Married Life

We have officially been married for 3 weeks and life is absolutely wonderful! Our wedding and honeymoon were more than we could have ever asked for.  It all seems like a blur at this point, but I'm so glad that we have pictures to look back on.

The wedding festivities began on Friday night with a Spaghetti Supper at our house.  We have the BEST parents in the world!

We had so many friends and family come in from all over. Family and friends came from Washington, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas to share our special day with us. We are BLESSED! A wedding is definitely like a family reunion as well. ALL of the Smith siblings were present :)

 

 

As a 'thank you' to our parents, we had this book made. It really isn't a 'story,' but more of a picture book from birth, childhood, first date and engagement. I love it!

Waking up on Saturday definitely didn't feel like my wedding day. I guess I always pictured how it would be, BUT it wasn't like that at all. Not in a bad way, I just didn't have plans like other brides. I knew that Anne was going to do my hair and make-up, mom was picking up the bouquets and everything else was taken care of...so I had no where to be, or so I thought. We went up to start cooling down the event center and unfortunately 106 degrees just isn't easy on the AC units. After a few last minute things, I had lunch with Bubba and Mom at Chili's while Brooke and Anne tried swimming at the hotel pool (a massive swarm of bees cut that short). Anne did my hair and make-up before rehearsal, which I dearly miss :) I've tried re-creating my hair several times at Taylor's request, but I'm afraid she was the one blessed with the talent..not me!

We transformed the event center into a perfect wedding ceremony/reception place. To go from THIS...

 TO THIS...





Rehearsal, like everything else, was short and sweet. Then it was like time FLEW by! I quickly got dressed, touched up hair and make-up and then it was TIME. The moment that I had been officially planning for the past 96 days, but praying and hoping for the past 29 1/2 years. 

My emotions were CRAZY the past week due to stress and everything else that goes along with a wedding, but they were extra CRAZY before I was about to head down the aisle. I just kept taking deep breaths and fanning myself, but then once Anne and Brooke started down the aisle I couldn't seem to stop the flow. They were definitely happy tears though!

My mom gave me away to the man of my dreams! It was a perfect ceremony with laughter, sarcasm and sweetness all wrapped in one. I wanted a quick ceremony and I got it. From the time the grandparents began walking down to the time that we walked up the aisle as husband and wife...20 minutes! GO ME!

The reception was great all the way around. EXCELLENT DJ, friends, family, dancing and food. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect night!!! We danced to Wade Bowen's Who I Am, Brooke caught the bouquet (very much a surprise!), Aaron caught the garter, we had cake without making a mess and Brooke had her first dance with Taylor.

 I was so thankful that my sweet friends from Fort Worth came to spend the evening with us!

 

Marlys, Kristen and Camille

Sweet Camille



I LOVE MY DIET COKE!

We said our goodbyes to our Sweet Pea and parents, then it was off to the honeymoon...

 

 We then drove to Ft Worth for the evening and got up on Sunday morning for the airport to head to the Riviera Maya, Mexico! We had an AMAZING honeymoon. It was paradise to the fullest extent!

 After traveling all day, all we wanted was to be on the beach. Unfortunately, we had this to deal with...

 Our perfect Honeymoon Suite with a view of the pool AND the ocean. My hubby did good!

We dressed up every night for wonderful dinners.

We went to Xel-ha for snorkeling and Tulum to see the Mayan ruins one day.

Taylor went scuba diving! I made it all of about 2 feet under water before I climbed back in the boat. I've never been able to hold my nose and blow to equalize my ears...so I was doomed from the start. I'm so glad that Taylor got to experience something he has always wanted to do!

I'm pretty sure my husband can do just about everything. He learned in about 5 minutes how to manuver a catamaran. He took me on a short trip, but I quickly wanted back on land due to seasickness. I was a definite party pooper.  The beach was my best friend!

When we arrived home, these are the sweet notes we found from Anne.  She's the best!

The first 3 weeks of marriage have been wonderful, but challenging.  We have been hit hard with a couple of things that would challenge any marriage, but we are leaning on the Lord for our strength and guidance. We are currently dealing with a custody issue with Brooke's father and will be going to court in September. We also recently found out that Taylor's dad, Wes, has leukemia. We are keeping our heads up and praying HARD!  We want to say a special THANK YOU to Mom & Bubba, Dale & Pat and Anne for all your help on the wedding and keeping Brooke while we were on our honeymoon. You're the BEST and we are so BLESSED!
We love you!