Photo Gallery | Wedding Wednesday: Week 24
You may know me as News 8's "Good Morning Quad Cities" Reporter, but when I'm not telling you how to stay cool in the heat or where to see the best fireworks, I am planning a wedding!
Welcome to Wedding Wednesdays!
Days Until We Say "I Do"... 38
This Week's Theme... Making Moments
First, Happy Independence Day!
Second, It's July!
Third, IT'S JULY!?
I cannot believe how fast - or slow - a second can tick on the clock. As a Reporter, a "30 Second Stand By" is more than enough time to memorize the first line of your script, make sure your hair is in the right place, and ask your photographer where you should eat for lunch. As a Bride, a "30 Day Stand By" seems like nothing. It seems like there's no time to memorize (or write) your vows, it's officially too late to grow out your annoying bangs, and eating... forget about it. No time! No time!
However, I think these remaining 6 weeks are the PERFECT time to make moments that you're going to remember for the rest of your life leading up to the best day of your life.
A Moment Stuck In Time... Over the the past couple of weeks, I have been collecting pictures of my life over the last 25 (almost 26, yuck) years and Zach's life over the last 27. We're putting them into a slide show to show during our rehearsal dinner. It has been so much fun peeking into Zach's childhood and teenage years. Zach's Mom and I really bonded while looking through all the boxes and laughing/crying over Zach's curly blond hair, his facial expressions, how much he's changed, and how much he's stayed the same. This past weekend, my Mom and I were able to look at pictures we hadn't seen in years and remember old vacations, old friends, old pets. These pictures are moments stuck in time... pictures we're able to look at 10, 15, 20 years later and instantly remember the smell of that ocean, the weather on that day in high school, and the feeling of that day being the most important one in the world. It's also a chance to see where we've been, what we've gone through, and how much we've changed. I think looking through all these pictures before the wedding is a really fun, special, and meaningful way to celebrate and recognize that.
A Moment With Meaning... I was able to do something else that was very fun, special, and meaningful to me this past weekend - dance with my Dad. As a wedding gift to him, I signed us up for a dance class so we could learn a couple "moves" for our Father/Daughter Dance. We're dancing to one of our favorite songs - Josh Groban's "So She Dances." I remember twirling around the family room with my Dad in college when he told me that he would dance with me to this song on my wedding day... and here we were, 6 weeks away, spinning and waltzing around the dance studio like pros. Well, maybe not "Dancing with the Stars" material, but good enough for a man who has had heart and knee surgery during his life and a girl who quit ballet for hip-hop when she was 13. It was a moment with meaning. In a picture, you sometimes don't realize how special that moment is until you're looking at it again 15 years later, but this moment was one I knew my Dad and I would remember forever. I look at him (while trying not to step on his feet) and I feel so lucky to have him as my father. He motivates me to be the BEST person I can be. He is tough... whether it was on the softball field when he was my coach or when I have to make difficult decisions about my career. He is strong, supportive, and secretly a softie. He works his ass off and loves his family. He is the greatest friend any person can have.
He is also a really fantastic cook, which is just another plus :)
A Moment When You Have Moments To Spare... There is not a lot of "free" time in these next 38 days. The to-do list is full of random, but important tasks like: Get Your Eyebrows Waxed, Buy Bottles of Water for Guest Baskets, Pick Out Ties for the Dads, Order Walkie Talkies. On top of that, Zach and I have something going on every weekend leading up to our wedding. So, we're finding what's important right now is taking a moment - whether it's 30 seconds or 30 minutes - and really making sure we make the most of it... cooking dinner together, texting more during the day, taking time to talk about things OTHER than flowers, centerpieces, and who's RSVP'd, who hasn't RSVP'd.
Today is one of those moments and so this is where I leave you. Zach and I both have the day off work today and so we're going to seize that rare opportunity and go spend the day together. Next week's post should be a really good one. Our good friends, Chris and Kellie are getting married and Week 25 will be the official ONE MONTH point! See you on Day 31 :)
