Keeping Up With the Joneses: Our 3 Year Anniversary

We are headed to Disney SOON!! I can't tell you how excited I am- to spend time with Zach, to enjoy some time off, and to be at our favorite place on Earth! There are no worries when we go to Disney. It's awesome! The fun, the food, and the quality time- nothing better! September is a wonderful time to go, too. The weather is cooler than in the Summer months, and the crowds are so much smaller. I hope to have some fun posts and pics when we get back. We are picture-taking fools when we go on trips!

Anyway, on to the mushy stuff :) ...

I can't believe tomorrow we will celebrate our THREE Year Anniversary!! Zach's sister gave me the idea for my post. She posted on her blog recently about their anniversary (7 years!), and wrote a little bit about their wedding day. I haven't really revisited that on here before, so I am taking the opportunity

to do that now. Hope you enjoy!

And if you get bored, just skip down to the pictures.

******

Our first date was on February 8, 2002. We enjoyed the last part of his Senior year together, and went to two proms together (his Senior year and my Senior year). That part of our relationship was long-distance during the week, when Zach went to BSC in 2002 and I was a Senior in high school,

but he came home every weekend. :)

Fast forward to December 31, 2007. We went to Disney for a little vacation. I didn't think too much into it, because we had traveled together some already. We went to Florida for New Year's every year to visit his mom, and had been to Disney

a couple of times before.

I kept thinking the entire trip that maybe, just maybe, it would happen. Then, when it did, I couldn't believe it! It was New Year's Eve (Magic Kingdom was a little crowded, to say the least), and it had rained some that day. But, it was still beautiful. Their slogan that year, seen all around us, was "Where Dreams Come True." How true!! Cinderella Castle was covered in sheets of twinkling lights from Christmas, and the fireworks show for New Year's was out of this world. Near the end of it, with both of us standing in front of the castle, Zach asked me,

"Will you spend the rest of your life with me?" :)

We were married on September 13, 2008, at Canyon Ridge Club in Rising Fawn, GA. Zach had actually picked out the place, and I couldn't have been more in love with the location for our wedding and reception.

Our wedding day was as close to perfect as you can get in my book. The weather was breezy but warm. Everything came together, just as it should be. I didn't even feel nervous like I thought I would. We were surrounded by our family & friends, and it was simply sweet.

Right in the midst of our engagement & wedding planning, we had just left our old church. It was the church that I had grown up in, and where I had always attended, even in the womb. We knew we hadn't wanted our wedding held there anyway, but felt like we didn't want the wedding held at our new church either. We had both thought about an outdoor wedding. So, he mentions Canyon Ridge, we go check it out one Saturday afternoon, and we were hooked. (It did take a little persuading of my mom,

but she quickly fell in love with it too.)

I had so much fun with the details. Mom helped me a lot on those- not that Zach didn't help any, he just wanted me to make the decisions on the little things. He knew that's what I liked to do. Our wedding planner, Linda Troxtel and her friend Kayrn, were absolute life savers! I cannot tell you how happy I was that we decided to hire a planner. I know they handled a lot of stress that would have otherwise been all on me. Our caterer was Slade Carden (who now owns his own store, Tiger Lily), and it was absolutely wonderful! We picked out exactly what we wanted- shrimp cocktail, chicken fingers, a mashed potato bar with goodies (yum!), etc.- and it was all so good! The three of these awesome people collaborated on our flowers and decorating also, which was an added bonus.

They are some of the most talented people on the planet!

Everything seemed to just start off without a hitch. The ceremony was short & sweet, just as we wanted it to be. I remember at one point, standing there with Zach, and I felt the breeze blowing.
It was perfect.

That's the only word I can use to describe the entire day.

Our best friends, Shad & Carrie Smith, were a big part of our day. Shad was our officiant (our current pastor, Dr. Pat McFadden, said our prayer at the end of the ceremony), and Carrie sang "I Will Be Here" for us. Beautiful! Our wedding party was a great mix of family & close friends, and either one of us couldn't have asked for better help & support from them.

Our photographer was patient, creative & talented. I am planning on purchasing a CD of all of our prints soon. I cannot wait! Our first dance was to "Steady As We Go," by Dave Matthews Band (who else, coming from Zach?), and we both played a mix of songs from our iPods at the reception.

The only thing I can say I regret about our wedding is that we didn't invite more people. We really limited ourselves because of the limited seating, but we realized later on that we should have invited everyone anyway. We were so touched by all the people that traveled far (many from out-of-state)

to share in our day with us.

I can only remember just a few snapshots from the day, as it is with most brides. We didn't get to eat much at the reception, but my sweet Mom and planners packed us some goodies for the road. We popped shrimp all the way to the hotel in Atlanta,

until we were absolutely stuffed.

I do remember getting really upset when I had to tell Dad "bye," right before we left. Little did I know...

Isn't it weird how you notice little things like that along the way?...

We stayed at the Renaissance hotel in Atlanta, with the airport at our balcony door. We left bright & early the next morning for St. Thomas. Our honeymoon was also a fairy tale.

What more could you ask for??

It is unbelievable to think that we have been together for 9 years! Every one has been absolutely wonderful! We have had difficult times and good times, as all couples do. He has been with me through the happiest times in my life, and the most difficult time I have ever been through and ever hope to go through. We have survived the death of my dad, the death of his grandfather, but we also rejoiced together at the births of two nieces, and the beginnings of so many new friendships. We are enjoying our time together so much right now, and we love to travel & have time away together every chance we get. We love our two dogs like children, and they fill our lives with so much fun & laughter. We look forward to having a little family someday, and hope to be the best Christian examples as parents we can be. I am excited to have a little part of me and a little part of him to fill our lives with even more love & joy.

Now, for the fun part...pictures! :) (Sorry so many- it is impossible for me to narrow these down!)