Where to begin??

It seems like forever ago that the biggest day of my life came and went. Because its been so long since I've posted I'm having a little trouble trying to figure out where to start.

I guess I could always "go back to the beginning."

Friday, May 15th was the day of our rehearsal. In the morning I got to go golfing with a lot of friends and family. It turned out to be a very nice day, although very windy which made the golf a little challenging. Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun and it really helped relieve some pre-wedding day stress. :-)

The rehearsal went off without a hitch, and everyone seemed very excited for the big day. Everyone learned their roles and knew what they had to do so all-in-all it was a good rehearsal. The grooms dinner was held back at Tartan Park and was a really fun dinner. Kelsey surprised me by having a 3D cake made of a boom running race. I was one of the 3D frosting dudes, and the funniest part was that during transportation, my dude tipped over off his log and fell into the "water." Originally Kelsey was a bit worried that this would wreck the cake, but once she found out that it was my dude that fell in, it suddenly became the most realistic cake ever. ;-)

The other big hit of the night was something that Kelsey had planned for us a few months before our wedding day. She had found online a description of a "Dutch Tradition" where the couple puts two wine glasses, a bottle of wine, and two letters, one for each person written by the other, into a box. The mothers of the bride and groom nail the box shut and it is to remain sealed. The only way you are supposed to open the box is to pry it open when you are at your last resort before a potential divorce. The idea is that the wine is supposed to get you to sit together and drink, while you read the letters reminding each other why you loved each other when you began. If you make it without ever needing "the box" then Kelsey and I set a time of 20 years to open it anyway as a little wedding anniversary idea. Needless to say a lot of the comments about the box were positive and even more were humorous in nature. A couple of my friends said they'd already would have been through at least two boxes in their marriage. A couple of the groomsmen starting quoting that they are going to start new drinking traditions and claim that it's a "Dutch Tradition" and Kelsey and I found a new joke to say when we are on each other's nerves... "That's it.. GET THE BOX!!" All jokes aside, its a very nice thing to have as a new tradition in our family and I will enjoy opening it in 20 years. :-)

The wedding day began rather early for me, but not as early as the girls. :-) Brian and I had to drive down to Stillwater to drop off my car for the night as we were staying in a hotel in downtown Stillwater that night. We got back and I got showered up and headed over to the Church when I was told to. I got there at 11:00am ready to have Kelsey come and begin our big day together. We decided to see each other before the ceremony because that way we could get all our pictures in before the ceremony and still have a little time to not be rushed afterwords and to just enjoy the day. She was supposed to meet me in the little Chapel outside the Church at 11:15am. Well, 11:45 rolled around and she finally came out. :-) We realized that I was on time, and she was running a little late. It worked out fine, but with my nerves being as they were that morning anyway, I got a little worried for about 5 minutes in that span. :-)

She was as anyone would expect, the most beautiful bride I had ever seen. She looked AMAZING in her dress and it really was everything I had hoped for. We took some great pictures and were all smiles throughout the ceremony. Nothing really went wrong in the ceremony, except that when I went to light the unity candle, my candle stuck to the candle holder and as I pried it out the wax spilled on my hand... it didn't feel too great.

We even had my nephew and Kelsey's niece make it down the aisle as they entered the Church! Chloe, the flower girl, was to everyone's surprise, in a dress and down the aisle right with Trevor. It was spectacular!

The ceremony continued without a hitch and before we knew it, we were married. We ushered everyone out of the Church and after a little cleanup, it was time to get on the limo bus and begin the party time. :-)