And...we're off!

Please excuse our "We just woke up" faces...

On the morning of Thursday, October 14, Adam and I hopped on a plane and flew to Orlando. In other parts of the world, our best man Bill and his girlfriend Kali were driving from their overnight stop of Savannah, Georgia to pick us up from the airport. Adam's mom, Susan; dad, Mickey; sister, Allison; and Allison's now-fiance, Josh; were also driving from Savannah en route to Orlando. In the weeks prior to our wedding, Universal switched the date from Saturday to Friday, which meant a whole heap of logistical rearranging. They graciously paid to switch Adam and I's flight to Thursday so we could fly in for our rehearsal. You see, normal weddings have rehearsals. And weddings with camera crews, sound guys and about 30 Universal staff members NEED rehearsals. Despite the logistical mess the date switch initially created, our whole entourage rallied. No one had booked flights but us at the time of the switch, so a few phone calls later, the crisis was averted. Nearly every member of the wedding party was able to drive in on Thursday so they could attend the rehearsal that afternoon. Such troopers!

I remember spending most of our flight to Orlando wondering what the hell I was in for. But I was so, so excited. Adam and I both were. That's the thing about us, we really do roll right along with whatever life throws at us. We were super ready for that weekend. We arrived in Orlando at 1 and met Bill, who then drove us to Universal and dropped us at our swanky hotel. As part of the prize package, we won two nights at one of their onsite hotels. It was GORGEOUS. It was super tropical and very Jurassic Park...before shit goes down.

We rolled our luggage in awe to the check-in counter and told them our names. A note had apparently been made with our reservation, because a second employee immediately popped out from behind the counter and put fabulous, sea shell necklaces on us and welcomed us as VIP guests. It. Was. Awesome.

Rocking the VIP necklace in our awesome room!

Our room was incredible, we had a window overlooking the fabulous pool. I just remember being so psyched that this was happening to me and so excited to get the weekend started. We spent a bit of time unpacking and chatting on the phone with members of our entourage who were en route. We also spent some time touching base with our guests who would not arrive until the next morning.

After we got settled, we freshened up, then walked down from our room to the water taxi that would take us over to the parks. All of Universal's onsite hotels are obviously right on the property, and provide some form of transportation back and forth to the parks. I never thought this was a big deal before, but it was kind of cool to not need a car or worry about parking and have your hotel just across the lake.

Waiting for the water taxi. You can see Doom's tower in
the distance, which is part of Islands of Adventure.

We hopped on the water taxi and enjoyed the ride as it took us over to Citywalk, the section of shops and restaurants between the regular Universal park and Islands of Adventure. Halloween Horror Nights is

held at the regular Universal park, so that is where we were headed. As we rode along, I was aware that at that very moment, Adam's parents and Allison and Josh were heading to the gate and my parents, Keith and Melanie were also headed to the gate. Oh, and Bill, of course! It was such a surreal feeling to think of all these people coming together at Universal Studios to be led to a soundstage where there was sure to be a badass haunted house that we would be getting married in!

One of the last shots of us before we got married!

We got off the water taxi and walked toward the gates. We saw Adam's family right away and greeted them. We were to wait at the public

relations office just outside of the gates for someone from the staff to come get us. Just a few minutes later, I saw my family walking toward us and got super excited. This was actually happening. I guess sometimes it doesn't feel like it's happening until all the pieces of the puzzle click into place. After greetings were exchanged all around, we entered the public relations office and made our presence known.



Next up: We rehearse and realize just how many staff members at Universal are helping us.

The last few days.

When I got back from North Carolina, Adam and I had until Thursday to finalize everything for our wedding weekend. We had a few more calls with Universal, finalizing the menu, cake flavors, timeline, decorations, music playlist, etc. We made our own music playlist by writing down a list of about 20 songs for the hour and a half reception. We had to send Universal a finalized list of our guests so they could greet them at the gates of the park and whisk them off to the soundstage we were married in. We packed, we sent FB messages to our guests with instructions, we sent FB messages to our wedding party with even more instructions, we finalized details for our ceremony and sent them to Matt. It was such a whirlwind. Adam was obviously working this entire time, so we were busy with normal life too. We had just taken our engagement photos with Cade...whew! Life was crazy! But so, so awesome.

I'm on a plane en route to my Halloween wedding! OMG!

We had a solid timeline of events for the weekend, so I'll let you in on that.

Thursday: We fly from Vermont to Florida in the morning, arrive at 1. Several wedding party members drive to Florida in an attempt to make it to the rehearsal. We rehearse at 4.

Friday: Adam and I acquire our marriage license first thing in the morning. Adam hangs with his boys during the afternoon. I go with my girls to a mall and get my makeup done at Sephora. All wedding party members expected to be at the gates of Universal at 3. Ceremony. Reception. Halloween Horror Nights.

Saturday: Everyone gets park passes for a fun day!


There are a ton of other things that happened during this timeline, and of course, everything did not go according to plan, which is what the recaps are for! Are you ready for them? Warning: this will be unlike anything you've experienced before.

Next up: Wedding recaps!

Opening lingerie with my dad and brother? Dream come true.

I was on cloud nine after my dress purchase. When I first tried on the dress, I was hesitant to buy it because all the stress and nervousness of the day was finally crashing down on me. Ask any member of my entourage, I stood in that dress for like 30 minutes before I said yes. But after I did, I felt awesome. I was flying to Florida in 5 days and getting married! Little did I know, things were about to get even crazier...

Me and Kristina...oh, and my pile of gifts!

My parents rushed me home for a surprise bachelorette party/lingerie shower. Well, by rushed I mean we hurriedly left the bridal shop and swung by Total Wine so my brother could fulfill his sake dream. My mom threw together a party in true Richardson style and it was awesome. I truly appreciated this because so many things were lost when we made the decision to do this. This included bachelor and bachelorette parties. But, also in Richardson style, my party was not like any other bachelorette party. My mom strung decorations on the fireplace and people brought me lingerie. My dad and Keith were there the entire time. We took shots of sake and drank martinis.

It was attended by my best friend and matron of honor, Kristina; my grandmother; and my brother's girlfriend, Melanie. I opened lots of great lingerie and Keith weighed in on whether or not it was good enough. Per my dad's suggestion, we played "sex charades" which involved drawing sex positions out of a hat and acting them out with your team member for the other team to guess. I was on a team with my dad. I have so many amazing memories from the entire wedding experience, and this party is one of the best. Oh hell, I'll let some photos do the writing...

Not sure why Keith is making that face.

Taking sake shots. To be honest, I hated it. It's warm! I don't
think I even got the whole thing down.

This hot little number came from Kristina.

This was from Melanie...

As well as these lovely handcuffs!

This lingerie and the one below were from Grams and Kelli.

This was a "Just Married" tank from my parents.

As well as this.

This was a gift my mom got for Adam, but I made her return it
because she totally misinterpreted the meaning. Silly mom!

This is me and dad scheming on how to best act out a
certain sex position.

And this is Melanie probably wondering what the hell
happened to her in life that made her end up here.

I don't have any photos of sex charades. Let's all give thanks for that! The party was super fun, and I can't thank my family enough for rallying and throwing it for me. Once again, the unconventional prevailed and it didn't matter where the party was or what we did, only that we were all together, celebrating. So many memories from that night come back to me all the time. Some dirty, some funny, some sentimental. Choking only half of the sake shot down and everyone razzing me. Each team acting out assorted sex positions such as "the scissor." My brother and I taking a shot together in the kitchen and him toasting to playing micro machines together. I was so worried throughout the entire process that Adam and I would be giving up too much, that we'd be losing too much. Looking back, that was so silly. Everything changed, yes. And some things were lost. But they're just things. Silly, silly things, like registries and parties and time. None of it mattered because we gained so, so much.

The next day, I hopped back on a plane and flew to Vermont for my last few days as a single girl. It ended up being an awesome weekend and the one thing I remember most is walking through security at the airport, glancing back at my family, knowing this was essentially the last time I'd see them before I got married.

Next up: The last post before the wicked wedding weekend recaps! All the little, and huge, stuff we finalized the last few days before we got married.

I got lucky!

I woke up Saturday morning, aka day two of dress shopping, aka THE LAST DAY of dress shopping, wondering what my future held. I was already running through all the formal dresses I currently owned, wondering if any of them would fit into our wedding should I not get lucky and find a dress. Looking back on that day now, it's kind of a blur. I don't actually remember all the shops we went to. In the morning, we went to a shop in Raleigh that had a super friendly staff and a huge selection of dresses. I remember I spent most of my time there arguing with my mom. She loved dresses with pleating on the upper half and I hated them. I did find a really pretty dress at that first shop. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed, so I don't have evidence. The dress was incredibly form-fitting; it was a mermaid style. It was strapless, with a slight sweetheart neckline. And it had a lot of bling all over it. I liked this dress a lot, but truth be told, it took the jaws of life to get me in and out of it. It was simply too tight. I would not have been able to sit, dance or hell, stand, for any length of time. I wanted it to fit, we all did, but it just wasn't happening. And while we learned that there might have been time for a seamstress to let it out, we still couldn't do that because I would not be back to retry it on. And there was no way I was taking the dress back to Vermont on the plane and then on another plane to Florida. I was buying that dress in North Carolina and leaving it there for my parents to drive to Florida in 5 days.

I do remember that morning was the most stressful of the weekend. It was hot out, for one, and I was cracking bit by bit. At one point we all almost killed each other when the GPS led us astray on the way to another bridal shop and we ended up in some subdivision in Raleigh. I was walking a fine line between delirious and just plain crazy. The thing is, I'm a just-go-with-it kind of girl. Everyone reading this should know that. I nearly immediately embraced the idea of throwing out every thought and idea of our wedding and embarking on the craziest wedding train ever. I roll with life, I really do. But I had to have the white dress. I had to. And it didn't so much matter what it looked like, I just wanted to feel like I was getting married when I wore it. So much of our wedding was unconventional, which, oddly enough was what we always wanted, but I knew that I needed the classic white dress to be the one traditional piece in this puzzle of crazy. I could not wait to walk down the aisle, to the funeral march, mind you, toward that haunted house, but I had to be doing it in a gorgeous white dress.

I loved the idea of this dress. I was desperate enough that
I might have worn it, even though it was too big in the top.

All of these thoughts were racing through my mind as I was literally circling the drain that afternoon. We pulled it together and decided to go back to David's Bridal, but a different location. It was a Saturday, so there was a wait time. We spent this time by going to a very sketch grocery store that my super frugal dad is in love with, picking up a large amount of dinner supplies. All of this seemed strange to me. At lunch, my mom was acting weird and now we were buying a lot of food...something was off. I might have paid more attention had I not been focused on finding a dress. We also spent most of the day listening to my brother demand we buy sake for him to drink that evening. We then spent a large amount of time searching for sake. Just before we entered David's Bridal, I remember my mom telling Keith he could only get sake if I found a dress at this appointment. He shot me a look like, "This has been fun, but you better get your damn game face on." Maybe it was this pressure that eventually turned my luck? Who knows?

I pulled maybe 5 dresses at this appointment. Some I had tried on the day before, and some were out of my price range. Hey, I was getting desperate. My original budget was $500. I assumed Adam and I were paying for the dress ourselves. Even if we weren't, I am not the kind of girl who could spend more on a dress I would only wear for a day. That's just not me. I pulled some dresses that ranged all the way to $1,000, figuring it was worth it. I only have a few photos for this post, so enjoy! Most of the dresses just didn't work, so I was in and out of them quickly. I could see my brother panicking as his sake dreams slipped away...

This is me thinking, "Can I make this work?"

The dress in the photo above was so pretty, I loved, loved the flowers. Full disclosure, Keith said it looked like someone vomited flowers all over the dress. Gotta love that, right? At this point, I reeked of desperation and I almost chose this dress even though it was clearly too big on the top. I thought I had no other choice though. You can see Keith's expression in the photo on the left. He's obviously not too impressed.

Then, something magical happened. My attendant ran off to the back room, was gone for several minutes, and then came back with maybe 3 dresses. These dresses were not on the floor. They were not chosen for the new magazine/catalog, so they were castoffs. The first 2 were not winners and I'll admit, I was starting to picture stuffing my bra so the flower dress would fit better. The very last dress I tried on was the one. This may sound crazy, but when I try dresses on, any formal dress, I can always tell when I put it on if it fits me really well, even before I look in the mirror. And I got this feeling with this dress. I immediately knew it fit me, which was a whole lot better than anything else I tried on, so I just hoped it looked good too.

Finally!

And it did. Since I already posted a photo from the actual wedding, then no harm in posting a photo of me in the dress beforehand, as the jig is up. I loved the sweetheart neckline, as it clearly made my boobs look fantastic. I also like how the dress was not glued to me, but still form-fitting. And even though the dress was more simple than I ever imagined wearing, it had some unique spunk that I really liked such as the band of crystals around my waist and the ruffles at the bottom of the dress. Plus, the bonus was that the crystals were all Swarovski! Bam! When I walked out, my parents commented on how well the dress fit me and a perfect stranger said the dress was made for me. Thank goodness! April finally got lucky! Keith was already googling what goes best with sake. My mom made me try on the dress with a veil, as you can see, despite the fact that I did not plan to wear one.

Look at how happy I am!

I love this dress. I truly, truly do. It was nothing like I ever imagined or saw in a magazine, yet it just worked. While my process for finding a dress was stressful and scary and unique, in the end, I thought it was kind of awesome. I didn't spend months of my engagement trying on assorted dresses and getting alterations and having dress regret. I had one shot and that was it. I was getting married in that dress. Oh, and just in case you were wondering, my wonderful parents wound up paying for the dress. And here's something else, given that the dress was not in the catalog, it's regular price of $800 was slashed down to $150! We came way under budget! My mom bought me a headband from the store as well, so after all was said and done, the entire purchase came to just over $200 I think. Bam!

Next up: The secret's out. April finds herself in the middle of a bachelorette party complete with sake, her father and brother and sex charades.

Saying yes to the dress.

Don't they look thrilled?

My biggest challenge throughout our three week planning palooza was finding a dress. As you've read in previous posts, I have given some thought to my dream dress, but nothing concrete. I had never been dress shopping and was planning to wait until sometime in 2011 to start the process. On the weekend prior to our wedding, my parents generously flew me down to North Carolina so I could not only find my dress, but fulfill my extremely important dream of going dress shopping with both of my parents and my brother.

Brides choose to shop for their dress with many different combinations of people. Some choose to go with only their mother, some choose to shop with their maid of honor and bridesmaids and some choose to shop with their entire social network, including grandmothers and co-workers. I think some brides even shop alone. I always wanted to shop with my mom, dad and brother. Our family is crazy close and this seemed like an event for only them. Plus, I knew they would provide the perfect trifecta of criticism. My mom always knows what looks good on me and makes me look best. My dad always knows what looks good on the rack (most of the time...see conch shell dress below.) And my brother, well, like me, his face never tells a lie. In theory, I planned to bring my matron of honor back for fittings, but given the circumstances, there were never any fittings.

See, that was the fun in it. Not only did I have to find a dress I loved, but it also had to fit like a glove because there would be no time for alterations or time to add a bustle. Let me just reiterate, I tried on dresses for the very first time exactly ONE WEEK prior to my wedding. You should have seen the looks on the faces of the bridal store employees. Plus, I originally wanted a dress with straps, but I found out quickly that like 1% of dresses have straps. Usually, a seamstress will just alter a dress to have straps. But I didn't have time for alterations! Talk about pressure!

Day one of dress shopping started terribly. We visited a bridal shop in Wilson (I think...) known for its great prices. Well, what it should be known for is its terrible customer service and extremely poor selection of smaller dresses. I quickly learned I needed a size 2, which would be difficult to find as most stores carry higher sizes so they can be altered down. This store had virtually no size 2 dresses. We left quickly. In fact, I don't even have any photos of dresses from that store. Such a travesty.

I won't bore you with the play-by-play, but day one was not a success. You can ask my family, I was somewhat of a dress bitch. I knew I needed to keep an open mind because of my circumstances, but there was no way in hell I was settling. I was going to feel freaking gorgeous and awesome at that haunted house and no one would stop me. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Note: Several of these dresses were truly gorgeous and I think I may have felt more positive about them had I had time on my side to alter them. But if it didn't fit like it was made for me, then it got tossed.

I loved the top of this dress. The sweetheart neckline turned out
to be the best top for me, as my main dress requirement was
one that made my boobs look awesome. The bottom of the dress felt
too big though. It seemed to swallow me. I really wanted something
more form fitting.

Dad bet a million dollars this would be "the one." As you can see by
my face, I hated it. The top was horrific. It reminded me of some sort of seashell. The dress was too big.
I did love the back of the dress (see mirror), but alas, it just wouldn't work.

I really, really liked this dress. It had the banging neckline and it had straps!
I felt like the bottom wasn't too big, either. I didn't love the material and I felt the
dress may have been a little to plain, but I thought I could add a sash
or belt to the waist to spice it up. The killer for this dress was that
the top didn't fit well enough. Wah, wah. Why didn't I fit a boob job into my 3 week timeline?

I went back to my parent's house that night feeling a little nervous. What if I couldn't find something? I decided to stay optimistic though, which actually means I didn't have any other choice but to be hopeful. I mean, what's a girl to do when she's literally getting married in a week!?! I will take this opportunity to thank my entourage for putting up with this process. I'm sure my 21-year-old brother would have rather been anywhere else and I know everyone was just as nervous as I that I'd be walking up those haunted steps in jeans and a t-shirt. They put up with me though, and it paid off in the end. Thank you!

I went to sleep that night wishing and hoping I would get lucky the next day. Because that's what this really came down to. Luck. Not dress dreams or great prices or availability. Just luck. But, you know, I figured, if I was lucky enough to win a Halloween wedding, then surely I'd be lucky enough to find a damn dress.

Next up: Day two of dress shopping, aka, April gets lucky.

I now pronounce you.

Our contest package did not include an officiant, and it was left up to Adam and I to select this person, hire him/her (if necessary), structure the ceremony with him/her and obtain the marriage license for the officiant to sign. Having this responsibility was both good and bad. It was bad because we had less than three weeks to make it all happen and really no clue as to what the officiant laws in Florida were, but it was really good because selecting our own officiant and structuring/writing our own ceremony was what we always wanted.

Matt and I on my 25th birthday.

Now, most of you should know that Adam and I are not the most religious crayons in the box. We never intended to marry in a church or be married by a religious officiant. Marriage is an extremely serious promise to us, something we will honor and pursue forever, but not a religious promise. Different strokes for different folks...

Matt's ordination certificate
and letter of good standing.

Adam and I always dreamed of a friend marrying us. While we didn't want a religious officiant, we also didn't want to hire a random justice of the peace. In an effort to personalize every aspect of our wedding, we always hoped to be married by someone who knew both of us extremely well and knew us as a couple. Enter Matt. Adam met Matt his first day at UNC, as they lived next door to each other in the dorm. Matt was a freshman, Adam a junior transfer student. Now, I'm not going to sugarcoat this for you. After all, honesty is the best policy. Adam and Matt did not get along when they first met. In fact, I think those who were around during that time would say this is an understatement. It was certainly a bumpy road for them, but it all worked out in the end and Matt is now one of both Adam and I's best friends. I met Matt in a film class freshman year and I like to credit myself for bring Adam and Matt together.

When it came to trusting someone to not only unite Adam and I in wedding bliss, but also to handle the responsibility of conducting a ceremony, we knew Matt was perfect. Reminder, our ceremony was anything but ordinary and it required microphones and a camera crew and perfect timing and fantastic presentation.

With all that pressure, I can't even write how amazing he was. We gave him next to no direction and he took care of everything. I'll give you more details later when I recap the ceremony, but I'll just say that in the memory of the most amazing day of my life, having Matt marry us will forever be one of the greatest decisions we've ever made.

Oh, and what did our fabulous officiant wear on our super special day? He rocked a gray suit with a stunning purple tie.

Next up: a riveting story entitled "April as two days and one shot to say yes to the dress." Trust me, you want to read this one.

Helllloooooo...is anyone still out there?

[Looks far into the distance and searches for signs of life]

I'm not sure if anyone's still out there in the blogoverse, but I'm hoping you are. I know I've been extremely MIA over the past...five months. I'm sorry. Can I use the newlywed excuse? Do you forgive me? Please?

I want to do right by my blog, and true story, I love writing it. So, if I have any readers left, I'm going to pick up where I left off. I have a few more recaps from events leading up to my wacky wedding weekend (including a bachelorette party attended by both my father and brother...intrigued?), and then I can tell you the magical tale in all its detail. And now I'm rhyming. Good or bad? After I share our wedding story with you, complete with pictures, we can talk 2012. Remember the reception we're still having in 2012? Well, it needs to be planned and I need your help.

To entice you to stick with me and keep reading, I'll leave you with a teaser picture from our wedding.

Please don't steal our photos. As much as I'd love to be your desktop background,
the photos are special to us and we'd like to keep them our own. Thanks!

Bringing sexy back. Girls vs. Boys.

Adam getting fitted for his tux.

When it came to dressing our fabulous foursome, Adam and I were at a loss. This was also something we hadn't really discussed yet, so we were going in blind. After talking with Universal about the decor at the wedding and the colors they were using, we chose a rich, satin purple as our color. Now, I love purple as much as the next girl, but the truth is this wasn't and still won't be a color for our 2012 celebration. We started our selection process with Halloween colors. As this was a Halloween wedding, I felt it was the perfect opportunity to go big or go home and choose Halloween colors. This left us with orange, blood red, black, yellow, purple and lime green. Adam and I, and Universal, felt orange was too cliche Halloween, so we nixed it. I nixed yellow because I didn't want our wedding party to look like bumblebees. Lime green seemed a little too...something. So, we were left with black, blood red and purple.

We eventually nixed black because so much of the setting would be in black and other dark colors, and we wanted our girls and guys to stand out. Left with the choice between blood red and purple, I chose purple. I know, I know, it is not a manly color. But in my defense, Adam had no qualms with it and I knew my brother looks great in purple. Plus, we had no time. Go go gadget purple.

Adam determining his jacket size.

You'll see plenty of photos soon enough of the wedding, and these photos will showcase KT and Allison looking fabulous in purple dresses and Bill and Keith owning that purple vest like a real man should. Adam and I made a hectic run to David's Bridal and Adam actually picked out the girls' dress. He chose a just-above-the-knee, strapless, form-fitting purple dress that had a black ribbon with two black flowers around the waist. I loved it, and so did KT and Allison. I hope they will find an occasion to wear the dress again and I am forever thankful for their eagerness and determination in locating the dress in their respective sizes with only two weeks until the wedding.

As I suspected, Keith looked great in the purple vest and Bill rocked it without even saying anything about it, and he looked awesome. Keith and Bill both rushed to Men's Wearhouse (more on them later, grrrrr) as soon as the wedding was officially a go to get fitted for their tuxes. I know it's not how they wanted to spend that Saturday, and we thank them.

Trying on the black shirt.

We set our dads up in tuxes as well, but we opted for them to wear a platinum silver vest instead of the purple. We wanted them to stand out from the two boys. My dad had a horrific encounter with Men's Wearhouse in Orlando that resulted in pants that wouldn't stay up, the wrong size vest, threats of cutting said vest down the back to make it fit and my brother ultimately snapping at the employees and demanding discounts. Through all of this, though, he kept a smile on his face and enjoyed the ride.

As for my charming groom, he selected a pinstripe tuxedo with a black shirt and white tie. And he looked a m a z i n g. I couldn't wait to get up that aisle and stand with him! Next up: choosing and dressing our officiate.

Introducing...the wedding party.

In an attempt to make our wedding as "normal" as a wedding on the steps of a haunted house could be, Adam and I chose to select a wedding party. We already had an idea of who we wanted to ask for our 2012 wedding, but that wedding party was starting to look fairly large. Because our guest list was now only 20 people, it seemed awkward to have more people standing up with us than sitting as guests. Plus, as all 20 of our guests are incredibly important people in our lives, it almost felt as if everyone was a member of a small, intimate wedding party. Ultimately, we decided to take this opportunity to have a wedding party consisting of only a best man, matron of honor, one groomsman and one bridesmaid. And lucky for us, this was one of the easier choices we made during our three-week planning process. Who did we choose?

Bill and Adam just before
we got engaged.

First up, Adam's best man. Adam and Bill have been best friends for an eternity, it seems, so this was a no-brainer. I have also known Bill since I met Adam, and we have become close friends over the past six and half years. Bill couldn't wait to give a speech, even though I had to remind him to keep it short since our reception was only an hour and half long.

Me and Kristina last year before
we moved to Vermont.

Next, my matron of honor, Kristina. I kept calling her my maid of honor, forgetting she got married in June! KT and I have been friends since sixth grade and I was super happy to have her stand up for us on our special day. KT met Adam even before we were dating, so she is quite familiar with him and our relationship. She found out about our wedding much later than our other guests, since she was out of the country on her honeymoon, and she immediately sprang into action and got on board.

Keith and I at KT's wedding.

Adam and Allison in Boston.

There was never any doubt in our minds regarding who would stand up for us as our bridesmaid and groomsman. We are both incredibly lucky in that we have great families and great family members who are both blood and friends. What's better than that? It seemed perfect to honor our great relationships with our siblings by having them stand as our bridesmaid and groomsman. Of course, Allison and Keith have known each of us, separately, since the day they were born. It felt awesome to have two people next to us who knew us so well. Over these past six and half years, Adam and I have gotten close to each other's siblings, and it was such a joy to have them so close to us on our big day.

Adam and I are big believers in both sides of the wedding party standing for both the bride and groom, not just the boys standing for Adam and the girls standing for me. At the end of the day, we had four people standing up for us who love us both and support our relationship, which is such an invaluable thing to have. We are forever grateful to Bill, KT, Keith and Allison for helping us along the way with shopping for wedding dresses, shipping bridesmaid dresses from Ohio, renting tuxedos, checking in and calming us down and for simply being amazing. You officially rocked our world.

With this ring.

Given that our original wedding date was still over a year and a half away, Adam and I hadn't given a ton of thought to our wedding bands. I knew that I loved my engagement ring so much that I wasn't sure I wanted to put anything else next to it and Adam knew that he hated jewelry and wasn't sure he could wear a wedding band every day. With this knowledge, we headed over to our favorite jeweler here in Vermont and she was eager to help. She spent months meeting with Adam and helping him pick out my engagement ring, so she was ecstatic to assist with this step.

I found my ring pretty quickly, but it still took me a bit of time to make the final decision. I opted for a band that is a little more funky and expressive of my crazy personality. It is a thin band, white gold, and it has tiny circles of diamonds and tiny rectangles of rubies. Rubies! I loved this band because of the rubies; most girls don't get bands with anything other than diamonds in it and this band seemed very unique. I love the addition of the red, and I thought it was a great choice to symbolize our insanely unique and special wedding.

Lauren and Adam snapping photos of the rings.

Adam had a bit more trouble selecting his ring. He quickly narrowed it down to two choices and proceeded to ponder these choices forever. He was torn between things like weight and metal and appearance. We also weren't sure if we planned to get additional rings in 2012 to commemorate that experience. In the end, Adam realized that he is a one-ring guy and would not be getting another ring. I am still uncertain, but I am leaning toward keeping just the one band for 2012 as well.

Adam trying on the ring he         
would eventually choose.            

After what seemed like an eternity, Adam opted for a platinum band that has a hammered appearance. He loves how heavy it is and surprisingly, he wears it all the time and hates to take it off. I'm really happy with the choices we made for our rings. At the time, it was hard to make a choice because there was so much pressure to choose something quickly. But, as I learned with all the other choices we had to make quickly, less time can often mean you go with your gut, make the right choice and don't turn back.

I promise to post photos of the rings! I am hoping Universal's photographers snagged some shots of them at the actual ceremony, but if not, I'll take some shots here and post them. Up next: our wedding party!

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.

We got hitched!

This weekend was by far the best weekend of my life. Friday night was incredible. Surrounded by friends, family and evil scareactors, Adam and I were married on the steps of a haunted house at Universal Studios. It was surreal, magical and totally crazy. We're back in Vermont now, no longer living in sin!

I can't wait to share everything with my faithful blog readers. You're about to embark on the wildest adventure ever. Get ready to hear all of the details, from signing the contract to dress shopping to partying with Jack the Clown. I hope you're ready...

XOXO
Mrs. Cochran

The Story You've Been Dying to Hear.

I'm back. Blogging about your wedding isn't easy when...wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. In my last post, I alluded to a huge, life-changing e-mail and something wicked coming. And you've been on the edge of your seat since then. C'mon, I wouldn't be a good writer if I didn't know how to pen a cliffhanger. So, you think you're ready for the news?

Every year, Adam and I hop down to Universal Studios in Florida during the month of October for a celebration called Halloween Horror Nights. It is one of my absolute favorite times of the year, and we love it. At night, the entire park transforms into eight haunted houses, six scarezones and insanity. Every year, I run, screaming out of houses as I am chased by Freddy or Leatherface or some random scary guy. I know what you're thinking...how is this fun? Well, for a girl who loves horror films and Halloween, this event is pretty much the Holy Grail.

This year, Halloween Horror Nights ran a contest for engaged couples. You see, Universal Studios plans to offer wedding packages now. Engaged couples can get married in front of the Jaws ride or at Halloween Horror Nights, etc. To kick off this new service, Universal ran a contest for engaged couples to win a wedding at Halloween Horror Nights. I thought, "Oh, how fun and awesome that is!" and sent in 200 words on why Adam and I wanted to win and a Halloween-themed photo of the two of us. Of course, I sent the photo we used for our Happy Halloween cards last year. Remember?

The contest winners were randomly selected and normally, this should have excluded me. I've never won a damn thing in my life. I don't know how it happened, and frankly, I'm still unsure it did. It is possible I am stuck in a dream. Adam and I did some serious thinking about Inception, and I think the movie might have become a reality. I mean, it'd be totally fitting for me to get stuck in a dream due to a movie. Right? Right?

The thing is, it's not a dream. I'm gonna give it to you straight, faithful blog readers. Adam and I won the contest. We are, in fact, to be married on the steps of a haunted house at Universal Studios in about...10 days.

The past week has been a whirlwind. A million emotions and questions run through my mind constantly. I feel like Adam and I should issue some sort of press statement to you all. We couldn't speak about our victory until Universal officially announced us, which is why it took so long. Here's what I can tell you. We are ecstatic to be given this amazing, once-in-a-lifetime adventure. For two crazy kids who love Halloween, this is a dream come true. A lot has changed since last Monday. We're getting married much, much sooner than we planned. And we are getting married in a much different way than we planned. And we are getting married in front of a much, much smaller amount of people than we planned. But, even with all of this change, we still have the most important constant on our side. Adam and I are in love and we can't wait to be married.

Now, I imagine there are several thoughts running through your head right now. First, you think we're crazy. I wouldn't question you if you thought that. I often think I must be certifiable to go on this wild ride. But, you know what? It's maybe not quite that crazy. I've never been one to do things the "normal" way and this wedding will allow Adam and I to express our crazy, non-normal side.

Second, what about 2012? Here you are, reading my blog day in and day out, listening to me plan our 2012 wedding and now we're getting married in 10 days. Well, here's where you might think I'm even more crazy. We're still going to have the wedding in 2012. But wait, won't we legally be married already? Yes. But in 2012, we still want to have that "normal" ceremony and reception in front of our family and friends as planned. So, I'm still here. I'm still a blogging bride. How many girls get to have two weddings to the same, wonderful boy? I'm guessing not many. I can't wait to stand on that haunted house and marry my Prince Charming, but I also can't wait to stand in a more typical wedding location and marry my Prince Charming all over again in front of all our friends and family. And hey, if the whole thing's already crazy, then why not throw even more crazy onto the pile?

Third, winning this contest came with a bit of stress and some sacrifices. Only 18 guests are allowed to accompany Adam and I on this wild adventure and it was impossible to choose. I hate that my first wedding (that sounds funny!) can't have everyone there, but I know in my heart that the second time around will be just as special and rewarding. While everyone is not with me, I'll be thinking of each of you during our special day. And fear not, I plan on blogging about every bit of this crazy 3-weeks-until-our-wedding process. I have tons of photos to show you and since I can't bring you to Orlando, I'll bring you along via blog. In the end, you might see us around. A ton of media will be present and you might spot photos or video of the wedding online, in the newspapers or on TV. Who knew I'd be getting married and becoming a sort-of celebrity?

I can't wait to tell you everything we've been doing this week and plan to do before we get hitched. My next many posts will recap all of these events. There's information on my Facebook page linking to the announcement about the contest. And don't forget, we'll be tying the knot again in 2012! Hold on, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

Something Wicked this Way Comes...

[THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28.]

Yesterday was an ordinary day. Adam went to work. I went to the gym. I chatted with Allison (Adam's sis) on the phone and caught up on her life. I had lunch with Adam at the pharmacy. He bitched about the renovations, I told him Allison has an old Halloween costume I can use this year. Same old, same old.

I watched copious amounts of an America's Next Top Model marathon in the afternoon. That show is addicting. Plus, it was the season where all the girls are super short, so I had to watch. I got irritated with the amount of telemarketers calling the house despite the fact that our number is on the "Do Not Call" list. Minutes, hours, passed and everything was the same.

Until 4 o'clock. When everything wasn't the same anymore.

Yesterday, at exactly 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I received an e-mail that rocked not only my world, but the worlds of several people close to Adam and I. Now, don't worry! It was a good e-mail. I know what you're thinking...if it was a good thing, then why is the post called "Something wicked this way comes"?

Here's the thing, I can't tell you yet. I can only promise to tell you as soon as I can. What I can tell you is something big is happening. Something amazing. Something once-in-a-lifetime. Something wicked.

Stay tuned. You're never going to believe it.

Great Expectations

**Little known fact about me, I can't stand Charles Dickens. I hated Great Expectations. I dislike Dickens because he seems to take about three pages to make a point he could have made in about two sentences. Way, way too wordy. But, I digress.

Wedding expectations are like the "Are we there yet?" of road trips. Every time I think, hear, say or write about an expectation related to my wedding, I just want to whine, "Are we there yet?" I hate expectations. You know how I feel about Should, which is a relative of an expectation. Sometimes I wish the only thing people expected during wedding planning is that the bride and groom will actually get married. Alas, we are all human. We have thoughts, opinions and expectations. Part of planning a wedding is fielding said expectations and not driving yourself crazy over them. I am the kind of girl who could care less about what others think. Harsh, I know. And, I'll be the first to admit this quality is both a good and bad one. In fact, I know several people who would just call me brutally insensitive. That's fine, it's something I am working on. To that effect, I am trying to find a zen-like balance in planning my wedding surrounded by expectations. While I would normally greet any expectations with a "I don't care what people are saying/thinking, I will do what is best for Adam and I" attitude, I am trying to change that to a more open, "Let me ponder that expectation and examine all angles of it. In the end, I will do what is best for Adam and I without crushing the hopes/dreams/wishes/desires of others to smithereens."

So, what kind of expectations am I talking about here? Well, there are the easy ones. People expect a ceremony and a reception. Done. People expect food. Done. People expect an open bar for the entire wedding. Say what? People expect to be invited to the wedding despite the fact that they wouldn't know who I was if they walked by me on an empty street. Hmm. And then there are more difficult expectations. People expect only traditional "wedding reception" music to play. It'll happen, but other music will happen as well. People expect to be assigned to the same table as certain other guests during dinner. Wedding party members expect to sit with their significant others at dinner, even if their significant other is not in the wedding party. People expect to make a toast at the wedding. And finally, there are the really, really difficult expectations. People expect all members of their family to be invited if they are. People expect their young children to be invited. People expect to be part of the wedding party.

And, let's not forget, I have expectations too. Tons of them. I am at fault as well.

Lost in a sea of both others and my own expectations, it's hard to keep your eye on the prize. I've only been engaged roughly six months, but this I have learned: I cannot please everyone. I can adopt a zen-like attitude toward these expectations and curb my normal insensitivity in an effort to be a bigger person, but in the end, someone will still be unhappy. While this should not stop me from attempting my zen, it also will not be the death of me. I will not drive myself insane because of these expectations. I won't be the girl who screams, "It's my day and that's what matters." I am nicer than that. But, I do hope that every person who has an expectation will perhaps realize there is a bigger picture.

Expect this. At some point in the not too distant future, two people who love one another with every cell in their body will commit themselves to eternity in front of those they love and cherish. They will stand proudly, smiling outrageously, possibly crying, stuttering nervously and laughing dorkily in front of you as they publicly declare, "You are the only one for me." I can promise nothing but this. And this, and only this, is what matters the most.

Is anything sacred anymore?

My brain often works in funny ways. You know, how sometimes you'll think of something, which then reminds you of something else, which then reminds you of something else, and about five minutes later you're thinking about something totally unrelated to your first thought and you have no idea how you got there? Well, I always think like this. My mind is a mess. Messy, messy, messy. {That is a quote from the Disney movie Winnie the Pooh. My mind also recalls movie quotes all. the. time. But, that's just me.} So, the other day (a popular Southern phrase which can mean yesterday or 4 weeks ago), I was thinking about my blog. And then I thought about my most recent post on those awful, embarrassing photos. And then I thought about this girl I used to know who hated when I posted photos on Facebook of her because she often found them horrifying and did not want the entire Internet, a.k.a the world, to see her like that. And then I thought about how her frustration with my photo posting led me to no longer post photos on Facebook because it was too much work and too hard to please everyone. And then I thought about how I, in fact, do not like it when people tag me in Facebook photos, simply because I'm not entirely comfortable with my life appearing on computers across the universe. And then I thought about how I wish I could stop people from posting photos of me on Facebook altogether, but I can't, so at the very least I will continue un-tagging myself. And then, Say Yes to the Dress came on and I thought about my wedding. And then, my brain connected Facebook, my wedding and photographic privacy. Well, of course, a real debate began then.

After sampling the way my brain works, I'm not sure you're interested in reading this post anymore, but we'll give it a go regardless. Here are the facts. I am uncomfortable with the lack of privacy social networks such as Facebook create. Sure, I have a Facebook profile, but the information on it is extremely limited and my privacy controls rival the Pentagon. I guess I just feel exposed and somewhat violated. To me, the Internet is like a black hole. Once you drop something in it, you're not getting it back. You can post photos on Facebook and only let your "friends" view them and you can even take them down after a limited time, but the reality is, they are gone. Someone could have grabbed some of those photos from your album, sent them to so-and-so, who sent them to so-and-so, who saved them to her hard drive, which was eventually stolen by a gangsta who created a sick shrine of your photos in his apartment. Now, I know this is an exaggeration, but the point is, once those photos go up, you don't know where they go. They are no longer yours, they are essentially the property of the Internet. That being said, I am uncertain that I want my wedding, an intimate, private, cherished event, to be dropped into the black hole of the Internet.

It's not entirely a vanity issue - I don't freak out when others post ghastly photos of me, I tend to laugh it off and remind myself to never look that hideous again - but, it would be sort of annoying to plan, prep and dream of this wedding only to check my phone while boarding my plane for my honeymoon and find blurry, badly shot photos of my special day on the Internet. So, there's that. Plus, as I argued above, I just think it's a private event. I'm not the Bachelorette getting married on ABC or a Kardashian girl. The entire universe is not supposed to witness my wedding. And while people will come and snap photos galore (which is totally fine by me), for the purpose of keeping them or sharing them in real life (not the web) with others, posting them to Facebook shares them with everyone.

I bet at this point, you're thinking, "April does not plan on posting photos of her wedding on Facebook." And, you're right. But here's the thing, I don't think I want others to either. This is where the debate gets tricky. I read a lot of wedding blogs and this is a hot issue. Some girls believe it is totally "bridezilla" to ask guests (via word of mouth or signs on the tables) to not post photos of the event to Facebook. While other girls believe weddings are sacred and not to be viewed on Facebook. Some girls even attempted a compromise by setting up an online photo sharing account with programs such as Shutterfly (these programs have a user name and password) and inviting guests to post photos there. This enables all the guests to view and share photos, yet it is much more protected and limited than Facebook.

Obviously, my mind is very messy regarding this topic. There is a lot to think about and the last thing I want to be is a "bridezilla." But, it's 2010, and it will be 2012, and the Internet is a huge part of people's lives. Issues of Internet etiquette regarding weddings are bound to come up. My wedding day isn't just another day to me, and while I love that people will want to excitedly show others snapshots of that special day, I'm not sure Facebook is the appropriate way. Plus, uploading photos to Facebook is so easy now, that it often becomes a distraction and annoyance. For example, I attended weddings where members of the wedding party and guests were constantly uploading photos from their cell phones to Facebook as the wedding was happening. Would it kill people to put the phones down for one day and take a breath and celebrate something so incredibly special? Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe uploading photos to Facebook (while you're at the wedding or after) is people's way of celebrating something special. So, help me out. What do you think? This is a topic I could really use some opinions on, so let it fly.

CAUTION: Highly embarrassing photographs to follow.

Oh, devoted blog readers. You. Are. In. For. A. Treat. Remember my post weeks ago about how Adam and I met? And, how ridiculously embarrassing photographs of me staring up at Adam like he was some kind of Greek god were captured during this meet-cute? Well, I thought the photos were gone forever. When they were initially posted on the Delta Sig website, I did not save them to my computer because I was MORTIFIED. Seven years later, I never thought I'd see them again. Enter Bill Marsh. A great, great friend of ours, and a fellow Delta Sig, Bill was so delighted and intrigued by my telling of this story that he sought out to locate these photos. He contacted fellow frat brothers and searched high and low for them. Well, kids, he found them. I will admit, I hoped dearly that I had exaggerated my telling of the story and that the photos were, in fact, not so bad. Fat chance. Bill had a good, long laugh after seeing them and assured me they are, indeed, pretty bad.

Lucky for you, I'm not ashamed of these pictures. Sure, I look like a school girl sitting in the front row of a Justin Bieber concert, but what can you do? Some may say it was love at first sight. Therefore, I feel it is only my duty to follow through and show everyone these photographs. And truth be told, I am actually really grateful to Bill for locating this memory for me. After all, it was the first time we ever met, and I am glad we have photos of it.

Without further ado, here are the photos. It was a bit dark (after all, it was at a club) so the photos are not a great quality. The upside for you is no amount of quality loss can cover up this debacle. It shouldn't be hard for you to spot me. I'm the girl breaking her neck in an attempt to gawk at Adam. Enjoy.

That's me, on the right. Clearly enamored.

This is the worst one, I think. Not only am I staring up at Adam, but I appear to be the only one.

So, there you have it. In all its glory. Bill insists we should post these photos in large format at the wedding. What do you think? Haven't I suffered enough?