Sunday, October 28, 2012

Alpha Dei Photography

Our professional pics are finished, and they are absolutely wonderful! I have told many people that researching photogs was time consuming and one of the harder tasks of planning a wedding. Once I met Aaron Moseley with Alpha Dei, I knew he was the right choice.

Aaron was absolutely wonderful throughout the planning and the wedding day. He had our photos ready in less than 3 weeks, which is amazing to me.

Here is the link to check out all 411 photos from the wedding:

Alpha Dei Photography

I have lots of favorites, but here are some of the best.

























Friday, October 19, 2012

Since I Got Married

Kyle and I got married 2 weeks ago tomorrow. Seeing him wear a wedding ring has been one of the best feelings. I had 7 months to get used to seeing my beautiful ring on my finger and now he has to get used to his. He is pretty good about putting it on first thing when he wakes up, but he swears it hinders his golf swing so he has to leave it in his locker.

The level of exhaustion that I felt after the wedding was like nothing I had ever experienced. I would imagine it is something like a new mom bringing home her infant. Except no one was expecting me to feed or change them. After our reception, we drove to the hotel and changed clothes. We went down to a bar right beside the hotel to meet up with our guests. I was beyond hungry at this point since I never ate dinner (note to guests: if you see the bride sit down at her plate to grab a bite, wait until she gets back up to come talk to her. She def wants to visit with you, but she also needs to eat!)

I grabbed a mini box of Wheat Thins in the hotel lobby and walked over to the bar. I could barely stay away so Sammi started taking my hair down. There were tons of bobby pins and she caressed my head for a few minutes and I could no longer stay awake. I said my good nights and went upstairs to crash.

The next morning we had a brunch for all our guests so we could visit with them one last time before they had to leave. After the brunch, we headed home with most of our family and some friends to watch the Steelers game.

At this point, I had lost my voice and was still in a "wedding trance". By Tuesday, I started to feel somewhat normal again. Although we went to Sam's with Kyle's parents and I almost fell asleep on the car ride over there. I got to enjoy 2 days off work before starting my new job as Mrs. Heather Gatewood on Oct 10th.

The new job has been great so far. My position is Fine Wine Sales for Republic National Distributing Company. My boss is a friend that I met playing kickball. The first few days were really overwhelming. We sell tons of wines, spirits and beers and I am in a position that needs to be familiar with all the wines and spirits that we sell. I mainly focus on wine, which is overwhelming in itself. Learning all the different varietals and regions and even how to use a corkscrew that isn't fancy. Just the old school kind like this:

It is harder than you think. And trying to do it in front of a sommelier is a little nerve-wracking. I know this person knows tons more than I do so please just let me not screw up taking the cork out of the bottle!

The perks of the job are:

Working from home- once I am finished training
Working 9-3
Free wine! I helped with a Merryvale/Starmont tasting on Tuesday and brought home 6 bottles of wine.

Downsides of the job:

Working holidays

We planned on going to Pittsburgh for Christmas this year but I will have to be selling product in a liquor store on Christmas eve. Bumsky!

Our wedding pictures are ready! We are going out to the studio on Tuesday to take a look and pick the ones we want in our album. I am beyond excited to see them!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Recaps

It took me 3 posts (could have been more!) to recap the wedding!



Saturday, October 13, 2012

Pictures

 Rehearsal dinner

 

 Wedding Day




















Mr. & Mrs. Kyle Gatewood

Saturday morning, I woke up feeling a little tired but so excited. I was getting married! The day was here. All the planning and stressing was finally going to pay off. I called my mom up to my room to bring me some toothpaste and started to get ready. We had to be at hair and makeup by 10. I went to get Katie and Kristin and quickly realized something was a little off with Katie. She looked pale and sick. I thought she was hungover but that wasn't it. She threw up a couple of times at the hair salon. Then Erin and the girls got there and Allison had a tummy ache. Erin got her hair done and left with the girls so Allison could lay down and Jordyn could take a nap. Then we got a text that Allison threw up. So my matron of honor and my flower girl were puking. They caught some stupid stomach bug on my wedding day! I felt so bad for them :(

Everyone got their hair and makeup done, Katie threw up on our drive to TCC, and Kristin stepped in to help me get the place ready. Thank goodness we had a wonderful room to use that had a couch so Katie could sleep. And later the flower girls took naps, too. My aunt and cousin picked up our flowers so they were already out when I got there and they were absolutely gorgeous! Sam's knocked it out of the park when it came to flowers!! Sheri was setting up the slideshow, my mom and Anne were helping with final touches and Kristin and I were making trips back and forth from the bridal room to the ballroom putting out signs and other decorations. We ordered lunch and then the photographer arrived. It had been such a normal, non-stressful day (except for the puking) and now it was time to get ready. I steamed my dress and veil one last time. The girls were touching up hair and makeup, Erin was doing the flower girls hair. At 4:30, it was time to see Kyle. It was cold outside and barely drizzling and he had to wait under a tree for me to come out. I was all dolled up: hair, makeup, beautiful wedding dress, purple shoes, and carrying my bouquet.  The photographer told me not to look at him and walk up behind Kyle and get his attention however I wanted. I walked up behind him, stopped and said "Are you ready?" And then he turned around. He looked so handsome in his new suit and tie. He smiled and immediately hugged me and kissed me. Even though I think we weren't supposed to kiss until we were married but I don't care. After our first look, I saw my dad back inside. He teared up when he saw me. I was kind of gliding around, like I was in a fairy tale. I went back to the bridal room where Katie was awake and looking and feeling much better but Allison wasn't doing so well. I fed her a couple of bites of chicken noodle soup and hoped she would perk up.

Due to the cold weather, I feel like we didn't take nearly enough posed pictures. I realized late that night that I never took any pictures alone. The bridesmaid pictures were so hurried and rushed outside. I'm sure we got tons and tons of great pics, I just felt so rushed and kind of like I was in a fog.

We got to sit down and rest for a few minutes and then my brother walked in and said "its go time!" I wasn't nearly as nervous as I thought I would be. Elaina gave me a kiss, Katie told me she loved me and then it was time to walk out and get ready to start the ceremony!
I purposely tried not to get all hyped up because I didn't want to cry. Somehow I managed to not cry one time the entire wedding weekend! I was shocked.

We were all lined up, it was cold and I told Jordy to run down the aisle if she needed to. Bryan was waiting on the front row with blankets. Henry looked so adorable in his tux and purple tie. He did great and everyone was loving him standing in them middle of the aisle just looking at everyone! Now it was time for me and Dad to walk out. I don't remember being cold, I don't remember being nervous. I don't remember the music. But I remember the moment. I walked down the stairs and then looked up and saw all our friends. Smiling at us, taking pictures and waving. I was waving to people, saying hi, smiling, soaking up the moment. I was walking too fast because I wanted to get to Kyle. He looked so sweet waiting for me. I got to the front, and my legs were shaking. I moved them around a little under my big skirt, hoping no one would see. Steve opened with prayer, and then my dad gave me away to Kyle. We said "I do" and then our vows. We put our rings on and we kissed. We held hands and looked at each other. And I never cried. I chose not to look at anyone, my mom, brother, etc because I knew I would cry if I did that. I remember the wind blowing my veil over my right shoulder. It probably will look pretty in pictures. I remember a siren going off in the background. I remember feeling so happy. The ceremony was short. Which was good because my bridesmaids were freezing & someone told me their flowers were shaking in their hands. Then we were announced as husband and wife. I grabbed my bouquet, held it up in air, faced the cheering crowd and we walked back down the aisle. It was somewhat surreal. We took quick family pictures outside. I almost signed my maiden name on the marriage license! We waited in our little area, waiting to be announced. Except we couldn't find Emily. She was already sitting at a table in the reception. The DJ started announcing us, and we grabbed hands and walked out to bright lights, cheering and clapping!

Then the fun started. We danced, we ate (well, I didn't eat), we drank, we sang. Poor Allison was still sick and she slept in the bridal room most of the night. She did get one dance with her Uncle Kyle though. Lauren was so grown up all night, right by my side. Jordyn was hilarious. She probably had the most fun at the wedding. She was literally running around the dance floor and through the tables. She also danced really hard. She danced with Henry some, she danced alone. The girl got her dance on. Lauren eventually fell asleep with a handful of glow sticks in her hands.

The toasts were perfect. I can't wait to see the video so I can relive all of it! My dress stayed on, never having to tug on it once. Kyle looked dapper in his suit and vest. I drank out of any water glass I could get my hands on. The cake was delicious, the 2 bites I got. My friends did the worm on the dance floor.

I know this seems choppy, but I decided to type things as I remember them. And that is exactly how I remember them, in pieces.

So today, I have been married for one week. I still love looking at Kyle and seeing a ring on his finger. I love hearing him say "my wife". I love getting packages addressed to "Heather Gatewood". I just love it all.


Becoming Mrs. Gatewood

I know it has been too long since I posted. I have so much to say and I felt kinda overwhelmed at the thought of posting about my wedding so I just kept putting it off. I figured today, one week after my wedding, would be the perfect time to recap all the wonderful happenings in our life. 

Let's start with last week. On Sunday night, Kyle's parents arrived. I spent the whole day cleaning to prepare for all of our visitors and somehow hurt my lower back. I have always had a sensitive lower back but this time it was really painful. We went to eat dinner and when we got back, I could barely walk without pain. I decided to lay down and watch TV until his parents got here. I couldn't start out my wedding week with a hurt back! 

Monday morning I went to JD Young for my last day of work. My last day at work went by quickly and at the end of the day, I said my goodbyes and headed home to start really enjoying my upcoming wedding. After work, I took all the vases & ribbon to Sam's so Mandy could start working on our centerpieces. When I got home, Carl (Kyle's dad) had a glass of wine ready for me to celebrate my last day of work. 

Tuesday morning I woke up pretty early due to the fact that my brain would not stop processing wedding information . I spent most of the day running errands and marking things of my to do list. I had a very detailed excel spreadsheet with all things wedding related that I lived by for 6 months. I also had signs printed and taped on the walls in the dining room showing where items needed to go (rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, Country Club, etc). 

Wednesday I decided to go for a run and hopefully loosen my back a little. Kyle's Aunt Donna was coming into town early that day and more errands were on the schedule as soon as we picked her up. Mary Lou was decorating the rehearsal dinner with balloons so we drove all over Tulsa trying to find the balloons she wanted. Did you know there is a helium shortage? Wednesday night we had my parents over to the house for a cookout. We wanted to have the family spend some time together without being at some wedding event. Justin, Stacy, Henry and Matt (Justin's best friend) got delayed and didn't get into Tulsa until 10:30 so they missed all the fun. We ate dinner, told stories, and drank lots of wine (or Jack Daniels for Kyle). Late that night, I had the pleasure of reading Henry a book and putting him down to sleep. Such a simple joy in life when a baby falls asleep on you. 

Thursday was crazy busy! We took the whole family to the fair. We literally walked all over that place. I didn't eat anything except a polish sausage (no bun) since I had to fit into a dress in 2 days. 2 DAYS! I couldn't believe it was so close. Jerry at TCC called while we were at the fair asking if I wanted to move the ceremony inside since the weather was supposed to be cold. I said no. If it wasn't going to rain, I wanted it outside. Granted, I wanted it to be 20 degrees warmer but people could just put on a jacket for our short ceremony. Stacy and I went to get our nails done after the fair. That night, Katie got into town and went to dinner with us at In the Raw. It was Justin and Stacy's anniversary dinner and we had a great time sitting outside and eating sushi. Katie loved the Gatewood family! 

Friday morning, the wedding events began. The ladies began the morning with a bridal luncheon at Tivoli Inn in Broken Arrow. It was a lovely calm morning with all my favorite ladies. Until someone hacked my email and I started getting texts and facebook posts about it. Not only did he hack my email, he also deleted EVERYTHING in my inbox. After the luncheon, we went back to my house to load up all my stuff. We packed my car and my mom's car, carefully loaded my dress and set out for the hotel. I had to go by Sam's to pay for the flowers first. Once I got checked into the hotel, I had a little time to rest before the rehearsal. It was freezing and windy outside. We went through the rehearsal very quickly and headed to Dust Bowl for our rehearsal dinner of hot dogs and tator tots and bowling. I may be partial, but it was the best rehearsal dinner I have ever been to. Everyone had so much fun! After we bowled, drank, ate, took pictures, handed out gifts, & said goodnight to our families, we walked over to The Max for a little more fun including arcade games. I said goodnight to my fiance one last time at midnight, and went to the hotel for some sleep. I stayed by myself the night before the wedding and it was perfect. Peaceful and quiet, exactly what I needed. 

Next up, getting married.....

Monday, October 1, 2012

Wedding Week!!

So, ummm, the weather forecast has changed. Drastically. Last time I blogged about the weather is was supposed to be 84 and sunny. Leave it to Oklahoma to have a weather change. See the 3 local Tulsa forecasts below:

While the temperature drop is a real bummer, the chance of rain & the cloudy skies are bothering me the most. I really wanted a beautiful; sunny day! Cooler temps while wearing a giant wedding dress may actually be a blessing.

Our guest list is at exactly 150! How in the world did that happen? That is the magic # we used all through planning. I still have about 6 guests on my side that have not RSVP'd but I am assuming they are not coming, and quite frankly, I don't have the energy or patience at this point to follow up with them.

Today is my last day of work so I have the rest of the week to prepare for the "big day". Everyone uses those words about their wedding. I want to use something else. Maybe "shebang" or "fete".

*Side note: Everyone also calls their son "my little man", and I want to use something different when that time comes as well.

I'm sure I will be too busy to blog the rest of the week (and I won't be sitting at a computer anymore) so let me just end with this:

It's my wedding week!!!!
My friend, Harlan, created a hashtag on Twitter: #Heathcock2Gatewood. Use it if you're into hashtags :)