Catch Up: Wedding Edition

The reason you should never get behind on a blog, or any other type of record keeping apparatus, is you will sit here staring at the screen for five minutes wondering what to catch up on, what to leave out, or whether you should just quit trying to blog all together. (I can't do that, my loyal blog fans would be devastated, you know who you are...)  So let's play catch up. The events of the last three month have been to say the least significant...well at least one of the events. Let's talk about that one.

I got married. Hitched, tied the knot, sealed the deal, ball and chained, murr'd...you get the idea.  Its true I survived having finals week the week of my wedding and actually made it to the temple on time. Our wedding day like any wedding day had glitches that you wish you could go back and tweak.  BUT, why focus on that when you can focus on all that awesome that went down.  

    We had an awesome wedding dinner the night before, Phill's parents did such a beautiful job at putting it on and the food was divine! They even made me special birthday jigglers (my birthday was the next day) Each of our parents gave a little speech, Annette cut her apron strings, giving them to me, hoping that her son wouldn't starve under my care (not yet, but we've only just begun.)
 Phill and I gave a little talk as well.  He told the story of my sweet grandpa who passed the year after we started dating.  Phill and I had only been dating a few months  when my grandpa took him aside and said he wouldn't mind having him be apart of the family.  That Grandpa Low was always a good judge of character.  So that brought on the waterworks.  I don't really remember what I said, I told our story the better part of it you can find here. 

We also celebrated Teancum's second birthday that night!

April 27, 2013: Wedding Day! 

   Phill and I had a late marriage appointment at the temple, we were scheduled to get married at 1:30 pm. The reasoning behind this was because Phill and I are not morning people and wedding or no wedding I'd be cranky. I woke up to my cute mom hugging me and saying happy birthday (she's basically the cutest and that was just the best way to start of the ultimate day!) I ran off to get my hair and makeup done, while Ben drove to the air port to pick up Erick and Kira! They were so awesome to get up extra early to fly out the day of our wedding! (thanks Ben!)  By the time I got home everyone was there including Phill and it was such an awesome insight into our new family to be in just a few hours! We hung out for a bit and ate something, then we decided we should probably leave and go get married. haha. It was fun to drive to Logan together, we had done it a million times together, but this time was definitely different.  

The Sealing was so amazing to walk into a room full of people we loved all looking at us, I was shaking..not a huge fan of being the center of attention, the sealer talked to us, heaven help me if I remember what he said.  I was surprised at how short the ceremony is, when we returned to the dressing room I said to my mom, is that it? we're just married now? I was all sorts of surprised.  After we were sealed everyone there came and hugged us and there was so much love and peace I am so blessed to be a part of the greater Brandley family they are enormous, but just lovely! And to have my cute family there meant the world! 

My best friends! 

The rest of the day went as a wedding day would, pictures, pictures, and more pictures. I felt like Travel Guide Barbie on Toy Story, all that smiling really kills the cheeks.

 Our reception was at the Castle in Logan, it was a sweet and simple building that we dressed up with woodland, rustic, wildflower goodness.  I had always hoped to have a chill wedding that reflected my inner granola girl and I think we succeeded.  We had pie from Maddox (de-freaking-lish).

The line was one of my favorite parts of the reception, I never thought I would say that, but it was! All the people I loved just kept coming through and it was wonderful.

 Phill and I's first dance was to A Thousand Years by Christina Perri.  Although the song, I will admit, is a wee bit on the cheesy side I always felt like it captured Phill and I's story really well.

My dad and I danced to Never Grow Up by Taylor Swift.  I'm not a Tay-Tay fan, but I do love that song.  I did NOT expect to get so emotional dancing with my dad, but cue waterworks!

 Phill and his mom danced to There You'll Be (I think, that's terrible I don't remember) It was a really sweet moment as well. 

Those events were followed by the usual bouquet toss which my bestie Alisha caught to my delight, and Shaun Phill's best friend caught the garter.  (We may or may not have planned both of those...)

Our cake cutting was hilarious. I always wondered if i would be a smasher or a nice (boring) bride.  I guess in the moment  you just know:

Those festivities were followed by more dancing, and eating of the pie and socializing, and loving every minute of our sweet little day.  Phill had everyone sing Happy Birthday to me, how humiliating, but nice. And then he and his brothers did a hilarious dance that is tradition at Brandley brother weddings.  

Our send off was supposed to be awesome, but the late night winds rolled in and dashed those hopes.  We had bought a Chinese wish lantern, you know like from Tangled. It was going awesome and it was going to go when the wind blew it and it fell down to the ground where my Erick was of course waiting to stomp the fire out. We just laughed about it and headed down the stairs where everyone had made a tunnel for us to run through to our very decorated, balloon filled car.

Oh no there it goes! Erick jump on it! haha 

I'm busting up at our failure. 

And away we went! We stopped at chick-fil-a to get some grub, and then we spent the evening at the Anniversary Inn in Logan (Louis and Becca were amazing and bought the room for us.  Angels both of them!) 

We were so blessed by so many people that day, I have to give a shout out to my AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, SWEET, SUPPORTIVE, SPECTACULAR, AWESOME parents.  They made our wedding day so perfect and put in so much effort and energy to make it special for me.  I could never repay them for all they have done for me and our wedding was just another amazing gesture of the incredible people they are! Before Phill and I left for the temple I left them a letter on their bed with my Teddy Bear.  Our family is M*A*S*H fanatics, there is an episode when the character Radar is sent home, throughout the entire series he finds comfort in his Teddy Bear.  I have had the same Teddy Bear since I was one and have loved it about as much as Radar. In that final episode with Radar, he leaves his Teddy Bear with Hawkeye as a final goodbye.  I, like Radar, left it as a symbolic gesture that it was time to grow up.  It was of course only symbolic, because at the end of the letter I wrote "p.s. I'll be back for the bear." ha. I LOVE MY FAMILY!  Special thanks to Kaitlin for our beautiful photos!

Thank you EVERYONE for all your love and support. 

We had an amazingly beautiful wedding day! 

still here...barely

Hello long lost blog, Como estas? It's not secret to you avid readers of my non-existent blog that I have truly been failing at documenting my life, but that is because any spare time (what is that?) is used to write papers not posts. But here I am and four in the A.M. too stressed to sleep and to out of it to make sense of what I need to do.  When Phill and I decided to get married on the 27th I thought how perfect the semester will be over and we can just go have fun and be back in time for summer semester.  I, however, failed to realize that I am in my senior year in the Nazi history program at Weber State and life would not be peaches and cream.  Needless to say with two jobs, school, and a wedding to plan I've been in way over my head.  SO if I have said anything mean to you or been short with you in the past two months....I apologize from the bottom of my bridezilla heart.

Now that's out of the way let's get caught up shall we? Being engaged has been so much fun! I always imagined what it would be like to be engaged to Phill, and now that I am it's pretty impossible to put into words and even though we are 13 days away from the wedding it hasn't really hit me yet! I don't know. BUT   we have had some lovely stressful dates of planning and re-planning, and me bawling with Phill patiently attempting to calm me down planning. I'm so lucky to have him!

We've had a few bridal showers which have been uber helpful! We have gotten pretty much all the essentials which has been great, and we even have food in our cupboards! hallelujah  Showers are excellent and oh so helpful, but I will be the first to admit I do  not love being the center of attention.  I get all sweaty and hot-flashy it's just a bad situation all around.  But I survived and I am so lucky I have such awesome people who are willing to throw them for me.  The craziest one would have to be the one that Phill's sisters threw for me it was quite the social event.  I unfortunately don't have pictures Alisha or Becca are hiding them somewhere (maybe that's a good thing;) haha. I kid. We did all sorts of games getting "me" ready for the wedding including make-up, nails, dressing, shaving legs etc.  It was extreme bridal showering to be sure!

Phill and I also managed to find enough time to be together to take our engagements and formal pictures.  It was so much fun, and that is saying something because I hate getting pictures taken.  But my sister is the greatest photographer eva so we were lucky!

Our formal pictures were my favorite. I had flip flopped between ideas of whether or not I was going to include Phill in my bridals or not, but then I finally decided I would rather have more fun pictures with us together in places other than the temple and our reception center.  Luckily he was not opposed to seeing me in my dress a couple weeks early! 

The story of the blind fold: The blind fold is no ordinary blind fold.  In 2009 Phill text me one day and it read: "High or Low" I was confused and asked what he meant, he said pick one: high or low?  I picked high and the next day I went over to his house. There on the couch was a backpack that had a sign taped on it that said "phill and meg's adventure pack" we then got in the car and Phill put this blind fold on me.  He drove me around trying to confuse me, but I knew where we were.  We got out of the car and headed up a trail, still blindfolded for about five minutes.  We hiked to the top of Skyline trail and had a picnic that Phill had packed for us.  I kept the blind fold for almost four years now just hoping I could get my revenge.  And as you can see from the mischevious look on my face below revenge was four years sweeter. 

Phill and I also incorporated our letters from his mission into our pictures.  Those letters kept us together when we were so far apart. It was such a hard sacrifice to give up those two years together, but look at us now.  Haters gonna hate. But I love our story so whatevs.

A couple papers and days later came my bachelorette party.  If my sister hadn't already done enough with the pictures and helping with reception decor she threw me the sweetest most Megan specific bachelorette party! (which I appreciated) She did a Breakfast at Tiffany theme if any of you know me 1. I love that movie 2. I love Tiffany & Co. and 3. dressing up!  so it was the perfect combination.

We started the night of at P.F. Changs, I had never been there before, but dang it was divine! There Kaitlin whipped out my bachelorette sash and tiaras for all of us to wear. We looked awesome. 

 Following our lovely dinner we went to City Creek to take pictures outside of Tiffany & CO I was standing in the door way when the security guard came out, he stood there for a while and I thought he was going to ask us to leave.  Instead he said we're closing, but do you guys want to come in  we have places inside to take pictures.  AH! So we walked in and headed towards the cheaper jewelry figuring it wasn't very classy of us to start snapping bachelorette pictures in front of the diamonds. haha. Kait was taking a picture and the security guard comes by and sets this small square dessert in front of me.  It was Tiffany blue and had a white icing bow across the top and of course was sitting on top of a napkin labeled "Tiffany & CO" for the bride he said and walked away. I was e-freaking-lated.

  

Kaitlin then kept taking a picture of the three of us and then the manager came up and said, If I were taking this picture I'd have all four of you in it and you'd be up by the fine jewelry   AHH. She takes the camera from Katilin and starts walking towards the fine jewelry counters.  

They were so sweet and it was so fun we were the only ones in there besides the employees it was such a fun experience considering how much I LOVE all things Tiffany and am wearing my Tiffany ring for my something blue! Amazing! 

Barbie: Kaitlin and Skipper: Me all grown up 

The night ended with opening my fabulous gifts. That's always and awkward delight especially when your friend make you do it in public at City Creek...kidding  by that time we were mostly alone.  I am so lucky to have such amazing friends! 

Smells good! haha

The pure shame and embarrassment on my face in the photo is too priceless not to post. To much too soon TOO MUCH TOO SOON! haha. Thanks Kait;) 

Post party let my hair down and it was so curly and out of control   

Finally on a more wholesome note;) My incredible parents helped Phill and I move in today for the most part we got the kitchen and living area set up it was so much fun to put stuff away in my own kitchen in my own apartment.  I would have been happy to do that all night! I only got 2 not so great picture but it's better than no picture right? Here is our kitchen!

I'm so excited for Phill and I to spend our first year here. It's going to be quite the adjustment, but ya know that's what life is all about.  So for now I am focusing on getting through the semester with a few wedding things when I can squeeze them in, and on Friday I will receive my endowments in the Bountiful temple.  It's a crazy time, but i am loving every stressful minute!