anniversary number five

five years ago donald and i were introduced to ned and marjorie. the day we got married they were celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of their own lodge wedding. it's their tradition to come back to the lodge each year, which we thought was a lovely idea. logistically a yearly visit would be tricky for us, but we decided that a return engagement sounded like the perfect way to celebrate five years.

after a little shuffling around we settled into one of the original lodge rooms, and the whole place was just as charming as i remembered. this was the first time we had visited without some sort of wedding agenda and we enjoyed every minute. we took a walk, went swimming, played games, reminisced over wedding photos and video, and of course ate the traditional fried chicken. the one thing we didn't expect was a surprise visit from the broomies! they had decided to drive over on a whim, thinking we had been there the weekend before. it was hilarious and a fun treat to enjoy a little part of the day with some of the same people who helped us celebrate five years ago!

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the d[r]yers

some days i have to stop and remind myself that our wedding already happened. as much as i tried to take time that weekend to look around and soak everything in, i couldn't stop time from racing by. we thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent with family and friends, but just one short month later i can already feel the memories fading.

before we left on our honeymoon donald and i jotted down a few memories we didn't want to forget in the hustle and bustle of newlywed life. here are some of our favorite wedding moments...

• donald running up to hug me in the reception room as soon as he arrived at the lodge on thursday
• watching my bridesmaids open their gifts at the rehearsal dinner and hearing their laughs and excitement

• gathering in our room with all the girls as they went around and said what they loved and/or appreciated about me before they prayed for me
• playing a big, hilarious group game of catch phrase/charades in the lobby with so many of our favorite friends
• watching my friends have fun together and become friends themselves
• getting to greet our guests as they arrived and the laid back feeling of the day
• seeing my whole life gathered in one room as i walked down the aisle
• mark praying about donald 'loving his body' and how he didn't know why we didn't get married ten years ago

• danny and david's 'awesome family' high five
• being introduced into the reception as "mr. and mrs. dryer"
• wedding toasts that were personal, heartwarming and hilarious
• dancing...just all of it, from the first to the last
• seeing so many friends at brunch on sunday and getting to spend just a bit more time with the people we love
• riding the ferry back home and spending the day with matt and tara

our wedding was wonderful. it wasn't free from imperfections, but nothing is. in the end, donald and i got married. we gathered the people we love. we threw a pretty awesome party. and we were certainly filled with joy.

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the wedding highlight reel

a friend of ours from church was gracious enough to take some video footage of the wedding day and he put together this little highlight reel for us...

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