Today's our fifth wedding anniversary!
I was scrolling through our wedding pictures to find one to post, when I got caught up in all the pictures from the parties and events we had. It was such a fun and exciting time and we got to celebrate with so many of our friends and family!
Since I wasn't blogging back then, I figured we could take a walk down memory lane today and relive some of the fun moments leading up to our wedding. The first shower we had was hosted by my mom's church circle. The ladies outdid themselves, as usual, on the food and flowers and we received SO many gifts. In fact, I think we received nearly all of our dishes at this party, and we still eat on them every single night!
Some of my parents' friends threw us a couples' shower, complete with karaoke! Most of my pictures from that night are dark and blurry, which might speak to how much fun we had! :)
My coworkers hosted a nice shower for us too! The picture below is one of my favorites...I was so dang excited when I opened the pan to make giant cupcakes in! Still love it and use it all the time. :)
There was another shower, too, with all of my girlfriends at an awesome restaurant, but somehow I don't have any pictures of it!? So sad, because it was another really fun day. (Update: my sweet friend Dana sent me a picture to include! I shared this shower with my good friend, Darbie, who got married two months after me and we were both spoiled by some of our best friends from college!)
For my bachelorette party, we had a girls weekend in New Orleans. Man, I could write a whole post just on that trip! It was so much fun and I was so grateful to my friends for giving up a whole weekend to hang out with me!
Matt had a full guys day where they played golf, cooked out, and ended the night at the dog track betting on the races. The weather that weekend was unusually cold and rainy but they didn't let it get them down!
Finally, the evening of our rehearsal dinner came and we were given the opportunity to thank so many people that had spoiled us and helped us celebrate along the way. Clicking through the pictures reminded me how hot it was that night! We suffered through the outside rehearsal and then went to our favorite Mexican restaurant for food and margaritas.
The next morning started with rain. Lots of rain. When you've planned an outdoor wedding, rain is not what you want! There was no time to panic or stress, though, because we had a busy day with too much to do! My day was spent with my girls at the beauty salon getting ready for the evening, and then taking pictures in the late afternoon. The hard rain stopped but it sprinkled on and off throughout the day. Thankfully, it went away for good just in time for our ceremony and we ended up having the most perfect weather ever. Not too hot, not too cold, and definitely not rainy!
I know I'm biased, but it was the best night ever. The ceremony went smoothly, with lovely music, great scripture readings, and a perfectly-delivered sermon. Matt and I even made it through our vows without stumbling too! Afterwards it was time to party! The food was delicious, we had music from an awesome band, and two bars kept the drinks flowing (and the people dancing!). Man, really makes me want to do it all over again!
As if we hadn't already had the best weekend ever, we got to follow it up with a week on the beach in St. Lucia! I'd like to do that part again too!
Happy five years, Matt! Here's to many, many more!