Introducing...

Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Keith Moore II

We did it! On Friday, October 24, Ron and I were married. The day was beyond perfect. We had gorgeous fall weather, everything went off without a hitch and we were surrounded by all our favorite people. To say that we have been tremendously blessed would be an understatement.

Before I get into the details of our big day, I have to apologize for my lack of posts since the wedding. With all the planning and preparation over and done with, you think I would have plenty of time to blog. NOT!!!! We may have gotten married during one of the most hectic times of the year. As soon as we returned from our honeymoon we quickly got busy with our 100 + thank you's, then it was time for Thanksgiving, then Christmas decorating, then Christmas cards, then holiday baking and much needed down time and then finally Christmas. Ok, ok! I could have found some time to write a post here and there but quite frankly I was enjoying any type of down time I could find after 15 months of wedding planning.

I plan on posting some of our DIY projects for the wedding in the next few weeks (which I promise to follow through on) so I'll keep this post strictly for the wedding day festivities.

So without further ado...

5:30 a.m. The morning of the wedding seemed to come ridiculously fast. I felt like I had just laid my head on the pillow after our wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner and then all of the sudden my alarm was going off...."Good morning, you are getting married today!!!!" No, that's not actually what my alarm was saying.

In order to get all my bridesmaids', mom's and my hair done on time, we had to start a tad early - 6 a.m. kind of early. Luckily, I have the most amazing friends and everyone arrived early for their appointments and were in good spirits. Their fabulous attitudes could have had something to do with the 16 coffees my dad and I picked up from Starbucks in order to bribe everyone to arrive on time. J

9 a.m. The boys met at Ron's parents' house for breakfast and eventually made their way to the church where they would entertain themselves with Wii Mario Kart until it was time to walk down the aisle. Boy did they have it easy that day...show up, eat some food, play some games and then the party started.

12 p.m. Gift time!!! I had been looking forward to this part for months....well, obviously the part of marrying Ron that day but also the part where he would open his wedding gift from me. Since we started dating, Ron and I have talked about traveling together - from visiting all 50 states to the countries we MUST visit before we have kids. I've heard many stories of Ron's studies abroad in Spain and his travels to Morocco and London and after our trip to Pakistan last year, I knew exactly what I wanted to get him. I found an old world atlas that was beautifully framed with a mahogany wood. The map was mounted on foam board so you can easy place push pins into it to mark all the places you have traveled. I had the map personalized with a small plaque that said "The Adventures of Ronnie & Bethany" and placed a few push pins in the map to mark places we have traveled to separately and together. He was surprised to say the least. That map now sits over our bar in our home and looks spectacular. J

Ron's wedding present to me was quite a surprise. He bought me a beautiful strand of pearls; something I have always wanted. Ron of course consulted with the bestie before making the purchase and then had her present them to me on the wedding day. I wore the strand of pearls almost every day of our honeymoon and try to pair them with every outfit possible. I kind of love them. J

12:30 p.m. Time to get dressed...

1:30 p.m. Who's ready to walk down the aisle?!?! Last minute preparations (a.k.a. reapply deodorant, run to the little boy's room, last minute tears of excitement and "holy crap, I'm getting married" moments) before walking down the aisle.

2 p.m. It's go time! You know, you can plan and plan and plan for the big day but nothing can honestly prepare you for the moment when you are on your father's arm, those church doors open and you see all the people you love and care about all in the same room...and at the very end of the aisle, the man of your dreams is standing there, waiting to marry you. Best...moment...of my life.

After the ceremony we held a popcorn reception in the church hall for all our guests, which of course was a huge hit. I'll be sure to post about that once I have all of our professional photos back and you can see the popcorn bar and the variety of flavors in all their glory. J

Our send off from the church was one of my favorite moments from the day. We planned an "UP" themed send off which of course included dozens of colorful balloons. Luckily for us, we had a gorgeous day and the balloons looked amazing as they floated away across the clear blue sky.

After the send off, we headed to Danada House for an evening of feast and merriment. The decor, our catering staff, the delicious BBQ buffet and our homemade wedding cake was more than perfect. It was so much fun to see all of our plans come together. All the little details and DIY projects looked amazing throughout the venue. We were certainly blessed with amazing friends and family who helped make the day and evening perfect by setting up all the decor and dealing with my OCD tendencies. J (Thanks Mary & Carly)

Following dinner, it was time for speeches. My dad's speech was sweet, with references to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", and my maid and matron of honor and Ron's best man had our guests busting a gut while trying to hold back tears as they regaled us with our years of friendship and how Ron and I met at the perfect point in our lives. They were all beautiful, heartfelt speeches.

The evening concluded with hours of dancing and lots of cocktails. My mom learned how to "Wobble", "Friends in Low Places" was sung at the top of the groomsmen's lungs, and the roof was definitely "raised".

And just like that, it was all over. 15 Months of planning and 28 years for dreaming...the night may have ended but the adventure was just beginning. That day, was truly the best day of our lives. Not because it was planned well or we lucked out with weather but because for the one and only time in our lives we were surrounded by the most loving and caring individuals who have been a part of all the important moments in our lives - from our parents and family to our godparents and grade school and high school friends, from our college roommates to our cube buddies at work. The Lord has truly blessed the two of us in more ways than I can explain and we are so thankful for everyone who could come be a part of the most important day of our lives - even those who couldn't attend but sent their well wishes and were with us in spirit.

Thank you for following the blog and for sharing in all the exciting and memorable moments over the course of the past year.

So now what? It's going to be hard to top the festivities in 2014. Well, you will just have to wait and see what's in store for next year. J 

New blog posts coming in 2015!!!

And they lived happily ever after...