Wedding Day

December 3rd was an extra special day! Russ and I planned everything for our wedding in less than 4 weeks, and believe it or not - it wasn't even stressful. We didn't bother with the little details that weren't important to us like they might have seemed the first time around. The engagement actually seemed long. Every day we talked about how many more days we had (Noah was the best at counting them down)! Anyway... the day came and everything was so perfect.
First, Russ and I took our kids to breakfast.

Next, I took the girls to get our nails done. They were excited, I was excited, and it was starting to feel like the big day really had finally come!

Then, it was time to get ready. Megan, Mary Ann, and Suzanne all came over to help get everyone ready.

I don't have a picture for one of my favorite parts of that day. Our families helped chauffer the kids to the ceremony so Russ and I could go together on our own. I was so thankful for that because the drive over was so perfect with just him and I by ourselves. Simple things like that mean the most to me. The ipod was set to the "love songs" playlist and Russ & I had a good conversation about how perfect we were for each other. (We really are!) Russ is a total sweetheart and the things he said to me made me feel so lucky to be getting married to him.

We got to Villa Siena and took some pictures and that was a great part of the day too. In true Russ character, he was making me laugh so hard that I couldn't smile normal for the pics. I love that about him though - so oh well that pictures took too long and caused the ceremony to start late! You'll notice that in most of these pictures, Russ is making me laugh.

We were rushing to finish pictures and start the ceremony, but as soon as it was time, everything felt peaceful and perfect. We had our kids walk down the aisle before we did together, and that's the one time that day that I got a little choked up as I watched them. They were so cute.

Russ & I have watched the video of us walking down the aisle and we didn't waste any time. We walked a little fast. We were excited to just get married already! I remember seeing our closest friends and family there in the audience and being so thankful for their support. It meant a lot to see each person there.

Bishop Durrant married us and said some special things. It was short and sweet - just the way we wanted it.

After the ceremony we took a few more pictures with our families...

... then headed to Oregano's for dinner. Besides loving that place anyway, it will always be special to us since we went there on our first date.

The day was so perfect. Everything pretty much went as planned and at the end of it all, we had become a family!

I joking-ly call Russ my "knight in shining armor" but he really is. He is a great dad to his girls AND to Noah, and a sweet husband. He is the exact person I have described for the past few years, but didn't think there was anyone out there so perfect for me.

I will forever be thankful to these two girls for setting us up!

I am the happiest, luckiest girl!