married!

Matt and I were married on June 4, 2010. It was wonderful. And married life is oh so good.

Truth be told, I was something of a reluctant wedding planner. I tried my best to convince Matt that eloping to Costa Rica and spending two weeks lying on the beach and exploring rain forests would be a much better use of our money than a wedding. The idea of planning a party for 100 guests and then having all of those 100 guests look at me (all 100 of them! at the same time!) while I stuttered over my vows or tripped over my dress made my heart falter. But Matt gently said, "Well, why don't we just have a big party in our backyard?" And of course he was right. At the beginning of the wedding planning, it was so hard to understand that our wedding didn't have to be like everyone else's. We could make it just right for us, a day that would be comfortable, special and meaningful. A day that would celebrate the life we've built together, and the wonderful people who have supported us and loved us for so long.

We had the wedding in our back yard, and we did pretty much everything ourselves, from the food to the flowers to the photography. We have extraordinarily talented family and friends, let me tell you. What surprised me the most about the whole wedding process was how much everyone wanted to help. Our loved ones were incredibly generous with their time and talents and it was so humbling, and so special.

We said our vows on Friday evening, surrounded by closest friends and family. Then we had our big party on Saturday--complete with bluegrass band and barbeque.

Weddings are funny things these days. So much money, so much emotional energy, so much spectacle. So much pressure! Honestly, it was hard for me to make sense of it all at first. But as the wedding started to come together, we realized that we could just relax, defy convention as needed, and plan a wedding that fit our personalities and our lifestyle. And then it got a whole lot more fun.

I have lots of details to share with you. More to come!