This month, we are focusing on the word ‘Adore’. A couple of my fellow Arkansas Women Bloggers volunteered to share some of their favorite memories with us. I love the way that memories can provide us with joy, strength, and motivation right when we need it.
First up: Kayla Shown-Dean, blogger at Kidean Around who shows us that even when things don’t go exactly as planned, they can still make great memories. Below she shares her memory of her very eventful wedding day (btw, she and her husband will celebrate 6 years of matrimony this year)
“After over six months of planning, it was finally here—the day of my wedding. While I’d like to say everything went according to plan, it did not. Preston and I had originally planned to get married under the weeping willow tree at the bark (where he proposed), but a few weeks before the wedding, the tree was struck by lightning and had to be removed. So we decided to get married in the gazebo instead. We ordered chairs and reorganized to make this a possibility, only to have four days of rain before the wedding, flooding the park. We had booked the university for our reception, so we hurriedly arranged for the ceremony to take place in the lobby on the stairwell and moved the reception into the banquet hall. It was chaotic and crazy, but everything was finally falling into place; it was finally my wedding day.
But I was so nervous.
When I came out of the dressing room and turned to walk down the aisle, over 200 pairs of eyes greeted me, beaming. I beamed back, the traditional blushing bride, but inside the flutterflies were launching air strikes on my poor unsuspecting stomach. I felt my face burn red, and in my anxiety, kicked my shoes off to the side. (Yeah, I know I still get comments about being the barefoot bride). But still, I made it down the aisle and up the stairs, taking my place by Preston’s side.
But those pesky flutterflies were relentless.
Their previous assaults left me shaking in a cold sweat, and our Pastor just kept babbling on and on and on…so I did it! I called a time out. I grabbed my maid of honor and made a bee line for the upstairs bathroom, only to discover that the bathroom door was blocked due to the construction on the second floor. Then my crowd of guests got the honor of hearing me swear in frustration—something I never do! The crowd burst into whispers of my obvious pregnancy or dissatisfaction with the groom. Some thought I had the flu, but I was just hot…hot and nervous (which I found out later I had good reason to be since they had shut the air off because of the construction and forgot to turn it back on).
When the ceremony reconvened, thirty minutes later, I was much better—well as long as my sister kept a moist towel on my back, and Preston held me up while simultaneously fanning my face with his hands and by breathing on me. Of course, I still had to tell our minister to “hurry it up”—which you can even hear on the DVD. But it all ended nicely.
I mean, we didn’t have enough cake for our guests, our caterer forgot some of our food, and the groom’s cake melted. But over all, it was the perfect wedding—and one that my guests have never forgotten. Especially after my ex-boyfriend crashed the reception. Apparently, one of my bridesmaids posted about my running off stage during all the excitement, and he saw it and showed up…hoping to pick up the pieces? (I don’t know.) I was mad. I thought Preston would be mad. I thought he would yell. But instead, he simply slid his arm around me, walked up to the creep, and said smugly, “I won.” Then we walked away.
Our wedding was one wild, memorable day…and it was truly indicative of the rest of our lives.”
Next we have Julie Kohl, blogger at Eggs and Herbs sharing a bit about the origins of a sweet (and humorous) Valentine’s Day tradition.
“One of my favorite memories of my husband was when we were still newly married (only about three years). We were teaching in the same school district and Valentine’s Day came along. My husband NEVER buys flowers, let alone any kind of gift. So it was unexpected when some high school kids came to my classroom with a HUGE bouquet of 2 dozen long stem roses. Along with the bouquet, they serenaded me with a rendition of “L is for the way you look tonight”. The whole time I was flattered but wondering what terrible thing my husband had done that he felt the need to buy 2 dozen long stem roses!
Later in the day the truth finally came out and he told me that the flowers had actually been delivered to one of his high school students from a former boyfriend. She absolutely didn’t want them so my hubby offered to buy them from her for 20$. Ha! THIS was totally my husband. In future years, on Valentine’s, girls were rushing to be the first to offer him their unwanted flowers. I got recycled bouquets for several years and they were absolutely perfect!”
What is your favorite memory? Share in the comments below.
Tiffany Hathorn has been blogging since the summer of 2010. She got started as a way to document her pregnancy and her life as a first-time mother. Since then, her blog has transformed into a chronicle of her life as a single WAHM. She blogs about raising her son solo, working from home, and her journey as a homeschooling mom. If you would like to follow Tiffany, you may do so bysubscribing to her blog or liking her fan page.