14 years and going strong!

This past Wednesday, Scott and I celebrated our 14th anniversary! (Holy cow, how'd we get to be so old??) It seems like just a few months ago we had the most romantic ceremony and most fun reception in the history of weddings!

The ceremony was outdoors, in a walled garden at the Quail Botanical Gardens outside of San Diego. The weather was ideal, we could see the ocean in the distance and our family and friends (about 80ish people) were there to help us rejoice. Nothing could have been more perfect.

Our reception was held across the street in a newly renovated hall. Our friends had decorated it with balloons and flowers from the ceremony -- it was so simple and beautiful and romantic. Nothing fancy, nothing expensive, just loved ones celebrating.

You have to understand that we had no money -- everything had to be as inexpensive as it could possibly be. But that was ok. I am Queen of Frugality, so we made it work. My bouquet was a dozen roses wound with ribbon and each of my bridesmaids carried a single rose. The buffet luncheon was pasta (can't get any more frugal than that -- unless it's a grocery store sub sandwich, that is!) The table centerpieces were a single wide-mouthed vase with a floating candle.

My dress (you're going to love this one!) was $300. Pretty cool, huh? But here's why... When I was studying in Scotland, I'd found this dress. It was the one and I knew it. Being that it was a Laura Ashley, I knew I could get it here in the States so I wrote down the info. When I returned, I called all over the country. There was only one dress left. Anywhere.

And it was a size 18.

I was a size 4.

I bought it anyway.

It took a while to find a seamstress who would actually fit the dress to my size, but a friend's grandma agreed to do it for about $100. In the end, it was absolutely perfect -- my dream dress.

The whole day was a fairy tale and I wish we could do it again. *Insert big sigh here*
But the best part about the wedding was that I married the most amazing man on earth and even though things haven't always been easy, we are closer and more in love now than ever before. God most definitely blessed us that day 14 years ago and every day since then.