You never know the biggest day of your life is going to be the biggest. The days you think are going to be big ones, they are never as big as you make them out to be in your head. It’s the regular days, the ones that start out normal. Those are the days that end up being the biggest. And today was the wedding. It was beautiful. Perfect. -Izzie, Grey’s Anatomy

A year ago today I married the love of my life which you can read about here and here in case you missed it. I was a princess for a day, and I was making my girl friends hum and “LOOK AWAY!!” while they helped me go potty in my giant dress. I was all dolled up and I have never felt so beautiful, or more loved. Walking down that aisle I had eyes only for Match. I knew I was making the single most important decision in my life and I had absolutely no doubts. That day I laughed and cried so many happy tears. It was perfect.

I wanted to share with you a slideshow I made of video clips from our wedding day. This is something that was also on my Project 52 List, and I’m so happy with how it turned out. I made a longer version for us and our parents that includes the whole wedding ceremony and a lot of the reception with our guests. This one I made especially for my readers. Enjoy it! I cry every time I watch it. I’m such a cheeseball.

Click on the picture and it should take you to the video.

From Blogger Pictures

I think about how Match and I will curl up on the couch and watch this slideshow on our 25th, 30th, even 50th anniversary and it makes me smile. Match, I love you more than words can ever say and every day I’m so grateful to have you in my life.

My eyes aren’t glistening with the ghosts of my past! -Harry Potter

Saturday afternoon I met up with a few of my friends from college for a mini reunion. Moose and I have kept in touch all these years, but the other two guys I hadn’t seen in at least 8 years. It was so surreal to all be hanging out together again. The day started out with me third wheeling it with Moose and his lady. We went wine tasting in Sonoma and Napa and it was actually a lot of fun even though I wished Match could have been there. The weather was perfect and it was an absolutely gorgeous day for wine tasting.

We drank a lot of tasty sparkling wine and I got to know Moose’s fiancee.

He’s actually been engaged three times, and so far she’s my favorite. I tease him a lot about being proposal happy and I told him he better be sure that this one stuck. It was great to spend some quality time with Moose before hanging out with everyone else. He’s always felt like an older brother and I’m so happy we’ve stayed friends all these years.

After we drank and had fun in true Napa County style, we headed back to their place in Napa. Napa holds a lot of bad memories for me, but a few good ones. It was in Napa that I first lived with a boy and it ended badly. I think a part of me always worries that I’ll run into that ex, Flame Boy. I’m not really sure what I’m so afraid of because I have never been happier with my life. I guess it’s just a scary thought to run into ghosts from our past.

Speaking of ghosts, when the other two guys showed up for the BBQ at Moose’s, I was forced to remember a lot of other ghosts from my past as “Oregon”, the wild party girl. Moose loves to bring up awkward party stories and he loves to see me turn red. You can bet my face was scarlet for most of the evening. Luckily it was all in good fun, but the story telling portion of the night made me grateful Match was at work. I’m most definitely not the girl I once was!

After eating an amazing BBQ dinner and birthday cake (celebrating our September birthdays early) I had sobered up enough to drive downtown with the guys. We piled into my little car and headed down to the local pub. We hung out and the boys drank and we all visited and did some people watching.

It’s nice when you can hang out with friends you haven’t seen in almost a decade and still feel comfortable. I think I actually felt more comfortable now because I’m grown up and I know who I am. I’m no longer that awkward 18 year old trying to figure out life. My buddies are all a lot more mature now too and all seemed to be happy with their places in life. It was great to reconnect and I hope we do it again soon! Hopefully next time I’ll be able to bring my better half to the party.

Hal: I have to get my speech ready, anyway.
Lois: Honey, you know you don’t have to talk at every funeral we go to.
Hal: I wish that were true. You see how people look to me when they ask if somebody has a few words to say?
Lois: They’re not looking to you; they’re looking at you. -Malcolm in the Middle

With all of this responsible saving we’re doing in preparations to buy our first home, Match and I have been talking about other responsible things we need to do. Things like making sure we’ve properly set up retirement accounts and talked about what would happen if one of us were to pass away. It’s horrible to think about, but we needed to discuss it.

We’re talking about possibly getting funeral insurance because those are terribly expensive, sadly. I think when I go I’d rather people just threw a really big party and had a lot of fun. That would make me happy!

We also talked about who we’ll entrust our kids to if we should both pass away. That’s a tough one since A. We don’t have kids yet and B. We’d most likely choose his parents. This is NOT a conversation I want to have with my parents, but it makes the most sense. Match’s folks live closer and the odds are they’ll know our kids the best. Anyways, all of this grown up stuff is so depressing but I’m so grateful I have a husband like Match who I can talk about everything with, and who has a plan for our future.