Celebration

Our gorgeous Kathie Girst cake

Our fingerprint tree and guest book

Family and friends at our reception at our home.

The Jackson Family.

Jack with Phillip and his grandparents Kay and Jim.

Sisters!

Sumo wrestling with Sam.

Jack and Uncle Tom.

Jack with his Grandma Kathy.

Jack with Uncle Sam.

Jack and almost-Aunt Stefani.

Jack and his cool Uncle Mitch.

With my dear friend Beth, who drove all the way from Lawrence!

Giddy, with cake.

Giddier, with cake and a leg pop!

Family love

With Phillip's parents

With my dad and brother Tom

With Phillip's grandparents

All of our wonderful siblings!

Vows

We don't remember what the judge said, but it was about love, and it lasted about five minutes, and after that we were married. That's all that mattered.

Jack stood up with us (our best man), and our parents, siblings, and grandparents were present.

We wanted it short, sweet, and simple. We simply wanted to be married. That's all we'd wanted for months. To be official, a team, one.

Showered

My wonderful new friends at the Hutchinson Community Foundation threw me the most perfect bridal shower at our indie bookstore, Bluebird Books, the morning of the wedding. 

I honestly never had been to a bridal shower before and so had no idea what to expect. I learned that my new friends are supremely generous, that every ribbon you cut equals another child you will have (I stopped at two), and that you can survive your wedding day on cake alone.

Aubrey (my boss of only 3 months) deserves multiple hugs.

Eileen shows off the beautiful Kathie Girst cake (my first of the day).

Aubrey, Susan, Wendy, Sue, Terri, and Eileen--generous hostesses.

Adorable tablescape.

Tina, Bailey, and Katie--sweet new friends.

Wendy, Stefani, Kathy (new mother-in-law), Susan, Dell, Marilyn, and Terri

Evidently, your friends create a bouquet out of the ribbons you get on your gifts.

So I carried it like a champ!

Beautiful, wonderful women who started my wedding day in the best possible way.

Giddy

Just married and giddy at two a.m.

After the vows, after the champagne and the cake, after the photos with family and a little boy in light-up boots, after the gifts, drinks, and advice about love, after the shower, after the barbeque, after the fingerprints in green, after shivering home in the early morning hours, we laughed giddily into our home, our marriage, our forever love.

Nine years ago, when Phillip and I worked at Alco together, and the wonderful world of Alco was my whole world, he was the subject of many pages. Not gushing, love-sick pages but grateful, hopeful friend pages. Little 19 year old me wrote things like, "I'm so lucky to have Phillip as a friend. We tease each other and have fun" and "I think he is the one person (outside of my family) that I am completely myself for" and "I just want him in my life. He's good for me" and then the one that punched me the summer of 2012 when I went immediately to my journals after our first week together: "There's that little part of me that screams Phillip would be perfect for me."

Today, Phillip is my best friend. We tease each other and have fun. He's the one person that I am completely myself for. I want him in my life forever because he's good for me. And my whole body screams Phillip is perfect for me. Today, I am Kari Mailloux, and I'm giddy about it.