I've been having dreams and visions

I've been putting off writing about the wedding because I'm not sure my words can do it justice. But I really appreciate all the good wishes people have left here.

I did get a few more fitful hours of sleep after my post on Saturday. We had a relaxing morning, just TJ, me, and the dogs. I think we even squeezed in a trip to the dog park. Then TJ and I went to pick up my bouquet and the bouttonnieres and corsages at the florist. It was really nice to be together - it kept me from getting too stressed out.

At 11am Kristin and I went back to the salon (4th time in 5 days!) for hair and makeup, which actually did take 2 hours. There were also a couple of girls getting their hair and makeup done for prom. I can't believe I went to my junior prom 15 years ago (!). We got a couple of cute pictures of us getting our hair done. I felt like a bit of a drag queen - I had on a ton of sparkly makeup and it was only noon. But Lindsay assured me it was necessary to look like a princess, and she did a really nice job, again. BTW, Loreal Voluminous waterproof mascara rocks. I may have to try wearing it on a regular basis...

Back home, TJ and I just chilled out for a little while and waited for Bradley, our photographer to show up. He wanted to take some "getting ready" pictures, and I wanted him to get some of the dogs, as well. Having him there was pretty weird for the first half hour, then we sort of stopped noticing. Spike was really, surprisingly calm and posed pretty for some pictures, which is very unusual. Peanut tried to put his big wet nose on the camera lens, which didn't really endear him to Bradley. Bradley got a bunch of pics of TJ shaving and a few of TJ helping me tie the sash on my dress. We took a couple of obligatory posed pics, and then we were off to Gasworks park for more posed shots with the wedding party and our families.

The weather was beautiful and I think the pictures at Gasworks will come out really nicely. Everyone looked so nice! And the flowers, especially my bouquet, were really lovely. I promise I'll post a couple of pictures as soon as we return from Savannah.

Then the day started to go by really quickly. Dave's NeverLost thingy found us a really quick back route to Canlis from Gasworks and TJ and I adjourned to the "Cache", the private room we rented to "hide" before the ceremony. Canlis was nice enough to provide some water, fruit and cheese, which was great since I had completely forgotten to eat lunch. We were only in there for about 30 minutes, when Susan came to tell us we were starting.

We lined up just like we did in the rehearsal (now I know why we did a rehearsal, as I was really wired and wouldn't have been able to remember what to do if I hadn't actually done it before!). And that's when I entered my little wedding bubble. I can't remember a lot of the exact details. The ceremony went well - the work TJ and I put into creating a ceremony that represented both of our cultures really paid off, I think. I'm so glad. I choked up big time during the vows but managed to recover after a little while. It was exactly what I envisioned and I wouldn't have changed a thing. The ceremony was surprisingly short - we were aiming for 40 minutes but it was more like 25. Afterwards, TJ and I spent our first few married moments alone in the Cache with a couple of glasses of champagne. It was lovely.

Dinner was good, but I wasn't really tasting my food - I was just so happy to be at my wedding and all that. My dad's toast was great - funny and touching. So were Dave's and Kristin's. I felt so blessed to have had everyone I love there with me. And the cake was yum.

There were so many people who made that night magical for us: our parents and family members, Kristin, Dave and Kim, Susan the officiant, Nisha the florist, and the entire staff at Canlis. I wouldn't have changed a thing. And now we're married, which is the best part.

Tomorrow we're off to Savannah for the reception my parents are hosting on Friday. I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend - the weather should be nice, and the hotel we're staying at looks great. I remembered to pack my bathing suit and some workout clothes so hopefully I can get back into the exercise groove.

So far I've changed my name on my Gmail account and on Hotmail - Anandi Raman Creath. I guess the rest will have to wait until the marriage certificate comes back. Woo hoo! Other than that, we're almost back to our normal life. With better dishes and kitchen stuff...