Doug and I both had rough starts to love. He was once in a miserable/toxic marriage. I was once in a miserable/toxic marriage. We both had very bad experiences with "love". But that is because we never really knew love. Not until each other. I know without a shadow of a doubt that he was the man God put on this earth for me to be with. He always was. He always has been. He always will be. My soul mate.
Two years today I was in the middle of the most magical whirlwind of emotion. I was 24 hours away from finally marrying the man of my dreams.
We decided not to do a fancy rehearsal dinner. It may be "southern" .. but that just isn't us. We had our rehearsal at the event space and then my wedding party and our families just took over a locally owned pizza place in East Nashville that has the best Gluten Free Pizza in Nashville. Then went to (what was) my husbands nightclub Mai. We all just hung out in VIP, had a few drinks and enjoyed each others company. It was .. perfect.
Nothing about our wedding was really "normal" in the traditional sense. Which made the entire process FUN .. not stressful. Okay a little stressful. But not because of the "wedding" or "planning". Ya see...our venue was brand new and not finished. In fact we were told we would have to change venues like 3 days before our big day. Yeaaaaa .. that didn't go over ver well. Let's just say we got married .. where we planned :) After the wedding I found out not everything WENT as planned. A photographer left early, our photo booth wasn't ANYTHING like what I wanted it to be, a DJ cancelled, our entire main menu had to be "altered" last moment, I lost a material item VERY precious to me, I also lost a BORROWED earring. I don't wanna think about all the hiccups...it makes me sick. haha. BUT no one knew and it is still to this day being talked about as the best wedding anyone has ever went to :) But it wasn't the "stuff" that made our wedding cool. It was the attention to detail that we put into everything so that it showcased just how much Doug and I really love each other. This was truly a CELEBRATION of love. Not some uppity wedding ceremony.
I wanted to do this "look back" for our one year anniversary but didn't get around to it. So this year I am. Over the next few hours, days, maybe even all week .. I'm going to post things about our wedding. For those of you that were there you can kinda relive it .. for those that were not .. you get to be part of some very personal moments of our very special day. From a ceremony I spent months writing myself, to vows we each wrote to one another, a "naked" sushi girl, EDM songs recomposed to be more "wedding like", our talented friends literally putting on a CONCERT for friends and more...I want to share it with you all.
First up ... remember how I said I paid attention to detail? Remember how I said nothing was "normal"?! Well that went for our programs too. I hate wedding programs. They are expensive, overall useless and end up in the trash. If we were going to have them .. they were going to serve a purpose. So we made little mini newspapers .. four pages of all the details of our big day written like newspaper articles! We of course were the lead story! Other stories included who made my cake, who designed my dress, who did my hair and make up, the celebrities that were expected to perform, the unique music (which is going to be it's own blog) and more! I called them the Music City Beat Wedding Edition because at the time I worked for Fox Nashville and my nightly entertainment segment was called "The Music City Beat".
The back of the program had "This Day In History", "Today's Horoscope" (Which was "Love is in the air") as well as an "Advice Column". I had everyone in our wedding party, as well as our moms and my (then) 6 year old niece write up marriage advice. Since it's hard to see in the pictures. I'm going to write out what everyones said :) This was my favorite part!!! They came in handy considering out wedding started like 45 min late. Apparently our valet line was backed way up .. well that and the drama of the day! Luckily we had plenty of alcohol! So we just had people gather in what was set up to be our "Cocktail Hour" space :) Since you wouldn't be able to read it in a picture. Here is the "advice" ... ENJOY!!! It's a good laugh!!
Advice Column
Today's Topic: Building a love that lasts
Given By: The Wedding Party
* "Love til it hurts, even when you drive one another crazy. Fight til you can't anymore, then make up til you can't anymore. Everyday isn't going to be a honeymoon.. However, that doesn't mean the every night can't be" Shelly Hartley
* "My grandfather always said the secret to their long marriage was two words: "yes dear". Jim O'Shea
* "Remember that at the end of the day it's Doug and Stacy versus the world. Your power as one can conquer the world." Stephanie Langston
* "Listen to each other. Share your feelings. Be kind & loving with your responses & always remember how special you each are & how together you are amazing. It is work to keep love alive but so well worth it!" Mama Joy
* "You can get mad at each other at times. That's normal. You can get frustrated with each other at times. That's normal. But always choose your words carefully, and filter them through the resounding truth that life is just too damn hard to face without them. That's not normal. That's love." Sully
* "Listen attentively, speak softly, love deeply, forgive freely and always remember that it's the little things that matter most." Melissa Fleming
* "Do you want to be happy or right? As long as she thinks that she's right you'll be happy." Rod Youree
* "Protect your marriage. Actively have your spouse's happiness as your number one priority. Also dance alot. " Jeremy Todd
* "Be patient and always talk things through, good and bad" Your decisions together will make you closer, because they are your decisions as a couple." Josh Collins
* "Be spontaneous and every once in a while, do something a little crazy. I think its easy to get into a routine and take for granted the time you spend together, but doing fun and random things every once in a while keeps things exciting and reminds you to appreciate and cherish both your love and friendship" Ak Savaria
* Say "I love you" everyday and never go to bed mad!" Kari Branum
* "I'm not necessarily the best authority on relationships, but when they have worked for me it has been because of four ideals. Honesty. Respect. Honor. And, Love" Will Bledsoe
* " Heaven grew you apart and brought you together after the time you were meant to be molded to fit each other. Remember who's you are, you're God's" Mama Sue
* "In all moments, from pure happiness to trying times, remember to stop and see how much beauty there is within the entity of your love for each other - despite everything else in the world." Laura Sweeney
* "The way you know who loves you is who will pick you up and hug you when you fall down" Bella Fleming (age 6)
Stay tuned as I reflect back on the most blessed day of my life :)
XoXo,
Mrs. Green
* All Wedding details were created with love by me and my husband. Feel free to get ideas for your big day. But don't rip of my stuff as your own (Yes .. people really go to sites and steal other peoples personally written vows, etc., and make them their own). Come up with your words, thoughts, ideas. Don't steal mine, ha *
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