A few things that every Bride should know

Well... it's all over now. Just a few more thank you notes to write, but marriage has begun and the wedding is over. I loved planning my wedding! But there are a few things that other brides should know! First, the Knot.com is not good at counting! If you are using the knot's guest list, beware! The website does not always get the number attending correct, also do not take the total guest count at face value. The counter said that we were waiting to receive back 89 RSVPs when we were only missing 30! Obviously I was seriously worried when we already had about 150 people attending and there were 89 invitations still floating out in space, but then it was only another 50 people that were missing! Blessed be! But you can imagine how upset I was at theknot.com! How could they deceive me like that? Anyway, we figured it out and got all the RSVPs in...That is another story. There will always be people that do not RSVP, it is your responsibility to call them before the day that your numbers are due to the caterer. I would suggest telling them that you need to know NOW! because your numbers are due tomorrow (when really they aren't due until next week). That way your guest will call back knowing that it is urgent. As long as people know that there is time, they don't call you, it's really annoying. Next, take a few days off of work before the wedding. I took off Friday, but I wish I would have asked for Thursday, too. There is so much to do and you do not want to feel rushed or that you have to cut things out of your day. I did a lot of stuff, I had to go to the florist, the hotel, the grocery and bank, not to mention the primping I wanted to do for the rehearsal dinner and then decorating the church. Basically, it would have been nice to space all that out over two days. So if possible take an extra day off of work. Next, if you are getting a facial get it TWO WEEKS before the wedding. Facials are great, I feel like mine really did make my skin look radiant on the big day! But, there is some healing that needs to happen afterwords, so DO NOT get one right before the wedding! I did get a massage on Thursday before the wedding, that was nice. Well I think that is all my wedding advice for now, I'm sure I'll think of more later.

In other news, I found out that I will be traveling to Providence RI on January 24th and coming back to Cincinnati on March 12th. So that is exciting. I go back and forth between being excited and being nervous. I know that this is where the Lord wants me, so I am taking confidence in that. I am trusting that he will provide for me while I'm away from my hubby and again when we move to our new city (which, lets be honest, I wouldn't mind moving back to Cincinnati!). It is really fun to think about visiting friends, Boston, NY, being in a new city on the coast, and having Bryan come visit. Not to mention starting my job and learning about insurance. Although that may not sound exciting to some, I will be so happy to be in a learning environment again! And once I start my job I can start looking at masters programs :) I love school, I do miss it. I'm such a nerd...

To Continue...

So I left off after the whirlwind of the ceremony. Oh man, I was so happy! It was amazing being introduced as Mrs. Pietch. We came back to dismiss everyone from the church. Hugging all our family was definitely the most emotional, I cried a lot. All very happy tears of course! It was so great to see all our friends and family. They were all so excited for us! It was incredible! A few friends made me tear up, too. I remember that my train was stepped on by kids running around, haha. But I just was so impressed with how many people love us! It was fantastic. After the ceremony and we dismissed everyone, we got to run through a tunnel of bubbles, haha! I made Bryan run because I thought it would be fun to run in my big huge dress, so we did! The ceremony went really quickly and there was a ton of time before the reception, which was great because we finished pictures in plenty of time to get to the reception right on time! It was funny to get there when our guests were showing up, I guess we made an error on the directions so some people got lost. So sorry about that....I feel really badly that people couldn't find it. Oh well, most people were there! When we got to the reception it was time to bustle my dress and get ready to be announced! It was so fun to go out as he said "Mr. and Mrs. Bryan and Amy Pietch!" YAY! We went right into toasts, which were lovely. I know Bryan really liked his speach from Jeremy and I loved my speach from Kirsten, she is such a good friend!! Then I said a quick thank you (which was fun, I was really glad that I was able to speak at my wedding) and then Bryan prayed for our meal. We got to sit at a table w/Jeremy and his family, Kirsten and Eric, and Abbie and Kyle. It was really fun to be with everyone! I was glad that we did not do a traditional head table, we did two round tables instead. I really enjoyed it. I thought that it made it much more enjoyable to eat dinner and be able to talk with everyone. The food was awesome and there was a chocolate fountain which was delicious! Once I finished dinner I talked to my friends and family, lots of people came up to our table and said congrats and complimented our ceremony and reception. Bryan made a beautiful slide show of us growing up and then pictures of us together when we were dating and engaged. Everyone really loved it, especially our parents I think. Before I knew it, it was time for my first dance with Bryan. We talked the whole dance, mostly about how weird it was to be married for real. Also, we said how it didn't feel any different yet. I asked "When do you think it will feel different than when we were engaged?" I don't think it felt much different until we were at our resort on the honeymoon, but anyway. It was a great dance, I liked having some time alone with Bryan because the whole day really involves so many people.Then I danced with my dad, we did a traditional waltz, it was really fun! I think people were impressed, I know my dad was very happy to be able to dance with me. He later said it was one of the highlights of his life, what a great dad! The rest of the reception was filled with dancing and laughing, having fun with Bryan and family and friends. I loved it! I thought it was the most amazing reception ever. Of course, I am biased. Bryan really enjoyed it too. It was so fun to have so many friends and family with us, dancing and eating and having tons of fun! We all know that I love to dance, but by the end of the night my feet were definitely hurting. Six o'clock rolled around and I was ready to get out of my heavy dress and hurting shoes. Bryan and I just went back to our apartment for the night, we decided that would be a lot easier and more comfortable than spending the night in the hotel. It worked out really well, I was exhausted. I don't think I could have handled going to a hotel, I wanted somewhere that felt like home. And our apartment did feel like home because Bryan was there. Awww how mushy gushy, but it's true! The wedding was AMAZING I couldn't have asked for anything more! It was perfect and incredible and everything I ever imagined. It's weird that it's over and that I go to sleep every night in our apartment, and I come home to Bryan after work. Marriage is definitely an adjustment, a very good one, but it's weird too. It's been hard moving out of my parents house for good and knowing that my new home is wherever Bryan lives. It's also weird because in just a few months I will be moving to Rhode Island which makes the real world feel really close. Ugh I'm so grown up and it's crazy! So anyway, the rest of my posts will probably revolve around new married life and how I'm learning and making mistakes. Hopefully they're funny and we all laugh.

In other news, I was hit on today while paying for gasoline for my car. He said "how you doin'?" not to be prejudice, but he was black and said it exactly the way you are imagining him saying it. So I said "Good thanks, yourself?" He said, "Good, can I call you sometime?" and I said, "Nah, sorry. I'm married." Him, "Oh oh sorry" and he quickly fled the store. The Clerk at the register appologized for his friends behavior and said "so is it true?" and I was able to say "Yes, no more dating for me. and also it makes for a really good excuse when being hit on" Ah, nothing like being hit on when you're greasy and gross and sleepy. It makes me smile that I still have my good looks even though I am an old married lady :)

The New Mrs. Pietch is HERE!

HELLO BLOG NATION! I am now blogging from my apartment where I live with my husband, we have been married a whole week! Haha, we just got back from the honeymoon this afternoon and we're settling into our little one bedroom blissfully ignoring that work begins again on Monday. The wedding, reception, and honeymoon were AMAZING! But let me begin one week before the big day. Buckle up kids! This is going to be a long ride...

T minus 7 days until the Wedding...

I feel that I did an excellent job of planning and preparing for the wedding from day one, but I learned that no matter how many schedules you type up or how many meetings you have, you WILL be stressed the week before your wedding. Suddenly there are about one hundred decisions and tasks that you have not completed, not all of the RSVPs are in, and you keep thinking of little projects that you need to finish. By Tuesday of the pre-wedding week, I still had not talked with the Pastor about our ceremony, which is a pretty important part if you ask me. That day was awful, I felt like nothing was going to come together. But, as soon as I realized that every bride is stressed before the wedding, I felt much better and realized that no one would know if I finished the wreaths for the doors of the church (I didn't by the way) and that I would simply have to do everything that I could and when time ran out I would just have to enjoy my day. This is a good attitude to have, I believe - of course I am biased since it became my attitude. But truly, just being relaxed and continually doing something was a big help for me. I also took a lot of benadryl at night so that I would sleep well. I do not condone drug use normally, but before the wedding I will allow it. After Tuesday my week was just fine, lots of fun actually! I got to spend a lot of time with my mom and sister and all my bridesmaids were great in calling and helping whenever they could. So I was much more settled when the rehearsal dinner rolled around.

October 16th, Rehearsal Dinner

So the Friday before the wedding I drove around all day doing wedding stuff. Nothing stressful, just stopping to see the flowers and picking up mascara and little errands like that. My day passed quickly and then it was time to rehearse for the wedding! I couldn't believe how quickly time was going. Of course, I had only talked on the phone to Pastor Butch so we really hadn't discussed too much about the ceremony. Unfortunately, I feel that my personality clashes a bit with his and so I was probably not as nice to him as I should have been. Not only that, but I hadn't talked with his wife, the wedding coordinator at the church, so she had no idea what was going on. Mostly, I ran the rehearsal myself, which is fine. I realized that my wedding was the one time I could be bossy and bitchy and no one would say anything about it. Believe me, the sass was out that night! We all got through rehearsal fine, I'm pretty sure we all knew what to do. I think the best part was when my bridesmaids showed up and we all squealed and got excited haha! So girly, I know. Dinner was delicious, it occurred at Cladagh (I have no idea how to spell it) Irish Pub. The food was great, time with our family and friends was better. Sally, Bryan's mom, delivered a short but very heartfelt speech that had me in tears. After dinner we exchanged gifts with our attendants. Bryan got the TV he wanted, he was SO so excited about it. And I got luggage! WOOHOO! it was great, we actually were able to use it on the honeymoon. The bridesmaids got their jewelry and pashminas, which I think they all enjoyed. The jewelry was handmade by Rebecca Loomis and she did an excellent job! And then, too soon, it was time to go home and go to bed so that I could look beautiful on my big day!

WEDDING DAY!

I woke up and was immediately excited! I couldn't believe it was the big day! The day I had been planning and thinking about for over 10 months was finally here! I started my day at 6am, my cousins Max and Isabel came over for breakfast at 7 and they made me laugh and giggle and helped me just be happy, not nervous or anxious! The day went by so quickly! Suddenly all my bridesmaids were at the house getting ready, putting make up on and doing their hair. Then it was time to put on my dress! Suddenly I looked like a real bride! Then pictures were being taken and the next thing I knew I was in the car on the way to the church. My good friend Kyria rode with my dad and I and it was so great to talk with her. She was so kind in helping take pictures. I feel like she had some really great ideas and was more creative than I could have been! So we show up at the church, Mark comes down to meet us. He was great in being my time keeper and making sure everyone was where they should be. At that point I started to get a little nervous. The butterflies were fluttering in my stomach, but again things moved quickly! Myself, mom, dad, and the bridesmaids were walking toward the sanctuary, lining up, getting ready to walk down the aisle. Bryan's mom came to give me a hug, she was crying which made me cry of course! All my bridesmaids hugged me and wished me luck before heading down the aisle themselves. Then it was just my dad and I in the back, we were both shaking and taking deep breaths to try and stay calm. As soon as I turned the corner and saw everyone in the church I was floored. I was just hit by how many people love and care for Bryan and I. Then I saw my husband, waiting for me at the end of the aisle. I don't think you can accurately describe how full and wonderful you feel at that moment, but even though there were so many other people and music and pictures, I could only think about how excited I was to get to Bryan and become his wife. Bryan took a mental picture when he saw me in the back of the church (the office fans will appreciate that) and suddenly we were both on the alter saying our vows and becoming man and wife. Apparently I value diversity because I replaced "adversity" with diversity in our vows, oops! Something always goes wrong, but it was funny and it lightened the mood of me crying through the vows. I remember exchanging rings, and I remember saying the vows, and praying with Bryan after we lit the unity candle; I hope I never forget those details of the wedding ceremony. I remember being the happiest I've ever been and so very thankful that the Lord has blessed me with such a wonderful man. I'm not lucky, but I am greatly provided for.

Well I think this is a long enough entry for now, more about the reception and honeymoon to follow!!

Much love from the Freshest Pietch!

Weddings = Work

While I have enjoyed the wedding process, I am ready for the big day to be here. If you know me at all you know that I love planning and organization, but I am tired and I don't want to make another phone call or leave another message hoping that a vendor will call me back quickly. I'm ready to see everything that we've planned come together in the big event and celebrate with my friends and family all day long. I really want to have my wedding dress, it's been at the seamstress's basically since I picked it up from the bridal salon. And mostly I'm ready to be married to Bryan. Having only 11 days separating us from living in the same house, it is really annoying to have to drive 20 minutes to see him. And all we do is plan. Plan, plan, plan. If we're not trying to figure out seating arrangements, then we're writing down how we want the ceremony to go or a list of "must-do's." I'm just tired, I'm ready to relax and take a nap without waking up in a panic because I can't remember if I called the florist or not. I think Bryan is probably ready for me to stop making him care about the wedding and reception. Truthfully he's been great! He's been super supportive, very relaxed and calm, and encouraging when I feel like nothing is going right. The planning process has definitely reassured me that Bryan's the man I'm supposed to marry, which is a really good feeling. Also I am ready to go on the honeymoon. I just want to lay by the pool in Mexico and know there's no deadline and no one to call and nothing on my schedule but relaxing. That will be great. It will be here very soon, I know, but until then it's onward with the schedule and many meetings, deadlines, calls, and arrangements are to be made. I'm tired, early bed times are also a must while you're planning a wedding :)

So Quickly Life Approaches

I think that the older one gets the faster life passes by. I feel like just yesterday I had 10 months to go until the wedding, but it's only 22 days away! It has gone by so quickly, but I know at several points I thought that the big day would never come. There were times that I was wishing time away, hoping that October would come quickly. Other times I prayed for more time to get everything done. Now I am at a happy medium, I'm so excited that the wedding is soon, I feel like I have plenty of time to complete the tasks at hand, and I'm enjoying my last few weeks of singleness with my family. The closer we get to the wedding day, the faster the days go by. As the wedding is quickly approaching, I realize that Amica and Rhode Island are also quickly approaching. I feel like as soon as the wedding is over I will be preparing to move out to Providence to start training. I have about 2 months with my husband before moving away for 7 weeks, which at first didn't seem like a big deal, but now I feel like 2 months before moving is not enough time and that 7 weeks will feel a lot longer than it seems. Life feels real, it feels grown up with more responsibility than ever. While this isn't a bad thing, it is different and somewhat intimidating. I feel like I'm ready to get married, start a job, move away from my parents, but the unknown always brings a sense of question and unsettledness. How do you prepare for something you've never experienced? I suppose the only thing is to spend time with the Lord and trust that he will teach you and guide you in all your new adventures. I know He will help me learn what it means to be a submissive wife, a wife who eagerly serves her husband. I know He will help me learn what it means to be in the business world and He will be there to comfort me when everything changes and I move away from everything I know. God is good and he will be with me. All I can do it live today, the day the Lord has given me and enjoy the time that I have. When the new things come along I will be able to handle them because the Lord will prepare me. So let life quickly approach, I will soak up as much as I possibly can and Jesus will provide for my every need :)

The Wedding Guru

9+ months of planning my own wedding and several years of observing other's nuptial arrangements have given me quite the arsenal when it comes to wedding info. While talking with my good friend Ali last night, I realized that I have a lot of useful information to share with brides (and some grooms). My first post about wedding etiquette is going to be followed up with some additional points, and yes, they are about RSVPs. In addition to observing who is actually invited on your invitation, one should also take notice of when the RSVP should be returned. No matter what the date says, your RSVP should be returned ASAP! I mean, we already put the stamp on it, is it that hard to look at the calendar, write your name, check a box, and put it in the mail? No, it's really not. Further, the date that the RSVP is quested by should be kept in mind. The bride and groom need to know as soon as you can because of money and numbers for all events. Really, unless you run into troubles taking days off of work or other events might interfere, there's no reason to postpone sending your RSVP. I would also say that even if the bride and groom know whether or not you're coming, you should still send the RSVP. Bryan and I have invited almost 300 people to our wedding, do you think that we can keep track of a conversation we had 8 months ago when you told us you could attend? Nope, sorry, my brain is too full of other details to remember that conversation. Soon Bryan and I will have to start calling guests demanding to be given an answer, and who has time for that when I'm trying to do everything else wedding? It would truly be easier on all parties if the RSVP was simply mailed on time.

On a completely different note, my good friend Sam Oches has a blog, mylifehasasoundtrack1.blogspot.com. He has great taste in music and posts a lot of his finds through his blog. I highly encourage you to take a listen and a bit of time to read his insights. Also, I want to add music and some better pictures/graphics to this blog so hopefully those changes will happen soon! :)

Friends

I think friends are about the best thing that a girl can have, well right after an awesome family, and a great fiance...Okay so friends come in third those people, fourth if you add Christ in... Anyway, point being that true friends are incredible and irreplaceable. The end of college has shown me who my dearest and truest friends are. The people I keep in touch with, either through phone conversations or random hang out times; the people who always offer to help with wedding stuff; the people who listen to me complain about wedding stuff; and the people I can call no matter the time or place just because I need some support. Planning the wedding has really shown me what amazing and wonderful friends I have. My friend Kyria volunteered to shoot some pictures at the wedding after hearing our little photo fiasco. Even though we don't talk as much as I would like, she still said she would come and take a few pictures. And the great thing is I know that she doesn't think I just called her to ask for some free pictures, I know that she is excited to come to the wedding and out of love offered her expert photography skills to Bryan and I. One of Bryan's friends asked him if he wanted some financial help so that we could invite everyone we wanted. Bryan declined, but the simple act of offering was so loving and selfless. Laura and Lauren have been so sincere in their offers to help the day of or with anything I may need in the coming weeks, I know I could ask them to help out in any way and they would be more than happy to. Not to mention all the friends who ask how I'm doing, who want updates about all the plans, and offer their help in every conversation! All the help, love, and support has been so important to both Bryan and I. It makes me wonder, am I this giving of my gifts and energy to my friends? I know the wedding is a big deal, but sometimes I still feel selfish accepting all that my friends are offering me. I suppose that it is part of the cycle, at some point in time all these people will need my help, and I will be more than willing to give it! (And if I complain just remind me about the wedding and I'll feel guilty and stop complaining)

On another note, my good friend Kyria (mentioned above) is an amazing photographer. Kyria and her sister have their own photography business. They do weddings, senior pictures, family photos, and baby portraits. Their work is just beautiful and I'm so excited to see them off and running! The link to their site is listed below, check out their photo galleries and if you're in the market for some pictures, these are the girls to call!
agapephotographs.com