Exactly one year ago, I had the idea of getting back to blogging and share all my thoughts as my life was making some good changes. The changes came, and they were really good, but along those changes were also some of the toughest times I have had within my family.
Over 7 months ago, just a few months before my wedding, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. The news were like an "ice bucket challenge" to everyone in my family. I live in Miami, my mom is in Virginia and our extended family is back in Costa Rica, distance was brutal. You hear cancer and the worst comes to mind, I heard cancer and did not want to do anything else than being with my mom - but I was in the middle of planning my wedding... and did I mention that we are miles apart??? Some weeks were fine, other weeks were really hard. I was able to fly to VA a couple of times while she was going through this process and my mom's words were always present "I want you to enjoy your wedding planning process, I will be ok" We were both ok, just not at all times. My hopes and fears were walking hand on hand, there was no time or need to become "bridezilla" when surprisingly, planning my wedding was a therapy during those months - I see that now.
God truly has a plan bigger than anything we can picture on our minds. I say this because even though I would have loved to be with her and my help could have been great, my patience and my faith were positively tested.
My mom is doing better now, she is still making herself healthier and she is still showing us how STRONG she is. To have her with me the day of the wedding was everything I wanted and there she was, walking me down the aisle along with my dad. I know she was in pain and not fully herself, but I will forever be thankful for her constant love and support! She had a smile on her face and I know both of our hearts were happy to share another memory.
Here I am, eating my favorite ice cream out of the carton and thinking of the best word to describe my wedding dress, among other thoughts. I think I could probably use minimalist, classic, comfortable, simple or as my dad said when he saw it "this dress is very Kelly". As I mentioned earlier on the blog, I had a pretty good idea of the dress I wanted and even saved pictures of the same dress on my phone, at different times of my life. Knowing what I liked was a relief, as I heard of many brides-to-be trying on multiple dresses and never finding the one. I was lucky enough to find it on my first wedding dress appointment, so that saved me a lot of time and money. I picked a David's Bridal Collection Pleated Strapless dress with Empire Waist, and it was everything I wanted, including dress pockets!!! The dress runs for less than $500.00 so you bet I loved the price as well.
The dress was a little bit on the heavy side, as the fabric was somewhat thick. Either way, it felt comfortable to move in and dance in on my wedding day.
I got minor alterations done and added a small applique on the side. I found an elegant sash at a Miami Bridal Boutique and a seamstress added the detail directly to the dress - PERFECTION!
I was lucky enough to have a second bridal shoot in Miami Beach, so I got to wear my dress twice! Here is a picture from that shoot that gives me all the feels at how nice my dress looks.
January 14th, 2017! It happened, just like that all the months of preparation and the anxiety are over. Dress fittings, vendor's agreements, food tastings, music selection, makeup and hairstyle trials, planning, planning and more planning are done. Bachelor and Bachelorette parties, bridal showers, RSVP's, seating charts and good-stress are a thing of the past. Our wedding was amazing, it was even better than a dream! Our Costa Rican affair began three days before the wedding, we flew down on Wednesday Jan. 11th to do all last minute arrangements and welcome all our friends and family members who traveled for the event. In the middle of it all, we enjoyed some quality time showing our guests a little bit of Costa Rica. We planned a trip to Orosi Valley on Thursday. Even with all the commotion of planning a wedding, I felt the need to plan a trip of my home state and really welcome them to our Big Costa Rican Wedding-Weekend!
Our rehearsal dinner was on Friday night, we choose to have it at "Mi Tierra" a restaurant serving traditional Costa Rican food. We invited our wedding party and close family members for a tranquil night before the big day! It was really special to spend my last night as a single lady at my childhood home, we are lucky enough to still own the house so the idea of waking up there on my wedding day was fantastic. I had my hair and makeup done at the house, my mom and sister also got ready with me. The day was already full of emotions and I had not left the house yet. One of the most precious moments of my day was receiving a blessing from my parents in what used to be my room as a kid. You bet I cried! Not on my wildest dream I could have seen myself ready to marry my love, in my Costa Rica!
Our ceremony was really special, we did our bows in each others first language, there were tears, laughs, hugs and overall love within us, our families and friends. My groom looked amazing on his white tux, we used white baby breath flowers and touches of orange and teal in the bridesmaids and groomsmen attires. The babies of the family, our nieces and nephew, were part of the ceremony as well. Both of our parents gave us away in the middle of smiles and tears of joy. The ceremony was followed by a rustic reception filled with happiness, music, drinks and even a carnival that made everyone get on their feet and dance the night away. We could not have asked for a better day, it was a precious event for us and for everyone who joined us from near and far.
