Wedding Rehearsal and Dinner

Continuing with graduation week, Dan and I had our rehearsal dinner the day AFTER he graduated from the Academy.

Thursday of that week was surreal. Dan had accomplished all of his hopes and dreams by making it through USAFA. We were one day away from tying the knot (finally!), and we were both pretty anxious.

Our wedding party was AMAZING and helped us set up our reception venue by decorating and carrying in all of the drinks we had purchased. It was hectic, and it took a little longer than we expected, but it worked out and was beautiful.

That evening, we gathered everyone who was participating in our wedding and did a short run-through at Boulder Park in Colorado Springs. We chose that location because it was across the street from the house I was living in and also close to the restaurant we chose for dinner.

And of course, it rained. Go figure.

But we made it through and set off to Bambino's Italian Eatery, which was amazing as always. We had a big buffet with salads, two different kinds of pastas and sauces, garlic bread, and of course, a cake from the Safeway bakery.

The food was good, but being surrounded by most of our best friends and family members was great. They decided to tell embarrassing stories about Dan and me from our childhoods, and that was a hoot. It's always exciting learning more about the person you love, but it's FANTASTIC when it's an embarrassing story from 15 years ago. ;)

AND people kept bringing me glasses of wine. You can't go wrong there. It was weird how so many people wanted to do things for me, though, and I appreciated it SO much. I think six people offered me wine BEFORE dinner alone (don't worry - I didn't accept ALL of them, as tempting as it was).

We didn't get too many pictures, but Dan's uncle took some, so those are what I'm using here!

Any guesses on what my next post will be about? ;)

It's About Freakin' Time! {We Tied the Knot}

On Friday, May 30th, 2014, I finally married my handsome love. While he was a cadet at the Air Force Academy, he wasn't allowed to have any dependents... and since he graduated on May 28th, we didn't waste much time!

I'll post all about his graduation parade, commissioning, and actual graduation later, but I wanted to show off some of the pictures people took from their phones during our ceremony and reception on Friday.

We won't get our official photos back until the end of the summer, but that's okay because we're leaving for a six week honeymoon VERY soon anyway! :)

The weather was NOT as nice as it had been all week, and that was kind of a bummer... but Mother Nature did her best to take care of us, and it didn't start raining until the ceremony was complete! We were able to dodge the weather for pictures as well, and everything fell into place.

Our guest book! We will add a photo from our wedding when we get them back and hang it in our house each time we move. It'll be a nice piece of stability wherever we go. It's BIG! 

My little brother walking me down the aisle... he looks so proud!

Our ceremony was a blast! We had so much to laugh about, and I was SO giggly! 

Seriously. Our officiant (and friend) made us laugh several times.

I had an AMAZING time during our ceremony!

We sealed up a bottle of wine that we made together along with love letters that we wrote to each other from separate places the night before our wedding. The plan is to open it on our five year anniversary, but if we have a big fight before then and need to remember why we got married, the box will always be there! 

I felt 100% triumphant as I slid that ring onto his finger!

You may now kiss your bride! (and he did... a few times!)

Feeling on top of the world as we walk away!

Happiest we've ever been!

I love this one because it's so candid. His tongue is out, and I'm smiling ear to ear!

Of course we had a saber arch! I can't wait to see the real photos from this moment! We had six AMAZING friends do this for us, and we couldn't be more thankful that they all agreed to. 

One of my coworkers and friends made all of these cupcakes for our guests... and a cake to cut on top for us! (And you can KIND OF see the groom's cake to the left... it had a Thunderbird (Air Force jet) on it, and Dan was so surprised.

Cutting the cake with the saber - such a fun moment! 

Three amazing friends and fellow wives of USAFA grads came to watch us get married... so here we are in year order showing off our rings! Danielle is married to a 2010 grad, Ellie to a 2011 grad, Lizzie to a 2013 grad, and me to a 2014 grad!

We made 120 bottles of wine ourselves to serve at our reception. They were a BIG hit! A friend of a friend designed the labels for us, and they are ADORABLE! I can't wait to share a better picture when we get them. 

This is the "Fab Five" from high school... the five of us ALWAYS hung out together and had a lot of fun eating Chinese food and making prank phone calls... and they came out from Washington, Kansas, Florida, and Missouri for my big day! Love them!

I sat on the Best Man's knee while my groom fished out my garter with his teeth... awkward but so much fun!

Dan called up the entire Air Force Academy Flying Team (the team he was a part of until he graduated), and they serenaded me Top Gun style with "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling"... and it was SO MUCH FUN! A friend posted video of it already, and it's great. I'm so glad those guys (and gals) were able to make it! 

I feel AMAZING right now. Our wedding day was definitely the best day of my life, and I can't get over being called "wife", "bride", and "Mrs." - so fun!