My Last Day- From Bleu

Good Morning! Mom and Dad said this is gonna be a good day. They said we are going to celebrate the awesome life I have had.  Dad woke up with me since he had to brew early today. He fed me breakfast and let me outside.  After breakfast we all snuggled on the big bed. That was special because I haven't been able to get on mom and dad's bed since I couldn't see anymore.  I missed it. 

 After breakfast my Auntie Vanessa came by with my cousins, Stella and Parker.  They brought me a bean and cheese taco. They know how much I love tortillas! When I was younger I ate over 100 tortillas that were for Chilifest when my parents were in college.

Mom took me over to see my Gram.  Gram usually comes to my house everyday but today I got to go to her house! I went swimming with my friend Shadow.  She usually doesn't like me very much but she was really nice to me today. She must know it is my special day to celebrate me.

After I swam we had to leave and so I had to say goodbye to my Gram. I love her so much. She always  calls me Bleu Bird.  I loved hearing her voice when she came over every day while mom and dad were at work.  

 Wow we rode in the car A LOT today. I didn't feel like sticking my head out of the window. I just wanted to lay on my belly and relax. Mom took me to a place with a drive through that smelled amazing.

 MOM GOT ME AND DAD WHATABURGER FOR LUNCH!! I love burgers so much. I haven't had one of these since my birthday in February.  It was cool to go to where my Dad works. We had a picnic outside.

 I was done eating my burger but I kept hearing my dads paper that was wrapped around his burger move. I kept thinking I was gonna get more. I didn't get any of his hamburger but dad shared his fries with me.

 I am so glad mom didn't go to work today. I didn't have to go into my crate at all today.

 All the swimming and burgers made me really tired. I took a nice long nap in my favorite bed in my parents room. I snored so loud but nobody cared.

Mom and Dad held me when I left. They told me how much they loved me and how much of a good boy I was over and over. I really had the best parents any dog could ever have.

I had an awesome day doing the things I love to do and eating all of my favorite foods. I had an amazing life with an awesome family that loved me like I was a human.  I am going to miss them and I know they are going to miss me.

Love, Bleu

Goodbye

Written Saturday: September 12,2015
Goodbye. I say it to my kids every time they leave me at the end of every school day when they shake my hand. I say it with excitement because another day is done. Another day into the folders that I like to categorize in my head as Amazing, Stressful, Successful, Tiring, Exhilarating etc.  Saying goodbye is something that is always so important to me. Whenever I have dinner with our family and the night is coming to an end,  I hug every person goodbye because really you just never know. This time I do know.
It breaks my heart that I have to say goodbye to our dear Bleu.  For the past year I knew this time was coming. I was expecting Bleu to be here 3-4 months after he went blind most likely from a brain tumor. We have made it almost a year since I got that devastating news. Once realizing our time was counting down I said "screw his diet and give him an extra cup of food!"So after those 4 months passed I just had a heavier dog but I also gained a heavier heart for the next months to come. I got to have so much more time with Bleu than I ever expected.  I never thought we would make it to Christmas, his birthday on Valentine's Day or the summer.  We are so lucky that we got to experience it all one more time with Bleu. It was Bonus Time.
Our vet has told us for months. You will know. You will know when it's time.  I was going crazy because I just never thought that would happen. Yet it did. I know it is time because when I look at Bleu I am happy to see him and he is happy to be with us yet I can also see that his body is failing him. Last week when we took him to the lake for his final trip I was sitting with him and petting him to help him go to sleep. He was whimpering and moaning. He put his paw up at me and even though I know he can't see me he looked at me then laid his head back down.  I just said "I know, Bleu".
Getting back from the lake was difficult and I was all kinds of emotions. I knew that was his last trip there and he really loves that place more than our own home I think. I started to look through old photos of Bleu and I just kept crying and I also smiled and laughed. Had Bleu really been that young?! It seems so long ago. I forget the years when Bleu ran faster than me and I couldn't catch him and although he has only been blind for a little over a year of his life I forget how he was when he could see. Memories of Bleu not running into things and hurting himself are so blurry but they are there in the photos. I looked at the pictures and saw what an amazing life Bleu had and what amazing memories he gave us.  I am choosing to reflect on the great life Bleu has had and I am so glad we all took so many photos of him.

Thank you so much to all of our family and friends for always loving on Bleu and helping us take care of him when we had to be out of town. I want to give a special thanks to my mom. For the past year she has come to our home every single day at noon while we are at work to let Bleu out for us. His tumor caused him to basically always be thirsty and he drinks so much water and he also could not go longer than four hours without being let outside. Mom, without you we wouldn't have been able to have that time with him. We are so grateful for your help. Thank you to Crestway Animal Clinic and the wonderful Dr. Ed Nichols for always loving and taking care of Bleu like he was your own. We appreciate you so much.


Bleu,
We taught you how to sit, shake, lay down and walk on a leash. You taught us to be patient, loving and forgiving as well as to laugh whenever things were out of our control. I cannot express how much you mean to us. You grew up with us. We were only 19 year old college freshmen when we made the commitment to take on the responsibility of a puppy. While you were going from a puppy to a grown up pup we were teenagers becoming adults and I have no doubt you helped us in more ways than one. You got to experience college with us and live through the crazy parties your dad would throw which I am sure you loved because of all the snacks people would give you.  I am going to miss you. You are my morning buddy while Hannah and dad sleep in. I don't want to be selfish and keep you here anymore because I don't want you to feel anymore pain. My heart is sad but it is also full because of all the joy you gave us and how lucky we were to get you that day in April 9 1/2 years ago. You are taking a huge piece of my heart with you. I love you so much my Bubbidy Bleu.

Love,
Your Momma


Video: Bleu's Beautiful Life

One year of Mawwiage

Has it really been a year? I feel like we got married a couple months ago and it is crazy to me how 12 months have passed us by. A year ago I was anticipating one of the biggest days of my life. It was a beautiful day.

I watched our wedding video this morning and still can feel those butterflies and the amazing blanket of love that everyone showed us that day. If you haven't seen it go here: Wedding Video

Now one year later we have grown together with more experiences and adventures as expected.  So here are some questions we have both answered for our one year anniversary!

From Amanda:

1. What has brought you closer together this year?
We obviously do not have any human children but our pups Hannah and Bleu serve as our "kids" right now.  Shortly after our honeymoon Bleu went completely blind. Bleu has brought us together this year for sure. We instantly had to make decisions and make things comfortable for Bleu in this new phase in his life.  It was heartbreaking for both of us to see Bleu go through this.  It was no way like having a child but we did have to make sacrifices and plan our days accordingly for Bleu.  Our daily conversations while at work was coordinating who was going to get home at what time so that Bleu could be let out, have you given Bleu his medicine, did he have any accidents? and so on. It was challenging but it really made us communicate and work as a team for our buddy Bleu.

2. What is your favorite memory of this first year together?

I really loved that we hosted so many holidays this past year in our home.  We had Thanksgiving, Easter and Father's Day celebrations all together with both of our families.  Before we got married our families did a lot of things separately. We would go to two events- one for my family and one for Holland's. This year we really showed the beautify in both of our families becoming one and celebrating together instead of separately.  Our home was filled with laughter, lots of wine and hugs with tons of chatter about what was going on in each of our lives. I LIVE for those moments and I would love to continue these types of traditions in the years to come.

3. Did you have a wedding/honeymoon disaster that you still laugh about?

I have two extremely memorable stories from our Honeymoon: Jelly fish and hiking the Pitons.  While in St.Lucia, we went snorkeling one day and were stung by MILLIONS(ok, maybe a thousand) tiny baby jellyfish.  I got out after a good long sting on my leg and Holland kept on snorkeling. Another day we hiked the highest point I have ever climbed.  Holland was trying to motivate me to wait to eat my kind bar until we got to the top. I was beyond hangry and getting to the top was my goal so I could have my snack.  When we got to the top Holland realized he only packed ONE bar. He was so nice and was going to give it all to me to eat but I shared. What's yours is mine right?  He will hear about this story for the rest of his life. He always has snacks on hand while vacationing now and he knows my feeding schedule.

4. What has surprised you the most about being married?
I remember the first argument/disagreement we had once we were married. I remember thinking. Okay, we gotta talk about this and squash it and feel better and move on.  I have always known that communication is a huge thing that needs to happen in order for marriages to be successful.  I was surprised about how easy this was to calmly tell Holland what was on my mind.  I also love telling Holland how grateful I am and Thank you for the small things he does for me. Thank you for cooking dinner-I had such a long day today at work or Thank you for feeding the dogs etc.  The feeling that we are a team really solidified us this year as a couple.

5. What have your learned from your spouse this year?
Holland's personality is more introverted than I am. I wear my heart on my sleeve and Holland knows that about me. I therefore rarely hide any emotions I am feeling. Holland has really taught me this year to focus on what we can do about situations rather than dwell in our frustrations. We may not get what we want out of something but we can take that and make it something for ourselves for the future. In the end the things that upset/bother us will not destroy us but rather challenge us to make something of it- do something about it- make it better the next time so we will be happier with the outcome.

6.  What is something you have done that has worked, and really made a difference in your marriage that you would give as advice to others on their wedding day?
This is going to sound so silly and I hope Holland doesn't get mad at me for sharing this :)  I read a post online about a year ago about how couples should embrace for a 20-40 second hug every single day as soon as the other one walks through the door. Holland thought it was crazy at first but then as the days went on sometimes I would be cooking dinner and he would come home and he would stand there with both arms out.  No matter how my day was- there is something about stopping everything, giving your partner love and just hugging it out. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we laugh and sometimes we don't say anything. Having that silly long hug at the end of a workday has done something for us.  So you should try it ;)  Another thing that has been extremely successful for us is switching to a reliable phone service so that we can receive texts and calls from one another. We also synced up our calendars so we know what is going on for both of us or if we have made plans that we both want to take part in.

From Holland: 

1. What has brought you closer together this year?
I think we have focused this year on communication and that has brought us closer together. Every day we try to set down and listen to how the others day went. Sometimes it is just one person complaining how their day went but it is important to know theses details of each others life.

2. What is your favorite memory of this first year together?
My favorite memory of the year has been the Thanksgiving meal that we hosted. Amanda and I love our families and we have always had to split them between houses. Lunch would be one place then we would have to rush over to the other ones family to hang out for dinner. But this year was different. We were able to host the meal at our new house. I made a table that could sit about 14 people and we set up our back porch and both sides of the family came together that day. It started a bonding experience between our families like nothing we have done in the past 13 years. And after about ten bottles of wine we even planned a spring break trip to Lake Tahoe which too was and very memorable trip.

3. Did you have a wedding/honeymoon disaster that you still laugh about?
There is one thing that Amanda still jokes about and I must admit it is still funny about our wedding day.  It was about twenty minutes before we were going to line up to walk down and I thought I should go over my vows one last time. So I grabbed my brother, Whitney, and pulled him into the one restroom that was upstairs to read thorough the vows and make sure it flowed smoothly. Well I guess the emotions got the best of me and I kept choking up and my hands could not stop shaking. About two times into reading the vows someone kept knocking on the door and saying "it's Starting" and Whit being a bit of a smart ass said it won't start without him and its going to be five more minutes.  I was able to read through one last time and then I was ready. And I have to say I did not choke up and was able to read my vows to Amanda without crying. So the real funny part is after the wedding Amanda said "Oh I heard you had to take a poop before you walked out and thats why we started ten minutes late." 

4. What has surprised you the most about being married?

About how much easier things are. Most people say the first years of marriage are the hardest but I find it's the opposite. Yes, it is still difficult at times and we argue but there is a bond between us now that overcomes those obstacles. I know I can rely on Amanda completely and without hesitations and she can do the same with me. There is something special about that and that is what I find it the most surprising thing about being married. 

5. What have your learned from your spouse this year?

Amanda and I try to make each others lives easier and less stressful so one thing I have learned is that it's the little things that matter. The small everyday things we can do for each other have a much longer lasting effect on our lives than any big grand gesture. 

6. What is something you have done that has worked, and really made a difference in your marriage that you would give as advice to others on their wedding day?

We were given a lot of advice on and before the big day and a lot of was true and has helped us become closer together.  But the one thing that I felt was very important was our Honeymoon. Now  days everyone is busy with work and the chaos of life and decide to wait to take a honeymoon later after a year or two.  But my advice to people planning a wedding is to spend the time and money and make it happen. Planning a wedding is stressful and there can be tension that builds up. The Honeymoon allowed Amanda and I to reset our lives together and start our marriage  with no worries. Even though it was just a week, the effects of that time alone together still has a lasting effect  a year later.

We are looking forward to what the next year will hold for us. Thank you to all of our families and friends for your unconditional love and support. #lovewins


"That's how you know you love someone. When you can't experience anything without wishing the other person were there to see it, too."

Heavy Heart

This was something that I had thought of. This was something that had crossed my mind. Even with those two things considered, I still was not as prepared for hearing it confirmed.

On Sunday when I got back home from Austin Bleu had a seizure. I had grown up with a dog who had epilepsy so it became "normal" for me to see our dog, Madison go into her episodes and slowly come back out. Bleu's was different. He and Hannah were both laying down in his bed and then his head was to the side almost like he was looking at something over his shoulder. Then his head just twitched back and forth quickly for about a minute. I got down on the floor with him and I told Holland that I thought he was having a seizure. Holland thought he was just dreaming in his sleep but it was clear after a few moments that it wasn't dream walking. Bleu was awake.

My initial heart just sank.  I thought of what Bleu's optometrist had told me when he first went blind. I asked Dr. Bonney if he thought that maybe Bleu had possibly gone blind from a brain tumor hitting his optic nerves and he said specifically " No, if he had a brain tumor that caused him to go blind he would be having seizures".
I quickly called our vet and they suggested a blood test to see how Bleu's liver enzymes were doing. If his blood test came back similar to about 2 months ago then we know it isn't that and it could be something more. Today while my kids were in the library I called to get the results and had one of the hardest conversations I have ever had with our vet.  He told me Bleu's blood came back the same.   He confirmed my fear for Bleu and that something more neurological is going on and that it is most likely a brain tumor.

We took this Family Photo for our beer Label that we used at our Wedding. 

We could have a head scan done but those are a couple thousand dollars and in the end we wouldn't want to put Bleu through surgery and chemotherapy that extensive.   Holland and I have made the decision together to let Bleu live out the rest of his time here with us as comfortably as possible. Dr. Nichols thinks we have a few months but who knows for sure.  He said his seizures would eventually get worse, and more frequent and possibly just slide into a huge one that could possibly kill him. Our goal is to not let it get to that point of suffering and we will do our best to make sure that through this whole process that we are doing what is best for Bleu.

Holand and Bleu at the lake 

This photo was taken just a week after we got him. 

My heart hurts for Bleu and for ourselves. We have enjoyed him for the past 8 and a half years and I am not ready to say goodbye. I always said my goal was for Bleu to make it to 13 even though Holland always said their lifespan was 9-12 years.

When I called to tell my mom the results I just started crying. I said "Bleu probably isn't going to experience another Summer again" and "How am I supposed to know for sure when it's time to let him go". She cried with me and just told me how sorry she was and she wished there was something she could do or say.  She told me that we gave Bleu an amazing life and he was so lucky to have us as his parents.   Our vet gave me the best advice after I had asked him that same question and he told me that no one knows Bleu better than we do and we will know when it is time.

Bleu at the Lakehouse with Madison and Hannah

This has been an emotionally exhausting day. Part of me feels at peace knowing what is to come. Part of me still wants to get a head scan to see if it is a brain tumor that has taken Bleu's sight and is causing the seizures.  I know I will probably not know all of the answers to my questions and that I need to not focus on the sadness but on the joy that Bleu has brought us.

I started to make a Bucket List for Bleu and I want to get as many things done on it as possible. If you know Bleu you will understand these that I have come up with so far. Let me know if you think of any to add. 

1. Eat a package of 10 tortillas in one sitting. 

2. Go to an open field and run as fast as he can without having to worry about hitting anything. 

3. Take a walk and listen to the neighborhood dogs bark. 

4. Swim in circles at the lake one last time. 

5. Eat a Kolache- the fruit kind like he likes. 

6. Celebrate his birthday on a Valentine theme since that was the day he was born on. 

7. Snuggle with his sister Hannah on his bed. 

8. Sleep on the bed with mom and dad. 

Please send positive thoughts our way for our sweet Baby Bleu.


Love, Amanda

Bleu Update

I know some people are curious as to what is Bleu's medical update from the last blog post.  The good news is that we know what Bleu doesn't have. He got tested for all kinds of diseases including: Addison's disease, Some strange disease that can be spread through his urine, diabetes, and so on and so on. He still remains undiagnosed as to anything that has caused the vision loss and our primary vet is extremely frustrated that he couldn't not find the cause of Bleu losing his vision.

Bleu's Optometrist Dr. Bonney, who is very kind and wonderful let us know that Bleu's vision diagnosis is SARDS- which stands for Suddenly Aquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome.  At his last appointment I asked him that I know he cannot be exact but how much does he think Bleu can see. He said probably about 25%. He thinks he can still see shades and shadows.
There are days when I think that Bleu can see shades and shadows because he will turn right before he hits something. However, there are days that Bleu runs right into a tree or a pole. It has helped him that we have kept the house in the same organization but if we leave a chair out Bleu will let us know quickly that it is out of place. 

Bleu Enjoying the sun on the back porch. 

He was on a ton of medication because his liver enzymes were a little out of whack but he has now finished those and is pretty much on his normal medication that he has taken for years for his hip dysplasia. We took him to the lake house this past weekend for the first time since the vision loss and I think he did pretty well. It is just so tough to see him struggle. He basically has lost the freedom of being a dog. He can't run because he could fall or run into something or hurt himself and he just needs our consistent guidance.  Swimming at the lake is his ultimate favorite thing to do. When he was a puppy we had to leave him on a leash ALL the time because he was so crazy and he would run away and chase deer or go to far in the lake. Within the last 4 years we finally trusted him enough to do his thing and swim and stay in the area. It was nice. We could be inside or outside and we didn't have to really worry about him. Now, it is like we have a puppy again. We have to keep him on a leash or be close by at all times.

Holland and Bleu at our Lakehouse dock

We took him off the leash after half a day of getting to know the dock again. He was able to show us that he could come up our of the lake around the dock and he could easily make his way back to the water with no help. He fell into the lake probably about 4 times total in one day. I was always in the water to help him find his way back to the ramp so when he was done swimming he could get out. Holland stayed out of the lake so he could receive Bleu. It was so nice to just see Bleu swimming and doing what he loved without having to worry about hitting a tree or a wall. It was the first time he was free again(with a little bit of guidance ;) ).

I am kinda getting a sneak peek of how Holland and I are going to be when/if we have kids.  I want to protect Bleu from every little obstacle so I follow him around and stop him before he hits something and Holland says he thinks it is beneficial for Bleu to experience things on his own and get to know it. He told me I was babying Bleu too much which I agree with but I just don't want him to get hurt! We are making compromises and Holland still allows me to baby him and I just try and turn away when Bleu is "exploring" because I will end up shouting at him to watch out or slow down.


Bleu has an eye appointment this Thursday so we shall see what Dr. Bonney says. Again, any information or suggestions y'all have are always welcome!Thanks for all of the helpful information y'all have provided so far.

Love, Amanda

Our Wedding Celebration

As the summer is coming to a close, I am reflecting on everything that has happened just in the past few months and realizing I haven't blogged about our Wedding DAY! It was for sure a whirlwind and I wanted to take the time to write about some of my favorite moments from that day.

Waking up and finally seeing June 28, 2014 on my phone was a crazy, exhilarating feeling. My friend Sarah jumped on my bed and screamed "YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED TODAY!" I yelled back " IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!!! Really it was though! The girls and I got our stuff together and Holland's dad and My Dad drove all of my bridesmaids up to the venue. Once we were there it was like BAM. Beautification time! Hair and makeup showed up, and everyone began just doing their thing. We sipped on mimosas and we had the freedom to just roam around the venue up until 3 o'clock ish once the guys showed up. I feel like the hours just flew by. Everything was really, really smooth. We had camera view from the bridal room so we could see people working in the ballroom and we could see the shuttle arrive that the guys came in. It was great to be a stalker that day. :)

 The time came to put on my dress and I was SO excited. I mean this was it. This meant the time to get married was SUPER close.  I stepped into my dress and I got a charlie horse cramp in my foot. BAHAHA. Seriously, I am glad that in the photo it looks like I am feeling like " YAY! Look I'm halfway into my dress!" But really I was feeling like " MY FOOT, MY FOOT IS IN PAIN!"  haha. It luckily went away quickly and was fine. 

My cousin PP got married in 2010, and I fell in love with the jewelry she wore for her wedding. Her jewelry was my something borrowed. 

 Raya, our flower girl is the cutest little thing. This photo just melts my heart. It was likes he was thinking "oh yeah, that's gonna be me one day in a pretty white dress"!

 My something old was a beautiful handkerchief made from Hollands Great Grandmother's white dress. Hollands aunt Diane has been making these hankerchiefs for all the family weddings for a while now. Holland Grandmothers name was Alice Bringham Lawrence and Bringham was her maiden name so she and I now share the same initials which I love.

Here is a photo of the beautiful handkerchief. The photo in the middle of it is actually my Grandma Jones who passed away when I was 16 years old.  I put this small photo on my bouquet. 

 My something blue were my shoes which I plan on wearing again because they were so fun and also extremely comfortable!

To save time Holland and I both took photos separately with our bridesmaids and groomsmen. Holland was informed when to not look out the window where he was hanging out to avoid seeing me.  I never worried of him trying to sneak a peak at all. He told me a couple months before the wedding that that was his biggest fear- seeing me in my gown before I was walking down the aisle.  He wanted that moment and so did I! 

My dad's first time seeing me in my gown was on the wedding day. I have no idea why but I just BURST into tears when he came in the room to see me for the first time.  It just brought back so many floods of memories from my childhood, being a crazy teenager and so on.  My dad doesn't say much, but he never has to- I know him more than he knows :)

My mom did not get to be surprised like my dad because she had been with me EVERY single step of the way with the wedding planning. THANK GOD I have an amazing mother who helped in every single which way to help make our wedding day beautiful. She went to every meeting and every fitting.  Although things got stressful at times during the engagement, I knew in the end it was all because she wanted the day to be perfect.

6 o' clock came SO quickly. Our coordinator came in to see if I was ready then quickly came back to tell me that Holland wasn't. She said he was in the restroom and he wouldn't come out and I thought that maybe he had to use the RR before the ceremony. I later found out that he couldn't get through his vows without crying, so he kept reciting them to his brother and he wouldn't come out until he had gotten through them without tearing up. So I apologize to those who were wondering why our ceremony got started a little late and you were outside in the heat!

Once my bridesmaids started to walk out to the piano version of "Love Somebody" I started to kind of freak out. My blood was really pumping and my heart was somewhere in the clouds. It was such an out of body experience to know that everything we had planned and dreamed of even down to each song choice was about to play out right in front of me.  My dad just kept laughing at me because I was breathing in and out like I had a brown paper bag on my mouth.  I started to get teary and I just talked to my dad and I told him that this was one of the biggest anticipations of my life, marrying Holland. He knew that already though. I thanked him for showing me what it is like to be treated right and to be respected and loved by a man. 

At one of my best friends weddings, right before she walked down the aisle, she told me " Oh my gosh, Amanda. I cannot describe this feeling I am having. She then said " I can't wait for you to have this feeling too". Well Allison Baggerly got married in 2010 and now four years later I finally got to discover the feeling she was talking about. My coordinator told me, "It's time, Amanda." and I said "Okay" without moving and then she said very calmly " Your music is already playing".  Holland and I both chose the song that I walked down the aisle to. In High School our song was "Crash Into Me", by Dave Matthews. I walked down to a cello version of it and I still get goosebumps listening to it.  Stepping out of the doors and walking out with the white concrete underneath me may be one of the best feelings I have ever experienced in my life.

It felt like a slow motion movie. My dad and I walked out and I saw Holland and then tried EXTREMELY hard not to do an ugly cry.

I looked out and remember how beautiful it looked just from the quick snapshot my eyes could take in and then I looked ahead and saw Holland finally looking up at me. I saw him say "Wow". I was so anxious to just get down to him and I feel like I may have gone too fast but whatever, I was READY TO MARRY THIS GUY!".  My dad and Holland shook hands and in case you were wondering my dad's words to Holland were "Good Luck" ahahahahaha.

I am sure most of our guests were sweating bullets, but I felt completely fine! Once I was with Holland and the ceremony began I felt calm and I didn't even focus that there were so many people watching us. Our Officiant, Lowell gave us the most beautiful and perfect ceremony we could have ever asked for. I absolutely loved the readings and I especially loved the blessing from both sets of our parents. This journey is going to be something both of our families will always experience together and I love that that was stated in front of everyone that we love and care for.

 We signed our marriage certificate and made it super official!

While our guests ate appetizers and started getting their drink on, we took photos :)

I love the decor that we had. Thank you to Rebecca and her team at A Grand occasion for being able to read our minds with our vision for how our wedding would look.  We used mostly the same flowers for both the ceremony and the reception but we used wax flowers and more greens for the ceremony and for the reception center pieces, Holland wanted for it to have a romantic feel so we went with a bunch of different roses and left the burlap to do its work for the ceremony.

Our favors for the guests was a Wit beer that Holland brewed himself! I love Wit beer and so Holland named this one Wit Wedding. Our dear friend Adam Blair designed our labels for us to go on the bottles. 

 We also had kegs of it so people could enjoy it at the wedding too!

Our first dance was great, but that 2 minutes and 45 seconds felt like 10 minutes! We practiced our dance probably 5 minutes before we were announced and we made it through!

 We played the show game. The DJ asked us questions like "Who said I love you first" and "Who is the better drive" and we had to hold up and respond with each others shoes.

 Man, I love bouquet tosses. For a while it was like an Olympic sporting event to me. I would take out a girl to get a bouquet so I am glad my friends did not disappoint and went all out to try and get it!

 Aggie war Hymn!!!!! WHOOP!!

 I was CRACKING up and Holland's little dance to the garter toss song. It was " I Wanna Sex You Up"

 I also find it hilarious that guys are never as excited about garter tosses as girls are about bouquets.

 All in all it was a fabulous night, even though we got an extra hour so we could celebrate until Midnight, the night zoomed by.

 My sister was hilarious. I think Kurtis should win an award for capturing this photo!

We had an amazing experience with all of our vendors who helped bring the dream to life. In case you are interested here they are!

Decor and Coordinating: Rebecca Pierro with A Grand Occasion.
Photography: Kurtis Kronk Photography.
Catering:  River City in New Braunfels
Makeup: Madame Makeup
Hair: My friend Jacque did my hair and Madame Makeup did our bridesmaids.
Cake and Pies: 2Tarts in New Braunfels
DJ: Holtz Entertainment