Today I'm continuing our wedding story - the getting ready process & the ceremony. {I stole all these photos from friends on Facebook - I will share our professional ones once they arrive}

After the rehearsal dinner on Thursday, I slept like a baby which I wasn't expecting at all! To be honest, during this whole process I have never once been worried or nervous about being married to Nick - all the worry and anxiety came from making sure everything worked out logistically! My anxiety woke me up around 5 am and around 7 am I started to get everything ready for my 'maids to arrive to start getting ready.

A few of my maids and I stopped at Panera for a quick breakfast and iced tea (this is a must) before the hair and makeup artists arrived at 10 am. 

The whole morning was very relaxed - we had one hair and one makeup artist so the getting ready process was slow but this was the first time we had all been in one place for the first time since college. There was A LOT to catch up on! 

For part of their gift, I ordered these adorable and super comfy robes from Etsy (missing two more maids in this pic). Throwing our sorority sign :) I thought they turned out GREAT and I love wearing mine around the house now.

I can't tell you how much I miss spending time with these ladies. It brought me back to so many times in college when we would blast music, practice doing each others hair and makeup, and act goofy before a night out. I love that when we all get together, it feels like nothing has changed even when everything else has - when you're blessed to find friends like these, hold on for dear life!

Over the course of the morning, the flowers were delivered and the photographer arrived to take getting ready photos. There were only a few hiccups during the day and I was really the only one who noticed so overall, things when very well.

The 30 minutes before we left the hotel were probably the craziest - getting dresses on and directing everyone on where to go next.

When Nick and I got engaged, I knew I wanted to attempt the mismatched bridesmaid trend. I'm really not a matchy-matchy kind of gal and for some reason I tend to reject most of the popular wedding designs for dresses - satin, tulle, taffeta, etc. My friends all have totally different body types and I wanted everyone to feel comfortable and beautiful! Plus, we are all fresh out of college. I wanted them to purchase dresses and shoes that they could wear again ("You can shorten it and wear it again.")

Before the ceremony, Nick and I decided to do a "first look" which we were super hesitant about. In order to maximize our time at the reception, we got 75% of our photos done prior to the ceremony and I'm so glad we did!

We ended up have two spectacular, unique moments - the first look and the walk down the aisle. I highly recommend doing so! I felt much more relaxed and at ease knowing a lot of the pressure was off yet I still felt all the emotions of seeing Nick at the altar when I walked into the church.

After lots of photos at a location in downtown Cincinnati (the P&G Gardens), we headed to the church to get ready. Here's the finished product!

The ceremony was beautiful. We had a full Mass which apparently bothered a few people (really?) but we were so happy with how things came together. Two of my bridesmaids are Jewish and they did just fine! 

One of my favorite parts was the music! Our cantor sings beautifully. The bridesmaids processed to Canon in D while I entered to the Prince of Denmark March. During the prelude the cantor sand Ave Maria which is one of my favorites!

Prior to the wedding I was trying to decide who would walk me down the aisle. I decided that I didn't want to try to fill the role my dad would have filled so I walked alone. I talked with my mom and others and they supported my decision. That part of my life is super complicated - my dad's family didn't attend the wedding which I think bothered me more than I was willing to admit. Their loss.

One of most emotional times of the ceremony was when my grandpa (along with my aunt and grandma) brought the gifts forward to the priest (the eucharist and wine). My grandpa has always been a huge part of my life and a big source of inspiration for me. (He has had Multiple Sclerosis for over 40 years - one day I'll write his story). I was so happy to have him part of the wedding! 

The ceremony went a lot quicker than I imagined it would. Before I knew it, we were MARRIED! 

More pictures!

One of our adorable flower girls!

All of the flower girls! What Nick doesn't know: this is foreshadowing a future family photos - we're only having sweet little girls when we start a family (maybe ONE boy).

Mr. and Mrs. for the first time! 

Part III is coming soon!

Any questions or comments, leave them below!

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Hello everybody! Welcome to Weigh-In Wednesday!

Please go check out my sweet co-host!

Ash @ A Step in the Right Direction

If you're new to the link-up, please leave a comment!

Whew, these weeks are going quickly! I don't know where to begin! I'm in week 2 of bootcamp and things are going well! I've gotten used to waking up at 4:45 am three days a week. On Monday, my phone updated during the night and my alarm didn't go off. I ended up waking at 5:15 am which meant I wasn't going to make it to boot camp in time - instead of going back to bed, I marched my butt to the school gym for a 2 mile run and some weights! (and then I went to boot camp Tuesday to make up for it). I call that a personal victory!

Weigh In time: Down about 2 lbs from last week! But still stuck in the same 5 lbs that I've been losing and gaining for the last two months. Hopefully this is the start of something new...

My eating has been SOOOO much better lately - I've really been trying to reign it in this week. (but I still make room for my chocolate milk treat after boot camp!)

I forgot to mention, a couple weeks ago I ran my third 5K! My last 5k was July 4th which I ran in 35:45. This time, even in the cold & rain, I managed to reduce my time by 1:39! Slow and steady progress, right?

 

Ready to Run!

My next race is the Thanksgiving Day Race 10K! I hope I will survive it! I haven't run over 4 miles yet so I definitely need to be getting those long runs in the next three weeks! Hopefully this Boot Camp business will help me get through it! I'm really nervous.

Now it's wedding time! (I think I need to change this to Matrimony Monday or something! This is too much for one post). 

I made a quick trip back to Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon because Nick and I had plans to meet with the priest and go to mass at the church we are looking at for the wedding. We'll probably be putting a deposit down there this week! 

It's a very historic, gorgeous church at the top of a hill that overlooks the whole city! Perfect for us. I love how traditional Catholic churches are - I can't wait to start planning our Mass and doing our marriage prep! That will be the fun stuff :)

As for all other details, those will wait until Christmas Break! 

The view of Cincinnati - from Mt. Adams!

What’s with all the baby talk, people?

I feel kind of really weird even writing this post.  Nick and I aren’t engaged or married but we have been dating for quite some time now (6+ years). At this point, getting engaged is just a formality - we finally know where I'll be going to school, he's been at his first job for almost a year, and it's in the near future (or so he says). 

We’ve had the marriage/babies/let’s-grow-old together talk MANY times throughout the years. So, what’s different is that all of a sudden, other people are bringing this stuff up- mostly the one about babies.

The way people bring up babies is usually in a passing comment that almost goes undetected in the grand scheme of conversation but taken collectively, these instances warrant some attention.  

I mentioned in a previous post that Nick bought a new car.  While taking a family friend for a quick spin around the neighborhood, the friend said something about the car being spacious with the backseat having enough room for car seats. WHOA. Did you just say car seats?  Then another friend said something about enjoying his new car now because before long, he’d be buying a mini-van. These are just a few of the comments...

Now before we get too ahead of ourselves...I love babies!  I love children of all ages and stages - minus teenagers. I could careless about them but I think most people would agree with that.  I’ve been babysitting and nannying and camp counseling since I was 13 so I am extremely comfortable with these adorable tiny humans.  But the thing that makes all of these activities so great is that at the end of the day, I get to give them a quick hug and relinquish them back to their parental units who unconditionally love and adore them. 

The problem is, I am entirely too selfish to have children right now and most days, I can barely take care of myself.  While I know the baby comments are being made with the future in mind (i.e. being married), it’s just a little shocking to hear all of a sudden. 

Recently I met a woman who was visiting from the South. She asked a little about me and we chatted for a bit until she asked if I was married or had children.  My response was, “Oh no...I’m only 23!  I’m too young to be married and have kids.”  This woman just started laughing and said, “Honey, when I was your age I already had three kids!”  I’ve actually had multiple conversations like this which usually end up with me looking foolish and judgmental. 

I want to have it all...just not right now.

The funny thing is, I never envisioned having this outlook on the subject of babies.  I always wanted to get married young and have babies young. I didn’t want to be an “old” mom like so many of my friends’ moms.  I wanted to be able to have the closeness in age that my mom and I have. 

On top of that, there is no “good” time to start a family while in medical school or residency.  Sure, there are times that are “better” but on the whole, adding to an already stressful period of your life is never going to be easy or comparable to someone not pursuing this field of work.  I guess this fact has daunted me to the point where all this baby talk has me thrown for a loop. 

I would be afraid to start a family knowing that a) I would not get to spend as much time with him/her as I would like, b) I would end up neglecting my school work and thus lower my chances of entering my residency and career of choice, and c) I would add to the stress, sleeplessness, and anxiety that already comes with med school and parenthood separately.  

The few woman doctors I’ve talked to have told me to wait until after residency to start a family.  Well geez...by then I’ll be 30 or 31.  I can hear that biological clock ticking already...that isn't gonna work for me either.  I really do want a family - just not now.

I don’t know what the right answer is or what the correct timing will be - like always, I’ll probably just wing it when the time comes.  I’ll just have to accept the fact that I’m behind the curve when it comes to marriage and babies. There are so many people in my med school class that already have children - maybe it will put me ahead of the curve? Less distractions. Who knows?!

 In the meantime, can we stop all the baby talk and just let me enjoy other people's kids for awhile longer?