A prelude to our wedding.

I cannot believe I am finally married! What a crazy past few days it has been! I have no idea where to even start with these blog posts. I don't have the professional pictures yet, so I can't really re-cap or share the details quite yet. I just can't wait to share our special day with you all, but I guess there are some other things that I would probably benefit from getting off my chest..

Weddings are not all they are cracked up to be. I am so beyond thankful for Joe and if I wasn't sure a week ago (I was) I sure would be now, that I 100% married the right person. 

With weddings comes a lot of cost, pressure, and ups and downs. But never in all the nights that I stayed up panicking did I imagine just how cruel and mean people can be. Not just people, but family. 

Friday night; yes, the night before our wedding - I received some really upsetting news from my dad that turned our supposed to be girls night in with my mom and sisters into sadness, anger, and tears. I only bring this up now because I can't pretend that everything was exactly how I imagined. I won't go into details of course, but I think I got maybe three hours of sleep the night before. 

After drying my eyes and finally calming down we had people asking to come and bring extra people two hours before the wedding. Talk about stress..

The point that it really clicked for me that no one else mattered and this was OUR day was when our officiant prayed over our marriage. She spoke about how the person we were holding will be the one to wipe away tears and who will be here until the very end; Joe knew this very well from the night before. That night I had to put all of my anger and sadness away no matter how hard people tried to push me. Note: Someone made fun of the way I was standing during the ceremony... I think I prayed my way through the night to give me grace, and to get through it with a smile. 

I cannot forget to mention all of the amazing from the night, though! Once certain people left, everything was perfect. We had people there who genuinely love and care for Joe and I. These people helped the planning of this wedding for months and they lifted my spirits when I really needed it most. Joe, was my saving grace, he kept me calm and made me laugh even when I wanted to cry. That is what a wedding is about, anyway. 

This post is the prelude to the happiness of the wedding. I wanted to get this out of the way before I share everything else. There are so many happy things and thoughts from that night that I want to spew out all over this page, but I will wait until I have the pictures to back it up. 

Although I am sad it's over, I am just so happy to be married and start this new life as a wife and everything that comes with it!!

So Close.

With the wedding almost two weeks away, it finally feels like things are coming together. Even my Knot checklist isn't overwhelming anymore, and it really is starting to set in that these are my last few weeks as a "single" girl. Although Joe and I have been together for almost five years, something about knowing that we will be officially married is really special.

The only things left to do in these next few weeks include - A few more DIY projects (writing in chalk is not easy), place cards, a marriage licence, crossing my fingers that my dress fits, finding a hotel room, and picking out music. I thought things would become progressively more stressful, but they aren't. Knock on wood that everything stays stress free. Even all of the RSVP's have been received, and the seating chart is done (Thanks Wedding Wire).

I did some shopping recently - I was on a mission to find shoes, jewelry, and garters. I found all of those things in one trip to the mall and David's Bridal! Talk about a ton of weight lifted, because finding these things was stressing me out. 

I also ordered Joe's ring this past weekend, and let me just say that women have it so easy - ring wise anyway. I looked over so many reviews online because I couldn't believe how inexpensive men's wedding bands are! I'm not mad though. We need to save all the extra dollars we can! 

Since we won't be taking a honeymoon right away, I will of course be sharing all of the wedding pictures here once we receive them. But...you can also follow me on Instagram and using the hashtag #bishopwedding14 to see updates in real time!