Epilogue {Dallas wedding vendor reviews}

When asked if I feel different after becoming husband and wife, the answer is yes.  Something magical happens when you commit your life to someone while standing in the presence of God, family and friends.  It was a phenomenon that seemed to bound our hearts and souls forever.  It was the extraordinary moment when God made us one.

Although parts of our wedding day I'm unable to describe through the [organized] chaos, there are parts that I am able to describe perfectly, like the moments Matt and I shared immediately following the ceremony.  I've never felt as alive as I did standing within his arms as our photographer snapped photos of us hidden beside the chapel.  I never felt more drawn to him.  During that photo op Matt was unknowingly miked, which captured our first conversation as husband and wife.  Priceless.  I can describe perfectly the moments we waited upstairs until the band gave us our cue for our entrance.  We couldn't stop smiling and laughing and admiring each other.  Before we heard our cue, we peeked out the door that looked down on our family and friends that were there to celebrate us!  We couldn't wait to get the party started!
Something else that stands out to me was what a family friend, Mr. Floyd, said after he gave me a huge hug, "I want to meet your husband!"  That was the very first time someone (other than our officiant, Roy) referred to my best friend as my husband!
At the end of the night as our family and friends prepared to send us off, Matt and I shared a private dance.  The band played a special song (that was my surprise to Matt); and as we danced, we went from cheek to cheek, to starring in each others eyes, to looking at our empty ballroom.  I took it all in - my husband, the song, the flowers, the ballroom that was once filled with everyone special to us.

Our wedding photos by the great Allison Davis have been uploaded and posted!  She did a fabulous job and I am so anxious for everyone to see the moments she captured through her lens.  Matt and I are so excited to start printing our favorites!
Check out Allison's blog post that is dedicated to our big day.  And you can view and order prints here.  There are several photos of our guests and even some of your best dance moves that Allison caught you doing ;)

Anguilla is where we started the rest of our lives together.  It was the perfect setting for our honeymoon and the perfect place to relax after planning a wedding.  We arrived May 6 and stayed until May 11.  Minus a couple hiccups (our bags not arriving until the second day and Matt being sick), everything was absolutely perfect!  The food was amazing!  The hotel was sick!  The weather was unreal!  The locals were so friendly!  The beach was beautiful!  The ocean was crystal clear!  Etc...!

  

So for you brides to be out there, here are my Dallas vendor ratings, 5 * being the highest rating:

Venue:  Ashton Gardens *****

Dress store:  Stanley Korshak ***
Hair and Makeup Artist:  Courtney, Chi Ro *****
Venue Coordinator:  Samantha Muhn *****

Bakery:  Frosted Art ***** (My only complaint is that they did not contact me when the original lady I booked and designed the cakes with quit.)

Band:  Signed Sealed Delivered ***** (AMAZING to work with and so talented!)
Photographer:  Allison Davis *****

Videographer:  Spinning Leaf  (Cannot rate until we receive the video...better be good!)

Florist:  Fete Des Fleurs * (The flowers were gorgeous but working with Darren was impossible as he clearly doesn't listen to specific requests.  I DO NOT RECOMMEND!!!)

Transportation:  Premier of Dallas *****

Venue for day of prepping:  The Stoneleigh *** (Do not work with Betsy as she was extremely difficult to get in contact with.  She booked the wrong suite which caused extreme panic on my part - not what I wanted to deal with the night before my wedding!  (So thankful my sister was with me to keep me from completely losing it.)  Stoneleigh did fix things (which is why they were able to obtain three stars) when they comped the suite for the night before and moved me to the proper suite the next morning [by rushing(!) the other people out of "my" suite].

Wedding Favors:  Chocolate Secrets *****

Honeymoon:  Viceroy Anguilla **********!!!!

What I wore:

Dress Designer:  Jenny Packham
Shoes:  Christian Louboutin
Jewelry:  Earrings by Nina Nordstrom; diamond bracelet was "something borrowed" from Matt's grandmother

Bridesmaids wore J. Crew dresses and custom diamond belts, brooches and hair pieces.
Groom wore Vera Wang and his groomsmen wore Calvin Klein.

___________________

Not going to lie, I'm going to miss writing.  I've loved recording this experience through words and pictures.  But don't worry, I won't bore you with another blog, unless....I have a great reason to...

Cheers!

5.4.13

I normally don't write (or talk or text or email, etc.) before I've had any coffee, but today isn't a normal day...

It's my wedding day!

It's early on my wedding day as I lie in bed in my fancy hotel room and I can't sleep because all I can think about is marrying my best friend today!  I am so excited to promise to Matt that I will love and cherish him forever. I can't wait for the chapel doors to open and for all I see to be Matt; I can't wait to hold his hands as we exchange our vows of forever; and can't wait to steal his last name and dance the night away; most of all, I can't wait for the rest of our lives together. I love you Matt!

Last night at out rehearsal dinner, I was overwhelmed with the love in the room. Matt and I are truly blessed. Not only was the food fabulous, but the sweet words our family and friends spoke were just precious. Some words made the entire room laugh, others brought back memories and most brought tears to your eyes. Some of the sweetest things were said in that room and we will never forget them.

I want to thank all my avid readers (Bloom) for following me on this journey.  I'm so thankful that I have our engagement documented in such a real and personal way and I'm happy that you were a part of it.  Hopefully cloud9dallas can be used as a resource for brides to be.  And I hope that years down the road it brings joy to Matt and me to read it again.

Well, it's time for me to wake my sister up because I need some coffee :)