The honeymoon was lovely. Being home is bittersweet. It's hard being back to "reality" but then again, it was nice being able to unpack all the monster-sized bags and sleep in our own bed.

I'll be posting pics of our New Zealand and Australian adventure as soon as I get a spare minute. I'll also post some wedding pics as soon as I re-format the ones we've already received from friends and relatives. We should have the professional pics back within a couple weeks, yay!

We've been back just a few hours and already my bowels are returning to normal. I used to have IBS; it's obvious I revert back to it during "special" circumstances like traveling, when I'm eating more starch and sugar than I'm used to. I ate a ton of chips (i.e. French fries) and lots of bisquits (i.e. cookies) and ice cream. I ate Vegemite every morning on top of my buttered toast. I put milk and sugar (Equal was almost impossible to find - I should have taken my own supply of Splenda) in my tea.

I suppose it's not such a shock, then, to find that I gained 8 lbs. due to my gluttonous holiday eating habits. Tomorrow it's back to weight lifting and eating healthfully.

I don't feel "married" at all (whatever THAT is supposed to feel like). This realization doesn't really surprise me. After all, I didn't expect to experience a transformation or anything. The only difference is that I'm totally, utterly relieved that the wedding is OVER!

It was SO MUCH fun, but I felt like I was constantly being pulled in a million different directions. It was overwhelming. And yes, the wedding day was over way too quickly (just like everyone says). I regret not being able to spend more time with certain guests. Then again, I know that wouldn't have been possible, anyway.

Everything went really smoothly and several people have emailed to say that it was the best event they'd ever attended. M and I had a bunch of little things planned that everyone loved, like the trivia games we placed at each table, the personalized place setting favors (Kandy Korn and Hershey Kisses for everyone except my two aunts who are allergic to sugar; they got mixed nuts instead. And the four kids got little treat bags with coloring books and crayons to keep them occupied), the Halloween mask favors that we handed to each guest after dinner, and the box of dress-up "props" we had stashed in a suitcase near the dance floor for everyone to enjoy.

So many people danced, even my grandpa (who told me he hadn't danced in 40 years!)! We had fun Halloween hits playing throughout the evening... I think the favorite was Thriller by Michael Jackson. That one got almost EVERYONE out on the dance floor, even wearing their monster masks!

I danced the ENTIRE time. It was too hard to sit down. I even danced all the slow songs, with or without M.

All the vendors really pulled through and everything turned out simply fabulous. At least one person raved about each vendor.

The officiant was completely, breathtakingly eloquent. She did not stumble over even one word! The ceremony was perfect. I started crying when my relatives sang "I Will" by The Beatles. The readings went off great; "Sonnet 17" by Pablo Neruda seemed to be everyone's favorite, as it drew audible gasps from the crowd.

The harpist's music was beautiful. Some people even asked for a copy of the prelude, which we had the DJ record.

The cake was phenomenal. It was simply stunning... and delicious. M and I were right about our guests not being able to stop taking photos of it. Of the few photos we've already received from family and friends, several were of just the cake.

The DJ was great at reading the crowd and played only the music we provided (M and I were very strict about the playlist) and played requests that we didn't restrict. And when I asked him to play certain songs, he played them immediately! (I guess this shouldn't surprise me, as I WAS the clinet! But, somehow, it does.) I heard a lot of people asking about the DJ; I'm sure he handed out lots of business cards that night! He was very classy and sophisticated and kept talking to a minimum (just as we'd requested).

The flowers were incredible. The florist is extremely talented, a true artist in every sense of the word (even down to the lack of business skills - we didn't receive the final contract until the day after the wedding!). Just about everyone raved about how beautiful the bouquets and arrangements were.

M and I felt like we were being followed by the Papparazzi, with all cameras and video cameras. Our photographer brought TWO assistants and the videographer brought one. Needless to say, I'm sure we'll have lots of great photos and lots of great video coverage (M and I plan to watch the 6 hours or so of uneditted coverage as soon as we have some spare time).

The only complaint I have is that the videographer was RIGHT IN OUR FACES the whole day and our photographer warned us that he was probably going to be in a lot of her shots. She said she tried her best to work around him, but that it was virtually impossible under certain circumstances. Even worse, the videographer was dressed in jeans and a jean jacket! He stood out like a sore thumb.

And I specifically remember the videographer blocking my view to the best man while he was giving his toast!

But all in all, the wedding day was the best event I'd ever attended... and even better than I could have imagined because it was the day I married my beautiful best friend.

I can honestly say the few days preceding the wedding were very tumultuous. The one positive thing about all the stress and being sick was that it resulted in quite a bit of weight loss the week before the wedding. Very handy, but not very enjoyable.

Please join me next time for "Life In Loriville... After The Honeymoon". :)

G'nite, mates!