Mrs. Hot Stuff: A Story of Emojis

It's been quite some time since I last wrote, and I know you're all itching to know what's been happening in my life...okay, so that's probably a lie, but humor me. Well, about two weeks after my last post, Hot Stuff proposed, we did some planning, and got hitched! Woot woot! Kind of crazy right? Well now that things have settled down a bit, I've finally got some good writing time on my hands, along with a caboodle's worth of blog topics, (Side note: you can still buy Caboodles! I know this because I checked Google to make sure I spelled it right). I thought it'd be most appropriate to kick things off with the tales of our wedding as told through emojis.

The tale of Mrs. Hot Stuff begins with:

After Hot Stuff proposed on a hike at the Maroon Bells last fall, we quickly fell into the world of wedding planning. At this point, I'd watched my fair share of wedding shows on TLC and had participated in numerous friends' weddings, but nothing prepared me for this foreign world. You walk into it thinking, "Yes! All of my Pinterest dreams are finally going to come to fruition!" and, "I will say yes to the dress!" but in reality, there's so much more to it.

No sooner had the:

that people began to give their sage wisdom and advice. Initially we couldn't decide on a venue, therefore we couldn't decide on a date. "Do what you want to do! It's your wedding!" said our helpful advisers. So we did. We picked the most bee-you-tiful venue that included a vintage manor in the foothills with views of the Denver skyline. I'm still pretty obsessed with this place. And the great thing, is that once you decide on the venue, the fun stuff begins. This looks like:

and

Which in case you couldn't tell, means making decisions and checking things off the never-ending to do list. And while to do lists are my jam, making decisions is not. We started by asking everyone for advice on what to do and scouring the yelp and wedding vendor sites, but quickly learned that this meant that there was nothing getting done. What we ended up with was the Rule of 3 which essentially meant research three vendors, send Hot Stuff to flash his shiny smile to get us a good deal, and make a choice.  Before too long, you really start to feel like this:

Yes, that is your money, and yes, it is flying away. Yeah, it sucks, but to be honest, I wouldn't have changed a single thing. The best advice we got during this process was that everything in the wedding industry is negotiable. And it is! No doubt having the smiling Hot Stuff on my side helped with our bargaining, but just remember his words of wisdom, "Being nice and polite is currency, so use it!"

So after I picked my:

and we were feeling filled with:

(The elephant is supposed to represent love, but let's be real, I was just trying to figure out a way to use my favorite emoji.) 

There definitely comes a time when you start to feel like everything is:

Now, let's be clear here, I'm not adding this part in to tell you that I hated wedding planning or that it was a horrible experience. I also wouldn't classify myself as a "bridezilla" who freaked out over every detail and alienated every person I know. But here's the deal, pulling off an event like this is stressful! You're bound to overreact at something when you're trying to coordinate the feeding, watering, and entertainment of 150 people. For example, when you go to your caterer for a:

And after trying salmon that tastes like a campfire and steak that is rubbed in a vat of pepper, you decide on the filet mignon, don't write an email saying our menu is beef tenderloin. How am I supposed to know that they are the same piece of meat!? I must've missed the lesson on:

When someone sends you an:

 

Don't start rumors about who got left off the invitation list or "forget" that you have to respond because odds are, there is someone else on the other side of that invite that:

very hard about who to invite and who chose those invitations with care. At some point, you just have to learn to:

And remind yourself that from now on you will be the BEST wedding guest there ever was.

Okay, so now the day you've been waiting for, your wedding day! If you're me, this means that essentially for a week straight, you look like this:

Call it stress, call it nerves, call it a wave of emotions for a life changing event. Whatever you call it, pass the tissues, because everything made me cry. I saw my dress hanging on the door- tear. I picked up our flowers and they were PERFECT- tear. I heard my uncle's voice- tear. My mom cried through the entire rehearsal- tear. And then we get to the rehearsal dinner, give me a microphone in front of everyone I love, and expect me to speak!?

Oh man. If only there were an emoji for "hot mess."

The day of our actual wedding was a complete whirlwind. It's so crazy that everything you've been working towards for the past months can happen in just a blink of an eye. I loved every second of it. I loved getting all prettied-up with my best friends, singing Justin Timberlake at the top of our lungs in the packed little Prius, eating extra

while watching my miraculous bridesmaids help to prepare all of our hand-made desserts. I loved putting on my dress for the first time, and posing for pictures like we were in Titanic. I loved the DANCING and being able to do a Whitney Houston performance, because hey, it's our day! But above all, I loved seeing Hot Stuff for the first time, and when I say "seeing," I use the term generously as I was crying so hard, I just remember saying, "I can't see you!" I'll never forget how handsome he looked in his tux, or how amazing it felt to have my parents walk me down the aisle to the tunes of Elvis like I had always dreamt it to be. I can still see the sun shining down on us, which we both later confessed we believed to be the works of our grandparents watching over us. In short, it was the best day of my life.

Having a wedding is:

But it's also the most humbling and loving experience I have ever had. So to those who were there with us all the way from the proposal to the vows, in spirit or in person, thank you for making our day such a special celebration. We are incredibly lucky to have such a massive support system that made our dreams of becoming Mr. and Mrs. come true.

 PS- Tales from the:

are up next time!