm sitting here in our new apartment and I still can't believe it is all over (well besides all the thank yous that I'm working on. Almost done!). It was a dream! In the best way! It was stressful at moments of course but it was so fun! I feel so blessed!

From being able to have my parents, Ryan, my grandparents, and the Zirkers be at the temple with me when I went through for the first time. To all my girls coming from across the country (Literally, Brit came from North Carolina, Kari came from Salt Lake, Faith had to be there anyways [hahaha she's my sister jk Faith, I love you!] but she was so helpful as my maid-of-honor, and one of my oldest friends Rachel came) to celebrate and be there for me. Thanks girls!!! It meant the world to me!!! (And P.S. dang did you girls look GORGEOUS!) But let's not forget about the guys (Kevin flew in from Salt Lake, Tyler came in from Idaho, and Shaun was luckily working in Denver for the summer and could come down) they were great and came to support and celebrate with Ryan! You guys are the greatest! Where would we be without our amazing friends?! And there is all the family that came from FAR AND WIDE!!! My grandparents, Ryan's grandparents, Ryan's parents, my aunts and uncles, cousins, friends (Bianca and Chels).

Now that it is all over I wish I had kept a diary so that I'd remember everything and all. But I was so just caught up in the moment. It was so busy and wonderful.... but now it's over.

I can not believe it is July! Where has the time gone?! I've been married for two months now and the summer is 1/2 over!!! :0

Well, let's rewind. On Thursday and Friday before the wedding my family, my aunt, Sister Evanson, Brother Zirker, my cousin, Brit, Chels, Bianca, Sister Burris, Sister Gillespie, Sister Watabe, and so many other wonderful people came and helped set the canopy in the cultural hall, set up tables and chairs, put lights on trees, the whole works! It was such a transformation. I mean I'll put up pictures and for those of you who didn't make it that room that we had the reception in is a cultural hall. It was totally transformed into my dream reception. The canopy/false ceiling was BEAUTIFUL and would not have been possible without everyone's help!
On Friday night Ryan, my family, and I got the wonderful opportunity to be with my grandparents in the temple for their sealing. It was so WONDERFUL! It was so special to get to have that time with my family and Ryan in the temple and to prepare myself to be married and sealed the next morning! It was such a blessing to get to be a celestial bride with my grandmother! Last year when she got baptized she teased me that none of her grandchildren could get married in the next year because she wanted to be there. lol. I didn't know then though that I'd be blessed enough to get to her at her sealing too!!! So amazing!
Then, Saturday morning! The big day! I woke up at 5 AM! Did some of my makeup (foundation, etc.) and then went to have my hair done at 6 (P.S. Nicole, you are an angel! If it hadn't been for her I would not have had that gorgeous hair! She was so gracious to do my hair so early! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU) Rushed back in the door afterwards. Finished up my make-up with Sister Bavender (you're a lifesaver!!! Thank you!) put on a skirt and flew back out the door for the temple. We cut it close but we still made it in time. The sealing was incredible! Afterwards, pictures were SO fun! It was so easy to smile...I couldn't STOP smiling! We were MARRIED! Although, by the end of pictures my cheeks were kinda sore. hahahahahahaha.
Off to the luncheon we went. It was great to finally EAT!!! hahahahhaaha. I got to steal a few minutes and chill with Ryan and the groomsmen and then make my way around the room and talk to my girls and all my family before things got crazy again.
The reception was so beautiful! The cake was INCREDIBLE and it tasted AMAZING! (That is all a HUGE thanks to Kristina Heller! She is so talented!) Sister Evanson and everyone that helped set up and put the food together...oh man it was incredible and delicious(they packed me some and we ate it back at the hotel! It was so tasty!) The punch fountain that my grandmother set up was beautiful too! It was just perfect! And seeing everyone was so special and so fun! But then out of no where....(DUN DUN DUN!) I get a bloody nose in the middle of the line! Starts running down my dress! "MOMMY!" We run to the bathroom with my father's handkerchief with Ryan and mom not far behind.
We spent a good 10 minutes or so in the bathroom waiting for the nosebleed to stop...I haven't had a nosebleed in...who knows how long...and I just had to get one in the MIDDLE of my reception in the line. Well, it's okay because I got yet another blessing! The blood came out of my dress with a rag...no spots, no water spots! I mean for a special occasion fabric that is like....UNHEARD of! It was so amazing! This dress was MADE FOR ME! hahaha (For those of you who don't know my wedding dress story: I found my dress the first time I went dress shopping, fifth dress I tried on, the sample was my size. Fit me like a glove. Bought it and it was a great price. I just got it altered to bustle the train. Seriously...it was made for me! lol)
The cake cutting was fun. I let Ryan take a bite and then shoved the rest in his mouth and then he did the same. When we drank our toast Ryan chugged the whole glass hahahaha and replied, "hey! I was thirsty!" lol
Our first dance was perfect. We chose Making Memories of Us by Keith Urban. It was the first song Ryan ever sang to me and he sang it while we danced. It was perfect. Then, the dance with my daddy was great! We danced to Butterfly Kisses by Bob Carlisle. That's the song that my daddy and I used to dance in the kitchen to when I was a little girl. It brought back a lot of wonderful memories while we danced. He was the one that was a tear jerker that day! Makin me cry and such! Good thing I wore that waterproof mascara. I love him so much! He brought Ryan over after our dance and told him to take care of me.
Ryan's dance with is mom was really special. They danced to My Wish by Rascal Flatts. I love that song. My siblings and I all cuddled up to my daddy and had a good cry. It obviously was happy but things were changing and I think that it was a tender moment for all of us. It was really great to spend those few minutes with them.
The bouquet toss was fun. Hannah, my little 8 year old sister, caught it (that girl is so competitive). And my little 12 year old brother Josh caught the garter...more like picked it up off the ground, lol. My daddy was like, "What is this? I'm already broke!" baaahahahahahaha.
Then, we took off while everyone blew bubbles and drove away in my cousin's car that they decorated (Baahahaha)
The next day we went to my parent's house and saw my grandparents and Kari for a bit. Then we opened gifts and filled out our FAFSA for school.
On Monday, Ryan and I went to North Carolina for a few days there. It was so fun to be with the family and get to see where Ryan grew up. At the open house on Thursday everyone was like, "Have you heard that stories about Ryan?" "Are you sure you're up for this?" LOL! Yes I've heard all the stories. Yeah I know what I'm "getting myself into". Actually I must be a good luck charm or something cuz Ryan hasn't hurt himself seriously since we've been together. But I might have just jinxed myself. hahaha. There are plenty of years to come for his accident prones side to manifest itself. Apparently it runs in the family - so if it isn't Ryan I'm sure at least one of our kids will be the one to make my hairs turn gray. hahahahahahahaha.

Then, Ryan's grandpa was gracious enough to drive us back down to Florida with him on Friday and dropped us off at our port in Tampa on Saturday for our cruise. Oh my goodness our cruise was SOOOO amazing!!! We went from Tampa to Grand Cayman to Cozumel, Mexico and then back to Tampa. It was so beautiful!!! We walked along the white beaches of Grand Cayman and snorkeled at both ports!!! It was absolutely amazing! The food on the boat was amazing!! I tried so many new foods too just cuz I wanted to: veal, escargot, duck, lobster tail, and more! The boat was so big!! It was such a fun experience and we had such a great time!

Then, we came back to real life.... :P and it snowed the week after we got home. Ryan and I were like, "It's May!" I wanted to go back to the Caribbean so bad lol.
But my parents were gracious enough to come out and bring us all our wedding gifts and such. They helped us get set up and get some furniture moved in. It was SUCH a blessing!

And now we're just livin' the married life. I'm working full-time doing research on campus and Ryan is working part-time and taking classes. It's been a fun season for us. We can feel that our life is about to get a little hectic come fall semester but we are enjoying the summer. My family is coming out to visit soon and I'm so excited! It'll be great to have them for a few days!

Well, till next time. I love y'all!