Amazing Day!!

Tom and I are now married! We celebrated our one-week anniversary yesterday. So far, so good!! Let me tell you the story of March 6, 2010 -- it was an absolutely amazing day! The sun was shining -- everything was gorgeous. So blessed!!

Here's my story...Tom's story is a bit different...but enjoy my side of things first...

I had a hard time sleeping the night before. I found myself waking up every hour or so, but when 5:45 AM arrived, I got up feeling much more rested than I would have thought possible. I made it to the make-up artist by 7 AM. Nicole did an amazing job -- she made me look great. It was a bit out of my usual -- fake eyelashes!! -- but I felt great all day long. After make-up comes hair, so off I went to Korie, my hairdresser. Also there was our friend, Illya, who took some photos as Korie worked her magic. My hair looked great!

I now had to hurry to the temple so I called Tom (with my bluetooth, I promise!) to see where he was. I assumed he would already be there, but he was driving there, too. We ended up talking all the way there and he was the car right behind me driving into the lot.

We went in together, and we found my mom and sisters there. After a brief visit with the records department making sure the marriage license was in order and church records were accurate, we were off to dress for the occasion. We had to separate for a short time! After my sisters and mom helped me get into my wedding dress, Tom and I were reunited while we waited for our guests to arrive. We also met with our "sealer" who was the man who performed our ceremony.

The ceremony was short, but wonderful. Tom and I made promises to each other and to our Heavenly Father. It was so beautiful. There were this great moment when I was looking at Tom, and I realized that this was real, and we were making a commitment to each other that is to last FOREVER! I love him so much...it is so great!

After the ceremony, we left the temple and met up with the rest of our families. It was so great to see everyone that was there to feel their love and support there. We spent about an hour taking photos with our family and friends with our photographer, Steve. You know the drill, pictures with the moms, the dads, the moms and dads, etc etc etc. After that hour, the family went to get some food, Tom and I spent about another hour taking photos around the temple. One of the funny moments was when we decided to bustle my dress, but Tom and Steve couldn't figure out how to get it done. After moments of struggle, we ended up needing the help of one of the women working at the temple to get it done. Too funny.

After the temple photos, we headed downtown for some more pictures. We went to the Eastbank Esplanade first where Tom proposed. We got some great photos there, too. We also went over to the west side and walked around some of the streets and Steve continued to take pictures. We went down to Saturday's Market where people kept shouting congratulations at us. I have never been pointed at so much in my life. I guess a bride in green tennis shoes is kind of an odd site even in Portland!! :-) We even ran into one of my former students which was way fun. Here's a picture of us in the car...what do you think? Would we have gotten a double-take from you??

Our time with Steve was done so we headed back to Kell's -- the Irish pub we first met at -- and ordered some cokes and french fries. It was a fun down time in the middle of a wonderful day.

That's where I am going to stop now before you get reader fatigue. Some pictures I will include here...enjoy!!