Two Years ago TODAY

was the happiest day of my life. Literally, I have never felt so much emotion in one day. It was love, happiness, nervousness, and a ton of other emotions that I can't even explain. I just realized that at this time, I was standing in our church narthex about to make the biggest commitment of my life! Though I am in no means an expert, I did get some pretty good advice on wedding stuff, and here is what I learned...

1. No matter what happens, you are still married at the end of the day.
2. Spend money on what matters to you...if you are dying to have huge flower arrangements, then get them!
3. Plan a budget, and stick to it...don't be afraid to shop around and to let vendors know you ARE shopping around! They are more likely to give you a deal then!
4. At the reception, the party will go where you go...if you want people to dance, you need to dance! If you want people to sit and eat, that's what you should do too!
5. Do the "traditional" stuff right at the beginning of the reception, like the dances and cake cutting. Often times an older crowd really WANTS to see these moments, but they don't want to wait around for 2 hours for you to do it!
6. Get as many pictures done before the reception as you can...you don't want to miss two hours of your four hour reception taking pictures...you need to be there to enjoy your hard work!
7. GET A VIDEOGRAPHER...you will remember NOTHING about the night, it goes by TOO fast!
8. Don't sweat the small stuff...and don't be a bridezilla. No one wants to be around that!
9. Involve your significant other and his family as much as possible...especially his mom, and especially if he is an only child. Remember, the day is just as much about him as you, and he deserves a say-so in what happens!
10. Write your thank-you cards super fast, and start with the older population first. They EXPECT thank you cards, your friends may not care!

And while I'm at it, here are the reasons why Brandon is the most awesome person I could ever be married to...and this list was super hard to condense!

1. He is, and always will be my best friend.
2. We have an equal partnership in our marriage. We both work hard, play hard and have the same goals in our family and in our future.
3. He is nurturing and sweet
4. He is super funny, and always knows how to cheer me up...whether that be through a stupid pun or joke, letting me buy a new pair of shoes, or just telling me to snap out of it, he always says the right things!
5. He is horrible at keeping surprises...and I love surprises. This allows for some pretty hysterical moments in our household!
6. He LOVES my family. And my family LOVES him. He is awesome at fitting into my super close family. I'm pretty sure they would rather him be at events than me! :)
7. He can fix anything. Literally...like when the vacuum cleaner started to smoke, he took it apart, put it back together and it worked like brand new! That just blows my mind!
8. He is a hard worker. Lazy is NOT a word that anyone would use to describe that boy!
9. He doesn't let stuff bother him. And everything bothers me...so we balance each other out!
10. He wants to be a dad more than anything, and that is an awesome feeling!
11. He is the most caring, loving, honest, handsome, hard-working, snoring, secret-telling, loyal, friendly, handy, conservative, funny, money-conscious, laid-back husband I could ever ask for. And I love him more than anything!

I love you honey! :)