In love and in Michigan...

Our plane touched back onto the sweet ground of West Michigan about 12 hours ago. Our honeymoon was fantastic, but before I say too much about that, I should start at the beginning... We got married on August 18 in Grand Haven/Heaven. It was one of those weird-weather days that we so often have being this close to The Lake.

My day started off with a trip to the hair salon, Studio 206, with my entourage (moms and bridesmaids). We all got our hair done and I also had to get my veil and headband anchored into my hair. I was so pleased with the final product- my hair stayed in place for 2 or 3 days afterwards when Chris and I had a race to see who could pull out more pins. I think we ended up with about 65 of them... The only complaint that I have about my hair is that nobody warned me of the impracticality of wearing an updo to the airport during "heightened security." Chris was slightly amused (though he will not admit to it) when the security personnel made me step aside for an individual screening before letting me enter the Northwest terminal. After unzipping and folding down my pants the screener decided that yes, it was indeed my updo causing the metal detector to go off. My advice to all future brides is to minimize the amount of metal in your hair...

After the hair salon we went straight to St. Patrick's Catholic Church to get dressed. Our photographer, Chad Bosma, showed up and took some pictures of us getting ready. It was hard to put makeup on while wearing all that dress! (More helpful hints: put makeup on before the dress)

The ceremony was beautiful. It was surreal to walk down the aisle with my parents, looking up at Chris smiling. The first thing he said to me was "You look beautiful." He looked amazing in his tux. Through his homily, Fr. Bill offered both entertainment and insight; it was a nice combination for a more personalized mass. We especially loved that he took quotes from our responses given during our marriage prep process, and incorporated them into the Homily.Between the ceremony and the reception Corey (Best Man) and Erin (Maid of Honor) drove us to the beach for some pictures. It is so hard to walk in sand in a dress like that! After that we went to a beach in Holland for some more shots by our fabulous photographer. I can't wait til we pick them up this week!!

From all I've heard, our guests had a wonderful time at the wedding reception. We sure did! Everything was right on from the moment our wedding party sashayed in to "Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash. I must take this moment to thank Elizabeth and Marcus for setting the bar high on that one! The rest of the party followed their example and entered in style. I think Corey and Jesse even learned what the word "sashay" means. Ha ha!

The reception hall looked great, despite so many worries about it during our engagement. Thanks to all of the help from both of our families, the hall looked its best for our special night. Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. Chris and I had such a great time dancing, mingling and eating. I have to say, I just loved the Chicken Cordon Bleu at Pigeon Lake Lodge. The cake was phenomenal in both style and taste, of course. Most of you probably know that my sister, Kristen, made it for us. I never had a doubt in my mind that it would turn out exactly as I had requested! It was so good that Chris even gave a recommendation to our newly engaged friends, Chris and Danielle. Cakes by K.Renee gets an A+ from us!

---Chris has finally awaken to ask me what I've been "clicking away" at for so long. That reminds me of Mom because she always made little typing noises at me when I was on the computer. :) I have so much more to tell you about the wedding but it will have to wait. We have a mile-long list of things to do today (fun things like going to the Social Security office and Secretary of State...)