And then the shock set in.

Immediately after I received the e-mail from Universal Studios saying we won the contest, I went numb. I couldn't think, I couldn't speak. Adam was at work, so believe it or not, I didn't call him first. Through the course of the evening and the days that followed, Adam and I called our families and closest friends and received a myriad of reactions. You see, not everyone knew we even entered the contest. My mother laughed, saying she knew I would win. My dad said, "April! You have to do it; this is the coolest thing to ever happen to us!" Some people were confused, as they didn't even know what Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) was. Most everyone was shocked. Adam's sister got over her shock fast and spent a solid ten minutes screaming with joy in my ear. Everyone had questions, and I had no answers. I knew nothing. I had a short e-mail and nothing else.

Well, of course, we said yes. I mean, c'mon? I've wanted to marry Adam for six and a half years now, so I certainly wasn't going to pass this up. And even with the stresses and sacrifices, we knew it was a once-in-lifetime adventure that we would remember forever.

After we said yes, a lot of things happened in a very short amount of time. Adam and I scrambled to narrow down the massive list of friends and family to just 20 guests. 20! We rendezvoused with Universal Studios via phone conferences and discussed cake flavors, reception menus, media presence and officiate information. At one point, I remember looking at Adam and saying, "Did we really just get off the phone with about seven staff members from Universal Studios?" Lucky for us, Universal served as a great wedding planner, but there were still things to be done on our end. And boy, were they big things. First, we needed to sign the contract. This was fairly easy. See?

Standing in front of the bank after we got
the contract signed and notarized.

Filling out the FedEx form so we could send
the contract to Universal.

Adam standing outside the FedEx building
after we mailed the contract.

Second, we needed to buy wedding bands. This was very difficult. We hadn't even thought about wedding bands. Well, we bought them and I adore them. My next post will be about the bands. Like that little tease?

Third, we needed to choose our wedding party and our officiate and dress these people and dress ourselves! While the wedding was a Halloween theme, the guests were to dress as one would normally dress for a semi-formal wedding. And Adam and I were to wear typical wedding clothes. Which means, I flew to North Carolina the weekend before my wedding on a wing and a prayer (is that the phrase?) with the hopes of finding a dress. Don't worry, faithful blog readers, I have plenty of photos of that experience. Oh the fun we had!

So many tasks, so little time. But you know what? I've never had so much fun doing something so crazy. Life is both one giant adventure and a block of time full of mini-adventures. I think this might just be our greatest adventure yet. (Subtle nod to Inglourious Basterds there. Hey, I'm still me.)

Next up...picking out our wedding bands. AKA, April makes a semi-quick decision and Adam stands for nearly an hour contemplating.