We did it!

Well, as the timer at the top of the page says, we did it! We are officially married. I think things still haven't fully sunk in yet--sometimes I feel different, sometimes I don't.

Overall I don't think we could have asked for things to possibly go better than they did. The day was hot and sunny, and the backyard was lovely. The flowers that Hole's Greenhouses did for us were absolutely gorgeous, and the staff even included a complimentarly copy of Lois' book for me! The extra flowers we bought to decorate the outside tables, and the pots that my mom planted this year, looked great too.

We took photos with our families and attendants before the wedding. Our ceremony went off pretty much without at hitch. A lot of people have asked us about it and complimented us on it, so I'll put a link to it, as well as to photos and other items of interest, on the sidebar as soon as they're available. Our officiant was great, and in a nice stroke of luck a friend offered to lend her green robes and a wreath for her hair which were just perfect. I had been "vibrating", in my mom's words, for the entire day and night before as we made the last minute preparations, and I was very nervous as we walked down the aisle and began the ceremony. But, as Pam began to speak and call the directions, I took a deep breath or two, and everything felt right and fine.

It's interesting the things you don't notice when you are absorbed in the moment. Afterwards, people told me that just as the ceremony was beginning, one of our particularly noisy neighbors came outside just for a moment, shouted something, and then went back inside. I had no idea that it had happened at all--I just didn't hear it! Likewise, my mom mentioned later that Michael's father had been quite choked up during the ceremony, and though I was standing pretty much right in front of him I didn't notice!

Right after the ceremony, Farahnaz, our bellydancer, performed for about half an hour. She was wonderful, and everyone, even people who had been a bit...unsure about what it would be like beforehand enjoyed her dancing immensely. She got just about everyone at the party up to dance with her at some point, and some people (ahem...CRAIG...) performed quite enthusiastically!

Much of the reception after that is a blur for me, as I was busy with last minute food preparation, serving, and so forth. Sounds strange perhaps but it is what I wanted and expected to do, so it was all good for me. We had a variety of appetizers and finger foods, fruit and vegetables, and of course dessert! Mom and I had baked shortbread heart cookies, I made Mocha Layer Cake, and Mom made Cheesecake with Strawberries for Michael. We must have planned all right because we had plenty of leftovers.

All told it was over all too soon, even though the party went a little longer than originally planned. Strange to spend so much time thinking about, planning, and preparing for one day and then have it pass in such a flash. Everyone did seem to have a good time, and a couple of people said that it was the best wedding that they had ever been to, which was nice.

We arrived at the Union Bank Inn about 8 pm. The site doesn't have a picture of the bridal suite we chose, but we went for the one that was "rustic in décor, and offers warm earth tones, pine and slate accents, with a pair of pine rocking chairs to bundle up in." It was nice and cozy, with a gas fireplace, a jetted bathtub with a prop to hold books to read, and Aveda products for bath and body. We ate at the hotel's restaurant, Madison's Grill; I had the Black Cod and Michael had chicken. Breakfast the next morning was included with the room--the citrus french toast and smoked salmon eggs benedict was heavenly!

We left for Jasper about 11 that morning. We loved the cabin we stayed in, and spent our days hiking the trails and seeing the sights, and the evenings in front of our wood burning fireplace. I took a lot of photos with the digital camera Michael's mother and stepfather gave us for our wedding gift; a link to the album is on the sidebar. Naturally, the vacation also felt way too short and it was very hard for us to leave. It's the first chance we've had to have a vacation longer than a day or two to really recharge and pamper ourselves in a long, long time.

So, after a night at my parents' place and a night at Michael's mom's, we're back in Florida and trying to readjust to real life. We actually had a bit of a scare at Immigration--even though the agents I had talked to before we left Florida said that there would be no problems renewing my temporary work visa while being married to a dual national, the agents at the airport said that there was a problem with me applying for a status that did not allow dual intent when I had a claim to permanent residency through Michael's US citizenship. Fortunately, after making us sweat a few minutes, they did decide to grant me the TN status and let us enter. I think the fact that Michael was born and raised in Canada and had only been in the US for a relatively short time was a factor, as well as the fact that while we didn't have hard documentation, we could truly say that we had given notice to work, family and friends that were were planning to leave next year. This has always been my problem with the TN status--the rules and the laws around it are so "fuzzy" that each agent can interpret them differently and still be within bounds. Thankfully this is the last year we will have to do this!