Post-Wedding Bliss

About two and a half months into marriage, we love this wedded bliss. We feel swamped by work at the moment - football season for me, huge deadlines for Terry - but we generally find married life to be delightfully awesome.

In exciting news, our professional photos are here! Not just online; actually in our hands. Our package included a set of 500 prints of our choosing as well as all of the digital copies. I am so anxious to make prints that we can put up on the walls. Also, our photographer, Rhee Bevere, chose a few images from our wedding to submit to a blog that she wrote: http://www.caitlinarnoldweddings.com/. My bridesmaids are absolutely stunning!

Meanwhile, as we wind down (yes, we're still winding down) from the wedding, our weeks and weekends continue to fill up with trips to the Bay Area, scuba diving (for Terry), and any football we can catch. We look forward to a calmer October during which we can plan our next adventures: a trip over Christmas and a spring break trip with friends.

The Wedding

Before we got married, everyone - and I mean everyone - told us that the day would fly by, that we wouldn't remember much, and that we wouldn't have time to eat. We tried desperately to prove them wrong, because we wanted to soak in every moment, remember the little details, and of course enjoy our delicious meal! So how did we do?

Everyone was right about the first part - the day would not slow down once we hit 5:00. We did a good job of trying to soak it in and remember as much as possible. And as for eating - while we weren't able to eat more than one or two appetizers, we made sure that we scarfed down as much as possible during dinner. It was all delicious.

Here's what we do remember about the big day:

Julie

• Laughing a LOT with my bridesmaids right before lining up
• Enjoying a few moments with just my dad before we went down the aisle
• Hearing the music we chose for the ceremony and feeling a calm wash over me
• Catching glimpses of people's faces during the ceremony and feeling so loved and supported
• How stunning our bridal party looked - wow!
• Holding Terry's hand for the first time that day and him giving me a reassuring smile
• Terry reading his letter to me at the altar
• Taking tons of pictures with our photographer and enjoying some semi-alone time
• Watching our bridal party's reactions as the DJ read the introductions we wrote about them
• Terry obsessively watching the guests during our first dance to see if they picked up on the fact that the song says, "Terry and Julie" (no one did)
• Scarfing down our meal and drinking some Jan Lanier-provided Silver Oak along with it
• Dancing with my dad and crying a lot as he told me how excited he was for us to go to Europe
• My mom telling me over and over, "You're married!" She was just so excited all day. :-)
• Seeing so many of our family and friends in one place; everywhere we turned, someone wanted to hug us or congratulate us
• Tons of wind during our second set of portraits outside
• Getting a chance to actually have a conversation with a few people during the money dance
• My favorite moment of the whole day: right before they opened the doors for my entrance with my dad, I was able to peek through and see Terry up at the altar. At that moment, the wedding stopped being about the dress and the pictures and the guests and the music and all the other decisions, and it became all about Terry for me. It hit me that it was all really happening.

I can't pretend to sum up the day in some earth-shattering revelation about what my wedding day meant to me. But it was incredible; we are so grateful to our friends and family for ensuring that we were able to have such an amazing day. And now, to married life!

Pictures!

Our wedding photos are officially online! Our photographer (have I said enough about Rhee Bevere yet?) took absolutely incredible pictures. Looking through all her images, it's surprising she was able to get such "in the moment" shots - I certainly don't remember her being right in front of me while I walked down the aisle. And I don't remember her being in front of us during our vows. It's funny; I guess I was just so focused on Terry that I forgot about the camera! Luckily, Rhee (and her awesome second shooter, Kelvin, plus their assistant Kari/Kerry/Carrie[?]) knew exactly what she was doing. The images are stunning, and we could not be happier with her work!

To check out photos from our wedding, click here: http://www.pictage.com/878623.

The Wedding Day - minus the wedding

In an effort not to sound like I now know everything there is to know about weddings, I can only relate my side of my wedding day. But I do feel that this process of planning, executing, and enjoying our dream wedding has taught me more about family, friendship, patience, and acceptance than I expected. Maybe I even learned a few "rules" about wedding planning that, not surprisingly, work in other areas of life as well.

I forced myself to sleep in until 8 am on the big day. I naturally love going to sleep around 11 pm, and that simply would not do tonight. The night before, after the rehearsal dinner, we were home by 9:30, but I had to wash my hair, pack for the wedding night, finish last minute wedding day details, and (yay procrastination!) write my letter to Terry for the ceremony. I finally got to bed around 11:30. A good amount of sleep, and I hoped adrenaline would do the rest. Here's the first thing I learned from the big day: Get some sleep. This works in life, too. Sleep makes everything clearer, including your eyes. Sleep reduces stress, limits your chances of getting sick, helps you think clearly. I once read an article that said there are no health detriments to sleep. So I slept, and it worked out quite well for me.

Speaking of working out, I couldn't work out that morning, though I would have loved to, because I wouldn't be able to wash my hair again (Ashley's rules). So I did a few push ups - good enough, I guess. (Perhaps rule #2: If you can't work out, do a few push ups?) I headed out to see what everyone was up to. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I guess my (28-year-old) brother watching SpongeBob and my parents reading the paper wasn't it. I ate some berries and cottage cheese. I showered without washing my hair. I organized the last few items for the wedding. I played with the cat.

I guess I thought the day was supposed to feel...different. But, aside from a conspicuous feeling of glee in my belly, today felt no more special (or less, to its credit) than any other day. And I was bored.

Finally, Mom, Ashley, and I headed to the hair appointment. My dad picked up the girls, we grabbed bagels, and we all met at the salon. Three hours later, our hair gorgeous, we headed back to the house to finish getting ready. This point brought my only stress for the day - I was nervous that we were almost an hour behind my little schedule. But we worked out a plan for Ashley to do Fay's hair at the house, and we were off, all shoved into my dad's Tahoe - I only wish I had a picture of all the girls with beautiful hair squeezed into the truck. Adorable.

But then it turned out being "late" was a good thing. We had approximately 45 minutes to do our makeup, which meant we could do a great job but we couldn't dawdle. Perfect. This part is one of my favorite memories of the day - drinking champagne with the girls, running around borrowing each other's makeup, listening to Heidi's awesome music mix. When our photographer, Rhee, arrived (five minutes early - amazing), I felt relaxed and excited. We finished up our makeup, the girls got dressed, and we all teamed up to get me in my dress. Hilariously, the girls all took turns buttoning me up.

Leaving the house turned out to be far more emotional than I expected. I stood in my parents' entry way, where I used to spend hours dancing in my socks, and I had to take a moment to acknowledge that I was in the same spot but in my wedding gown. Crazy. Then we limo'd over to the ceremony, disappointed along the way that my dad hadn't arranged a police escort. Next rule for weddings/life: If you want a police escort, arrange ahead of time.

In total, the day was quite calm. Is 'calm' the right word? Perhaps I meant 'dull' - if it weren't for my parents and bridesmaids, it would have been up there with studying chemistry. Thankfully, the girls made it fun and my dad kept trying to make me cry, so we were good. Finally, it was 4:45, the guests had almost all arrived, and we were lining up outside the doors.

At this point I shall take the opportunity to gush about my amazing bridesmaids. While the day could have been stressful, frenzied, tense, or anxiety-ridden, my girls kept me laughing, helped solve any problems that threatened to arise, and made sure I wanted for nothing. So here's one of the biggest pieces of advice: Choose excellent bridal party members. Choose people who will make you feel good, who will laugh with you, who want the best for you. In life, same thing: choose great friends. It makes everything more fun.

And we're back!

Almost one full month after the wedding, after the honeymoon, after Terry has returned to work, after attending cheer camp with my cheerleaders, and after a quick trip to San Diego for a pre-birthday celebration (which I shall choose to call "a celebration of still being 25"), we are back. The cat might be the only one who is truly thrilled about this.

My goal here is not to overwhelm my masses of readers (hi, Mom!) with one post but to provide a few well-organized posts about the wedding and its aftermath. Otherwise I'm not sure what I would do with all my spare time.

I know visuals generally prove far more insightful than lengthy descriptions, so thankfully our incredible photographer has provided us with a snippet of her and Kelvin's gorgeous work. Enjoy, then come back for those lengthy descriptions I mentioned earlier.

http://video214.com/play/V1jI1DaktIMz0CwP0F3FLA/s/dark

In the interest of chronology, we'll go to the pre-wedding and rehearsal stuff first. While I did post before the wedding, I was a midst a flurry of chaos, emotions, and buying makeup, only the last of which had anything to do with me. My mother, surprisingly calm and helpful (I say "surprisingly" not because she is usually not helpful but because I was not sure what to expect from her that week, so anything would have been a surprise), kept busy with making our favors, getting the house ready for the post-wedding lunch, and assembling our programs. My father, on the other hand, kept everyone on edge by either leaving the house for random errands that clearly could not wait until after the wedding - such as picking up his golf clubs three cities away - or forcing us to listen to depressing songs. But even with all we had left to do and Terry not arriving in Fremont until Wednesday, we got it all done by Friday's rehearsal.

The parents all hosted a quick picnic at Mitchell Katz winery, the winery at our wedding site. I loved seeing all our friends there to kick off the awesome weekend. The ceremony rehearsal went off with few falters, and we girls headed off to get our nails done. Terry's parents hosted our rehearsal dinner at Campo di Bocce, a bocce ball restaurant in downtown Livermore. The location was the perfect spot - dinner and toasts first, then a few games of bocce. The whole group had a great time - our parents, the bridal party and ceremony participants, and a few of Terry's extended family. We definitely recommend Campo di Bocce for a rehearsal dinner! Then my family headed home for rest, and Terry stayed at the hotel where all the guests were staying. A fantastic night to precede a fantastic wedding day.

Mr. and Mrs. Terry Heinrich!

We're married! Of course we will blog all the details later, but I felt the need to post a little something before heading off to our honeymoon. The weekend and the big day absolutely surpassed every expectation we held. Our parents, bridal party, family, and friends showed us incredible love, and we are still glowing from the big day.

Today, in about an hour, we jet off to Europe for our honeymoon. We feel so blessed that we get to enjoy two weeks exploring such storied destinations. We promise to share pictures and all the adventures when we return!

Meanwhile, thanks for reading, and here's to an incredible adventure in Europe and in marriage.

And here we go...

Here we are, the night before our wedding. I feel a surprising sense of peace and calmness, especially now that the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner wrapped up a few hours ago. Terry's parents hosted a wonderful, fun dinner (albeit emotional), and we loved everyone's toasts. We held the rehearsal at Campo di Bocce, a bocce ball place that doubles as an Italian restaurant. It was perfect for our little party, and everyone loved the bocce ball games!

The last few days were at times stressful, emotional, frustrating, funny, exciting, and difficult. Mostly, I've loved spending so much time with my family and putting all the finishing touches on our projects. Terry and I are so excited to see everything put together tomorrow.

As for the real part - the marriage part - we just can't wait. It's finally here, finally time to relax and enjoy our nuptials. While we've planned every detail from the dress to the meal to the music, the important part will happen right at 5:00, when our pastor invites our family, friends, and God to witness and bless our marriage. I feel so lucky to have such supportive family, such loving friends, such generous in-laws, and such an incredible man in my life. So until after the wedding, thank you for reading, for supporting us, and for hanging in there throughout The Olive Theory!

Here's to an incredible journey together!