I'm finally back!

This is a long overdue post, and I apologize if I have any readers out there in cyberspace who have been disappointed by my sabbatical. Ha! Much has happened since I last wrote, so I have to catch you up a little.

To begin with, the first week of February, I lost my job. This has been a blow to Andrew and I financially and to myself emotionally. I just haven't had the gumption to do much blogging since I have been looking for a job and, until recently, planning a wedding. I hope that this is a forgivable offense and that everyone has not left me forever!

On the bright side, I am now a married lady! I am posting some pictures of our wedding reception and wedding party for your enjoyment. On a crafty note, my wedding dress was sewn by my grandmother, and she figured out how to make a homemade bustle for the dress even though it wasn't included in the pattern! I am so proud of it and her, so I just wanted to show it off. The end result was stunning! You can probably see it the best in the photo with my dad. My grandmother is the lady in the green dress in the background taking a picture!!!

She made, not only the dress, but also my vail, which was a cream netting that matched the color of the dress and was attached to a tiara that we bought at Claire's. The whole tiara vail was less than $12 and would have cost me a fortune to buy at a bridal shop.

The dress was practically a steal, especially since it was exactly what I wanted. The only cost to me was the material and the pattern which I bought online for $7. My "something old" and "something borrowed" were the brooch in the center of the drape which belonged to my grandmother's mother and is definitely an antique piece of costume jewelry. I had on brand spankin' "new" everything else and some blue and green underwear for my "something blue" as well as my "something green" (St. Patrick's Day!). My garter was also green, just for fun.

The wedding cake was absolutely deliciouso. It had a wonderful buttercream frosting on it that I am so tempted to dig out of the freezer and eat. Who needs that first anniversary tradition anyway? It was made by Andrew's cousin and I thought it looked simply elegant. (Tasted awesome, too.)

See below for a few more pictures of my family and my beautiful sisters/bridesmaids. I hope you have enjoyed this post, and more is to come, I promise!