Lastly as I sat in my childhood bedroom writing a note to my husband to be, I was truly blown away by everything we had overcome. It was finally happening....today was the day that I had dreamed about and fought so long and hard for. Today I would be marrying my best friend, my mentor, my partner in crime, the love of my life. Today I would be marrying the man whom continents, oceans, hundreds of thousands of miles and even time couldn't tear me apart from. Today we would finally reach the peak to the uphill battle we started so long ago.
To this day I still can't believe we made it, now that I'm on the other side the full weight of what we accomplished seems truly impossible. 3 years we spent apart....3 years. In today's society, not living together before marriage---let alone not even living in the same country---is deemed preposterous. Luckily neither S. Monster nor myself have ever been ones to agree much with society.
We dated for a year in college in Nashville, TN before S. Monster graduated and got a job in California. We made that work for about 6 months--flying back and forth between CA and TN every month-before I got accepted into a semester abroad program in Perth Australia. By that point we knew we had found something special so we stuck it out. 6 months without seeing the one you love is hard, but we made it work.
The month I was to get back from Australia we found out that S. Monster's company in California was moving to Dublin, Ireland and they had made him a 2 year contract offer. He left the country 3 weeks after I got back into it. Still, we made it work. We lived for the 3-4 days we'd see each other every 2 to 3 months. If we were extremely lucky we'd get 5-7 days together.
I would be lying if I said it wasn't the single hardest thing I've ever done, but it was also the most gratifying thing I've done as well.
A wise man, my father, likes to say that "Anything worth having is worth working for." After this experience I couldn't agree more. S. Monster is the most amazing individual I have ever met and I would have moved Heaven and earth if that's what it took for us to be together.
On my wedding day and even now as I write this I am filled with such fierce joy over my love for this man!
And now that I am all gushed out (for the moment anyways), let me get back to I initially started to tell you about in this post. The Wedding day: Getting ready....
My mom and I had arranged for a makeup/ hair artist to come to the house and do either or service for anyone who wanted it. Amanda was wonderful, and I'm glad we decided to have someone come to us. For my hair I actually went to someone who my mom's known for years. I enjoy down time and this allowed me an hour and a half away from the craziness that was my house. (Some of S. Monster's relatives, who I had never met, somehow made their way back to my house with my father and uncle to "hang out" while we were getting our makeup done....needless to say I didn't mind leaving all that much)
After hair, we ran back home, gathered up our things and rushed over the church where we met our photographer Karla.
Once in the church, time seemed to stop....the girls were doing last minute touch ups, my mom was finishing getting ready and I was just goofing off. It was such a relaxed atmosphere. I had so much fun with these girls I completely lost track of time.
Last minute touch-ups and hair fixes
(Image taken by the Lovely J)
(Image and "I said Yes!" tank top courtesy of J)
Before I realized it, it was time (read: WAY past time actually. we were running late because no one was paying attention to the time) to get dressed. I mean I look pretty damn good in my fisherman pants and tank top but since I did buy a dress, you know I figured I should wear it...
