I do, we did and lets do it again!

Ahh, it's June. Typically known for weddings. Though I am being told it is no longer thee month to get married in. Oh well, I did 7 years ago so it will always be wedding month to me.

So, this blog is going to be all about weddings and marriage. Some memories, some photos, some stories and some wise advise.

My wedding memories start with my marriage proposal. You can read about that right here.

I began my wedding planning ASAP. Like, the morning after the proposal. I bought magazines, and was so over whelmed. I didn't even know where to start. So I just started. I found an amazing venue on the banks of the TN River. It was very expensive and it was way out of my budget. I didn't actually have a budget yet, I just knew it was out of it.  But it was perfect, or so I thought. It even had an onsite cottage/house where family could stay so we planned on making a whole weekend out of it with our out of town family. My mom helped me with the deposit, and we were on our way. Contract signed.  Turns out, it was an old contract they gave me in error. An old contract that said I could use an outside caterer. Well, when I went with a coworker of mine who was going to cater, to our first meeting, it didn't go so well. By this point, I also hired a wedding planner. Best. Decision. Ever. Do it if you are thinking about it!! Just hire wisely.  She was such a blessing. So my wedding planner Alison was with me at this meeting along with my mom and my coworker/caterer Karen. The director of the venue told us we could not use her, we had to use their chef and that if we wanted a cheap wedding with spagehttios to go somewhere else.  They yelled at my mom! My MOM! My mom who is the sweetest, most non combative woman ever.  I am pretty sure I cried. We left. Got out of our contract after my wedding planner took charge and got our deposit back. What a mess. Just a few months before our planned wedding, Saturday June 24th.

our reception table set up at The Walden Club

Alison wasted no time and we left that horrible meeting right to the office and began brainstorming. She called all the vendors, put them on standby for a venue change, she was on it. We took some time to visit other venues, The Walden Club being one of them. I fell in love with the view from the top floor of the tallest building in downtown Chattanooga.  
We all know how much I love Chattanooga!! And I consider myself a city girl. This felt right. This felt BETTER than the riverside wedding. I am not even an outdoorsy person, so HA! We ended up having to change our date to Sunday June 25th. To this day I still get confused about when our anniversary is and have to sometime read the engraving inside of my ring. I don't feel bad about that, Tim does the same thing.

A week before our wedding, we had our respective parties. My girls went all out for me and rented a limo and we decided to stay in Chattanooga. We went to Shoguns, one of my favorite restaurants.
Visited a club downtown watching live music of the best 80's coverband around, Velco Pygmies. And then spent the night at my maid of honor's house talking alllll night. It was great. There are a few crazy stories from that night. Some I can't remember, and some not appropriate to re tell :)

The week of my wedding, I was soooo excited. So excited I couldn't eat! There is no use in dieting and exercising before your wedding. The nerves work just fine for shedding the pounds.

rehearsal with my girls - and our concert tshirts \m/

Most all of my family flew in and some out of state friends and we had a great rehearsal dinner at my in-laws farm. I was very appreciative they were such great hosts. We did a pool party bbq. It was perfect! Horse rides, hanging out, swimming, just a good time with my favorite people. 

I spent the night at my mom's the night before the wedding, some of my favorite time of the whole event. I got to hang out with my sister and mom and just talk. The next morning, wedding day I was such a ball of nerves. I wasn't sure how I was going to get through the day. I couldn't eat at a thing and couldn't relax.  My mom, always knowing just what to do, took me and my dog Tyler on a walk around the neighborhood. It was very calming and relaxing and just what I needed before the chaos of the day started.

I drove myself to The Chattanoogan Hotel where I met my bridal party. We had rented a suite to get ready in, that would later serve as our honeymoon suite. A lady from MAC cosmetics came to do my makeup (so worth the money!)
and my maid of honor did my hair. We had alot of visitors in and out of the room, it was chaos, the kind that I love!! I all of the sudden started craving pizza. So we ordered a thin crust cheese pizza from Papa Johns. Still to this day, the best pizza I have ever eaten!!

my hair brushed out!

We had a videographer and a photographer documenting everything. So much going on. I then took just a minute on my own in the sitting room just to take it all in.

my sweet friend Dorothy I worked with in Myrtle Beach and was always a great friend, flew down from her home in NY

was so ready to put this on!

make up done, hair almost done

soaking it all in and cherishing every moment. and trying to breathe.

We had some issues with the photographer. We actually won a contest because of it, that I will talk about at the end. You can read about it here. While you are reading the story, go ahead and "like" Inamorata Photography. Amazing work. Amazing people. If only I would've hired them. But that's OK. Melody did all my kids newborn shots, and many sessions with Lyla throughout her first two years and she will be re doing our wedding photos for our anniversary. But as I said, more on that in a bit....

Tim and the guys were downstairs at the same hotel in the bar, smoking cigars, playing pool. You know, guy stuff.

Now is the time I am ready. Walking down the hall to the elevator ready to ride to The Walden Club. I caught my reflection in the elevator door, and thought I was going to faint. *I* was getting married. This was all about ME. Whoa. It was surreal. And from that moment until I walked down the aisle, felt like I was in a dream and watching myself.
We stopped in the lobby to get pictures with my family. I think our photographer underestimated how much family I had.

*almost* all of my family

me and my parents

me and my 8 brothers (i am one lucky girl!)

me and Jacqui, the only moment I cried. She just looked at me and said she was proud. Water works!

My wedding planner Alison, and the photographer and I all drove to the venue together and made some stops to take some pictures. Yes they turned out nice, but he still sucks.

We get to the venue and the girls hang out for what seemed like forever. I thought if I had to wait any longer for the wedding to start, I was going to not make it. We had alot of photos taken, talked alot, and they all drank alot of wine. I didn't. I wanted to savor every moment through clear eyes.

my dear mother in law to be gave me the sweetest card. I wasn't able to read it until later because I was afraid I would cry and ruin my makeup. I just love her, I am blessed.

Time to walk down the aisle.  My dad is walking slow, and I am pretty much pulling him to the door. I just couldn't wait. I don't know if I was so excited, or if I was just ready for it to be over with and party with everyone. The door opened as the clock struck 6 (yes, everything was on time, Alison made sure of it!) and as I walked down the aisle with my dad, everything was fine. We had an acoustic guitar soundtrack playing. I wanted electric guitar, but this was a traditional wedding after all. I wasn't nervous. I was just happy.  Really, really happy. I couldn't stop smiling. I was making conscious efforts to hold my flowers low, as instructed, smile, look at people, make eye contact and soak it all in. (I unfortunately don't have any pictures of me walking down the aisle)

My dad not only walked me down the aisle, but he officiated the wedding as well. My oldest brother Ian welcomed everyone while my dad switched roles. What a great memory that was! It was very special. The ceremony was wonderful. I don't remember much of it, because I was just staring at Tim the entire time, smiling.

Instead of doing the unity candle, we gave eachother's mother a rose. I always cringe when people do that because I am afraid it is going to blow out, catch something on fire, or some other awkward situation. so I just decided to avoid it.

Ceremony over. Time to kiss.
Mr and Mrs Tripp are ready to party!!!

But first.....horse and carriage ride. I planned this so Tim and I could have some few quiet moments together, but also so people could come downstairs and "see us off" while the staff turned the ceremony room into the reception room.

Everyone came down the thirty something floors and greeted us with rose petals as we went out into the rainy Sunday afternoon to our horse driven carriage. The old myth that is if it rains on your wedding day, you will have a fertile marriage. Well, that wasn't so true. Unless by fertile marriage you mean having to spend $1000's of dollars to produce eggs and conceive a child, LOL.
I didn't even care that my hair was completely spazzing out and going frizzy because of this rain.
While we enjoyed our ride, our guests got to dine on some appetizers and the bar was open. I later found out that our wedding yielded the largest bar sales of all weddings. I am so proud.
I still want to go take a horse and carriage ride with my husband, and not in the rain. Maybe one of these year's he will surprise me on our anniversary!

We stopped for just a few pictures in the lobby. 

the wedding party

us with Tim's family

our one and only portrait

Tim's dad, brother and family

Our reception was awesome. I would like to say the best one I have ever been too! We were introduced and walked out to Aerosmith's "Walk this Way".

 Tim and I have a colorful group of fun friends.  Or wild, some may say.  Our first dance as husband and wife was to Aerosmith's "Angel".  Which is Tim's pet name for me.  Okay, everyone say Awwwwwww :).  Being the crazy people they all are, our entire wedding party lined the dance floor swaying back and forth singing along with the song as loudly as possible.  I thought it was hilarious. I actually liked the chaotic crazy full of life first dance.  The pressure wasn't there of everyone staring at us while we gazed into each other's eyes. It was just fun!!!!! I was having the time of my life during that dance. As I talk to friends and family later on, I hear that they couldn't even see the dance floor and wondered what in the hell was going on and they couldn't even hear the music.  Hahaha, Oh well. We had a blast.

Our maid of honor and best man gave their speeches, along with each of the groomsmen.  Unlike Tim, I didn't grow up in this area.  Though my girlfriends are very special to me and I love them dearly, I haven't known them my entire life like Tim has his friends.  He and his friends have so much history, and each one of them got out there and said a little something. It was very special.  My girls later gave "interviews" to my videographer which was awesome.

We had a buffet set up of all kinds of goodies. Nothing too fancy. Chicken fingers, a mashed potato bar that you could get a champagne glass of taters and top off at the topping bar, and some other great stuff.  

None of which I ever saw. I am pretty sure the food was gone and put up before we got around to it.  Tim on the other hand had arranged with the chef during the planning phase to have his own steak grilled and delivered to him right after the ceremony. I am pretty sure that is the first thing he did as my husband. I never ate though, was too excited!
Our reception took place in two rooms, the main room and then the cocktail lounge. I tried bouncing back and forth and making sure I talked to everyone and was the good hostess. Did some dancing with my new husband. Everyone seemed to be having such a great time!
We danced with our mothers and fathers, cut the cake (we were sweet to eachother), tossed the garter, and did all the cheesy line dancing songs. It was so much fun. One of my best memories ever. I am SOOOO glad we got a videographer. I wouldn't give up on that one though Tim didn't see the need. If you are planning a wedding, get a videographer!!! Not that I am completely pleased with our wedding video, it could have been done much better. There is so much footage they took, that we never got to see. I would've liked to have had a hand in editing and decided which parts to keep. But at least we have a video. Pictures are great and still my favorite, but it will be neat to watch with the kids for years to come.

my mom and sister Jacqui

my brother David

daddy/daughter dance 

mother/son dance

my mom and brother mike

my very entertaining ring bearer, my nephew Robbie

I think they were dancing to Footloose, my mom's favorite dancing song!

my crazy nephews

sweet flower girl, my niece Kendra

A few other details from the night

wedding cake by my coworker, she put butterflies (meaning of my name) and V's all over it. I loved it!

toasting glasses from David's Bridal

Auburn groom's cake made by my brother David, amazing pastry chef. It was chocolate cheesecake. War Eagle!

table setup in the lobby. childhood pictures of Tim and I and everyone had a chance to leave a "wish" for us to read in the future

Bookmarks as keepsakes for my guests.  Yeah, shoulda done something different.....I wonder if anyone kept theirs?

As the clock struck midnight, my feet began to blister, and the crowd started to disperse, Tim and I made the decision to go back to the hotel so we could begin our honeymoon. We had a 4am call time, we were driving to Jacksonville FL to catch a boat the next day!
We said our goodbyes, and snuck out to the car. I some how squeezed my huge dress into our little Jeep Liberty and headed back to our suite at The Chattanoogan.
I am pretty sure the party went on a while after we left and there were a few after parties.
The next morning we went through all of our cards and enjoyed reading all of them, and enjoyed collecting the honeymoon cash. Thanks to the generosity of so many of our friends and family, we were able to have a carefree honeymoon cruise.
The next morning at 4am we drove to my mom's house. I had to drop a few things off, pick a few things up, and say bye to my mom, sister and dog one more time. I was so looking forward to headed off on our own vacation as newlyweds, but it was weird leaving my sister Jacqui and family in Chattanooga. I wanted to hang out with them!!!

We hit the road about 6am and the drive was amazing. We spent it just talking and talking about the wedding and how much fun it was. We got a few phone calls from friends that shared some funny stories from the night before. And before we knew it, we were in Jacksonville. It seemed like the fastest drive, ever. And so began our honeymoon (honeymoon story to be linked later!!).

And here I am 7 years later, writing about our wedding day with a smile on my face the entire time.  I am so grateful for our marriage. We have had a few bumps in the road but are blessed we haven't had any major issues, but our struggles don't even hold a close comparison to what joy we get from each other. He is truly my best friend. He has turned into such a Godly man, amazing role model and perfect partner for me.

As I said earlier, we had some issues with our photographer and won the 'bad wedding photo' contest.  My friend Melody Hood, owner of Innamorata Photography is treating us to an After Session to re do our wedding photos. Fortunately, we were able to book a venue at the amazing Barnsley Gardens the same week as our 7th wedding anniversary. I thought this would be the perfect time to capture our love through the lens.
I needed a dress! So dress shopping we went. Lyla also needed a dress for a wedding she is the flower girl in next month.  I thought we would make a fun girls day out of trying on dresses.
Lyla saw some of the bride's dresses and was Oooooing and Awwwwing over them.

Lyla with my dress

She wanted to take pictures with them, so when it was her turn to get married she would remember what dresses to buy. Well of course I took pictures. Couldn't pass up this chance to document a cute Lyla memory!!
When we got home, I was feeling nostalgic and decided to get my wedding dress out and show it to Lyla. When saw saw, she gasped and said "Oh mommy! When I get married I don't want to wear those dresses we saw in the store, I want to wear THIS dress!".  It made me so happy and made me realize I have to get this thing cleaned and preserved before it turns colors!!

I am very excited to get these photos done. Melody is the most talented photographer I have ever met, and has the most stunning photos. I absolutely cannot wait to see how she captures our moments! After our session, I will blog all about it here (link to come).

I follow a great quote and scripture page on Facebook called Marriage Works. I suggest it to everyone.
In addition some amazing words of wisdom taken from a friend of a friend:

1) Respect him for who he is and for who God made him to be. Men were created to be warriors, protectors and providers. Society will tell you otherwise. He is not supposed to think like you or act like you. Never lose sight of who he is and of HIS purpose 

2) It is OK if you have to ask him to help out. Do not criticize him because he did not notice that you need clean underwear (or anything else). Men don't think about that stuff. And it's ok if you have to ask him twice. Really, it's ok. Don't make a big deal out of it, just remind him and move on. 

3) Stay away, in fact, RUN from women who never shut up about how stupid their husbands are. They will never stop preaching that stuff, and you don't need to hear it and you certainly don't need to contribute to the conversation. Part of being faithful to your husband includes keeping your mouth shut. Keep private things private. 

4) Sex matters. It is not just something to do when the mood strikes, but it is a responsibility. Hopefully it is a pleasant one, but do not ignore this. Your husband will respond in a positive way to many other things if you do not leave him stranded here. Ignore what your ignorant friends say. TV would have you to believe that marriage sex is boring. They are wrong. If its boring, fix it. You will be glad you did. 

5) Go to church. Go to church. Go to church. Do not get lazy, do not let the routine and the kids keep this from being a priority. Keeping God and Christian fellowship at the center of your marriage is essential. You are hearing this from a woman who has 3 children, plus 2 step-sons. We often took 5 kids to church, and we got there on time. I will not tell you what we all looked like when we got there, in fact, it is somewhat of a blur, but I can tell you that a few sermons on Commitment and a few reminders that God is the center of the universe will save and keep your marriage in tact.  

6) Encourage him. Many marital affairs have occurred because men have gotten nothing but discouragement from their wives and Encouragement from a female coworker. You need to be his biggest fan. 

 7) You have made a commitment. Keep it. Don't let anyone, or anything stop you from it. Do not threaten divorce. When that word occurs to you, repeat the verse "Get thee behind me Satan" until the thought goes away. Don't let Satan win. This marriage is yours and it is yours to keep and treasure. It will be your heritage to your children and your children's children. 
 Love him and love him always. 

8) Laugh a lot and try not to complain. Take time out for date night, TV night or whatever. Watch sports once in a while and don't complain when he watches it. There are far worse things a man can do than watch Sunday night football! Fix his favorite snack and let him enjoy the down time. He will appreciate you for it. By the same token, take a girls night out once in a while. Men really do hate shopping, and spending time with the girls is important for you 

9) Sometimes, men are right. Don't get hung up on winning arguments or on being right. Humble yourself, admit when you are wrong and move on. Your marriage is not a boxing match with spectators.  

10) Pray for your husband every day. Be thoughtful of him.

Happy 7th Anniversary Tim, I love you!!!!!!!! I never want to stop trying to be the best wife I can be. I know that if we put God in the center of our marriage and live by His word, we will never fail.


7th Anniversary Photos at Barnsley Gardens