I cannot believe I haven't written a blog post since April 14th! Time has gone so quickly and so much has happened over the past three months... the biggest being that I am now Mrs. O'Day!! I married the love of my life July 7th in Scotland. Paul is from Scotland, and all of his family still lives there, so it was important for me for my friends and family to understand where he comes from and give them the chance to see the beautiful country I have fallen in love with. I have attended two Scottish weddings before and it's nothing like I've ever experienced! I loved the kilts, bagpipes, and hats... it is such a huge celebration! So when the time came to plan my own wedding, I knew I wanted it to be in Scotland.
Paul and I met at Lindenwood University in 2009. I received a scholarship through Miss Nebraska Teen USA and he came to the states on a golf scholarship. We met the very first week of school and became best friends right away. I was surprised to find out Lindenwood is a big international school and I became friends with people from all over the world! Because we were all far away from home, we created a bond unlike any other, and our wedding was a chance to see friends we haven't seen in a while! We had friends from twelve different countries come and celebrate with us! Excuse the pun, but it meant the World to us that they were all there!
My bridesmaids were friends that played an important role in each stage of my life. Given my target market has been predominately in the pageant industry, I wanted to highlight two of my bridesmaids. I met Hannah Billingsley (Miss Arkansas USA 2013) and Ellie Holtman (Miss Missouri USA 2013) when we were competing for Miss USA. We were all part of the Vanbros Organization and trained together the months leading up to the pageant. Ellie was my Miss USA roommate and I could not imagine my year without them! We have supported each other since day one and everyday after that. I love hearing stories of friendships formed through pageantry! It's true when they say, "girls compete with each other, women empower one another!"
A lot of people thought I would design my dress. A part of me wanted to, but I thought it would be too stressful and expensive. After working in the bridal industry briefly, I learned that wedding dresses and bridesmaids dress are so overpriced! I wanted something simple and elegant! My dress was from Sherri Hill's Spring 2016 prom collection and my bridesmaid dresses were from Lily's Boutique online. I didn't have to leave the couch or break the bank for any of my wedding wardrobe!
I wish I could describe the day eloquently with words to capture every detail, but I can't. I wish I could bottle the feeling of the wedding day and keep it forever. For my own sake, I will try to write down the details to go back in year's time to remember the day so if you want to tune out for this part go right ahead, it might sound like a diary entry...
July 7th, 2016: My family and I were staying in what they call the Boat House right on the water front by the venue. We woke up to the most beautiful day! Given that the wedding was in Scotland, the chance of it being rainy and cold was very very likely! We could not have asked for a more perfect day. My bridesmaids arrived to get ready, but the house was so big that it almost felt like it was empty even with everyone there. The only moment of stress I felt was when everyone else was starting to get ready and I hadn't started yet, but I had my dream team of my cousin Katy (who did my hair with a separated shoulder! What a trooper) and Sophie Compton (Scotland's greatest makeup artist) to get me ready. I hate being late so I was anxious when the car to pick up the bridesmaids was running late. At that point I just wanted to get the show on the road and see Paul!
The ceremony itself felt like it took 15 min! There were a few hiccups that I have to laugh about now, the first being my veil kept snagging on the cobblestones outside of the church and would yank my hair back. Since all my bridesmaid were already at the alter, there was no one there to fix it. I have short hair so I had a hair piece in to help fill out my updo, I was so scared the veil was going to pull it out and my hair would be lying in a clump in the middle of the aisle! Fed up, I ripped it out of my head just as I was starting to walk down the aisle and threw it at someone, I don't know who it was but it some how managed to find it's way back to me in time for the pictures.
One thing I love about Scotland is all of the castles! So of course we had to take photos in a castle! We went to Dirleton Castle which was right next to the reception venue. I am so excited to get back all of the photos. Luckily our amazing photographer, Derek Christie, posted some previews of the day for me to share!
After photos at Dirleton we joined everyone else at Archerfield Golf Club for the reception. The venue was on the coast of the North Sea looking out on a gorgeous island with a light house where they say Robert Louis Stevenson was inspired to write Treasure Island. It was great to finally see and talk to our guests before we sat down for an amazing meal. One of my favorite parts of the day was sitting at the head table being able to look out at all of our friends and family, but it was also the first time Paul and I were able to just be ourselves and relax. It was so gorgeous outside, that between courses our guest would get up and wander down to the beach. After tear jerking speeches and a few more photos, we cut the cake and had our first dance. Paul and I love Jersey Boys and Frankie Valli! We have seen it three times in three different cities, own the movie, and listen to the album all the time, so of course our first song was "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You." In Scotland it's not normal to have a father daughter dance so that was a tradition we added. Growing up, my dad and I would swing dance so we were very excited, but our moment was short lived when our flower girl and page boy stole the show. There was no way we could compete with that cuteness!!!
Our niece and nephew stole the show with their dancing and kissing on the dance floor!
Maddie, my sister and Maid of Honor, walking on the beach between courses.
The highlight of the night was when the band took a break and we had an American BBQ, just when guests were finishing their hamburgers and hotdogs, Saltire Beat, a Bagpipe band, came out and played. Everyone was on their feet dancing! By the end of the night I was exhausted!
The whole week leading up to the day was eventful. My mom, Paul and I arrived at Paul's house on Thursday before the wedding. We spent Thursday and Friday running errands and getting everything organized for the chaos that would soon come. Saturday Paul had a Stag Do (Bachelor Party) and went golfing and out for dinner with the guys while I had a Hen Do (Bachelorette Party) with the girls! We went to a lovely restaurant in Glasgow where my sister in laws planned little activities that made the night extra special. It was very low key compared to what I am sure most Hen Parties are like, but it was just what I wanted and absolutely perfect!
Sunday, my dad and friends Hannah (bridesmaid) and Shay arrived. Poor Hannah and Shay had a nightmare of a time trying to get to Scotland and was supposed to be there on Saturday. We spent the morning going to Mill Farm and at night my Aunt and Uncle from Montana arrived. We all had dinner with Paul's family and friends and then Hannah, Shay, Paul and I went to the local pub.
Monday, the next group of visitors arrived. My mom's friends, Deb and Julie (who I call my aunts) and Julie's daughter Holly arrived, along with my other bridesmaid, Sara. Again we spent the morning walking to Mill Farm. In the afternoon Hannah, Shay, Sara, Holly, Paul and I went into Edinburgh (my favorite city). We met up with another bridesmaid, Kate and her mom Lindy. After getting caught in the rain we decided to head back to Paul's for the 4th of July party at his parents!
Tuesday was another big day of arrivals! My brother, his fiance Allison (also a bridesmaid), and my sister (Maid of Honor) all arrived after spending time in Portugal first. Everyone that was visiting went into Edinburgh for the day. While some people went off to explore the city, Paul and I went to a pub in the Grassmarket to wait for our friends from school to arrive. It was so much fun seeing familiar faces walk up the street! It was a chore to get Paul and Shay to finally leave the pub, but we had to go home to get ready to leave for Archerfield.
Wednesday we packed up the cars and headed to Haddington to the church for rehearsal. After a brief rehearsal we went to the venue where the boys headed off to golf and the girls went to lunch and enjoyed a day at the spa! We had dinner and a quiet night at the boat house with just mine and Paul's immediate family. Thursday was the big day and I needed my beauty rest.
Thursday was the best day of my life!
Friday everyone who was staying at Archerfield went to the club house for brunch. The highlight was the snaps I was getting from my bridesmaid table of my poor sister who had a little too much fun. Sorry Maddie, but these are just too funny not to remember! I love you! We were all exhausted. When we went back to Paul's house, I had to take a nap because another party was about to begin! We had another gorgeous day which was perfect for the bbq Paul's parents planned for friends and family. After opening gifts and packing for our honeymoon in Switzerland, we headed to Edinburgh. We met up with our friends again at a bar close to the hotel and spent the night saying our goodbyes.
The next day we had lunch with our moms and they took us to the airport. They ever so sneakily covered us in confetti as we left to spend four days in Lake Lugano and Lake Como. Our honeymoon was very relaxed. We took in the beautiful sights, spent two days lounging by the pool and going to the spa, and just reminisced on the wonderful two weeks we had. It was very hard to come back to reality, but we have very exciting things in the works and so much to look forward to as Mr. and Mrs. O'Day!
