 |
|
 |
|
| After all the months (12 to be exact) of planning, stressig, worrying and more stressing, followed with a little more planning, the day was everything it was meant to be. Although a few friends were missed, I could not have imagined the day being any more perfect than it was...well, maybe the rain could have held off just a few hours longer...or come a few hours sooner! Although, for those of you who watched us take our carriage ride around the lot after the ceremony, you know the mosquitos also would have loved us to be outside for the ceremony! Needless to say, Jay and I had a few nibbles and bites on us that we DIDN'T give each other! As those of you who weren't able to be there to celebrate with us can probably tell, the weather attempted to spoil our day. A 7 p.m. wedding, and the rain and thunder and lightning started at about 5! You can imagine me pacing around my room as I was getting prepared, constantly staring out the window, praying the rain would stop. Stop, it did, but just not quick enough. The rain soaked the ground too much and in order to keep all our friends and family from sinking into the wet soil, the Rusty Pelican moved the ceremony inside. Once those doors opened though, and I saw my future husband standing in the foreground of a beautiful window sunset, with all my friends and family there to celebrate with us, all thoughts of our gazebo ceremony went out of my mind. I could not have envisioned the ceremony more beautiful than it was...short, but beautiful and Jay and I were able to promise our love to each other with words that almost...ALMOST...brought tears to both our eyes. The reception was equally enjoyable...much more fun and laughter than joyful tears! I don't remember sitting down...oh, wait, I think I ate...that must have been done sitting down! I don't even know if I was able to say hi to everyone that night...thank god we only had 95 people present, or I would have never had time for my first dance with my wonderful new husband. For those who missed it, we had a wonderful dance to the song After All by Peter Cetera and Cher...which for anyone who knows our story, knows that that is the perfect song for our romance. I then had a very memorable dance with my daddy, Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion...that song meant so much to me dad, because I really am who I am today because you and mom loved me and guided me so perfectly! In our ever so non-traditional wedding, we had a second father-daughter dance, as Jason called Aimee to the dance floor and danced to My Girl with her. Then, we actually allowed everyone else to join in the party (wasn't that nice of us???). Not much else I can say about the day. I could not have enjoyed my wedding day more than I did, other than having the rest of you there. Thank You to everyone who celebrated with us in person and in spirit. We love all of you! By the way, if anyone has any digital photos from the wedding that you have not already emailed to me, please send me them at MBradbury@tampabay.rr.com! Thanks! |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
| Jay and I traveled to Australia for an amazing honeymoon! We arrived in Australia on July 25 at 6 a.m. In our lives, there was no such date as July 24, 2006. We completed deleted our 2 day-a-versary! Of course, we were able to celebrate our 15 day-a-versary for a VERY long time because I think it was August 6, 2006 for us for about 40 hours! We started our honeymoon with three days in Canberra, Australia. That is the capital of Australia. And it is nothing like our capital...in the sense that it isn't stuck in gridlock traffic 24 hours a day! Canberra is a very laid back, enjoyable, relaxing city. With the exception of there being a big ol' parliament building in the center of town, you would never know it is a capital city. It was during those first three days that Jay and I fell in love with the country. After doing all the touristy stuff we could (and winning a couple hundred bucks at the local casino) we journeyed about two hours south of Canberra to the Snowy Mountains. We spent two days skiing the snowy mountains...actuallym we only spent one day skiing, the other day was spent on our butts, as we made the mistake of thinking we were actually going to be able to stand up long enough on snowboards to make it down a mountain side! The first day, we had snowboards. After A LOT of bumps and bruises we decided to trade in our boards for the tameness of skis! Within 5 minutes, my memory from 21 years ago (the last time I skied) began to return and we were able to progress off the bunny slope to the actual mountain side. Jay and I located the run we enjoyed the most and spent the majority of the day just going in circles. By the end of the day we were hurting and could barely move, but even the next day, soreness and all, I wanted back on the slopes! It's addicting! We opted instead to get an early start on our 5 hour drive to Sydney, where we would spend the next 7 glorious days. We were lucky enough to wake every morning with a view of the Harbor Bridge and then go to breakfast each day overlooking the Sydney Opera House. That place is way more than you could ever imagine. While in Sydney, we ventured to the top of the Sydney Tower, and spent a day at the Sydney Aquarium. Probably the most amazing part of our time in Sydney was the climb to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. After spending an hour suiting up in all the high tech (HA!) climbing gear they could possibly think of to put on our bodies somewhere, we ventured out into the dusk to climb about 1500 steps to the top of the bridge. We were led by our charming leader, Mel who kept us laughing and giggling the whole way. Although it was a hefty chunk of change to just climb 1500 steps (the most expensive exercise I have EVER paid for), the views from the top were priceless. The exhilaration you felt when you placed your foot on that last step and could see all of Sydney spreading out from your toes is amazing. Because of the rain, We spent one of our final days in Sydney walking around the largest shopping mall I think I have ever seen. Imagine this, an EIGHT story mall that spans at least 1 city block, on BOTH sides of the road. It was amazing. We checked out Superman 3 in the theater there, and let me tell you, our Stadium seating movie theaters don’t got nothing on Sydney's! Our final day, after a day in the zoo, visiting the koalas, kangaroos and seals, we returned to the hotel to beautify ourselves for a trip to the Opera that night. We started the night with the most amazing meal ever at Aria. The food was to die for and the desserts…those were to kill for! We went to see Pirates of Penzance and had a great time. The Opera house is as amazing a structure from the inside as it is from the outside. This was the perfect end to the perfect honeymoon. Although our hearts, minds and souls are stuck somewhere in Australia, our bodies had to return stateside so we could actually make money rather than spend it, and can start planning our return |
|
|
|
|
|