AMSTEL LIFE: October 2013

Our wedding day was absolutely fabulous! Both Aaron and I felt so incredibly loved by our families and friends that we didn't really have time to think about anything else. Since July 11, 2005 - the day Deanna was born - I knew I wanted her to be part of my wedding. Eight years ago, I didn't know who my husband would be, but I knew wholeheartedly that I wanted Deanna to be by my side no matter what. Another reason why the openness part of open adoption was so important to me.

I will post some updates later about how our open adoption has been going eight years in, but for the purposes of this post, I'll be brief. Don, De and Deanna recently moved to California for a job promotion that Don received. Sad, yes. It was tough, but ultimately the right choice for them. Anyway, it meant a lot to me that they made it a point to be at my wedding, even delaying their move to California a few days to make sure they were there for me. Deanna was a flower girl, along with Aaron's niece, Zoe, which was a special memory I'll never forget. They became fast friends and even looked like they could be sisters.

Although the day felt perfect, not everything went exactly as planned. But we do have some funny memories to look back on. When Aaron and I were attempting to cut the cake, nobody told us that there is a freaking LAYER OF CARDBOARD inside the wedding cake to hold up each tier. I suppose that should be obvious, but who would be thinking about cardboard when you're trying to co-maneuver a sharp object with 170 people staring in your direction? Aaron and I just kept sawing the knife, trying to cut through the cardboard, smiling, smiling... smiling.... nervously laughing. Finally, we realized what was happening and moved the knife up a layer so we could cut through the cake. Ta-da! Magic.

Did you know that some garters are less elastic-y than others? Neither did I. Until Aaron and I were leading the way up to the buffet, with a large pack of guests following behind us, and I felt something slither down my leg. Whaaaaat the heck was that? I realized that my garter had gotten stretched out and had slipped down my leg. I stopped right then and there, halting the entire buffet line, reached under my dress and pulled the darn thing off my leg. I quickly balled it up and shoved it inside Aaron's suit pocket. Later, I had to put the garter back on, but the only way it would stay on my leg was to literally put it alllll the way up there as far as it would go, making the garter removal portion of the evening very awkward.

Two additional debacles that weren't quite as funny: Our DJ cancelled on us two weeks before the wedding - via snail mail letter. Yeah, that happened. Luckily, we have a friend who is a DJ was able to fill in at the last minute, but holy crap, who does that?! Also, our limo driver crapped out on us and didn't show up at the end of the night to pick us up. Fortunately, the reception venue had a golf cart that was available for us to use, so nobody even knew that we had a different exit planned. On a positive note, after we drove off in the golf cart, my sister and her boyfriend met us on the other side of the building and agreed to chauffeur us to our honeymoon villa (5 miles away). Before we left, I made a special request for my sister go back inside and run a recon mission. I asked her to fetch us some leftover cake since we barely had time to even taste the most expensive dessert we had ever and will ever purchase. Michelle didn't disappoint; she emerged with a huge smile on her face and about 12 takeout boxes full of leftover wedding cake. The unreliable limo driver quickly became a distant memory, as we realized that our impromptu golf cart exit was obviously meant to be.

Our wedding day was pretty awesome and we couldn't have been happier with the way everything turned out. Looking back on the day, and thinking about the series of events that led me to where I am today, I'm realizing more and more that the sweetest surprises and the greatest blessings often come from the things we haven't planned for ourselves.

Finally, here are some our favorite pictures, taken by the amazing Haley George Photography.