I can't believe that in two days Brian and I will have been married for a year. It was filled with lots of new experiences, some hard times, some incredibly happy times, and lots of new friends. I don't know where to even start while recapping this spectacular year. I suppose I will start with the beginning.
On January 30, 2010, in the midst of a blizzard (in Raleigh, NC of all places) I married my best friend, my hero, and the man that I love so dearly. Brian was fresh off of a plane from South Korea when we boarded the plane in Ft. Lauderdale to head back to Raleigh for the big show. Some very special friends and family made it into Raleigh before us and it was nice to visit with familiar faces prior to the hustle and bustle that comes with a wedding. As more friends and family arrived in Raleigh (where is was 70 degrees and sunny) the energy escalated and the fact that we were getting married became more real. Everything was so relaxed until Thursday before the wedding. While we were visiting with friends and enjoying lunch I began receiving phone calls from vendors trying to cancel or telling me that they would do their best to make it on Saturday (?!?!?!?!). You see, even though it was 70 and sunny, the forecast for Saturday was SNOW. I simply replied by telling them that their statements were unacceptable, yes the wedding is still on, and yes you will be there (then I hung up, cried, and delegated the tasks of threatening each and every vendor). It wasn't until Friday at the rehearsal that Raleigh began its transformation into a winter wonderland. We entered the church with a clear and starry sky and exited to a beautiful blanket of white. The snow continued all through the rehearsal dinner and made for absolutely beautiful pictures. Upon returning to our hotel (close to midnight) we discovered that I was allergic to the laundry detergent that the hotel used, causing me to break out in hives all over my back and along my collar bones, it was lovely. Since we had no car there I had to call my mom to come get us and take us home. What a Wedding eve!
Saturday morning I awoke to the same beautiful snow that was covering Raleigh, took off to get my hair did, rushed over to the hotel to get my make-up done, and then myself, along with my seven lovely bridesmaids piled into our limo and took off for the church. For those of you that were there and participating, you know that it wasn't quite that smooth, but I will spare the details! Once arriving at the church I caught a glimpse of some of the groomsmen (who looked dashing!) and saw my adorable ring bearers and flower girls. I had issues waiting to get ready, I wanted to get the show started, but tried to at least wait until the photographer came in to take pictures. The ceremony was wonderful, I did not make it through without crying, but everyone commented on how confident Brian sounded while taking his vows and sweet that was.
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| First Dance |
The reception was even better. We entered kicked off the night by dancing to It Had to Be You (the version from When Harry Met Sally) and I have never felt such a surge of energy and happiness while dancing with my man! The entire reception was a blast, the food was great, and the company and energy in the room was even better. We concluded the evening by taking over the hotel bar and I took shots with another bride! Too bad there are no pictures :-( The next morning there was a spectacular brunch that my mom had planned and we got to say goodbye to family and friends that traveled from afar. It was such a magical weekend and it went so quickly, I wish we could rewind and do it again!
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| Downtown Raleigh |
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| Disney World |
Brian and I returned to Ft. Lauderdale and spent the next weekend in Disney World, just to get away from my roommate and celebrate being newlyweds (I will clarify that it was NOT a honeymoon, we have yet to take that, but that will be in Tahiti). Our time together seemed to fly by and before we knew it Brian was on his way out to Ft Lewis, WA. I spent my weekends flying out to see him until he deployed to Afghanistan in March.
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| Brian in an MRAP in Afghanistan |
That was such a difficult time for me, definitely the hardest goodbye for me. While Brian was gone I made some wonderful friends that I would not have survived without. I don't know how I am going to handle saying goodbye to some of them this summer when they leave and the rest in September when we leave, but that's getting ahead of things here. After a long and painful 4+ months Brian sent me a text message from Germany saying that he was on his way home. The next several days were a blur of cleaning, organizing, cleaning again and trying to keep myself occupied while I waited. Brian returned from Afghanistan in mid July and I have never felt joy like I did with that first embrace and kiss. We held onto each other and could not let go.
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| Picking Brian up when he came home from Afghanistan (He was in Korea for a year prior to that) |
In the next months we discovered that several of our good friends were expecting babies, many are due soon through this summer.
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| We also bought a boat...crashed the boat |
traveled a bit, celebrated my first birthday with Brian at the Space Needle, celebrated our 5th Thanksgiving together (we have yet to miss one since meeting!),,
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| bought our first season snowboard passes, |
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| Cut down our first Christmas tree |
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| celebrated our first Christmas together, |
did a polar plunge (well, I did) in the first hour of 2011, Brian started playing soccer with me,
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| attended a historical Seattle Seahawks game, |
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| Sunrise on New Years Eve morning |
and now we are about to celebrate one year of marriage! What a year it has been!
We plan to celebrate our anniversary by attending a Seattle Thunderbirds hockey game, getting a couples massage, and then having dinner at a nice restaurant in Tacoma. We will drink champagne from the glasses we drank from at our wedding, eat the top of our cake, and simply enjoy each other's company. I raise my glass to saying goodbye to a wonderful year and welcoming the new one, the experiences that it will bring, and the places that it will take us! To my friends and family, old and new, from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your lasting love and support! You've helped us through the hard times and celebrated the happy ones with us!
I promise I will try to update the blog more often, especially with our new adventures!
Marianna
On January 30, 2010, in the midst of a blizzard (in Raleigh, NC of all places) I married my best friend, my hero, and the man that I love so dearly. Brian was fresh off of a plane from South Korea when we boarded the plane in Ft. Lauderdale to head back to Raleigh for the big show. Some very special friends and family made it into Raleigh before us and it was nice to visit with familiar faces prior to the hustle and bustle that comes with a wedding. As more friends and family arrived in Raleigh (where is was 70 degrees and sunny) the energy escalated and the fact that we were getting married became more real. Everything was so relaxed until Thursday before the wedding. While we were visiting with friends and enjoying lunch I began receiving phone calls from vendors trying to cancel or telling me that they would do their best to make it on Saturday (?!?!?!?!). You see, even though it was 70 and sunny, the forecast for Saturday was SNOW. I simply replied by telling them that their statements were unacceptable, yes the wedding is still on, and yes you will be there (then I hung up, cried, and delegated the tasks of threatening each and every vendor). It wasn't until Friday at the rehearsal that Raleigh began its transformation into a winter wonderland. We entered the church with a clear and starry sky and exited to a beautiful blanket of white. The snow continued all through the rehearsal dinner and made for absolutely beautiful pictures. Upon returning to our hotel (close to midnight) we discovered that I was allergic to the laundry detergent that the hotel used, causing me to break out in hives all over my back and along my collar bones, it was lovely. Since we had no car there I had to call my mom to come get us and take us home. What a Wedding eve!
The reception was even better. We entered kicked off the night by dancing to It Had to Be You (the version from When Harry Met Sally) and I have never felt such a surge of energy and happiness while dancing with my man! The entire reception was a blast, the food was great, and the company and energy in the room was even better. We concluded the evening by taking over the hotel bar and I took shots with another bride! Too bad there are no pictures :-( The next morning there was a spectacular brunch that my mom had planned and we got to say goodbye to family and friends that traveled from afar. It was such a magical weekend and it went so quickly, I wish we could rewind and do it again! 
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