Mama's Lullablog

Good morning from Chapel Hill! I’m sipping coffee from my “MRS.” mug, sitting at my desk beside a small dresser where my wedding bouquet rests in a vase.

Madison and I are married, y’all! And I *officially* changed my name last week, so it actually matches this blog now. Hip hip, hooray!

I’ve had this blog post in my brain for weeks now, but recalibrating after the wedding has been harder than I expected. June was overwhelming, July flew by, and 9 days into August I’m still syncing with my former rhythms.

Here’s to taking things day by day.

The Wedding

When people tell you that your wedding day is going to fly by, they’re not lying. The whole weekend is somewhat of a blur, but there are specific moments that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

My dad’s reaction when he saw me in my wedding dress. He blubbered, and I did not expect that! When we were waiting in the car outside the venue to walk in for the ceremony (Madison and I chose not to see one another beforehand), I got butterflies about 5 minutes before go-time, and dad reached his hand back and squeezed mine. With tears in his eyes, he told me I was beautiful. I’ll always cherish those few minutes with him.

The ceremony itself. It was like no one else was there except me and Madison. It felt intimate and personal. We walked down the aisle to recordings of his gran playing the organ. She passed away several years ago, and it was important to us to honor her memory. The vows we recited were ones we chose, but didn’t write. We exchanged the ones we wrote ourselves the night before, just the two of us, and it was just perfect. I wouldn’t have changed one single thing.

Our first dance. We danced to “Your Song” by Elton John. We looked one another in the eyes and confessed that the whole experience felt surreal. That we never thought we’d get to this moment, dancing to this song we’d picked out years earlier, married. We sang the lyrics to one another, and again, it was just me and him, like no one else was watching.

My dad and I did a choreographed dance to “Shout!” by the Isley Brothers. I was nervous because we’d both only learned the moves the week prior. But it turned out great!

One of the first things Madison and I did as husband and wife was meditate together. I was having a hard time settling in during dinner because we’d been kept on a tight schedule all day, and I felt antsy, anticipating whatever was coming next. So we locked ourselves in the bridal suite at our venue, and he guided us through a meditation. I’m so grateful to be married to a man who supports me, and who displayed it so beautifully on our wedding day.

Of course, there were a couple snafus (it wouldn’t be a wedding without them!). For one, it rained during the exact 45-minute window during which we took post-ceremony photos. And I mean it rained. Thunder. Lightning. Total downpour. Thank goodness my sister packed a back-up dress because she got drenched.

Our lovely photographer (who happens to be our friend!) was a total champ. She remained positive and upbeat despite the weather, and you can hardly tell it was raining in our photos.

The other snafu was with the venue’s built-in sound system. We’d tested it more than once during our walk-throughs leading up to the wedding, when the wood-floored, brick-walled space was completely empty. We didn’t account for the difference in sound when you add 80 people, tables, chairs, and decorations to the mix.

Thankfully, Madison purchased one Bluetooth speaker to use for our ceremony, and it had enough oomph to keep the party going on its own.

I spent the entire night on the dance floor.

But, if we had to change anything, it’d be renting some speakers or purchasing a couple more of those portable Bluetooth ones so that we could’ve gotten the full experience of the playlist he worked so hard to curate (which was absolute gold, by the way).

It was an unforgettable day. Our vision came together flawlessly, and it was really fun to take in all the little details throughout the evening.

The Honeymoon

We had the best time adventuring in Idaho and Wyoming!

First Aid Kit was the soundtrack of our scenic drive from SLC to Jackson Hole. There was a new mountain to behold around every turn, and the skies stretched on forever.

We hiked Jenny Lake and Grand View Point in Grand Teton National Park, took an aerial tram to a 10,450-foot summit (and had the most decadent cup of hot chocolate at Corbett’s Cabin), floated on Snake River and spotted 8 bald eagles, and ziplined the steepest line in North America.

We discovered the world’s greatest sub at New York City Sub Shop (and ate there four days in a row for lunch), enjoyed delicious bison dumplings at Everest Momo Shack (where Madison created a Curb Your Enthusiasm bit about sitting at the bar for dinner), devoured wood-fired pizza with ricotta, onions, arugula, and honey drizzled on top (sounds weird, I know, but it was *chef’s kiss*), and treated ourselves to peanut butter milkshakes (the most peanut-buttery that Madison’s ever tasted, and he’s a connoisseur) at Victor Emporium.

We played Magic the Gathering and cornhole at our yurt, “I spy” on one of our last rides over the Teton Pass (I think we were both pretty loopy by that point), and several rounds of pool at The Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. Let it be known that although Madison won every game, I was this close to beating him…TWICE!

It was the first trip we’d taken just the two of us, and it was magical. We even saw a full rainbow! We struck a good balance between planned activities and unplanned adventuring, and it was so much fun. Just spending time with the man I love, laughing, experiencing new places and trying new things was everything I could have asked for and more.