Number Five

Five years ago on July 22, 2006, I married "a guy named Jake" (as he came to be coined in the many back-and-foth emails between me and the mutual friend who set us up on our blind date). I wish I could say I remembered a lot about that day, but it was such a blur and it went so quickly that only a few things (albeit, AMAZING things) still stand out in my memory. So, in honor of the day that changed my name- and my life :) - here some of the more humorous things I do remember:

1. It was hot. I'm talking sweat running down my legs under my dress, gross, sticky HOT. But hey, that's what happens when you're finacee proposes in December and you realize you're too impatient to wait an entire year to get married and have the December wedding you've always dreamed of. So I decided mid-July would work. (I still scratch my head over that). But I guess that means plenty beach trips to celebrate our anniversary. Thankfully, we "only" had 92 degree weather that day, as opposed to the 106 it reached yesterday.

2. I only got one bite of my beautiful cake- the bite that Jake gave me. ONE bite. I won't even say what was spent on this cake. Thankfully, everyone else raved about it, but I was pretty bummed that I more or less had to take their word for it since I was simply too busy to partake.

3. We decided to cut costs by hiring an {amazing} band to play for the first two hours and then loaded up Jake's iPod with some of our favorite tunes for the last 2 hours. Seemed like a great idea, right? Until our first dance song came on (which wasn't played by the band) and there was this awkward silence as someone was trying to find it on the iPod. *crickets* And then Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You" blasted through the speakers. Definitely NOT our first song by a long stretch, but a good little comic relief, if anything.

4. We piled ourselves- elated, but also hungry and exhausted- into the limo that was taking us to our hotel, popped open the bottle of champagne that was chilled and waiting, and then asked our driver to please, for the love of God, stop at the nearest Wendy's so we could stuff our faces with a few Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers. It was dire. And amazingly, they paired well with the subtle notes of almond, vanilla and cherry blossoms in our champagne.

5. The ironic thing that sticks out most in my mind about that day is my complete lack of ability to actually remember the finer details, try as I might to conjure them up. Which is why I'm glad we didn't spend tens of thousands of dollars on the event, even though it would have been incredibly easy to do. I remember thinking that everything would be thrown completely off if I couldn't have those centerpieces and that color for the table linens. But at the end of the day, I was just as married as I could be- just as happy as I could be. nd five years (and one day) :) after the fact, though the days may be long and exhausting, I can't imagine going to sleep and waking up beside anyone else. :)