C’s First Year Wedding Anniversary


Yesterday, Mr. Finn & I celebrated one entire year of being husband and wife.ย Yep, we are no longer considered newlyweds. Instead you can bump us into the old & married category. We are moving on up to the big leagues, people!

View More: http://ginacristine.pass.us/casey--mike-1It’s so crazy to look back at the blog a year ago because it was so full of bachelorette party recaps, bridal showers, & plenty of wedding blog posts. And now…I’m lucky if the Mr. photo bombs the blog once a month. The last we chatted we were coming back from our honeymoon in Riviera Maya, and now our tans have long faded and we’re just settled into “normal married life.”

Looking back at the last year, I think I’ve certainly learned a lot as I’ve gotten accustomed to this new title of “wife.”

1. The Wedding is Only Day 1

View More: http://ginacristine.pass.us/casey--mike-1It’s crazy to think how my priorities changed in the span of 1 year. 13 months ago I was knee-deep in table numbers, RSVP counts, and wedding party gifts. Now I can barely even recall how many tables we even had, and what gifts we gave to our family members. You spend so much time and energy focusing on one day, and then it’s over. The food is long gone, the wedding dress is put deep into the closet, the thank you notes are written and your wedding is officially an event of the past. I have many friends and co-workers who are now planning their own weddings and my biggest piece of advice is to not get caught up in the craziness of a wedding. At the end of the day…the details don’t matter! The only thing that matters is you’re married to the love of your life. Spend time making sure your relationship stays strong throughout the wedding planning process, and less time stressing about the silly details.

View More: http://ginacristine.pass.us/casey--mike-1I’m happy we had a beautiful, wonderful day with everyone we love by our side. But the best part comes after the wedding when you just get to be husband and wife, instead of bride and groom.

2. But I Still Gawk at the Video & Photos…A Lot

View More: http://ginacristine.pass.us/casey--mike-1Don’t get me wrong, I loved my wedding day. And you can tell by the number of times I’ve watched our wedding video. I pretty much cry every time I see it. Therefore I’ve stopped watching it at work. #awkward

Here it is again if you missed it the first time around. Now let me happy weep some more….

3. We’re in this Together

DCIM100GOPROI have to say my absolute favorite part about being married is the permanence of it. Not that our relationship didn’t feel real or permanent before, but now it just feels so much more official. Just like any relationship, we have good days and bad days. And it feels so comforting to know that no matter what happens…even if the bad day is really bad…my husband isn’t going anywhere. We’re in this together as team mates and best friends until the very end.

4. A Paper Gift is Hard!

Holy moley anniversary gifts are difficult! For everyone out there who has been married for decades, you’re gonna need to send some gift giving advice my way! I started thinking about what to do for Finn way back at the beginning of summer and could not think of anything that would fit the bill for year one. We decided early on that we want to try to stick with the traditional anniversary gifts, and put our own spin on them. With paper as the year one gift, I had to think of something creative.

Sports tickets? A journal? Heck…perhaps a crisp $100 bill?

I hemmed and hawed, and tried to think what Finn would truly enjoy & appreciate as a gift. That husband of mine enjoysย the simple things in life. Mainly sports, food, & drink. So I decided to embrace the saying “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”1-Our Wedding Menu

I emailed our caterer and asked her if she could re-create our entire wedding menu for us, to which she happily accepted! I then printed off our wedding menu on PAPER (my way of incorporating the traditional gift in the mix. Kinda cheating…but I think it still counts) and included it in my anniversary card for Finn.2-first-year-anniversary-gift

On the day of the wedding we were so overwhelmed and busy that we were hardly able to enjoy the delicious food we picked out for our special day.ย Now a year later, we could finally sit back, relax, and enjoy the amazing food from our wedding. Our caterer prepared the exact same meal, but this time only for 2 people. She dropped it off at our place with specific heating instructions (I warned her about my lack of skills in the kitchen), and then I had our romantic dinner all ready to go when Finn came home from work last week.

View More: http://ginacristine.pass.us/casey--mike-1I even picked up a fresh wedding cake from the same bakery to enjoy for dessert!

1-anniversary-card-finnA relaxing evening in with my husband is, to me, the perfect way to celebrate a wonderful year of marriage together.

One year down…a LIFETIME to go. Love you Mr. Finn.

Casey

Psst…for Bridget’s first year of marriage recap check out this post!


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.