Fairytale Wedding

The last 4 months has flown by. I was busy planning a wedding and rolling out a new client. Good news– I got a promotion at work. SO exciting. Accepted just over a week ago and it was announced last week. God has been so good to me. When I look back at how far I have come in the last 8 years, I know it was only possible because of God.

My motto is: Pray hard, do your part and work hard and God will do the rest. It’s also like to work hard and play harder. So many hurdles thrown at me the past 8 years and God lifted me over each and every one of them. The fact that I had no career after being a SAHM for 24 years and now have an amazing career as a senior operations manager is a testimony to God’s mercy, love and His answering prayers.

The next several months will be hard at work, but God’s got this. I prayed at church this morning that He would help me find the right DM and people to build this one particular division of mine back up. He will answer my prayers. I know. The last 8 years have shown me that God is merciful and keeps His promises. I’ve got 5 divisions and I know if I work hard and keep praying, God will provide. Isn’t it so amazing to see how far God has brought me!? One person tried to crush me and tried hard to make my own father hate me, but God is BIGGER. When I look back at all that God has done despite my sinfulness and how He helped me overcome all the crazy shit thrown at me, I am amazed. God is SO good. I have a lot to praise God for each and every day.

Our wedding day was PERFECT. Well, as perfect as any wedding day can get. The cake was gorgeous and delicious. The ceremony was beautiful and the food at the reception was amazing. The lavender lemonade was delish. We brought the top cake layer and the lemonade with us on our honeymoon. We went off the keto wagon for our vacation. We kept an eye on Marty’s blood sugar, of course. Since we got back, we have been intermittent fasting and doing keto again. He has type 2 diabetes and can never go off the wagon too long. He’s got it under control with diet, but we can never take it for granted! We will be keto for life!

The photographers were the best– I have a few sneak peek photos they sent. We go next Thursday to see the rest. We plan on buying the digital package so that we can play them back on a digital frame. We will have a few prints, but I want to have all the photos of guests at the reception, too. So many people prayed me (and Marty) through the last few years. I wanted them to participate in our joy with us. We requested no gifts and asked that anyone who wanted to, donate to Room at the Inn.

I had my dress custom made by a lady in New Jersey. One of my BFFs measured me and when it arrived, it fit perfectly. The name is “fairytale”. Yes, it is lavender. My favorite color! Since I am 56, I decided to do it my way and get the fairytale dress for the day I married my best friend and my Prince Charming. Sappy, I know…but it is true. Marty is my best friend and it is so easy to be married to him (at least 4 weeks in ha ha). The lady also made the veil to match. I think it came out beautiful. The dress came out so beautiful! I want to make a skirt with the bottom half of the dress so I can wear it for Easter Sunday or another special occasion. Just one way to make sure the fairytale wedding is remembered forever. I may make some cute pillows with the top of my dress. I had it cleaned, so it looks good as new. I had gotten some dirt on it taking photos before the ceremony. LOL And….. somehow got a little grease on the dress while taking the Jeep photos. If you now me, you KNOW this fits my personality.

All the photos here are the sneak peeks. The cake is the only one taken with a friend’s phone. The photographers captured exactly what we wanted– our outdoor spirit and adventurous friendship. Marty and I are best friends and it was worth the wait! We were at a funeral for his uncle and many said it was a miracle he tied the knot. One gentleman said I must be a special lady for Marty to finally settle down. One of his older relatives asked me, “So you like to hike and camp, too?” LOL

My cake was made by Danielle Kattan — all gluten free and delicious. Two chocolate layers with raspberry filling and two vanilla layers with strawberry filling. Sh made the flowers with gum paste! This was truly my dream wedding cake. Elegant and classic….. and stunningly beautiful. I may have to get her to make a small cake for our first anniversary!!!!

I had these gorgeous handmade boots with loads of rhinestones. They sparkled SO much. I decided on boots because I knew I would wear cowboy boots again and again. I own a few pairs, but nothing as gorgeous as these boots. Perfect for my fairytale day.

We went to Acadia National Park for our honeymoon. It was so beautiful. I will share each day in a separate post. So many amazing hikes– we even kayaked in a bog a few hours north of the national park. We waited until twilight and we saw two moose! So cool!

Last– before the wedding, Marty bought Ghost a collar with his new last name. Shadow has never worn a collar…… and he’s adopted the all. He loves all my fur babies and my middle son’s husky, too. Life is good. The fairytale has just begun.