Williamitchell (Married! Pt. 1)
Where to even begin! Certainly the highlight of the past few weeks was that Zach and I got married. But leading up to that....
Zach and I flew into North Carolina a couple weeks before the wedding to spend time with family and get some last minute details completed.
The week leading up to the wedding, Zach's family came into town so we spent as much time with everyone as possible. We even hosted a family dinner at our Airbnb where his family met mine. It was a great evening! I love making food for loved ones!
After that, all our guests came into town! We had a welcome dinner at Fresh Pizza and Zach and I said goodbye for the night.
I barely slept that night, not out of nerves but I guess more out of excitement and really because it was so weird being without him. I honestly thought I would enjoy the solitude more.
The next day. October 7th. Our wedding day!
I woke up early, thinking I would go on a run beforehand but I was pretty tired, it was raining, and despite sleeping in as much as I could, it was time to get busy. My sister, Uncle Michael, and our wedding coordinator Elizabeth (a true blessing!) met at the hotel to begin setting up for the reception. And that's when all the problems started, haha.
To be clear, none of this really worried me or stressed me out until a moment I will mention below. I knew everything wouldn't be perfect or go as planned. The point was to get married - after that, nothing else really mattered.
Because it had been raining that morning (and the days before), the area had been issued a flash flood warning which delayed the floral delivery and the stylist that was doing our hair. Which then made us start to run out of time to get ready for the ceremony. I had initially booked time for bridal pictures before the ceremony, but we had to forego all of that which I was disappointed about. I remember rushing into my wedding gown and saying, "This is not how I imagined this moment," haha.
I did want pictures beforehand with my family and I wish I had had a more sentimental moment with my dad, but I guess we can make up for it at part 2 :P
While we were at the salon, I received a call from the band we booked telling me there was a chance they may not be able to play due to one of their members experiencing health issues. That didn't bother me because they had built a playlist and offered to serve as DJ/MC but I was worried about their band member! In the end though, they ended up being able to join and played the whole night. They were truly amazing and everyone complimented the great music!
At the salon, I unfortunately did start to get stressed out...I hate running behind schedule and part of that was due to leaving several items at home - including our wedding rings that I wanted to give to Zach's sister, Amanda. Which then could not be found, haha. (Eventually they were, obviously.) But I did have a moment of irritability and I wish I hadn't taken it out on the people that I did.
Elizabeth noticed I was feeling stressed and she texted me some advice, messages to make me feel better, etc. I'm so glad we decided to include her in our wedding! Wedding coordinators are so necessary!
Once we rushed into our dresses and made our way to the Buncombe County Courthouse though, everything was perfect. (I knew it would be!)
Before the ceremony, our photographer suggested an impromptu "first look" with Zach. We haven't gotten the photos or video yet, but I'm most excited for that moment because I never felt so happy. I didn't expect to start crying either.
And then we made our way into the Magistrate's office, had a simple ceremony, family signed some papers, and it was official!
I thought the whole process would be more difficult. Who knew it was so easy to get married, haha.
Since we had a lot of time before the reception, we took lots of photos.
(All of the below by Wildwood Media! They were the best!)
Now, the reception! Zach and I walked from my parents house to the venue because I thought it would be fun. When we arrived, I was not expecting everyone to already be there and to celebrate our arrival with such cheer. Basically everyone we invited showed up, too! (We only had about 40 guests.)
A couple more things that went wrong, haha:
1) Instead of a cake, we ordered individual fruit tarts for everyone and a big tart to cut. Although apparently I didn't communicate this clearly enough and a big tart was never created. The friendly bakery assured me they would make one really quickly and deliver it again, but at that point I thought it would be too much trouble.
2) My uncle volunteered to pick up our wedding favors - chocolates from a local business - but apparently they didn't have them ready when he arrived nor did they even have record of our order! I have no idea how that got sorted...I've been meaning to ask and even reach out the business, but I haven't yet. Whatever occurred resolved the issue although I hope we didn't end up overpaying.
The reception was an amazing time! I never had so much fun at a wedding!
The next day, the festivities were not over! We hiked Zach's favorite Montreat trail with Lexi and visited the Biltmore Estate.
A couple days later, we made our way back to California :( We pretty much instantly returned back to our routine before we left. Not in a bad way though. I'm happy we are married! But maybe I thought it would "feel" a little different, haha. I truthfully most days forget we are even supposedly bound together "forever."
Since then, we've seen a few friends, attended another wedding, and celebrated Zach's birthday.
This weekend is busy with lots of Halloween activities. Because our families are bi-coastal, we decided to have two small weddings. Now that NC is done, we're off to the races with part 2. And can't forget Thanksgiving!
If I can survive this holiday season, I think I can do anything, haha. Until next time :)