An Open Thank You Note from the Newlyweds

We did it. 

After 2 years of dating and a 15-month engagement, we finally made it to Vegas and were married. 

And it was perfect.

But it wasn't easy.
Despite my insane level of planning, the 3 days leading up to the wedding were less than perfect.  They were stressful, and emotional, and a lot of things did not go according to plan.  The low point hit at 24 hours prior to the ceremony, when we were facing the possibility of not even having the reception we had planned for the past ten months.  After three days of stress, that was news I just did not know how to handle. But luckily, I was blessed by people who did know how to handle it...and now I would like to say Thank You.

To our wedding guests:
Not only did you all get time off work and spend lots of money to travel to Las Vegas to be there, but you also changed plans once you were there, offered up favors left and right, and did everything you could to help deal with the hectic situations we were faced with.  People made and answered calls, dealt with vendors, took care of Ryan, dealt with my crazy instructions, spun napkins, made dozens of cupcakes, transported stuff, and drove all around Vegas for us. My amazing bridesmaids hugged me, dried my tears, wiped dirt off my dress, made me eat food, and made me laugh constantly.  Pete's two awesome groomsmen helped keep him calm, dealt with putting a 4-year-old in a tux, and made way too many trips between hotel rooms. Without Becky, Nathan, Angela, Mary Jo, Nico, Ryan, Ked, Rebekah, Rob, Pete's parents, and maybe even people I'm not aware of, we would not have even had a reception. And without the help of Brittany and her parents, our siblings/babysitters in Colorado, and those who graciously gifted us with honeymoon money, we would not have had the amazing honeymoon we had. 

Pete and I often feel very alone in our daily lives in Arizona. We are far away from our families, finding a babysitter is close to impossible so we rarely spend time with friends, we never have help when Ryan, or the two of us, are sick, we planned our wedding (and completed the giant list of wedding projects) by ourselves, and neither one of us are people who like to ask for help or to depend on others.  Yet, when it came down to the wire of our wedding day, we were forced to rely on you, our family members and friends, even people we had literally just met, to help us do the things we could not do ourselves...and we were blown away by the amazing feelings of love and support that surrounded us. After our reception, at 3 AM, Pete and I returned to our empty suite. We sat down together and marveled at the day we had. Our wedding day was everything we wanted it to be. It was beautiful, personal and meaningful, and we were surrounded by the people we love.  But looking back on it, we knew that none of it would have turned out that way without the help of so many friends and family members who went out of their way to be there, and to help us create the wedding day we imagined. We both agreed that the best wedding gift we received was the realization that we are NOT alone, we are loved.  So, to everyone who gave us that gift, we thank you.

Love,
The M Family.