Week Review {11/7} - The first week being MAWWIED.

Let's rewind a week to get caught up, shall we?

TUESDAY - Day before the wedding

Tuesday was our rehearsal at the Hall, then we headed to Mellow Mushroom for a late lunch.

After "lunch" we headed home, we gathered ourselves and got ready for Halloween celebrations.  It was Teh German's first time trick-or-treating.  Teh Neighbor Besties did a prehistoric theme.  Teh PT Kid was a kid dinosaur, Teh German was the adult dinosaur, Teh PT Husband was a caveman, and Teh AF Maintainer (Ret.) was an asteroid.  They got a LOT of compliments.  Teh PT Wife, Teh Dental Hygienist, Teh Running Bestie, and I handed out candy and got eaten by No See Ums.

The next day was....

WEDNESDAY - WEDDING DAY!!!

Teh German and I had agreed that since neither of us sleep well apart and/or not in our bed, we would spend the night before together and come home after the wedding to sleep in our bed.

Pre-wedding selfie and the last time Teh German saw me before I was a blushing bride.

At 10, Teh WJL, Teh Running Bestie, and I were at the salon.  Teh Running Bestie and I got our hairs and makeup did and Teh WJL took photos.  The trial run really helped my stylist out and we were able to figure out modifications that my hair style needed AND she had acquired a "fun" pallet of eye shadow colors for my look.  #notsorry

After hair and makeup, we made a pit stop at Wendy's for lunch, then headed to Alhambra Hall to hang out and wait for shit to go down.

The photographer, Nick, arrived and the ball started rolling.  I had dictated Teh German and I had decided that we would do a first look and then we would do family pictures before the ceremony.  PS, if you don't do family pictures BEFORE big events (for instance, a wedding) you hate your photographer.

This was awesome because Teh German and I got to share a special moment together and then our families came in and we all took photos.  I did have a dress mishap and #worstbrideever didn't have a sewing kit, but we were able to fix my sash with some hot glue.  Yeah, we had a hot glue gun but not a needle and thread.  This is my life.

After family pictures, Teh German and I took some pictures together and we had an impromptu "play session" at the park across the street from the venue.  Spontaneity at it's best.  Afterwards, it was time to play "hide the bride" since the guests had started arriving (which was in part due to the wedding website saying that the ceremony would be at 4/4:30 way back in February).  We all sat down in the bridal suite and ate snacks and hung out and made jokes and tried not to let Teh Mom upset us.

We got things started a few minutes late, because I think no one was in a real hurry, but we were all ready.  There was some mama drama going down the aisle, but seriously, nothing could touch me.  It's cheesy to say, but now, it all feels like such a blur.  All I wanted was to be at the end of the aisle with Teh German saying my vows to him and hearing his vows to me and finally getting to put those rings on each other's fingers.

I do remember that Teh German got super choked up when he started to read his vows and it took him a minute to gather himself.  I can also tell you that I had stuffed my bra with tissues and I kept pulling them out like a magic trick to give to him when he needed.  I also kept making smart ass comments throughout the ceremony which made people who could hear me (which turns out was definitely more than just Timo and Teh Builder (who was our officiant)) laugh.  Teh German spilled some of the glass nubs during our unity ceremony, which only made me laugh.

During the closing prayer, I realized that I didn't have my bouquet, but I was quickly distracted when I finally got to kiss my husband.

After the ceremony, we headed straight to the bridal suite for a quick German skype session with Auntie P.  Earlier in the day, Auntie P had send a Whatsapp video from Opa, so we assumed that he would not be on the call.  Nonetheless, it was awesome to get to chat with Auntie P, despite the spotty wifi.  I love 2017.

After the Skype call, we signed the marriage license and now everything is really ours.  Then, we headed outside for some pictures.  We were swarmed by the bugs in the swamp, but I'm pretty sure it was worth it based on this teaser photo from Nick's instagram...

Megan + Timo • The sunset at Alhambra Hall was in rare form on Megan and Timo’s wedding day! •

A post shared by Nicholas Gore (@nicholasgoreweddings) on Nov 3, 2017 at 6:48am PDT

Then, it was time to enter the reception.  We were about to go inside and Mama G popped her head out the door and asked us to wait 2 more minutes.  I won't lie.  I got kind of annoyed.  I was a bit sweaty, hungry, and I'd spent the last hour or so being eaten by bugs (to include the ceremony).  Buuuutttt, it was totally worth it.  When we walked in, the DJ announced us and WE were surprised when streamers popped out and showered us.

Photo stolen from Ms. Boomkin.

IT WAS COMPLETELY AWESOME!!!!

After several people unwrapped the streamers that I had twisted myself into (because if there's a day that I'm going to be Megan to the max, it's going to be my wedding day), Teh German and I headed to our table to eat dinner.  The Germans kept coming up to us to congratulate us, which really made it difficult to eat.  I had planned for us to go to each table and talk to everyone, but that never ended up happening.  Then again, half of our guests had come up to our table to talk to us, so that made me feel less guilty.

We didn't do a bouquet or garter toss, but we did play the shoe game.  We had agreed on the questions about 2 weeks beforehand and everyone definitely got a good laugh out of it.  My favorite was definitely the "who planned the honeymoon" question and neither of us raised either shoe... because ya'll, we haven't planned a honeymoon.  We're going to Australia in May 2018, but we haven't even started to plan it yet.  #notsorry

There was dancing and shenanigans.  If you remember the creepy bunny from my bachelorette party, you'll find this hilarious...  Teh Neighbor Besties, Teh Sister, and Teh Running Bestie had Creeptastic Bunny make an appearance at the wedding.  Most people was incredibly confused by it, but those of us who knew thought it was hilarious.  Teh PT Husband was Creeper Bunny and the ladies had on bunny ears and it was one of those moments that the inside joke was so awesome and even when you explain it to others they just nod and smile, but you always giggle because it's so awesome and ridiculous and when your people know you that well, you've got some damn good people in your life.

The night ended with Teh Germans shutting down the Hall.  Our wedding planner had cleaned up everything but the table the Germans were gathered around and I had to apply some strenuous pressure to get them to vacate so we wouldn't be charged extra for going over our time.  A fortuitous event meant that the Lyft driver for some of the Germans actually spoke German, which was not something anyone expected, but made the night that much more perfect.

Teh WJL and Teh Running Bestie (and whoever may have helped them) had already loaded up the cars with everything.  Teh WJL had left and Teh Running Bestie was waiting patiently for us to be ready to go.  After sending off the Germans in their Lyft, Teh Running Bestie chauffeured us home.

Fortunately, we had both limited our alcohol intake so we were pretty much sober when we got home.  I was glad.  When we got home, we weren't in a rush to get to bed, despite being tired.  Meri and Pax were excited to see us, despite Roux's Humom giving them lots of attention several times throughout the day.

I had to make sure to get a family selfie!

THURSDAY - day after the wedding

Teh German and I got up around 9:15 to get moving to head to the post-wedding brunch at Graze in Mount Pleasant.  It was nice to get to relax and be able to have some one-on-one time with people who I hadn't had a chance to hang out with at the reception.  Also, the food was delicious, as I had planned.

After brunch-lunch, the Germans decided to go to Folly Beach.  I was inappropriately dressed, so I used it as an excuse to go by Fleet Feet and buy a new pair of (needed) flippy-floppies.  Then we headed to the airport to pick up a rental car, then to Folly.

We were at the beach for several hours and we made a coffee pit stop because midday coffee and cake is totally a thing the Germans need.  I was able to work some translating magic for Mama G and Aunt P to get them an "iced coffee" which actually means shots of espresso over ice cream.  That's apparently a thing.  Who knew?

Married selfie!

L.Lubi makes me cackle with this picture.

P.Lubi is adorable.

Pier puddle splashin'

Beach babes.

Our rings!

Ridin' dirty!

After the beach, we made a pit stop at the hotel to pick up some dirty laundry, then we headed home.  We ordered from Stoners Pizza to feed the masses who were coming to Haus to socialize.  Despite having school and work on Friday, I stayed up until the last guests left.

FRIDAY- when things went back to "normal"

Friday was my first post-wedding "normal" day.  I was at school (where all my teachers were excited for me) and then I headed to work (where my coworkers were also excited for me).  It was nice to not feel like my brain was being pulled in every direction while at school.  Weddings are VERY distracting, seriously.

I didn't get home until around 6.  I had told Teh German if he wanted to have company, I was fine with that.  It was the last possible night the Germans would be in town, and I wanted to make sure that we maximized our time with them. 

While we waited on company to arrive, we finally opened our wedding gifts!  I won't lie, it was killing me that we had unopened gifts in the house.  We took turns opening presents/cards and I did the dutiful thing and wrote down a list of names/gifts to send out thank you cards to.  I've even pulled the cards out of the drawer and told Teh German that he can write the German cards and I'll do the American ones.  This means that I got a heavier load, but it is what it is. 

Eventually, our guests arrived.  I also invited over some neighbors (Teh PT Husband particularly, so he could get one last dose of Germans before they left).  Since I was feeding a large group again and I really didn't want to have to order pizza (again), I chose to make kielbasa and rice with black beans, chickpeas, corn, cheese, and cilantro.  I had Teh German stop at the store on his way home to pick up the kielbasa since I wasn't sure if I had enough in the freezer and I didn't want to have to deal with thawing it.

Fortunately, one of our favorite concoctions was a hit with the adults and the children.  Also, does anyone else find it amusing that I was serving Germans Polish sausage?  Just me?  Mmmkay.

We had planned to have a fire on Sunday during our first gathering, but it was waaayyy to windy.  Instead, I introduced the Germans to smores on Friday night.  #MeganWin

Eventually, everyone was tired.  The Germans left and Teh PT Husband and Wife hung out with us for a little bit longer.  Around 11, we all called it quits, because we're #oldAF.

SATURDAY - no more company

Saturday was our first "normal" day.  Another Megan win = scheduling a couple's massage for Saturday morning.  What had happened wassss...  I had a groupon for the bowling alley that expired because we just don't go bowling and we've heard we can't use bumpers as adults and we know approximately 2 people who are actually good at bowling, so it just didn't seem like a good idea.  Soooo, when Groupon suggested I trade in my voucher for something else, I was like fuck yes.  THEN I noticed that the awesome couple's massage Groupon we had used back in the spring was available for purchase every 30 days.  Which means that I definitely did buy that sucker again.

Again, our massages were aweeeesome.  It is really a shame that the place is 30 minutes away because otherwise, I'd become a member and go there regularly.  After our awesome massage, we headed to the Charleston Deli and Bakery for breakfast.  The food was aaaahhhhhmazing.  We were also so blissed out from our massages that we may have sat and watched the lava lamp for several minutes.  #notsorry

With breakfast accomplished, we headed back home.  I had lofty homework goals and Teh German wanted to work on his bobber motorcycle since he was expecting a few packages to arrive.  I didn't really accomplish much homework, but I did clean up my office/organize wedding things and ripped the media from all the cameras and consolidated it all on a single SD card.  I also discovered a this bride's biggest nightmare, the audio recorder that was supposed to record our ceremony recorded a full 8 seconds at 5:43, well after the ceremony was over.  It went something like this, "Oops..(silence).. what was".  This is completely my own fault for not starting the audio recorder properly.  In my defense, Teh German didn't remember it until we were starting the ceremony so I was feeling a little pressured to get it going while everyone was being swarmed by Lowcountry Critters (aka No See Ums and other various flying insects).

I tried not to be disappointed, but truly, I am mostly crushed.  I keep telling everyone that the end goal of the day was met and we are married, but fuuuuuuccckkkkkkkkkkking seriously?  This was the ONE thing I really wanted and I fucked it up.  Sounds about right.  #WelcometoMyLife

Eventually, Teh German came inside, having installed his new toys on the bobber bike as much as possible and with only one trip to Lowe's.  I tried to do homework and was mostly unsuccessful, #YOLO.  I did get our glass unity ceremony stuff and the Wedding Mix recording stuffs repackaged to be mailed off.  We had leftovers for dinner, because there was no shortage of already prepared food for eating after all the company we'd hosted all week.

After dinner, Teh German and I settled in on the couch for some Mad Men before bed.

SUNDAY

Sunday we slept in and it was glorious.  I did get up with the dogs at 7am, which would have been 0800 DST notwithstanding, so I was impressed that they lasted that long.  After the dogs were fed and watered and went business, I went back upstairs for more sleeps.  We eventually got up around 11 and had breakfast.

After breakfast, Teh German headed back out to the garage to do motorcycle things and I headed to Homework Hell (aka, my office).  I didn't get any homework accomplished, but I did fuck around on the internet quite a bit.  Then I decided to make a delivery to Roux's house since his parents had let us borrow a cooler for the wedding and I had a gallon of unsweet tea in my fridge that was bound to spoil since I won't drink that garbage.

I visited with Roux's Humom for a bit while Pax and Meri and Roux ran around the yard.  We discussed the wedding mostly.  After almost an hour, I headed back home with pooped puppies and then finally started on my homework.  I had warned Teh German that I needed to go to campus at 7:30 for some homework assistance and we were both psyched out by the darkness at 6pm.  This is the first year that I've disliked the fact that it's dark at 6pm.  Yet another tick on the #OldAF list.

Our eating schedule was off due to the time change, so we didn't eat dinner together, but we hung out together while I waited on 7:30 to finally roll around so I could head to campus.  Once the better tutor arrived, I was able to clear up my issues in about 30 minutes.  After that, I spent 15 minutes doing the lab assignment that was assigned on Wednesday.  I was pumped to have only spent 15 minutes on the project and it was correct!  BOOM BITCHES, LEARNIN'.

I was on my way home by 9pm, which was perfect to come home and get ready for bed and still have some reading time.

MONDAY

Monday was Teh German's first day back to work.  It was a delightful school day since I was able to focus on only school for the first time in about a month.  Teh PT Wife and Roux's Humom had sent me with their leftover Halloween candy to bring to places where other people would eat it.  I had planned to bring the candy to the Vet Center, but instead opted to tote the bag around with me and let the Cadets eat from it.  I hope my German teacher gave me extra credit on my test for tossing in some marzipan bars that I hadn't eaten.

I won't lie, people telling me my mouth and teeth were blue made me feel like a real adult.

It was weird to watch one of the Cadets eat a huge bar of marzipan like a Snickers bar.  The German instructor and I both started to stop the kid, but he was already biting into it when we noticed.  Instead we shared a glace and just kinda shrugged, knowing that kid was probably going to suffer some digestive stress if he ate the whole bar (which he didn't).

After class, I headed to Staples to make a return, then stopped by Cookout for a milkshake I had been craving, then Willie Jewell's to pick up some gift certificates as thank yous, then home for work/homework time.  I was absolutely exhausted and when Teh German encouraged me to take a nap, I did.  When I woke up  I mostly ignored the homework part so Teh German and I could act married and do boring married things like eat leftovers for dinner and sit on the couch and watch Mad Men for the entirety of the evening.  #notsorry


Finally, it was bedtime.

______________________________________________

I will be doing more wedding posts, just FYI.  I'll be doing a critical review (because despite how idealistic everything sounded on this post.. from this bride's perspective, the day was far from perfect, even with my anxiety medication induced leniency) and I'll be sharing a million years worth of pictures as they roll in.  I'm super pumped about Nick's photos based on the instagram teaser alone.  And I'll probably have a random thoughts post, because the things in my brain have to go somewhere.

So here's to the wedding finally being over and getting my life back under control!!
Also, if you commented on any posts from last week, you probably didn't get a response from me and I felt like you probably understood why.  That said, thank you to everyone who sent well wishes and thought of us last week.  My Gentle Readers rock!