The Day Before the Wedding...

began as a typically hot and humid Houston morning, but it was no ordinary morning for us! Husby and I decided that we wanted our families (both immediate and extended) to be together in one room to meet each other. It was so much fun! We met at La Madeleine for breakfast and fellowship.

Two wonderful women, J and A at breaksfast!

Shortly after that, my bridesmaids and I went for pedis followed by lunch at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, Guadalajara.

My bridesmaids, mom, and me.

We met at the church at 5pm for the rehearsal.

I was really happy with how the church looked. One of my mom's friends made all of the bows and the big flower spray on the altar.

Brian's cousin carried this white Bible down the aisle when she got married. She was so sweet to offer it to me if I wanted it for my wedding, so we had it on the altar with the bread and wine for communion.

Dad walking me down the aisle.

Mom got a little teary.

Dad and me.

Jilly and Catchy practicing their duet, "Shine on Us". They sounded beautiful!

Musical selections.

Our ring bearer and flower girl looking none too excited about their posts. They eventually warmed up to them, though. They even danced with each other at the reception...so cute! Our ring bearer is Husby's nephew, and after Brian and I got married, he kept coming up to me saying, "Hi Aunt Starshine!" Love him!!!

My Dad with his side of the family: My cousin MB on the front right with her handsome husband and sons. The four of them read scripture together during the ceremony.

My mother-in-law, J, hosted a wonderfully festive rehearsal dinner at the Grotto Italian Restaurant. It was so much fun because we had a whole room to ourselves! It was decorated with Venician-themed frescos painted on the walls--a very jovial environment.

Husby with his brother and one very buxom Italian woman in the background.

Husby and I with our minister (and dear friend).

The food was delish~love a good dessert!

Mom, me and my MIL showing off the gams!

Mom and her brother.

My MIL and I sharing a tender moment at the end of the evening. You can see by my red nose that there had been a few tears (all of joy) that evening!

Feeling the love.

Some of our close friends gave the kindest toasts to our marriage that night. The things people said were very touching. It was especially moving to hear Husby's friends talk about what a man of character and integrity he is. Those were things I already knew about him, but still--those are just the kind of things a bride likes to hear about her groom the night before they marry.

Wedding Recap Week

I can't believe that July 30th marks my one month anniversary! So far, marriage has been great. I have been wanting to blog about the wedding and honeymoon, but we have been so busy, and really not home very much until about a week ago. We've spent the past week getting settled into our place together, and we've made some real progress. It's really looking like "home", and that's a wonderful feeling.

I'm going to take this week to blog about our wedding and the festivities.

On the Thursday before our wedding, my sister gave me a dinner followed by a lingerie shower.

It was a fun--if not bizarre--right of passage. Some of my close girlfriends were there to join in the joviality (is that a word?).

If you've never been to a lingerie shower before, it's just what you would imagine. A bunch of girls get together to help the bride prepare for her honeymoon. They bring the bride things like this:

and saucy things like this:

We listen to rockin' love songs like this (gotta show Michael Bolton some love!):

and we eat things like this (yes, those would be bra-and-panty petit fours):


Because the bride is silly, she does things like this:

Sometimes, people tell funny stories which make my sister and me laugh like this. The funniest moment of the shower was when a thank you note was read from eSuitor thanking the group for attending "his" lingerie shower. :)


Many thanks to my sister, Jilly, who went to amazing lengths to make this party so fun! She somehow found this picture of me as a little girl playing dress-up in our mother's black slip, enlarged it and framed it for the party!

Bridal Portraits

Here are some of my favorite bridal portraits. They were taken at a local strip center that is designed to look like Venice. At first it felt like an odd locale, but I was pleased with the end result. The photo in the header was one of my favorites. I had thrown my bouquet up in the air, and as it came back down, I instinctively lunged forward to catch it. My sister said, "It's like you forgot you were a bride and you reverted back to fifth grade softball." Go Redhots!

The day that these were taken was about three or four months before the wedding. It was like a "rehearsal" on being a bride. I remember putting on the veil and thinking, "Wow. I really feel like a bride." It was fun, but only a whisper of the feelings I had on my wedding day!

Preview

Remember when I shot this film, The Chronicles of Hernia?


Well, the website for the film now has a trailer you can watch! None of my lines are in the preview, but you'll see me.

Remembering John

Today is the fourth anniversary of the death of my stepfather, John. He is the person that nicknamed me "Starshine". In a phone conversation with my mom and sister this afternoon, we had an impromtu memorial when my sister asked what one thing we remember most about John.

My sister said that she appreciated that John never seemed uncomfortable with the fact that we girls were so involved in our mom's life. Instead, he accepted our close relationship with her and supported our place in each other's life. I agreed with her. He never resented our presence in the mix of family life. In fact, he embraced us and loved us. I always felt that he wanted us there.

I said that the thing I remember most about John is his openness in expressing his affection to us. He was forever calling my mother and leaving her messages on the answering machine telling her how much he loved her and telling her to go look in the mirror at how cute she is. He would write sweet cards to me on different holidays. I came across one when I was packing up my stuff in Texas a few days ago. It was an acrostic that had the word "daughter" written vertically and then a different word going across from each letter that described me or how he felt about me.

I got all teary remembering him today. We were blessed to have him in our lives. And I know that the tears still flow because the love we feel for him remains alive in our hearts.

In loving memory of my stepfather John, who was absolutely a part of my crazy decision to buy my wedding dress four years ago in Spain with no groom in sight! This photo was taken the day I came home from Spain, just one week before John went home to be with the Lord. We took the picture on purpose, knowing he wouldn't be here on my wedding day. However, I do believe he was celebrating with me in Heaven!

Home!

It's been over a week since my last post because we have been busy!

After returning from our honeymoon, we had about four days in our place to get settled in before flying back to Texas. There, we packed up a Penske truck with some furniture, wedding gifts, and things like yearbooks that my dear mom has been keeping since I graduated from high school. Then we made the three day journey across the desert of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and finally California. We arrived here yesterday in the late afternoon. Four young twenty-something guys who my husband mentors met us at our place and unloaded the truck and put our furniture right where we wanted it in about an hour or so. It was awesome!

Today, Hubs and I will begin the process of unpacking boxes and putting things in their places. I am most excited about "nesting" in terms of hanging pictures on the walls and putting things around the place--all those things that make a house a home.

It feels good to be home...like an adventure is about to begin!

We Got Married!

It's official! We tied the knot! On June 30, 2007, eSuitor and I became husband and wife. It was a beautiful ceremony that I will forever remember, and I'm just so thankful! There is so much to share, and I imagine that I'll be blogging about it for days, but for now, let me leave you with a few of my favorite photos (taken by Lincee), along with my favorite bridal portrait.

For those of you who don't understand why in the world I'm wearing a winter wedding dress in the middle of the summer, there is a very special story about it that I wrote about here. (I added a special photo on that post, as well.) For those of you who have been asking me to show a photo of the dress, this is my favorite bridal portrait:

Just before the music swelled, my Dad told me to relish my walk down the aisle. "This is a very special wedding," he said. I agree...it was mine! I did enjoy my walk down the aisle, even though I was crying the whole way!


The wedding ceremony:

With my mom and sister (who was also my matron of honor--or "best girl", as she preferred to be called):


Our first dance. He sang to me as we danced (and stole a few kisses):

Cutting the ever so chocolate wedding cake:

Leaving the reception together. I took the overdress off halfway through the reception. The underdress was a strapless dress that could be worn alone: