Hope Still Flies

Okay... So I'm feeling a little bit better now (I give credit to PS I Love You giving me a good cry...) and I finally put the wedding pictures we ordered into an album. Things are kind of refreshed in my mind now... So I'm going to do a little recap thing with little details that I encountered first hand or I heard that I might forget at some point... with some pictures. =)

*The reception rehearsal was a lot of fun, and almost everybody showed up. We ate at 2 Brothers BBQ afterward, and the families got along. I got the bridesmaids and flower girls bracelets with each of our names on our own, and Michael got the groomsmen pocket watches that had their names on them.



* We couldn't set up the reception area until the morning of the wedding, because they had been having vacation Bible school. Mom = nervous wreck Friday night about the food. When I got there Saturday morning after getting my hair done, the place looked fantastic.



*I finished the programs Friday night... only with the help of Mandy and the rest of my family. They are all lifesavers. Those programs were a definite pain, (especially with the number of times I made spelling errors/left people out) but I think it was worth it.



* I was really calm throughout the whole morning, and I even ate a little McDonalds while we were waiting around. This is one of the things I was worried about most. My mom can be quite the worrier, but my dad is the complete opposite. Thankfully (with the help of God I believe lol) I took after my dad that day.

* Michael, on the other hand, was really nervous all morning and all he had to eat was a little bit of a bagel until our reception (around 2:30).

* The only semi-crisis we ran into was my dress being crazy wrinkled, and we couldn't get any of the steamers or irons to work. We finally gave up, and my dress was a little wrinkly. Honestly, I didn't care that much, and you could barely tell.

* I was kind of hoping Beth would go into labor with Garrett.

* I love that I wore Converse. The only things I was very adamant about with the whole wedding were my shoes, and my nieces (flower girls) outfits. I picked the tutus and Converse for them because one of the memories I have from when I was little was my dad carrying my little sister and I out of ballet recitals in our tutus and converse.



* Songs we used during the wedding (That give me chills everytime I listen to them now...):
"Shh/Peaceful" by Miles Davis .... for seating his parents/grandparents.
"Now my Feet Won't Touch the Ground" by Coldplay.... Michael, the guys, and the bridesmaids
"Turn to Stone" by Ingrid Michaelson... What I walked in to
"Heartbeats" by Jose Gonzalez... Sand ceremony
"Backrow Politics" by the Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band for the recessional. =) (It's an upbeat contemporary jazz song... it suited us)

* Madi and Megan had been on an Alvin and the Chipmunks movie watching spree, and I am told that when they walked down the aisle they were saying "Bow chicka wow-wow" and cracking themselves (and everyone else) up. I was hiding in back, confused why everyone was laughing. Leave it up to these girls.



* Aidan (ring bearer) refused to walk down the aisle, which I figured would happen. His daddy (Aron, Michael's brother) carried him down the aisle, Aidan hiding in his shoulder the whole way. Yet, during the ceremony, he stood next to his sister (Shae, junior bridesmaid) the whole time, with the pillow in his mouth.

* I only started getting nervous right before I walked down the aisle, when my dad hugged me and was already getting teary-eyed. (Which is huge for my dad. He's never been one to really show much emotion.) Mom and dad both walked me down the aisle, which I loved.

* Michael started crying the moment he saw me.

* We wrote our own vows. Michael said his first... he didn't have his memorized, but they were long.. I wouldn't have had them memorized either. Mine were shorter, and I had them memorized. I was a sobbing mess by the time he finished his vows (as was he) and I cried all the way through mine, my voice cracking and everything. I heard everybody sniffling in the chapel, too. I'm surprised anybody could understand what we were saying, and I had to keep wiping my nose with my hand. (Graceful, right?)

(My older niece, Madison, leaning on my dad, and my mom's on the other side of him)


* We did unity sand instead of a unity candle, and it's now sitting on top of our entertainment center.

* When he kissed me, I playfully pushed him away after a second. He had such a devious look on his face, and most people said it was definitely a "me" thing for me push him away.



* When we went out to get ready for the receiving line, my dad (6' 4") full on picked me up in a hug like he used to do when I was little. That is one thing I will never forget. (Then he said "I taste like snot, I'm going to get Altoids. Hahaha)

* I loved the receiving line, and I'm very glad I got to see everyone that way since we didn't make it around to everyone during the reception. We got lots of comments about making people cry.

* We took more pictures after the receiving line... I wasn't sure about this picture, but my mom's extremely stubborn, and she wanted it... It's now a favorite.



* I didn't realize it until I was looking back on it later, but the music I had picked out for the reception didn't get played.

* I was in love with our cake.



* We fed each other the cake nicely, but then I seriously considered shoving it in his face. But I didn't.

* Loved all of the food we had there... Sadly, I didn't eat anything but the bite of cake I had, plus the goldfish my dad shoved in front of me so I wouldn't pass out.



* The other thing no one will ever forget... During his best man speech... Jon was telling a story about him and Michael from when they were kids... and Jon said "Scott" (Another friend) instead of "Michael". Our reactions:



* They only decorated Michael's car... it was covered in magnets from our local movie theater (?!) and they wrote "Just Married!" and all that jazz.

* We had all the presents packed up in the car, and we drove two cars the two and a half hours back to Manhattan so we could spend our first night together in our apartment. (We saved ourselves for each other until our wedding night...)

Let's see.... That's all I can think of for now. I'm sure I'll think of more and update this post every once in awhile. I'm pretty sure that's enough for now, though. =) You're amazing if you read all of that.

"One night of magic rush, the start a simple touch. One night to push and scream, and then relief." "Heartbeats" by Jose Gonzalez


That's the song Michael and I had playing during our unity sand ceremony... Everytime I hear it, I automatically relax... Which is probably a little weird. It's just a really relaxing song, I suppose. =)

I'm sorry I haven't updated more recently... Things are really finally starting to settle into a new routine. After my last post, I headed back to Wichita and hung out with my family for a few days. When I got back here, I had over 800 wedding pictures to go through... Finally I've got those at least kind of settled, and as promised, here are a few more. I think I'll just try and update every day or two with some more pictures, because there are so many great ones... Just a great day in general...

Here's our awesome wedding cake.

Mike gave all of his groomsmen pocketwatches... this is one of my favorites.. (That's my oldest nephew, Gage right there... Junior groomsman.. how handsome is he?!)

Michael and his littlest niece, Aubrie. (*melts*)

Everyone's favorite... my mom requested it.

Hahaha. A little blurry, but so awesome. We'd already given each other the cake, but I picked up the rest of the piece and was going to shove it in his face. I didn't. I decided to be nice. I should have done it, though.

Michael and I are settling into a new routine... and of course, learning new things about each other. For instance, I'd rather there be noise (music or something) if it's quiet, but he'd rather it just be quiet. On the other hand, he'd rather be with friends than be alone, but (sometimes) I'd rather be alone than be with people. We're learning though, and I'm loving every second of it

I'm sadly back to work on Wednesday. I've had plenty of time off, so it'll be back to making coffee at Hastings. Things could be worse. I've enjoyed my time off, and today even had time to revamp my blog. There's a bit of an autumn feel to it. I'm already praying for autumn, and the worst of the Kansas summer is still to come. Ugh. Anyway. There are still a few kinks I'm trying to work out, but hopefully for now, it works. The picture of the two of us in my header is another one of my favorites. It makes me smile every time. (The header is a little pixel-y... I'll work on that, too).

Okay, I've gotta run and make dinner (another thing I'm learning and loving... especially with the help of allrecipes.com)...
much love,
alex

p.s. I haven't really mentioned much about this season of So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) yet... but Randi, Evan, Melissa and Ade are my favorites. Here's a vid of Randi and Evan's dance from this week. I love it!

"I can finally breathe, suddenly alive. I can finally move. The world feels revived."
"Breathe" by Anberlin

Soo... The wedding's over! Good timing, too. Was just about to completely lose my mind. =) I guess I can give a little recap...

I slept really well Friday night, which I wasn't expecting, especially because at the rehearsal I was a bit of a basketcase. But even when I woke up on Saturday I was feeling good. I was actually relatively calm all day. Got my hair done and we headed to the church. We (my bridesmaids and family) all just kind of hung out in the room, getting ready and stuff. Michael somehow avoided me all morning and everything. After getting some wrinkles out of my dress I got it on, but still had it on for too long. (I was feeling pretty sick from it being too tight by the end of the reception.) But I didn't really get nervous until right before I walked down the aisle. We got up there and Michael was crying, but I just couldn't stop smiling. He looked pretty handsome, if I do say so myself. =) But then we read our vows and were both crying and I could hear everyone else sniffling in the background... even my daddy. But the rest of the ceremony and reception went well. Tons of pictures and leftover food, that hopefully my family is eating. Haha.

We've decided that we're going to head to Colorado tomorrow, and I'm really excited. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures there, too. We even bought luggage, among other awesome stuff, from Target with some of our crazy amount of giftcards. For anyone who reads this... thank you for everything, helping out with the wedding, or even just sending warm wishes. It is all very much appreciated.

I guess I can share a few pictures... =) Mike's dad still has our memory card with all the pictures, and I won't have the ones from Abbey (the photographer) for a couple weeks. But my older sister put some on facebook... so...

Michael and my nieces. So much adorable-ness.

Me and my brother and sisters. Beth (2nd from left) is due with my new nephew in less than a month!


One from a family I used to babysit in Wichita... I love it.

more to come, I promise. Plus a new look for the blog.
much love,
alex

"Make a wish and place it in your heart. Anything you want, everything you want. Do you have it? Good. Now believe it can come true. You never know where the next miracle is gonna come from, the next smile, the next wish come true. But if you believe that it's right around the corner, and you open your heart and mind to the possibility of it, to the certainty of it. You just might get the thing you're wishing for. The world is full of magic. You just have to believe in it. So make your wish. Do you have it? Good. Now believe in it. With all your heart."
-One Tree Hill... season 5 episode 13 - "Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace"

So that's where the quote in my header came from.. for those who didn't know. =)

If Michael wouldn't kill me, I'd write my vows completely from quotes from One Tree Hill and Grey's Anatomy.

But something tells me that wouldn't go over very well. Oh well.

So I'm back to working at the SBC in Borders here in town. I love it. It's really not much different than working in Manhattan, but for some reason, I like it more here. Meh. Anyway... I went in to check my schedule the other day, and I was talking to one of my managers when she asked me a question that I do get (mostly from people I'm not as close to) sometimes...

Why are you deciding to get married so young and soon (after the engagement... 6 months)?

And for a long time, I didn't know how to answer it. I would give some lame excuse about how we were going to move to CO, but then that fell through and we just decided to get married anyway. But really?

I know we're young. Believe me, I get that. But anyone who knows me &/or Michael relatively well knows that we're fairly mature people, who are completely crazy for each other. Since we've gotten close, he has become my best friend. He's always the first person I tell things to, and he makes me laugh more than I thought could be possible... But that's all kind of besides the point. The point is, I am so in love with him, and I know that I am going to be spending the rest of my life with him... So why wait to start that leg of the journey (marriage) any longer? Life is way too short as it is. We all know that things happen to even the best people. Tragedies happen. And I know that if someday, something were to happen to him and we waited to get married... my one regret would be not marrying him sooner. I don't want that to happen. I'm ready to completely share my highs and lows, good days and bad days, joy and sorrows, with this man. Who also loves me more than I ever deserved. And I am not ashamed to be getting married a month shy of 20. I know that I will be loving Michael every day for the rest of my life.

So there. In case any of you were wondering why I am stressing myself to gray hairs why we're getting married now... There you have it. Agree or disagree if you will... but I'm pretty dang excited that this thing is going down in three and a half weeks. (!!!) Of course, I won't be seeing Michael for another 2 weeks, and then after 2 days, he'll be gone for another 6 days... but then.. we be gettin' hitched. =)

On a completely unrelated subject... I've already decided to add another show to my obsession love list...


This, my friends, is Glee. There was a sneak peek on Fox last night, and it's currently free to download the Pilot on iTunes. That girl in the animation was the lead Wendla for the OBC Spring Awakening. She's pretty much amazing. It's a comedy about the Glee Club at a high school. I'd highly recommend it.

And So You Think You Can Dance starts tomorrow!! Let the obsessing OBSESSING (over the amazing dances the people do) begin!

Friday I'm having a date night with my 7-year-old nephew. It's pretty much going to be a blast, and I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures.

But for now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to my date with Godiva dark chocolate covered almonds, Coke, and Bride Wars...
much love,
alex

"Those you've pained may carry that still with them. All the same they whisper, 'All Forgiven'. Still your heart says the shadow brings the starlight. And everything you've ever been is still there in the dark night."
-"Those You've Known" from Spring Awakening...

...which I'm going to see Saturday at 2 pm! I'm oh, so very excited because I've been listening to this musical for a good while now and it just closed on Broadway a few days ago. So I'm seeing the tour in Des Moines with Shannon and Becca! I exposed Shannon. =D Anywho, it'll be a long day, involving 10 hours of driving, but it'll be SO worth it. (Ah, including waking up at 5:30 am. I don't know the last time I did that...) I'm bouncing from giddiness. How sad.

Or happy.

=D

I went dress shopping yesterday. And it reminded me how much I really don't like dresses and shopping. Throw them together and I'm bound to put up a fight. I went with my little sister (a bridesmaid) and one of my roommates. We took some pictures, but I won't post them on here because I know occasionally Michael reads and he doesn't want to know diddly squat about my dress. So yes. But I got more of an idea of what I want in a dress, which is good.

This month has already flown by, and I can't believe it's the 21st 22nd. Classes are starting to pick up, which is allllways great fun. But I am really excited for my intro to biomedical engineering class. Which, again, makes me a bit of a nerd, but that's okay!

That's all for now I think... I hope everyone is doing well!
much love,
alex

"Living in a dream, walking inbetween the sunrise and sunset..."
"Living in Twilight" by The Weepies

So for those few readers I do have, I apologize for the lack of updates. Borders and family consumed most of my winter break, but now I'm back in "Manhappenin'" for school. Classes start tomorrow, much to my disappointment. For the most part.

I am kinda excited about my programming class.

I would be.

So since my last update, Michael and I took a trip to Olathe, where I used to live, to visit a few good friends. One of them, Abbey, took some great pictures of us while we were there. Being me, I put up a fight, refusing to look at the camera or smile for most of them. Yet, the pictures turned out great. I'm not sure how she did it.

This one's been popular, and it's actually one of my favorites too...


Not only was I being uncooperative, but so was my hair, but there's a few where it's down...

And this one reminds me of Twilight. And that makes me a nerd. (He doesn't sparkle though. But I don't hold it against him. =) )

anyway.. There are plenty more, and we've ordered some for wedding invitations.

Speaking of which, we've, for now, set a date of June 13th. Of this year. You're allowed to think we're crazy. I question my own sanity sometimes, but I know it'll all work out, and I'm plenty excited.

I have a wedding site started, and will post the link for it soon. And it'll probably link back here, as this slowly morphs into a wedding blog until the wedding, and then back to an "Alex" blog after that.

For now I should get some studying done. First Organic Chemistry 2 class tomorrow morning. Really, I could do without, but that's okay.

much love
alex

P.S. If you're at K-State, you should head out to Hasting's this Saturday between 1 and 3. Band director, Dr. Tracz, will be "guest barista-ing", and I will be helping. Oh boy.