Just like waiting for Christmas morning or gearing up for
vacation, once the big day arrives, it always goes by too quickly, and you’re
left with simply the clean-up before life moves on. The big day has come and gone, and it was
more than I ever could have expected because of the hard work and generosity of
our family and friends. Thanks are definitely in order for all of those in the
family who helped fix up their places for the occasion so that they looked more
beautiful than ever. Without a wedding
coordinator, the matron of honor, my now husband, and his wonderful family
divided up and took on all the tough tasks of putting together everything from
the rehearsal dinner to setting up the sound system, making the centerpieces
and setting the tables for the reception, putting the coolers together, and so
much more! While my best friend and matron of honor assisted me with my hair
and make-up back at her hotel room, my sweetheart and his family made sure
everything was taken care of back at the wedding and reception venues. The ceremony and reception itself was
beautiful and went by without a hitch. Of course, there are always those little
things behind the scenes that come up last minute, but thanks to our fabulous
“venue crews,” the guests never knew the difference. It was an honor to have my cousin officiate
and to have a whole table of Kwajalein residents at both the wedding and
reception. We feel so blessed to have
such a supportive base of friends and family from around the world really. My
family traveled from North Carolina, Missouri, Alabama, and Texas while many of
our friends and my husband’s family traveled from as far away as Kwajalein and as
close as various spots throughout Oregon for a total of around 40 guests on
that sunny, warm evening. Yes, the worries about rainy weather were
unnecessary. In fact, we delayed the ceremony and such because the sun was so
bright, and it was so warm that we needed to push back the time in order to
make it more comfortable for everyone and allow the sun to set a little further
behind our archway where the ceremony took place. J
Since that
lovely day and our wedding weekend at the Holiday Inn in Albany, it’s been a
whirlwind of activity for our first 12 days a married couple. It started with a day trip to Newport with
the family and friends who were able to stick around for an extra day or two,
and then a longer road trip to various spots throughout Oregon including
McMinnville to see the Spruce Goose (www.evergreenmuseum.org)
and have some fun at a water park and to Seaside and Cannon Beach to enjoy
another quaint coastal town and the amazing sight of Haystack Rock. (http://ci.cannon-beach.or.us/~Natural/hrap.html).
We spent the night in Seaside, so the boys started their day dipping their toes
into the icy cold waters of Cannon Beach and ended it throwing snowballs at
each other on Mt. Hood at the historic and absolutely breathtaking Timberline
Lodge (http://www.timberlinelodge.com). Another honeymoon treat we were blessed to
receive occurred when my parents offered to treat us to a night at the lodge,
so we returned the favor and treated them to a gourmet dinner at the Cascade
Dining Room within the lodge itself. It
was one of those surreal moments when you are taken back in time to the days of
Franklin D. Roosevelt who provided the work force for the handmade wood lodge
through his Works Progress Administration program (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-creates-the-wpa
). The next morning it was off to the High Dessert Museum (http://www.highdesertmuseum.org)
near Bend, Oregon for a fun and educational end to our 3 day road trip.
The remaining 6
days were spent relaxing with family back at the Oregon homestead, going to the
dirt track races, supporting the family by attending the 4-H County Fair, and
taking care of business, such as starting the long process of changing my name
on everything from my social security number to bank accounts and so much
more. I wish we had more time to just be
with everyone and catch up because once a year is never enough and with
preparing for and executing all the wedding events, we had less time than usual
to devote to all those important people in our lives and especially those who
were visiting us from afar.
Now that we are
headed back home, I have very mixed feelings about leaving. Oregon is becoming
my home, and I look forward to having a chance to be a more permanent resident
there some day. Sitting at the airport,
typing this, I am missing everyone already. It’s been a wonderful wedding
adventure, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of our lives have in store!!
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