Well, we did it. We made it to our two year anniversary! The first year we were totally in "newlywed" stage but three months into our second year our lives were turned upside down with a new baby. People say that the first year of marriage is tough, but the first year with a baby is even more so....they are all correct. FIRST, I would never, EVER change my life, but part of me wishes that we would have set back and enjoyed our marriage, just the two of us, a little longer before getting wrapped up in being new home owners and parents. Luckily, life is never our decision but we are merely pawns in the Lords bigger plan and so far he hasn't let me down.
I remember the week of our wedding. We were having it at my parents ranch in Lexington, TX (about an hour away from Austin). It had rained...STORMED the entire week of the wedding leaving the entire 80 acres a puddle of mud. The day before the wedding, the Lord graced us with some beautiful sunshine and over night the water dried and turned our grass into the most beautiful green.
Our wedding was EXACTLY what I had ever wanted. I am not an attention seeker, a name brand wearer, or a fancy shmancy kind of person. I wanted a casual, laid back "backyard" wedding and it was exactly that.
I will be the first to admit that I am not the easiest person in the world to be around. I cuss like a sailor (working on that one), I tell it exactly like it is and too often am way too honest around people I hardly know. Surprisingly, I was the easiest bride and everyone in my bridal party/family would agree. I honestly told my mom to plan it and I wanted to "just show up" because at this point, I was just lucky to be alive. I didn't care about having an expensive dress or gourmet food. Having extravagant favors and crystal everywhere didn't even cross my mind. I wanted this to be a party that I would remember for the rest of my life and not be a moment that I said "all that stress for this?"
I bought my dress at...an Asian dress store off of N. Lamar. I went to many bridal boutiques before that and just never found a dress that I loved but by the time I usually got to the fitting rooms, I was so fed up with the snotty staff that I wanted to bolt before even wasting my time. It was just me and my mama trying on dresses one day and BOOM...I found it. The "antique" style dress was exactly what I was looking for and it cost me just under $800.00 which is less than what I paid for my prom dress Senior year (ridiculous, I know). I also bought all of my flowers from Sam's and my Godmother put together our arrangements and bouquets.
The morning of the wedding, Travis got me a new ipod with a video message that just set the tone for the entire day. I was SO ready to marry my best friend. I didn't have a nervous bone in my body, I remember being so calm....even though we had tons of mishaps before the wedding. After a trial run with a make up artist a few months beforehand, I realized that nobody can do my make up better than myself. Not only did I do my own make up but I did ALL of my bridal parties make up as well haha!
My hair dressers ran out of gas a mile from the house and WALKED the whole way with all of their gear and when they got there I decided last minute to cut a few inches off my hair to get rid of the dead ends. My dress zipper and clasp broke mere minutes before walking down the isle and my dad had to sew me in my dress. My flower girl tore her Achilles heel in a bike accident a few days before and was in a cast (and I had no idea until she showed up), we totally forgot our marriage license at our apartment, I had to go braless and I about busted ass at the end of the isle and yet none of these little blunders seemed to matter.
We ended the night with a carriage ride and firework show. We had the time of our life :) you can watch our video here (pw: ninatravis) shot by our friends from AMFM studios!
Travis, you are the only boyfriend I have ever had, you are the only person I have loved. You are my lover, my best friend, my mentor and my psychiatrist. You are the most amazing human being and I am so proud of the person you have become and the obstacles we have overcome. You have taught me how to be a better person and love others unconditionally. You have the patience of a saint and you are an amazing father. I thank you for all of these things but most importantly I want to thank you for teaching me how to love myself. You love me for all of my faults and imperfections and remind me that I should love them too. I remember sitting in bed as a little girl and wondering why no boys ever liked me. In high school I prayed to God for you every night and had comfort knowing that you were waiting for me. Thank you for changing my life in more ways you will ever know. I love you babe.
Lovelove,
that was beautiful, Nina. I loved every word, and especially the photo's since i wasn't there. I am sooo happy for you and so excited for the happiness you have to look forward to. you deserve every single second of it. i want you to know that i miss you terribly, think of you often, love you always, and can't wait to catch up with you. Hope you can make it out to my wedding because you and your family were some of the first to make the list, even though we haven't talked in years... i always thought of you as my best friend and someone i wanted to be like. hope you know that girl <3
ReplyDeletewhat a beautiful recap of your wedding and the sweet love note to your adorable hubby...congrats on celebrating 2 amazing years of marriage!
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