The Week Leading Up to Our Wedding

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we are currently in the midst of our anniversary week! you know me…i love drawing out any celebration i can for a minimum of a week all the way to a month (everyone should embrace the ‘birthday month’ mindset).

my husband and i like to take this time to reflect on what we call our ‘love year.’ this is what has occurred between our last anniversary to this one. on thursday, september 3, we shall cheers to our FIFTH wedding anniversary (together for over 8 years total)! it’s crazy how sometimes it feels like we were just walking down the aisle together and other times like we have been married for decades.

on wednesday, i will be sharing these questions with you that we use to reflect on our love year because reflecting on your relationship is so very important for continued growth and happiness. we are big fans of doing this throughout the year but our anniversary serves as a larger moment of reminiscing, appreciating and looking towards the future together.

one of the things we talked about last night was what was going on with our lives five years ago. in the week surrounding our wedding, these things occurred:

  • the best man booked the bachelor party one day before we actually arrived in colorado. this resulted in frantic phone calls to southwest airlines, who graciously helped us change our flights without charging us!
  • my childhood cat died two days before our wedding
  • my husband got laid off the day after our wedding
  • i was in the middle of an interview process for a job
  • we used our honeymoon fund, where friends and family can give money to contribute to your honeymoon, to pay rent

regardless of the uncertainty surrounding our lives at this time, we were both confident we were making the right decision to marry each other. we didn’t take it lightly that we were making the conscious choice to get married (and at 23 years old) nor do we take it lightly now.

the relationship you have with your spouse/partner should be your deepest, most sacred relationship. there are days where this is easier to agree with and days where it would be easier if he/she was no where in sight. however, we keep choosing each other and we keep choosing to make our marriage a priority. it’s not always the easiest but it is worth the effort because of the partnership we continue to create together. plus, we have a ton of fun together, no matter where we are at!

wedding chelsea laughing

need to spend more time not doing what you’re supposed to be doing? i’ve got you covered.

here’s how we met
here’s how our first date went (not normal)
here’s how he proposed to me
here’s how we incorporated non-traditional wedding ideas

what stressors did you have (if any) leading up to your wedding day?

 

14 Comments

  1. Elyse

    August 31, 2015 at 9:56 am

    Congrats!!! You both look so cute in that wedding photo!
    Elyse recently posted…Highs and Lows of August

  2. Amberly

    August 31, 2015 at 11:57 am

    Wow, you had a lot going on that week!!! And look how good life is now! 🙂 I’m with you, I love the idea of birthday month!
    Amberly recently posted…Welcome to Married Life – August Edition

    • chelsea

      September 1, 2015 at 4:20 pm

      yeah…reflecting back i know we were panicking on so many levels (and i still do this) so it’s a great reminder that it somehow always works out!

  3. Audrey

    August 31, 2015 at 12:26 pm

    Aww, congratulations! I can’t wait to read Wednesday’s post! I love that you said, “we keep choosing each other” because it’s something I have thought about A LOT lately. We have friends in the middle of a divorce and all I can say to K is how I will always choose him, even when the pressure is on and life is crazy!

    During our wedding day I forgot my veil from home! My brother had to take Kyle’s car and race home an hour before the ceremony (because my mom begged me to wear one)! Haha!
    Audrey recently posted…Date Night with the Foo Fighters

    • chelsea

      September 1, 2015 at 4:21 pm

      sorry to hear about your friends going through a divorce – that has got to be hard but they are lucky to have you both as support. agreed about the needing to make a conscious choice to keep choooosing each other. life can totally get crazy!

      ahhh forgetting your veil and sending your brother home an hour before the ceremony?! sounds super stressful but glad it worked out (and mom was happy) 🙂

  4. Rachel G

    August 31, 2015 at 5:04 pm

    I forgot that we were wedding year twins–we’re coming on on 5 years, too, but not till December. For some reason my memories of that time are a little foggy–I know that Angel moved to Michigan and started his brand-new job at the hospital 15 days before the wedding, and my final exams for that semester started 7 days after the wedding. And I remember telling my professor that I had to miss her class on Friday to go to a wedding rehearsal, trying to be all vague, and then she was like, “Oh, whose wedding rehearsal?” and I had to say, “Umm, mine, I’m getting married on Saturday.” I tried to keep the news of our wedding on the down-low at college because most people thought it was weird enough getting married in your Junior year, let alone a week before exams started. But we got the weekend the church was available, so there wasn’t much we could do about the date, haha! I got straight A’s anyways.
    Rachel G recently posted…Graphic Tees: Do or Don’t?

    • chelsea

      September 1, 2015 at 4:32 pm

      ohhh that’s right! yay! 5 year buddies! oh wow, sounds like you had a lot going on then too. i can only imagine that awkward moment (because i probably would have handled it the same) when you revealed to your professor it was YOUR wedding! 🙂

      well done getting straight A’s too – hot dang!

  5. Caroline L.

    August 31, 2015 at 9:54 pm

    It’s always the most interesting thing to see where you were this moment last year, two years ago, five years ago… It’s reassuring, you know? That uncertainty passes, that we are resilient, that so much can happen in such a short time!
    Caroline L. recently posted…Currently :: June, July, & August

    • chelsea

      September 1, 2015 at 4:33 pm

      very well said, caroline! it does help give that reassurance that even though i feel crazy about other things right now…i can also look back at this time and know it will (most likely) all work out too 🙂

  6. Amanda

    September 2, 2015 at 1:21 pm

    Holy cow that’s a lot to deal with so close to your wedding. I’d be a WRECK if a pet died the day before I got married. Ugh.
    Amanda recently posted…Summer TV Update

    • chelsea

      September 2, 2015 at 2:19 pm

      yeah it was hard. i basically had to cry for an hour and then compartmentalize it because so much was going on. it was way harder last year with my dog passing away the day before our big world record attempting at my husband’s book signing. sigh. sadness.

  7. Vivien

    September 2, 2015 at 1:27 pm

    Happy Anniversary! I am always amazed at how some brides are so calm and collected even when chaos might be ensuing or when Mother Nature has other plans.

    Case in point, I went to a friend’s wedding on the weekend. Right after the ceremony was officially done, the region suffered a blackout because of the windstorm. Reception was eaten by candlelight. I would have been crying…she wasn’t phased one bit!
    Vivien recently posted…From Toastmasters to Real World

    • chelsea

      September 2, 2015 at 2:19 pm

      thanks vivien! hard to believe it’s already been 5 years! there were definitely moments where i didn’t keep it together so well but HUGE kudos to the bride this past weekend! that wind storm was innnsaaaane. i think i would have been crying too, until someone poured me another drink then maybe i could have smiled since there was nothing to do about it and candles can be romantic 🙂