Our Wedding

When Andy and I began making plans for the wedding we set a budget and vowed to stick to it; a one-day event, regardless of the event, was not going to push us to break the bank or go into debt.  We certainly didn't want to start our marriage off by accruing wedding debt so we decided to do it as simply as possible while still making it fun and enjoyable for our guests.  We actually considered eloping and really wished we had done so when it came down to "crunch time" right before the wedding but in the end we had so much fun with friends and family - very happy we went through with the whole wedding day event!

Both of us are outside people; most of our dating took place outside whether it was running, hiking, boating, snorkeling, 4-wheeling, or just going for simple walks.  We both knew we wanted an outdoors wedding; unable to find an "on the water" location that we both liked and that was convenient, we settled on a beautiful backyard garden.

We had initially planned to do EVERYTHING ourselves but ended up cracking and hiring a wedding consultant (Leann Ulmer) who was just fabulous.  She first chastised us for being so far behind while planning an almost last minute wedding and then quickly got us on track.  She helped us order flowers without being too costly and also arranged all of our bouquets as well as Andy's little lapel flower thing.  She is able to completely plan all of the details and arrangements for weddings but we, wanting to do a lot of it ourselves, only had her help with the checklists and day of the event.

Friends of mine that I had worked with several times in the past, Brad Miller and his wife Kimi, did the wedding photography and although I haven't seen the pictures yet, I already know how absolutely breathtaking they will be as Brad has been a professional photographer for decades and it runs in his family.  Brad took the background photo on my blog page.  His work is truly amazing and he will always receive my highest recommendation for whatever types of photos it is that you are looking for!!  www.bradmiller.com

Ceremony music - we hired a string quartet through a woman in our church, Amy Curell, and ohhhh my gosh the music was SO beautiful!!  Perfect for our garden wedding!! 

Reception music?  Okay, we initially wanted to just hook a laptop up to a sound system and run everyone's iPods, allowing our guests to choose whatever they wanted to hear.  We instead ended up hiring DJ Jon with Elite Music Events (www.elitemusicevents.com).  He also set up the sound equipment for our outdoor ceremony but it ended up being that the ceremony was so small that sound equipment really wasn't necessary but we had it there just in case; experienced small issue with some feedback from the microphone but overall it was okay.  At the reception, the DJ skipped one of our bridesmaids and groomsmen couples and instead introduced our Maid of Honour and Best Man twice.  Otherwise, the reception was very well done and DJ Jon was such a pleasure to work with.

Andy cooked & pulled all of the meats for the wedding and I baked all of the macaroni and cheese (8 large pans!).  Andy's mother, Becki, and his sister Emily also helped with a lot of the cooking.  We had several friends who brought side dishes, as well.

Every wet reception needs a bartender and a friend of ours, Valerie Ortigas, stepped up and served the alcohol for us.

Chef Pascale Deighan (www.purefoodforyou.com), Michael Permar, and Andrea Bates, friends of ours/Andy's family, helped out SO MUCH in the kitchen.  We will be forever grateful for that!!!

Kelly Conway did the makeup for the bridesmaids and Jose Flores did the hair for the bridesmaids - they both did such a great job!


Our bridesmaids and groomsmen as well as parents, brothers, and sisters were SO helpful in the preparations and clean-up for the wedding.  All went smoothly.  We did it.  We got married...yaaa!!!

My Love

I did it.  I found it.  I didn't mean to nor did I think I ever wanted to.  I found what I seem to have never dared to dream about or perhaps just didn't know how to or what to dream about.  Love.  Not love of work or love of friends or love of family.  Not love of art or love to travel.  Not love to help or to console the feelings or physical needs of others.  Not love for self or love for God.  Intimate love with another human being that cannot easily be compared to any type of love.  It is never the same for any two persons.  What we experience gives me the kind of love that I want and allows me to give the kind of love that he wants.

As a huge believer in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, I feel the desire to state that a woman never really needs a man; nor do men every really need a woman, but the intense wanting to keep him forever sometimes feels like a true necessity.  Real necessities are just the basics which Maslow has told us include breathing, water, food, homeostasis, excretion, sleep, and sex.   I disagree with sex as being a vital necessity but have witnessed the absolute need for all of the other basics.  Fulfilling only the most basic elements necessary to keep one alive (breathing, balance of nutrition, circulation, excretion) is usually not enough to justify the continuation of life which is why quality of life by fulfilling at least some if not all of the other elements is so important to us as human beings.  Why accept deficits when we have the opportunities to fulfill the elements which bring wholeness to our lives?

I don't need a man to make or to keep me happy - I was extremely happy and content before I found my love.  I don't need a man to help me to enjoy and experience the endless adventures and opportunities that life has to offer - I was never one to pass up an exciting trip, lend a helping hand, or try a daring activity.  I don't need the dates.  I really don't need.  I just want so badly that it feels like a need.

The happiness and contentedness that I have with my love is such a new and completely fulfilling life experience.  Everything good that I previously experienced alone and was completely content with is now so intensified and amazing in a whole new way now that I have someone to share it with. 
It is complete trust.  Being absolutely comfortable with one's self in the presence of the other half.  It's giving 100% and always wanting the absolute best for one another.  Never wanting to go back to life alone.  It really is that good.