Back to Life. Back to Reality!

We're Back~and it's official..I am no longer a bobo-to-be! Matt and I are finally hitched. finally legal. finally married! :) I can't even fathom were to begin with this post, so please bear with me..

WARNING: Mega Post!! ;)

Let's see..the last week of the wedding went pretty smooth. On Tuesday I had a fair housing seminar I attended all day, so I got a lot of last minute thank-you's taken care of ;), on Wednesday, Mom-Mel-and I, took one more pre-planning trip to Mt. Pleasant and went over all the final details with the wedding site and caterer. Everything went really well, and I have to admit I was getting pretty excited. Thursday I tied up all the loose ends at work, typed a few leases for Bev for the next week, and at 5pm..I was free!! :) I spent most of that evening trying to pack and just get ready for the upcoming festivities and the honeymoon. On Friday, I tried to sleep in, relax, and just get ready! After wrapping gifts, packing final things, spending the morning with mom, and picking up rental items..Mel and Holly arrived for our pedi getaway. Since all of us were off (Mel technically worked, but I use that term lightly) that day, we decided to get our toes done early, so that they'd look pretty for the rehearsal. It was also a good idea, since we knew, the wedding spa day would be so busy. We all enjoyed a little pampering, and while I went ahead and got my nails done, Mel and Holly ran a few last minute errands for me! :) aww..how sweet!

afterwards, I returned home to complete everything and get ready for our rehearsal. Our rehearsal was set for 6pm, and about 6:32 Matt and I arrived. ;)

REWIND to around 5pm. I had purchased clothes to wear to certain occasions, and in my mind had everything just so. right..isn't this how every girl plans??!! When I got my rehearsal dress, the zipper had some serious difficulties, but the sales ladies were able to fix it, so I was optimistic for the real deal. NO SUCH LUCK! I had prepared myself in advance for Matt to get frustrated with the zipper, so I asked my Boss, and fairy god-mother, Bev, to help me out. She arrived promptly at 5. Let me set the scene for ya: me, matt, bev, dress, kitchen. The plastic zipper teeth was bent at the seam, and wouldn't zip up and down smoothly..so Matt held the dress together while Bev tried diligently to zip up. At some point the zipper split, and everything went baaaaaaad, very bad from there. I guess all the wedding stress, and the first kink in my perfect wedding plans, began to quickly unravel before my very eyes, and I lost it. There I stood, butt naked, crying, in the arms of my BOSS as she immediately began hatching a plan to fix my horrible wardrobe malfunction! A quick call to her daughter, and my neighbor, Christy..and soon I had safety pins and brown sweaters to cover any flaws. Tragedy #1 averted.

The rehearsal went great, and it was such a joy to see everything come together and fall into place. The weather was perfect, our wedding party looked beautiful, and thanks to Matt's longtime friend, and groomsman, Josh Young's gal Ashley, for stepping in as bride (after all, it's bad luck for me to stand in my own place, right..) we had a hugely successful rehearsal and were ready for dinner! Here are a few pics of the rehearsal.

(PLEASE forgive my lack of and quality of pics..I know I did not hold up my bargain as a blogger photographer, but I was just a lil' pre-occupied!!)

back row: Josh Young, Mark Gary, Clay Funderburk, Buddy Proctor, Cody's arm

front row: Christian Funderburk, Jake Bobo, Cullen Funderburk, Luke Bobo, Mac Bobo, Brennan's arm

continued: Cody & Brennan (do you see those sweet boys with their arms folded infront of them) Blaine Smith, Philip Green, BooBoo, Matt..

Ginger Richardson, Mikki Funderburk, Melanie Ferguson, Casey Bobo, Holly Johnston, Clara & Addi (Ashley Green was not here this night, as she was preoccupied on a Mission trip..i thought it was a good enough excuse to miss) lol :)

sooo cute, Mel got some really good pics of this night and all the kiddoes so, maybe I'll update one day. :)

Me & Big Poppa

one of my tables the night before..i think this was the cheese and fruit one..

off to dinner, Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards!

Matt's parents, Keith & Barbara hosted our wonderful rehearsal dinner. The winery is so Tuscan and quaint, and it was just an absolute fabulous atmosphere for a spectacular evening. Matt's brother, and best man, Mike put on quite a humerus and perfect slide show of Matt and I growing up as kids, and then together..while almost everyone said such nice and meaningful words that Matt and I will remember and cherish forever. It was such a great end to the evening, and start towards the wedding! Those in attendance, were of course Matt and I, the wedding party (minus booboo, philip & ashley) my grandmother and step-grandfather, matt's grandmother, my parents and step-mother donna, my dad's best friend chris, matt's parents, and our preacherman bills!

The Grub

The Gifts
I gave each girl, these too cute brown monogrammed bags, that contained monogrammed slippers, from Stitches and Threads, for their spa day, which I gave each girl pedi's and mani's if they wanted, ginger-peach candles from pier one, scented bath lotions and bath salts, chocolate bath soap, angel jewelery holders, pink monogrammed flasks/monogrammed cup holders, and matching chocolate brown/mango necklaces and earrings that I MADE MYSELF..strung each bead, at Shannon's Beading Basket downtown. I thought their gifts turned out soo soo cute, and was very proud of them. I think everyone really liked them as well. :)

Matt gave each of his guys, monogrammed travel bags..it was soooo hard to come up with guys gifts. I wanted something they really would use, and thought of these.

We gave grandparents, hostesses, and preacherman's wife Beth, Scentsy's. Wickless candle burners..they're fabulous and Mikki sells them..so I thought how great for everyone!! :) Parent's got our engagement pics in various sizes in frames, along with a cute little cross canister I found, and we gave all the little boys navy Romo jersey's (what else..really) and Addi and Clara got pink Romo jersey's and I again, MADE them beaded name bracelets. They were soooo cute.

Brennan, Cullen, Jake, Christian, Luke..Mac not pictured, see below

As the dinner concluded, Matt and I said our final goodbye's as single people, and Me, Mom, Ginger, Mel, and Addi all returned back to the cottage at Tankersley were we stayed for the night, making last-last minute details, putting together the candy buffet and making the reception music cd. Buddy came back and stayed with Matt at the apartment.

The morning of, Matt along with 19 other guys played golf at The Cascades, in Tyler. This was something Matt had talked about, and was beyond-words looking forward to. I believe, and have heard they all had a wonderful time, and I know it's something Matt will hold on to forever.

The girls on the other hand, had a lovely bridesmaids brunch in Pittsburg, and then were off to the Spa. From this point on, sadly I admit I have NO pictures. I'll steal one from Holly she's already posted on her blog of the day..and I'll just have to wait to get all the pics from my photographer MJ to pass on at a later date..that is, after I hit the lottery or strike oil to pay for them!! :)

At the Spa: Melanie, Ginger, Ashely, Holly, Me (Mikki & Casey preoccupied with the pedi's)

After the Spa, all the girls headed back to Tankersley to get ready, and prepare for the main event. We had ALOT of last minute things to get together and put together, so that kept me really busy and my mind off of the upcoming nuptials. I never really got nervous, nor the jitters or second thoughts.. After all this time, I was ready..and just wanted everything to go as planned..perfect! :) I guess I started getting ready a little later than planned, around 4:30 I suppose, took a few girl pics, which pushed the guys pics back till after the wedding..and around 5:30 I was ready and waiting to walk down the isle and become Mrs. Bobo. Everything looked so beautiful. All the flowers were sooo beautiful, people were steadily arriving, and even had to add more chairs, I began to hear the music for the processional "Hymn to the Sea" from Titantic..I just LOVE bagpipes, and the instrumental and soft melody to the song was so perfect for what I wanted.. I saw the guys come out, the grandparents and parents began to seat, followed by my bridesmaids..all 6 ring bearers, and 2 flower girls!!

I took a deep breath, and my dad and I were off. down the isle to Casey singing Sara Evans, No Place That Far. Perfect. I do have to admit, as I took my first step out from the double doors, heard Casey singing, saw all the people..then Matt, I did begin to tear up..then it passes, afterall I'm a tough girl! ;)

After this, everything is such a blur. such a blur. I don't remember much afterwards. EVERYTHING was so rushed and moved sooo rapidly. I didn't get to cherish the details, look at all my hardwork, be in the moment as husband and wife for the first time. blur. I remember in the ceremony not feeling nervous, but my hands were shaking like leaves. I don't remember seeing any of the kids..and later heard Addi was having a show all on her own :), I don't remember seeing my guests, or even the girls.. Casey went on to sing The Lord's Prayer during the unity candle, and Matt and I exited to At Last, by Etta James, as husband and wife! ..Finally! :)

Pictures, pictures, and more pictures..cake cutting..hello, hello..our first dance, We are Man and Wife by Michelle Featherstone. Father/Daughter Dance, You are So Beautiful to Me, by Joe Cocker, Mother/Son Dance, Unforgettable by Nat/Natalie Cole..hello, hello..a little dancing..time to go, exit to our sparklers. ..and that's about it. seriously!

We had an ALL dessert reception..remember I wanted everything different. We had my bride's cake, Matt's groom's cake, of course..a white chocolate fountain, a milk chocolate fountain, with oreos, nutter butter's, rice crispy treats, chocolate chip cookies, pretzels, and an assortment of fruit. A cheese and cracker spread, the candy buffet with personalized take home boxes, a cotton candy machine, and a huge incredible mixture of homemade (catered of course) brownies, cheesecakes, mini pies, fudge, truffles, cakes, lemon bars, praline cookies, and who knows what else, because Matt and I got NONE of it..ZIP-ZERO (can you tell this is a touchy subject) ;). We also had a catered coffee bar, from Latte' Da, where guests could order any drink they wanted, from Espressos, Lattes, Mochas, Cappuccinos, Teas, Italian Sodas, Fruit Smoothies, and Blended Ice Coffee drinks. We also had punch and a wine bar, and served wine from the winery we had attended the night before.

All in all, I thought it was a fabulous wedding, if I do say so myself. :) Everything seemed to go perfect. The weather was spectacular. All the candles and the outside garden ceremony made for such a romantic, quaint, elegant evening. The flowers were great, the centerpieces, and the food tables, and everything I had pictured just fell into place. I can't wait for the pics. Matt and I wished afterwards we had, had a videographer just to recapture the evening's events. Something to have and hold on to, and see all the things and people we missed.

Again, a special thanks to EVERYONE who made this such a magical event. Thanks to everyone who stayed to clean and pick-up, you know who you are..just know, I was more stressed thinking about everyone and all the work they had to do afterwards, and knowing I couldn't be there, than anything. ;) So, thanks again!

here's a couple of pics I made today..of some of the details..but remember once I get the official pics back, It'll give you a more acurate portrayal!

a LITTLE of the Candy, our matches for the Sparklers, personalized golf tees for the guys! :)

Our "Real Life Letters" that sat on our sign-in table..can you tell it says Bobo??

The Loot! :)

** Is Anyone still with me??!! ** :)

Matt and I finally loaded up and headed off to Dallas, for our 5:45am flight that morning! We arrived at our hotel around midnight or so, and the honeymoon began!

..or so I thought! When we pulled up to the hotel, I noticed a business center, and thought ..Score! I needed to confirm our flight, and was excited I could do so. Once we checked in, confirmed flight, I asked the desk attendant to make a wake up call for 3:30 and we'd be ready to go to the airport by 4. He then proceeded to tell me they didn't start shuttle service until 5am!! WHAT! Had I have known that I would not have made reservations there! I had done the sleep, park, and fly program..so much for that! UGH :( So, three hours of sleep later, and one taxi ride 2 MILES and $30 later..we arrived at DFW.

Passports-check, baggage checkin- check, security check- no check..ugh, pear lotion and suntan lotion =bye bye..no 3 ounces! UGH! Afterwards, smooth sailing. We had a layover in Atlanta, and to pass time, Matt had chinese food and I had a burrito at 9am.. :) We had about an hour or so to burn, and according to our boarding pass we were to fly out of E25..no big deal, right.. WRONG! Matt had a brilliant idea to "check" the boards, and to our amazement our gate had been changed to T2..T2 WHERE is T2!! OMG! and..we're off! Concord train from E to T! Running literally running through the terminal. Let's just say, we were the LAST ones to get on the plane, they RADIOED the plane that we were getting on..sirens went off when we opened the terminal doors..yea, fun times..fun times! 3 hours over the ocean later..

beautiful.

arriving into the Southern Tip of the Dominican Republic. nothing but mountains.

Safely on land, and another $30 taxi ride to the Paradisus..Paradise! Absolute Paradise. We stayed at the Paradisus Palma Real. It's the only "real" 5 star resort on the island. I found it through travel channel's top 100 resorts in the world, and it just happened to be the very same resort that Clay & Mik had stayed earlier in the year on a business trip. It was absolutely breath-taking. So perfect for Matt and I. Everything was so classy and contemporary..completely Modern and upscale. NOTHING about the resort could have been better..well, maybe the food, but we'll get into that later! :) The time of year could not have been better either. The weather was sensational not too hot, never too cold. We had 6 glorious days of sunshine, and VERY few people. Never a crowd, or lines, or too many people anywhere. Perfect.

First look!The Room:

Sunday: We really just tried to relax, and get our feel of the place on the first day. Of course Sunday is football day, and Matt and I were eager to find out scores and such. When we first got to our room, our TV did not work..really?! But, a phone call and little while later, we were up and running, and watching some American Football..in paradise..could life get any better?! :) Here are a few pics from our day of waundering.

and back to the room to get ready for dinner.

At our resort, there were 6 restaurants, 5 of which you had to make reservations for dinner at. The first night, we chose to eat at Bana (the Jappanese) place. The food the first night was good..not great. Our reservations weren't until 9:15, so by this time we were very hungry and really tired!

Monday: We slept in till around 11! Yes 11..After all, it's our honeymoon! :) We had agreed to do a "Welcome Tour" aka. Timeshare Presentation, for a few extra perks that week, one of which being they made our dinner reservations for us.. For those of you that don't know, I too, sold timeshares while Matt and I lived in Houston for about 2 years. I LOVED my job, loved the change everyday, not sitting behind a desk all day, meeting new people, and not to mention the money was fabulous..so I was excited and interested in taking the tour. You go through the usual meet and greet, survey, etc. so they can determine your vacationing habits. Our tour guide was a man named Montfred. Montfred was super nice, and I decided to tell him I too once sold. After that, he pretty much just laid it all out, and we just talked for the remainder of the hour or so, and didn't have to go on the "tour". Matt and I both enjoyed visiting with him, and getting to learn more about the island and the resort..after of course, he relaxed and knew we weren't buying anything! He even offered me a job!! ..Any takers??!! :)

Afterwards Matt and I just sorta laid around for the day. Matt's not a fan of the sun, and I on the other hand are what some may call a sun worshiper, so I had to keep moving him from the pool, to the beach, to the bali beds, change of scenery so he'd stay outside!! :) Smart, huh? Here are a few pics from Monday!

On This night, we ate at Vento, a fancy schmancy Italian themed restaurant. It was..ok. just ok.

Did I forget to mention, every night after dinner we visited the casino? :) Slots were horrible, so we stuck with black jack and roulette. we lost.

Tuesday: This day consisted of alot more of the same. I don't really remember this day. I know we went to the pool, I think we took a nap..haha, the joy of a honeymoon! :)

We ate at the Gabi Beach Club Restaurant this night, an outside beachy atmosphere. It had a selection of entree choices. Matt had lobster, and I had salmon..horrible!

Wednesday: On this day, we actually decided to do something. ;) Matt had wanted to play golf, and I wanted to do the Spa, as I had never been to one before. So around 11ish, Matt and I parted ways..him off to the course across the street, and me to the YHI Spa. I had chosen to get an hour massage. A full body traditional Ghai massage, with concentration on the feet and scalp. For my first time, it was great..very relaxing..not sure it was worth the $130 bucks, but I'm glad I can say I've done it before now. I was done at the spa shortly after one or so..so I decided to take advantage of the sun, while Matt was away. Matt returned sometime after 4..and we rested and got ready for dinner.

This night we went to Passion. An all adult Mediteranean Restaurant. I was not looking forward to this meal at all, and even tried to change my reservation. After no such luck, and not finding a thing on the menu I even remotely liked..I decided on stuffed chicken, b/c I knew I could take the "stuffing out". Matt got beef tourn..something. It ended up being a filet, (my favorite) and it was actually very good. Quite to our suprise! Vento..very good..not great, but very good!

peek-a-boo, I see you!

Thursday: As if I hadn't had enough sun, after breakfast I decided to layout for 6 hours. yes, 6 hours. Matt laid in the bali bed by the pool for the same 6 hours!

After I was good and crisp, we decided to do a little shopping. The Paradisus owns the large shopping mall there in Punta Cana, and shuttled us over. I was expecting local arts and crafts type shopping, but this was like an outdoor mall..kinda like shreveport's boardwalk, with fancy stores and such..I bought a picture frame! :) For our last night, we decided to go back to Bana. It was fantastic! This time they used different ingrediants, different sauces, the meat was cooked perfectly, better than Shogun's..a great way to end the week!

Friday: Our last day, was a little bitter sweet. We were getting ready to be at home, but hated to leave the sheer beauty and relaxing atmosphere. We checked out around 11, grabbed another $30 taxi, and headed for the airport, to assure we were there on time..4 hours early. :)

A few last pics of paradise!

The Dominican Republic has an open outdoor airport, very cool. Everyone was super nice, whether they spoke english or spanish..a great experience.


..so so sad to leave.
Matt, wanting NOTHING to do with anymore pictures..

The flight on the way back from Dominican Republic to Atlanta was HORRIBLE. Absolutely HORRIBLE. I haven't flown in a long time before this trip, and I'm not a fan of flying to begin with. We hit so much turbulence, and I was freaking out. Did I mention, it was Halloween. Halloween, ocean, constant seat belt light, bouncing up and down..not a good combination. Thank the Lord, we made it out safely, and from then on it was a pretty smooth ride. It's just the thought of having NO control over the safety of your own life..NONE..Ugh, I HATE flying!

Flying over the Bahamas!

We landed in Atlanta, and munched on some much needed yummy, On The Border, before catching our final flight to Dallas. We arrived a little late around 10:45 caught our last $30 taxi (for those of you that have been keeping up, $120 on TAXI'S) got into Matt's car at the hotel, and were on our way home. We got into Longview around 2am, and headed off to bed.

Yesterday, I laid around and caught up on 6, yes 6 again, hours of All My Children. It was great! Matt played golf. go figure. Mom came over that afternoon and we put and packed everything away. Today has consisted of nothing but blogging and football!

If by some miracle, anyone is still reading this..everything was amazing! Amazing wedding, honeymoon..and Matt and I can't wait to start our lives together as man and wife!

I'll leave you with 2 lasting images as we begin our new journey :) The first, my creation..the second compliments of Buddy! :)

Finally, Until Next Time!! ;)

..and one last thing I have to get off my chest... IT'S A PINKIE!!!!!!!! :)