I have a new name! Now to get used to it… :D

The ceremony was short but sweet. We were married by a judge in my aunt and uncle’s backyard in Wisconsin with our immediate families watching. (Jules’ entire family including his parents, brothers & families, and aunt and uncle had made the trip out there for the ceremony!) It lasted about 5 minutes, and both of us were smiling so much our faces hurt. The weather was absolutely perfect: bright and sunny and comfortably warm but not humid, which is unusual for June in Wisconsin.

Afterwards my cousin’s boyfriend took many photos of us with our families, and we headed out to the town hall where our reception took place. My aunt and cousin had planned the entire event and it was exactly what we had hoped for and more: tables containing mounds of food, all specially tailored for a BBQ picnic, and oodles of American and Australian desserts. Our wedding cake was a dirt cake (made from crushed oreos and pudding) but we were surprised by a family friend who is a professional cake decorator when she came in with a beautiful hand-decorated cake in the same style as my parents’ (which she had also made 26 years ago!)

My brother made a photo slideshow which he projected on the wall during dinner. We had a turnout of about 100 people, which was over double what we expected. It was fantastic to see everybody again after so long, and so lovely to see people enjoying themselves so much. That is exactly what we wanted out of the reception: a casual environment where people could relax, eat good food, and socialize.

We tried to talk to everyone at least once but didn’t quite make it to all the tables. To make up for that we invited some of our younger friends over to my parents’ house afterwards to help us put a dent in the keg we’d ordered. That turned out to be a lot of fun as we got a chance to spend time with friends we used to spend most of our free time with but hadn’t seen in ages. The remaining time we attempted to re-connect with others I hadn’t seen in some time, which turned out remarkably well as I was able to see my best friend from high school whom I haven’t spoken with in about 8 years!) It was really, really nice; I can’t think of anything that could have possibly made it better (except for seeing the people who couldn’t attend. To account for this, we plan on having a gathering for Seattle-area friends sometime in August!)

Sorry to be so brief, but work calls!

Very, very happy!

Within the past month, I’ve started a new job, gotten married, and been sent off as a consultant for another company in a high-intensity position which is set to last about a month and a half. I have a ton of things to post about all these events, but severly lack time at the moment. I will do my best to post at least one photo a day which represents the emotion of all these important events but the backlog is already huge. There are a few snapshots available of the wedding in the usual spot if you care to go poking around, but otherwise just sit tight and I’ll pick out some highlights in the next few days.

Very happy but exhausted! :D

We’re all packed up and ready to go. Just about to eat dinner before we catch a bus to the airport. Since Ivan’s arrival on Saturday time has been passing at a ridiculous rate. Before I know it I’ll be married! Hopefully I’ll have a chance to post some photos shortly after the day (and perhaps to catch up on all the posting I should have been doing the last few weeks!)