A True Love Story: Wedding

Nine years ago, I lost one of the most important people in my life... Just after midnight into the hours of October 6th, my grandpa lost his hard fight with lung cancer. He had his family surrounding his bed, reminding him of their feelings for him and and his importance in their lives....

I may have only been a mere teenager, but the impact he had on my life has stayed with me since he left us... I spent every day of the summers and every day after school at my grandparents' house, which was just up the street from my house. He taught me things like how to ride a bicycle, how to make a pretend pipe from a coffee stirrer and creamer packet at DQ, how to play solitaire and other fun memories I'll never forget, but most importantly--- the importance of family, music, love, determination and strength.

There's rarely a day that goes by that he doesn't cross my mind.... especially the milestones in life....

Here's a few things you've missed, Grandpa.These are times that have been the hardest....


Dance Recitals--- remember my first year when you had to drive 45 minutes to bring my dance shoes that I forgot??


Musicals--- I may not be able to sing like you could, but I found a role for me...


I graduated high school and college with honors...


Family Holidays....

A beautiful baby boy came into the world and changed our lives...

I married my best friend, just like you did....

You were held close as I walked down the aisle....


The guest book pen that was just like the one you let me doodle with at breakfast every day...

I miss you with every inch of my heart and think of you daily..... I love you...

and honeymoon.... in words..

Saturday
Our wedding day was beautiful.... hot, but beautiful. We found out Sunday that we had been under a heat advisory Saturday while we were taking outdoor photos, but we did the best to stay cool... Small things didn't happen the way we had planned, but overall-- everything was PERFECT. Surprisingly, Cameron and I made it through the ceremony with very little tears--- we were just so happy to be getting married. Also, we were so happy about the level we were about to take our relationship to later that night. Over four years of waiting was over.

During the reception, I wasn't feeling the best. I had always heard that you have to remember to eat in the week leading up to your wedding and I always chuckled and thought, "How do you forget to eat?!?!" but it happened to me.... I was so busy with errands, DIY projects, and last minute planning that I almost forgot to eat for about 3-4 days. I had tiny meals here and there, but honestly forgot to eat--- and no it was not a plan for crash dieting! The hunger, heat and heavy/tight dress got to me and I started to feel sick after dinner on Saturday. I wanted to feel better and get to dancing at my own wedding, so I shed the crinoline and walked around with the back of my dress half-undone for a lot of the night! haha Thankfully, I started feeling better as we headed out of Montgomery.

Here's something that could have been an awful ending to the night..... We pulled up out front of the apartment and prepared to go in when Cameron realized that his keys were in the car of one of his groomsmen. Luckily, a friend arranged for his car to be driven back to town, so we were able to get the keys within a matter of minutes and continue on with our night, but it could have been an awful event thrown in. And yes, our wedding night went perfectly :) It was well worth the wait.

We had some family and friends who weren't with us for different reasons, and they were on our minds a lot that day. We missed them a lot!

Sunday
We enjoyed the time we could sleep in before getting up and starting to pack. My sister came to town to drop off our wedding gifts and some things I might need for our trip. We then packed up the vehicle, and headed out, as husband and wife. We made a pit stop at McD's and then his parents' house to eat and visit briefly. His mom had packed a little cooler with drinks and some leftover candy from our candy buffet.

We were then off to Indianapolis!! We talked about our wedding day, what we wanted to do in Indy and about our life together as husband and wife....and before we knew it, we were in downtown! We went straight to the hotel where we were met by a bellhop who quickly learned our names (and remembered them all week) and were greeted with much love by the staff. We got the key to our penthouse on the 20th floor and made our way upstairs, where we were later visited again by the bellhop who delivered and unloaded our luggage in the bedroom. Our room was gorgeous! It had a kitchen, living room, dining area, HUGE balcony with a view of the downtown circle and skyline, two spacious bathrooms with a shower and a huge bathtub, and ofcourse a large bedroom with a king sized bed.

We enjoyed the view for a while, explored the hotel and room, and then headed down to the mall before we remembered it was Sunday evening--- and most everything was closed : ( We walked around downtown for a bit, checked out a huge arcade and some other interesting places. We then headed back to the room, enjoyed a storm from the balcony, decided to get some Steak and Shake and call it a night.

Monday
We got up bright and early, headed downstairs for some delicious breakfast from the free buffet, got ready and headed to the zoo! It was a hot day, but we just kept moving! We loved the penguins, walruses, elephant show, dolphin show, bears, and the sharks that we got to pet!! Admission to the zoo also includes admission to the butterfly garden, but just as we exited the zoo gift shop, the temperature dropped, wind started to blow and the storm rolled in! We hated missing the garden, but we knew it wouldn't have been enjoyable in the storm! haha .

We got cleaned up and headed downtown for dinner at Buca di Beppo. Cameron could never get the name right, so he calls it Del Boca Vista--- like the retirement facility on Seinfeld!!! haha We didn't have any idea what to expect, so we half-way dressed up and headed down. The restaurant was very interesting. The walls are covered in interesting photos--- from 3 women in the 50's eating pasta, to nuns riding in bumper cars, to famous boxers....as well as large Christmas lights, flags, wall paper and so on. The dinner was delicious!! It is served "family style" so luckily Cam and I like the same thing---- Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo. We decided to also add an order of Garlic Mozz Bread--------- delicious! It was an expensive dinner, but it made another meal the next day for both of us... and it was one of the best meals I've ever had. Here's the funny part of the evening. We were talking to the waitress as she led us to our seats, so when it was time to leave, we didn't know where to go!! Every hallway seemed to lead somewhere we weren't supposed to be, and we finally had to ask how to get out!! how embarrassing!! Come to find out, we were headed in the right direction--- we had to walk right through the kitchen area to leave!! haha

We walked downtown for just a few minutes, before rain started and we headed back to the room, and enjoyed another storm from the balcony and sky lights.We headed to mall and did some bargain shopping-- clearance and gift cards! We even got to see the glass roof of the mall leaking!!

We decided to take a swim in the pool, but when we got there, we found out that the pool was closed for the rest of the night due to the previous lightning.On our way down, we met a family that Cameron stared out before we shook his head and said "I know them." I laughed at him and kinda said "we are in Indiana--- it is possible!" haha. When we couldn't swim, we headed to the bar to get a corkscrew for a bottle of wine Cam brought. (When he got the corkscrew, it was a portable corkscrew that comes apart and hooks inside itself... Cam looked at the woman and admitted that he had no idea how it worked!! It was funny!) As he sat the bar waiting for the bartender, the couple we had met yelled across the bar at him, asking where he was from. Come to find out, Cameron had sold them 3 computers for their home business. We also found out that the wife had known Cam as a little boy because his mom used to do her mom's hair! haha We talked to them for over an hour!!

We were supposed to check out of our beautiful (half price) penthouse on Tuesday afternoon, but we just weren't ready to leave yet. When Cam discussed this with the couple in the bar and explained that he just wanted to ask for another two nights at the same price, the man looked at him and said "why wouldn't you?! What's the worst they're going to say?? NO??" Cam thought about this for the next hour before getting up enough courage to ask. I'll never forget him coming back to our room and yelling at me from downstairs. I looked over the railing and he held two new keys and said "We check out Thursday!" It was amazing!

Tuesday
Tuesday, we overslept and missed our breakfast by two minutes :( Cam went down and grabbed some coffee and milk, and we made a breakfast on some food we had in the room. We headed to the Indiana State Museum and spent an afternoon learning a little bit more about our state's history! Cam really enjoyed it!

We called my family to find out when they would be in Indy to drop off my brother at the airport for his trip back to CO. We had just enough time to head back to the hotel and grab some lunch--- our favorite--- Chick-Fil-A. We then headed to the airport and got out of the vehicle just in time to see my family pull in too. Of all the cars in that parking garage--- we watched them pull in! haha We enjoyed a little visit with the family before giving my brother a goodbye.

As we headed back to the hotel, another storm was rolling in. We got to our balcony just in time for a small hail storm and crazy rain blowing around! We really had some great storms! Cameron and I did a little bit more exploring of the mall before getting a huge Cinnabon roll and milk.... delicious! We finally spent some time in the pool--- but didn't last long because the water was FREEZING!!! It was the coldest indoor pool we've ever been in!

Wednesday
We had another great breakfast and then headed downtown to the Monument. We paid our small fee to ride the tiny elevator to the top. What beautiful views!! You could see everything--- the zoo, the mall, our penthouse, Conseco, Lucas Oil--- everything! It was beautiful, but really hot, so we didn't stay too long. We then did a little shopping in the gift shop, where Cameron found a bookmark that went right along with an inside joke from the movie Fletch 2--- Robert E. Lee.

We then made our way to the Children's Museum. Man has that place changed in the last four years! We laughed, we cried, and we just had FUN!!

Cam explored the Star Wars, I explored the Barbies, and we both loved the Etch-a-Sketch and Rock-n-Roll galleries. Cam begged and begged all week for me to go see A-Team with him---- or hang out at the hotel while he went! I finally gave in and saw it with him! It was a huge theatre, and the movie wasn't half bad either! That evening, we decided to splurge a little bit and take a carriage ride. It lasted about 30 minutes and was one of the most relaxing times of our honeymoon. We got to see the city at a slower pace and notice things we had driven past all week! It was perfect! Oddly enough, while on the ride, we passed a restaurant that had outdoor seating. One of the waitresses outside was a girl I had worked with at the cMoe Museum a few years ago!! Weird!

We then called a pizza to be delivered and enjoyed our last night as the newlyweds in the penthouse.

Thursday
We enjoyed our last breakfast, packed up, took some pictures and then procrastinated before calling our bellhop to carry our luggage down and help us load the car. When we got to Bloomington, we did a little bit of shopping, grabbed some more McD's and headed back to our apartment.

We are so happy that we didn't spend a small fortune on a trip.... this was a perfect honeymoon for us to grow as a couple... We look forward to taking a larger trip later, but this was perfect for the time being!

Honeymoon DeJaVu-
*Del Boca Vista--- first episode when we got back on Thursday was about Del Boca Vista
*A-Team--- Wednesday while we were at the museum, we watched a Ryan White documentary and it started with an 80s montage including GI Joe and ofcourse---- the A-TEAM. That was my sign that I was supposed to watch it with him! haha
*On the way home on Thursday, we talked about The Romantics and one of their songs. The next day when Cam went back to mow, the first song that popped up on his I-pod was that very song.....
*Within all the parking garages we had to park within in Indy, I was constantly thinking of the Seinfeld episode where they lose their car in the garage and then keep losing each other. While I was at home on Friday, this episode came on :)