The Best Day Of Our Lives

3 months. That's how long it's been now that David and I have been married. I can hardly believe it! It seems like only last week that we said "I Do". With so much to do in the days leading up to the wedding, and then transitioning into married life, there hasn't seemed to be much time to write. Now that things have settled down, and life is returning to normal, I really want to start using this blog of mine again. So, how about we play catch up?

On May 1st, David and I became husband and wife. Our ceremony started at 5pm on a beautiful Friday evening.

 

 

Before the ceremony started, David and I met up to hold hands and talk one last time before we became husband and wife. I'm so glad that we did that, even though it was driving David crazy that he couldn't see me in my dress yet.

The ceremony went beautifully. The weather was perfect. My baby sisters and David's niece were our flower girls. My little brother was our ring bearer. My oldest brother was David's best man. David's two brothers were two of his groomsmen. Everyone that we love showed up to celebrate with us. We had communion. And best of all? I became his wife.

We had a small wedding consisting of only 70-75 people, but it was the perfect amount for me. I have always wanted a more intimate wedding. And our wedding was literally everything I've ever dreamed of. It was more than worth the wait.

Our reception was made up of dinner, lots of tears (I mean, how can you not cry while dancing with your daddy?), and lots, I mean LOTS, of dancing. David and I truly had a blast! I always knew that my wedding would be fun, but I never realized how much fun it really would be.

 

Mother/Son dance

 

 

Mother/Daughter dance

 

Father/Daughter dance

Our first dance as Mr. & Mrs.

 

Right before removing the garter

Smashing cake in my face even though I BEGGED him not to

Dancing the night away

 

At the end of the night, we hugged our family and friends as we hopped into our getaway car that read "Just Married" on the back. It truly was such a magical day. David and I were so blessed to be able to celebrate such a beautiful thing with all of the people we love.

Now that I finally posted about the wedding, I have been requested by my best friend to write a blog post about the married life. So, that is exactly what I am going to do :)

Happy Wednesday, my friends!

Blessings, David & Ashley

My thoughts 17 days before the wedding

David and I get married in just 17 days. I can hardly even believe it. We have been engaged for so long that it really almost seems unreal that we are getting married so soon. We are in the process of finishing up last minute wedding details and getting all of our ducks in a row. We have been in wedding planning mode for so long that I may not even know what to do with myself once the wedding is over haha 

I have been experiencing the emotions that come with wedding planning and preparing to get married. Basically, feeling stressed out and extremely excited yet incredibly nervous but really, really happy. 

I try not to think of the fact that I'm going to be leaving home in just a couple short weeks (2 1/2 weeks to be exact) because I really am trying to just enjoy this time and not make myself upset by the thought of moving out. It's hard not to think about, though, when my baby sister comes into my room in the morning, says "Hi, Sissy!" then proceeds to climb into bed with me. It's going to be impossible not to miss that. It's hard when I am sitting on the couch with my parents and all of my little siblings watching tv, and the thought "It won't be like this for long" crosses my mind. It's hard when I'm out shopping with my mom, laughing with her and just enjoying her company, knowing it won't be as easy to have days out with her when I'll be living 30 minutes away. 

I know that it won't always be hard. I know that a time will come when living with David and calling his apartment my home will just become natural. I know that we will settle down, and I will discover a new normal. 

As I was heading to bed last night, I went around hugging everyone as usual and telling everyone goodnight.... "Goodnight, Cody and Landon and Laura and Mom and Travis." (They were the only ones awake at the time) As I was saying my good nights, I kind of laughed to myself and told my mom how weird it is going to be at first just saying goodnight to David every night when I am used to saying goodnight to 9 people every night. 

As we get closer to getting married, I have been thinking less of the actual wedding planning and more on what's to come for me. Big life changes are coming. I've been used to living the life that I am living for 23 years, and it's going to take some time to adjust to our new life together. 

But do you know what? I am SO excited! The sadness that comes with moving out does not in any way trump the complete bliss of knowing that I am marrying my best friend. 

David and I would appreciate all of the prayers we can get as we start this new chapter of our lives. We love you all! 

Love, 

Ashley 

2 Years Later....

Over 2 years.....
That's how long it's been since I've updated this poor little, neglected blog. So much has happened since my last post, so I won't even try to cram ALL of that stuff into a blog post. Instead, I will just update about what's currently going on. Back in April of last year, David and I finally set a wedding date. In case you all were wondering when we will say "I Do"......

 

 

May 1st, 2015! We were so excited to finally be able to set a date. You all are probably wondering why in the world we were engaged for so long before we finally set a date. Well, the shortest answer is because God had us wait that long. There were SO many set backs during the first almost 2 years of being engaged that kept us from setting a date because there were SO many unknowns. It's quite a long story, so that's why I decided to share the short version.

 

 

As of right now, we are 95 DAYS away from getting married! I can't even believe it! We are knee deep in wedding plans, and I wouldn't have it any other way. We will be having a small, intimate ceremony/reception at a local venue that we instantly fell in love with when we saw it. Everything is coming together so nicely, and I can't wait for our big day. We have colors picked out, our wedding cake ordered, flower girl dresses have arrived, bridesmaid dresses have been ordered, taste tasting appointment has been scheduled, deposits have been paid, the honeymoon has been booked, and my wedding dress will be available for pick-up in just a couple of weeks. We do still have a handful of things we still need to accomplish, but most of them are just tiny details.

 

On New Years' Day, David blessed me by upgrading my engagement ring! He had been talking about getting me a new one for about a year, but he just wasn't in the position quite yet to be able to get me one. On January 1st, we had gone to the jewelry store to get my brother's fiancé's ring resized. I was looking at the rings (as usual), and I found one that I instantly fell in love with (Totally not expecting to get it. Just admiring it). Then, David pulled me aside and asked me if I really liked that one, and I told him yes. Then, he proceeded to tell me that he was going to buy it for me. I was so surprised and happy! The people in the jewelry store talked him into re-proposing to me in the store (even though he planned on doing it later as a surprise), but I'm so glad he listened because it was so cute! He got down on one knee again, said a few words that almost made the both of us cry, then he handed me the ring. It really was the sweetest thing ever.

 

 

I mean, seriously, isn't it gorgeous?

The whole experience was such a blessing, and I will remember it for always. David really is such a sweetheart.... He spoils me :)

I'm going to end this short update by saying sorry that I have not updated in so long, but I promise that I will do better. As the wedding gets closer and closer, I have more and more to say. I have some future blog posts in mind already that I would like to work on. So, keep an eye out for those :)

Blessings, friends!

Love,
Ashley