Married life & etc.

I suppose before I give an update on how my life is post-marriage, I should write about the marriage itself, but my brain doesn't always work that way. Still, now that I've reminded myself that's probably the best thing to do, I suppose I'll do it.

Shortly before Christmas, David and I decided to move up our wedding from March 7th to January 9th (originally the 10th, but we changed when we realized our best man had a flight out to school that day at 7 AM). We did this for many reasons, but mostly because something my mom said made me reconsider why we had been planning a March 7th wedding in the first place.

David and I often lightly considered eloping, because it fit our personalities better - we're both spontaneous and typically anti-tradition, and I hate being the center of attention, an obligatory misfortune that comes with being a bride that is easily avoided in elopement. We figured, though, that with me being the only female grandchild on my mom's side of the family and with David being the eldest son in his, both our families would be incredibly disappointed if we didn't have a huge ceremony.

It turns out that wasn't the case, so we revamped the wedding to happen on a weekend when both my parents happened to be in Pittsburgh (originally for a bridal showcase), flew up my brother from his vacation in Orlando and my best friend from Nebraska three days before her semester started, and started planning and decision-making with a vengeance. Or to be more correct, our mothers started planning, and we vetoed or approved as necessary in between trips to David's apartment to move me in and organize my belongings. You never realize just how much stuff you have until you have to pack it, lift it, settle in into a minivan, drive 17 hours through the night with it, lift it, carry it, unpack it, and organize it all over again...

Back to the wedding. The ceremony was small, just our immediate families and Jana and the minister, and happened in David's parents' home. Flowers were sponsored by Costco, the cake was a mutual effort by our moms, and the decorations were provided by two of Debbi's friends from church, Debbie and Karen (who graciously offered her home as a venue for wedding pictures, taken by David's mom). David's brother Brian was our best man and Jana our best woman. John Vaught, a former preacher at Steve and Debbi's church of Christ, officiated the ceremony for us beautifully. Several people teared up (not me!), Mom bawled, and my face almost hurt from smiling so much. The ceremony only lasted about 15 minutes, but I could not have asked for anything more. Afterwards, we went up to the Georgetowne Inn on Mt. Washington, which provides excellent food and a scenic overlook of Pittsburgh, hurriedly took a few pictures (with coats this time!), and said goodbye to everyone.

Since then, I've been lounging around the house doing various housewife-y tasks. I'm in the process of applying to Pitt and am casually browsing for jobs. I suppose it's only a matter of time before my inner work ethic and feminist crack and I stop washing dishes manically and start reading voraciously, but until then, I'm enjoying the break.

Love, Heather (Manes)