Newlywedism

Hello from married world! So much has happened in so little time that my mind is still spinning. Here is the tale of our wedding ... and then some.

Friday, May 9th, it poured and poured all day .... in the morning Kerri and i went to The Beauty Shoppe to get manicures and pedicures, french on both. We had a great time that morning, there was two girls getting their hair done for prom, which was fitting for my day because Alex and I met by being set up for prom, who knows maybe in six years one of those girls will be marring their date.

We also saw Katie Savner who was a cheerleader at Crestwood too, it was exciting to tell someone that we were getting pampered for my wedding the next day! We also saw Alex's Aunt Becky getting her hair done. After we got our nails done we went for lunch at the sushi place, which of course, as always, was amazing. Then loosing track of my schedule i went with Kerri to get one of her acrylic nails fixed at Mountiantop Nails, there we saw another wedding guest, Denise getting all gussied up for the next day. My sister dropped me off at my car and i began to drive home thinking about the day ahead, suddenly i realized that Alex and I were suppose to pick up our room key for the Bischwind at 3 and it was now 3:05, CRAP! I called Alex in a panic, drove to his house and we made our way to Bear Creek in 30 minutes. We toured the Bed and Breakfast which was so amazing words could not describe it! If anyone is ever looking for a weekend get away, without putting miles on your car, go to the Bischwind in Bear Creek it will not disappoint!.
When I got home i got ready for the rehearsal ... and the nerves began to set in. I wore an amazing Liz Claiborne dress that i got on clearance during the winter at TJ Maxx (an $80 dress for $20 .. it was a steal), i also wore my new black sandals my mom bought me the day before which i LOVE! At 5:30 my Aunt Chris arrived just in time to jump in the car and head to the church with us. At the rehearsal Cristen gave me the an amazing memory book she made on shutterfly, with all pictures from when we met in kindergarten, it was a very special gift. Alex showed up a bit late because Joe didn't know what to wear and came late to Alexs house, i busted him that i thought he had changed his mind.

The rehearsal began and i was so nervous ... walking down that little aisle seemed like a mile uphill but we got through it and thankfully headed to dinner. The dinner was awesome, it was hosted by Alex's parents at the Stagecoach Inn, we had the surf and turf buffet, amazing!! We handed out our bridal party gifts, robes, personalized totes, handmade jewelry, and flip flops for the girls, a flyers jersey for jer, a dvd and gift cards for matt, and a gnc gift card for joe, the readers (my aunt and his) received beautiful lenox crystal bowls. Everyone had an great time and before we knew it it was time to go home. Alex had Jer, Jeff, and Heather over to play rock band, and i went home with my family. We gave my mom her mothers day present that night, an ipod which she was very excited about! Then with a little help from Nyquil i headed to bed for my last night as a single gal.


Wedding Day May 10, 2008

I awoke early, shocking i know, and went on the Internet to pass the time. I checked theknot to see if any of the other 5-10 girls had posted about it being our day ... around 7 my Aunt came up and we chatted for a little while. I then went downstairs and had tea and some breakfast with my mom, dad, and aunt and we all read the paper. My Aunt was surpised to see how calm we all were, it seemed like any other day .... oh yeah except for the fact that i was getting married in a few hours. At 8 i went to pick Ashely up at Edgewood where she was leaving her car, we got a peak inside and the room looked amazing!!! When we got back Ash had some breakfast and my sister came over, soon enough we were on our way to Sapphire in Pittston to get our hair done. GPS in tow we still managed to get lost.....we finally arrived just in time and were all sent to different parts of the salon. Luckily Ash and I were next to each other. I got my hair done like Jessica Simpson had for her wedding, simply curled and pulled half back, i had a single pearl stranded barrette that i wore, and decided at the last minute that i didn't want to wear the veil, i just didn't feel comfortable in it. My stylist commented that i was the calmest bride she had ever seen. And yes i was calm, on the outside, and i guess half of the inside, i couldn't eat that morning but other than that i was relatively calm. We then got out make up done and i loved the way mine came out! Soon we were on our way home, running 40 minutes late , oops.

We ran in the door and i ripped off my clothes and threw on my dress. Ready, Set, Smile ... it was picture time. We took the basic wedding pictures with the bridal party and my parents and were on our way to the church. The limo ride was a blur, my nerves had set in and i was freezing, a combination that turned my arms blue ... no joke i turned blue ... outside the church stood a few guest and i was bound and determined not to let anyone see me before the ceremony. I don't know why i became so demanding that no one see me, i think it was because i was so nervous. We made it into the pre-ceremony room aka a day care room and within 5 minutes the photographer came in and said i needed to go back outside to get a picture coming out of the limo. At this point i didn't care what pictures i had or didn't have i just wanted to sit and breathe so i didn't pass out, but being passive as i am a headed out for the picture. After coming back into the "waiting room" Pastor Bob came in with the news that the florist had brought two roses for the rose ceremony thinger that alex and i decided not to do .... i have no idea why the roses came but they were there and without a choice in the matter i was made aware that we were going to hand them to our mothers during the end of the ceremony. So against my will i said fine .... i didn't want to walk around during the ceremony i only wanted to stand up there with alex and do our thing ... but hey whose wedding was this anyway ... The girls and i waited in the room about 10 minutes before the ceremony ... those 10 minutes felt like 10 hours, i sat in the corner on a wooden rocking chair just waiting for our cue. And then it was time.

The music started and the girls because to walk down the aisle, holy crap this is really my wedding day... after a three and a half year engagement we were finally getting married. And then it was my turn, i saw two faces during my walk down the aisle my grandmother lil and karen kutz a long time friend of my dads from work, that was it. I felt warm and the air was thick, i saw Alex and things got better, we locked eyes and i smiled the whole way down thinking "this is it!". Alex got a bit teary eyed during that walk down the aisle and that was all that i had wanted! From day one of planning i had hoped it would be such a special moment that when he see me he get chocked up...and it happened. Pastor Bob asked 'who presents this women to be married to this man' and my father replied "her mother and I" and handed me off, the second i grasped the hand of my soon to be husband it was like no one was there but he and i.

The ceremony was a blur and we went through the motions .... but it was unlike any other ceremony i had ever witnesses, yes i am partial but there was something different about our ceremony. It was so special and emotional, not in the crying sense but in the spiritual and soul mate sense. I loved the fact that we included everyone at the church in our ceremony with the response from the friends and family. For months i had been so nervous about saying our vows in front of all those people but it was by far the most special moment of my life thus far, eventually that will be taken over by the birth of our children but for now that was it, the heart felt connection i felt at that moment brings tears to my eyes as i type this thinking about it. My favorite part of the ceremony was our ring exchange "..i give you this ring as a sign of my vow and with all that i am and all that i have i honor you.." it was beautiful. And then those words i had been waiting so long to finally hear filled my ears .. "I now pronounce you husband and wife" .... Alex was my husband ...... the joy i felt in that moment i could never put into words. We lite the unity candle and handed out the peace roses (my heal got stuck under my dress during all the walking (see i knew there was a reason i just wanted to stand up there and do our thing).. and were introduced at Mr and Mrs Alexander John Pawlowski Jr.... i was a Mrs ... we walked out to The Beatles "All you need is love"!! I funny note about our ceramony is that from our inital meeting with Pastor Bob he said "if nothing goes wrong no one will ever remember your ceremony" ... obviously saying this to make us feel better about something going wrong .. never did we expect that thing that went astray to be the Pastors cell phone going off ... he quickly went to turn it off but could not find it in his robe ... it was really funny and i was relived that was our thing to remember.

We headed out the back door and did our receiving line as the guests left. After the receiving line we headed back into the church for bridal party and family pictures. One by one family and the bridal party took off for the reception and Alex and I were left alone to do some bride/groom pictures. When we were done we headed to the limo, popped open a bottle of Verdi, which even Alex had a glass of, and toasted to our lives together. We arrived at Edgewood and took more pictures outside, then headed in to join our guest for cocktail hour. The appetizer table turned out great, my mom and i worked hard with Allen to make our vison come to life and he did it! Next was the introduction of the bridal party, they walked into 'Detroit Rock City' by Kiss and Alex and I to George Harrisons 'Got My Mind Set On You' we then had the best man speech by Jer which was funny and heartfelt at the same time, it was perfect. Alex and i then cut the cake to "When i'm 64" by The Beatles. We chose to cut the cake before dinner so that it would be served right after dinner before people started dancing and never came back to their seats to eat it.

Dinner was great we had a choice of beef tenderloin, chicken franchise, or flounder almondine served with twice baked potatoes, and butter pasta with broccoli. The lead server commented to us that she had worked every weekend here and done many weddings but never saw a combination and set up like ours ... she gave up major props and made me feel really good about how perfect the reception came out. Our favors were a candy bar which was a hit with the guest and staff alike, it was perfect, my moms turned our better than the Martha Stewart one we had taken our inspiration from.
After dinner Alex and I danced our first dance to "love of my life" by jim brickman, alex at this point had run to the bathroom and missed the initial introduction of he and i .... my brother darted to get him and my groom met me on the dance floor .. we laughed the whole dance because that was so us. The next dance was the father/daughter and mother/son. My dad had no clue which song we would dance to and when it started to play he was floored. My mom helped me pick out the song weeks before i knew it would be perfect but i never thought it would touch him as much as it did. My mother who rarely cries .. cried the entire song ... and my dad was more than teary eyes as well ... oh i guess i should mention the song was "tender years' by eddie and the cruisers. When i was a baby my dad wore the record out rocking me to this song. Then the real party started.

Thanks to a few white russians i was dancing the rest of the night, even if it was by myself i didn't care it was my day and i was living it up! During the planning process i did not and i mean did not want to do the dollar dance .. yuck but was peer pressured into it by everyone ... Alex told me that all the money i got i could use to buy whatever i wanted ... so it was then coined the kitchen aid mixer dance. I am so glad that i ended up doing the dance, not for the money, but because it was so much fun!

The rest of the night when way to fast and i wish it would have lasted hours longer but soon enough it was time for the last dance which was "God only Knows' by the Beach Boys .... After the last guest had left and all our belongings had been gathered we headed out .. only to find the car toilet papered, thanks boys.
We headed over to my house to get changed and then to Alexs. Then he and i headed down to bear creek with a pit stop at mcdonals for chicken nuggets. That night we sat on the floor and counted money all night ... gosh are we luck to have such generous people in our lives. Relief came over us when we realized we had enough for our closing on the house!!! And that was it .. the day was over and our new lives had begun.

Then next day we had an amazing breakfast, honeydew, omelet, sausage, bacon, hot croissants, hash browns, and strawberry shortcake ... once again that is the Bischwind ... call .. make reservations it is amazing!

We then headed to Atlantic City. Alexs Aunt made us a cute welcome basket for our room with treats and a cute card welcoming me to the family.