Southern Weddings

Three cheers for 2010!

It feels like I was just writing my year-in-review post for 2009, and here I am recapping 2010. If I thought last year, what with graduating from college, taking my first job and relocating to a new state, was busy, 2010 knocked ’09’s socks off!

I can sum up my year in two pictures:

Yes, in the short time between 2009 and 2010, I went from new college grad to blushing bride in what felt like the blink of an eye. Of course, there was a lot of fun (and work!) in between. Here’s what I’ve been up to this year.

This time last year (December 28, to be exact), Kyle and I announced our engagement. After a quick celebration in Cambridge and then NYC over the New Year, we set the date for September 11, 2010, five years to the day after our first meeting on the first day of freshman year.

My father, sister and the entire SW team ventured to Kleinfeld’s for a dress shopping extravaganza. With Randy Fenoli’s help, we managed to find the perfect dress.

And the wedding planning frenzy ensued! With a short nine-month engagement egging me on, I jam-packed my winter and early spring with dress shopping (for me + my beautiful maids), flower picking, cake tasting, ceremony planning and bridal showering. (Be sure to revisit Emily’s and my weekly posts in my personal blog for all the fun.)

We like to have our picture taken, especially when there’s a SmileBooth involved.

At Sara’s North Carolina wedding, Kyle + I practiced dance moves for our own big day.

With the warmer months approaching, the SW team jumped into full wedding planning mode for two special brides. Somewhere and somehow over those two very busy weekends, I managed to have sneak in some fun with my co-workers and Kyle, who served as our special helper.

We didn’t have professional pictures taken before the wedding, but we like to consider these candids from Nancy Ray our engagement shots.

I’m not sure what’s more impressive: that we’re all in the same place at the same time, or that everyone is smiling and keeping their hands to themselves.

In June, little brother Christian graduated from high school and headed off to college at Virginia Tech. Go, Hokies! “Three down, one to go,” says a happy Dad.

Before we knew it, summer was upon us and we were less than three months from our big day. Kyle’s mom and sister threw me a proper Cincinnati bridal shower to welcome me into the Gibler family, and my best friend / co-Maid of Honor, Molly, arranged a Jane Austen-inspired tea in North Carolina.

Since we met at Harvard, it only seemed appropriate that Kyle and I return to our beloved campus for our September nuptials. Memorial Church was the perfect setting for our black-tie evening wedding!

Finally! On September 11, 2010, five years to the day after we first met in an awkward Never-Have-I-Ever icebreaker outside our freshman dorm, my college sweetheart and I said “I do,” replete with personal, handwritten vows, a string quartet and the biggest bridal party known to man. I’m from the South. Don’t judge.

On the steps of Widener Library at Harvard, surrounded by our eighteen-strong troupe of bridal attendants. Pictured: my two brothers, and little sister, Kyle’s brothers, sister and sister-in-law, and a handful of family, high school and college friends. Can you spot Miss Emily?

With Kyle’s family and friends in Cincinnati. Can you tell who’s related to whom? Hint: don’t let the red hair fool you!

We’d only been newlyweds for six weeks when we jetted off to Cincinnati for Kyle’s brother’s wedding to Wei. It was funny to hear to hear Kyle and his family refer to me as his wife. In fact, I’m still getting used to my new title.

2010 wasn’t all about weddings – though, between the two of us, Emily and I definitely kept the office hopping back and forth to the altar. In December, the SW team set off for our annual visit to Santa’s workshop. Here’s a list of what I asked for this year.

Kyle and I were excited to send our very first Christmas card. Black, white and totally me.

Which brings us to today, the last day of 2010. I said it last year, but this year was the craziest, most wonderful year of my life. With an engagement, wedding and all-around fabulous year on the books for 2010, 2011 has some pretty big shoes to fill. Maybe I’ll get lucky and have a quiet year as a newlywed.

Then again, I wished for a quiet year last year, and look what I got! Happy 2011, y’all!