We're Married!!

So it's been a few days since I posted, and it's been a loooong few days.

Thursday, Mija and I got up to go to boot camp at 5:30am - she's nuts. She hung in there really well though. After boot camp, we took naps and then got ready. Mija, Bing, Mr. Kingston and I met my other 2 bridesmaids (and one of their husbands) for lunch in Glendale. We then got manis and pedis while the boys played in Mr. Kingston's parents' garage. We rehearsed and went to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Toward the end of dinner, things got hairy. Mr. Kingston's grandmother apparently had an episode of low blood pressure and possibly a reaction to the pepper in her meal. She lost consciousness and was taken to the hospital. The dinner came to an abrupt halt and we ended up leaving early so that family could go to the hospital. My bridesmaid went to the hotel with me where I took Tylenol PM and proceeded to sleep for 8 - count them, 8! - hours. Mr. Kingston was updating me on his grandma's status, and by the time I went to bed that evening, it had been determined that she would be okay and released the following day. We were disappointed she would miss the wedding, but thrilled that she was on the mend and in good hands.

Friday - our wedding day - started early with hair and makeup appointments at 7. It went by pretty quickly though. After my hair was done, I went down to the reception site to have a look around. I was absolutely in awe of how perfectly everything was coming together. My flowers were amazing! My cake was incredible! The linens were perfect! That's when I started to really get excited. After what seemed like days, it was time to walk down the aisle. It was hot out, and even though poor Mr. Kingston was sweating like a mad man in his suit, he was so incredibly handsome. Our ceremony was short and sweet, with a few laughs here and there. And when our friend finally pronounced us husband and wife, we shared the sweetest kiss ever. Walking down the aisle, I was full of emotion: love, happiness, relief. I'm pretty sure my face went through a few expressions - at one moment, I seriously wanted to cry with relief that the hard part (as in nerve wracking being up there in front of everyone) was over, then remembered that I should be smiling. It was so nice to see everyone and meet more of Mr. Kingston's family and friends. We tried to fly through photos to get everyone out of the heat and into the reception area - amazingly, we stayed on time the whole day.

First dances are awkward, I'm not going to lie. We're not skilled at dancing to begin with - we really only dance here at home, and it's usually being goofy. The night Mr. Kingston proposed, we did slow dance, but it's very different when all eyes are on you. So we laughed through a lot of it, and tried to do a spin or two to break up the monotonous swaying. We were relieved to get through it. My dance with my dad brought me to tears. I was so thankful for a beautiful day, but anything to do with my dad gets me emotional. I was able to enjoy it after a few moments, though, and it was nice to get to spend that time with him. I'm so blessed to have wonderful parents.

We had a great DJ (I got compliments on the music all day), but we didn't really have much of a dancing crowd, except for a few kids who took to the dance floor. I did dance with Mrs. ESPN's little girl, Chatty Cathy though. We greeted every table and thanked them for coming during lunch, but I still felt like I didn't get much time with anyone. The day flew by and before we knew it, it was time to cut the cake. Just before we cut the cake, Mr. Kingston's parents presented us with a poster of childhood photos with "You are my sunshine!" written above. My dad, brother-in-law and sister gave toasts. They were very sweet, and Mija's was hilarious incorporating a few funny memories. We cut our cake and it was so delicious. Instead of shoving cake in my face, Mr. Kingston got the photographer. From that point, the reception winded down and ended a bit early. We all got ready and went to Dave & Buster's where we had appetizers and played games. We ended up staying out pretty late, but it was a really fun evening.

Our wedding day was just wonderful! I'm so happy with how everything turned out, and we had so much fun. I hope everyone else did, too. Mr. Kingston's parents had a nice BBQ for us at their home yesterday, and we got to see his grandma. She's feeling much better, and she said she was so happy to have me in the family. His family really are very nice people, and I'm so glad that everyone enjoyed each other's company all weekend.

Today, we bring home Clover. Mr. Kingston is currently on a motorcycle ride with his brother, groomsman, dad and uncles. Hopefully, we'll be able to go get our pup soon after he comes home.