Weekly Recap: We Got Married!

I’ve never slept more total hours in a weekend, but I guess that shows you how low the tank’s been sitting. 12 hours of sleep Friday and Saturday night, coupled with three hour-long naps Saturday and Sunday… suffice to say your girl was tired! The last six weeks have been the best, most rewarding, yet most exhausting of my life. But hey — planning and executing a wedding… we can now check that box! 

What I’ve been up to:

So you might have heard, but Alex and I (finally) tied the knot! On Saturday, August 5, in the blistering North Carolina summer sun, in front of our close family and friends, I married my best friend and it was the most perfect day. We’ll share more of the details when we get our wedding pictures back, but wow, the day exceeded my wildest expectations. We didn’t have a planner or coordinator, instead opting to plan it all ourselves. Back in July, this meant many, many late nights fine tuning all the details and making the last of our Amazon and Etsy purchases. Also a late night run to Target because why not, right?

No one really talks about wedding week, but it comes and goes quick. My family arrived in North Carolina Monday and Tuesday, so we (of course) spent lots of time playing games and hanging out with them. And I met my beautiful, gorgeous, sweet baby niece Berkley and I’m in love! Wednesday included a family outing to Segra Stadium to watch the local baseball team, while Thursday included a mani/pedi and a “Brews Before I Do’s” themed bridal party. Friday was all about rehearsal in the morning, followed by a fantastic dinner at Luigi’s in the evening. We finished the night at Dirtbag Ales with some friends, then eventually meandered home to get a few hours of sleep before wedding day. 

Alex and I were very non-traditional about our wedding. We spent our last night together and saw each other all day up until I put my dress on (gasp!). I did my own wedding makeup and my fantastic hairstylist did the heavy lifting. We were supposed to be ready by 3pm, but Jen-time always wins. To ease my emotions and help with my nerves (but also to share an intimate moment before our guests arrived), Alex and I did a first look and that helped so much. I did shed a tear, but we mostly laughed and enjoyed that special time to ourselves (and our family watching from the windows haha). My sister took a video and it’s posted on my Instagram page in my wedding post.

The wedding ceremony itself was a blur. I remember walking down the aisle with my parents, laughing and taking way too long because they both kept stepping on my dress. Plus, my mom is short and my dad is tall, so I had a hard time holding my bouquet low and centered while linking arms with them. I definitely had a bit of tunnel vision as I walked by our guests. I could only see Alex, and tried to focus on him so I didn’t feel overwhelmed with all the eyes on me. Because I knew I couldn’t get through personal vows without crying my eyes out, we opted to exchange a few sentences and write longer vows/letters to one another to lock in our wine box and open on our first wedding anniversary. Good thing too, because I cried a bit even sharing a few sentences about how the best years of my life have been the last 12.5 years I’ve shared with Alex (sheds another tear now just thinking about it). 

While I was worried about crying my makeup off, turns out I didn’t even need the tissue I brought along just in case. But I gave it to Alex because he was sweating something fierce in that Carolina sun. Just like that, we said “I Do”, shared a kiss, and marched back down the aisle as newlyweds. Recessional music was “Dibs” by Kelsea Ballerini and it felt like the perfect choice for us. 

The hardest part of it all was having to take photos after sweating through the ceremony. But pictures are what sets the memory in stone, so they had to be done. We joined our guests for cocktail hour, then prepared for our entrance into the ballroom for dinner. We did our first dance and the parent dances before we sat down. Our first dance song was “Timeless” by Taylor Swift and we split the song “Fast” by Luke Bryan three ways — part for my dad and me, part for my mom and me, and the last part for Alex and his mom. Before the reception, Alex and I snuck out with our photographer for a few sunset pictures. I can’t wait to see them!

Then the real party started and it was a party! When planning our wedding, Alex and I really just wanted our guests to have a good time. Our DJs really helped make that a reality. The dance floor was packed the whole night and everyone seemed to have had fun. One of the details I loved about our wedding were the Polaroid cameras we had floating around. They were part of our photo guestbook earlier in the day, then they were moved to the ballroom to capture fun dancing photos. We had them out on the dance floor snapping all the pictures! Post-wedding highlight was looking through the hundreds of Polaroids people had taken. Way better than a photo booth! 

Many of our married friends gave us the advice to enjoy and soak up every little moment because wedding day passes in the blink of an eye. I concur. Before I knew it, the DJ was saying last song… which for us was Love Story (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift (because of course!). Everyone was out on the dance floor singing along and soon enough, we were giving hugs and saying goodbye to those who traveled near and far to celebrate with us. 

Post-reception, with the help of some friends, we packed up our things from the venue and took a quick Lyft ride to Hooter’s where we celebrated just a bit longer (in full wedding apparel). Such a dream day, worth the 4,555 day wait. 

The days that followed our wedding day were busy, busy too. Sunday we had to go pick up our cars from the venue, then we stopped by Alex’s dad’s Airbnb for a couple hours to chat. After a quick stop at home, we drove out to my aunt’s house for a little get together, then finished the evening drinking beers at Mash House with Alex’s friend and his wife. Monday was an errands day, plus we were up late cleaning the house and packing our bags for our trip to South Carolina (not our honeymoon, but a mini-moon that included my family). 

Tuesday we left for South Carolina and met my family in Charleston for the afternoon. We went to the City Market, the Pineapple Fountain, Rainbow Row, Palmetto Brewing Co. (also ate a pre-dinner at Gobble Gobble at the brewery), and finished the day with an excellent dinner at Hymen’s Seafood. Alex and I are definitely going back to Charleston for a weekend visit!

Wednesday was a beach day. Our Airbnb in St. Helena Island (near Beaufort) was close to Hunting Island State Park, so we beached out there for the afternoon. Not quite like my North Carolina beaches, but a beach nonetheless (a beach with no wind and biting flies… vibe killer!). We had fun, though I lost another pair of sunglasses to the ocean. After a quick shower, we had dinner at Bricks on Boundary and it was really good!

My parents left Thursday, but the rest of us took a drive to Savannah, Georgia and had a blast despite the heat. We spent time at the market, shopping and wine tasting, then stopped by Moon River Brewing Company for a nine-beer flight and a tasty bite. Our waitress told us to go out to River Street for a quick view of the water/bridge, so we did that too! Downtown Savannah is such a quaint area. I loved it! On the way home, we stopped at Tybee Island but it was way too hot to enjoy. Alex and I grabbed a quick ice cream treat before leaving, then headed back to St. Helena Island. We grabbed a to-go pizza from The Upper Crust in Beaufort on our way. My youngest sister and her boyfriend left later that night, leaving Alex and me with just my middle sister, her husband, and their sweet baby (plus their dog, can’t forget sweet Bosco!). 

Friday morning, we went out for brunch at Blackstone’s Cafe and continued our trend of eating only delicious food. Afterwards, we stopped by Lowcountry Cider & Superior Coffee Beaufort. My hot cider was great and so was Alex’s cider smoothie. We got rained out of our next adventures but alas! We were trying to walk the pier and see the lighthouse at Hunting Island but as we got to the pier, it started lightning so that plan busted. We stopped back at the Airbnb and waited out the storm, then attempted Sands Beach but Mother Nature said no to that too. So we compromised for beers at Shellring Ale Works instead. After bittersweet goodbyes post-brewery, Alex and I started the 3.5 hour drive home. We were home by 10pm Friday, giving us an entire weekend to rest, relax, and recover. I needed every minute of it, too!

Despite the scorching southern heat, we enjoyed our mini-moon. The Spanish moss on the trees… stunning. Also loved the extra time we were able to share with family. Now it’s back to work for me (after 1.5 weeks) and back to school for Teacher Alex (goodbye summer). It’s been an amazing couple of weeks, but it’s time for routine to pick back up. It’s weird not having anything to plan, but I’m going to enjoy the quiet for now. Our marriage license is ready to be picked up, so now it’s time for all the fun legal things that come with marriage!

Enjoy!

JB (or soon to be JBW???)