First Month As A Married Woman!

Wow, one month gone already?!  It's crazy.  I have to say it's flown by as I've been working an odd schedule, at least for the two weeks after returning from the honeymoon.

So far, married life is great. No complaints. To be completely honest, nothing's different but my last name. I guess that's what happens when you live with each other before getting married.  The name changing process wasn't too bad. The DMV, Social Security office and bank were real simple. It was work that was complicated, having to get it all approved through corporate and then set up and changed over in email, my computer and all the other accounts I have to log into. Then having to make sure all my settings are correct and I have access to everything under my new user name was a pain.  I think I finally have it all taken care of.

We haven't gotten any more wedding pictures or teasers yet. But we did get our wedding video!


Chaunte' & Dave from BRITESIDE PRODUCTIONS on Vimeo.

This is the wedding "trailer." The actual video is almost 2 hours long and is so funny. We've watched it 2 or 3 times already and laugh every time. It was the best investment as I really got a chance to look back, see who came to the wedding that I may not have seen or got the chance to speak to, as well as recall the funny and memorable moments of the night.

I know I still need to blog about the reception and I will once I get some time, but for now, be sure to watch the video. It will give you some insight in to the great night we had!

Best Day Of My Life

As promised, I'm here to share all the details of the most wonderful day of my life.

The day started at 8am... after a night of girl talk and giggling, we finally went to bed around 2am only to awake up early the next morning. Tina, my hairstylist, came to the hotel to do my hair for me. She did such an amazing job and I couldn't be happier. We weren't able to get together to do a trial run so she did it based on pictures I had printed and pictures I'd sent her from my bridal portraits. Thanks Tina for such an amazing job!

Afterwards, mom and I headed to get our make up done at Macys with Clinque.  That's when I got the first phone call of the day telling me it was an hour after the time the Officer's Club said we could come and no one was there, except for my two bridesmaids trying to get in. I told them to call me as soon as they got in. About 30 minutes later, things were fine.

It was a little after Noon when I reached the venue and I wanted to check everything out to make sure things were going the way I wanted. I was nervous at all. We had a room for all of us to get ready and it had plenty of windows for us to look out to see what was going on.

First Look

Soon after the photographer arrived and that's when time started flying by. We were taking lots of pictures, having fun, and getting me dressed.

Dave and I decided that we wanted to see each other before the ceremony, not only to calm our nerves but for the beautiful pictures that come from it. I've seen so many great pictures from this moment, I couldn't pass it up. We had the perfect location.  Out to the side of the lawn of the Officer's Club is a bridge, so that's where the photographers took Dave, giving me the chance to walk up behind him. It was a priceless moment, just like I hoped for. He actually cried moments after turning around and seeing me there in my wedding dress.. just an hour or so away from becoming his wife. After a few moments to ourselves, we were whisked away for pictures.

We then noticed guests were starting to arrive, so I took off back to our room and the guys hung out in the reception area. We also let guests hang out in there as it was like 90 degrees outside and no breeze. The ceremony started about 15 minutes late as it was Retiree Appreciation Day on base as well so the front gate was backed up, and there were still a lot of guests waiting to get on base.

The ceremony was by no means perfect, but perfect to use. Everyone looked amazing standing up at the front as a I walked down the aisle. I loved the parasols and how it looks from this picture and I know the girls enjoyed them since it was rather warm. I have to admit and always will, I did jump the gun on the "I Dos". I heard Mary Louise (our officiant) pause when reading the the vows and I jumped in and said "I Do" when she actually had another line to read.

Jumping The Gun on "I Do"

The guys wore aviator sunglasses during the ceremony, including Dave but when I looked into his "eyes" or glasses, all I could see was my reflection, So I took them off of him during the ceremony so I could see.

During the exchanging of rings, Ryan, the best man decided to play a little trick. He handed Dave the ring box... and it was empty. Then he decided to be silly and act like he didn't know where the rings were. He then pulled them out of his pocket... and I had trouble getting the ring of Suzanne's finger.. it was stuck for a quick second.


We had one part of the ceremony we had to skip over and come back to later on. We wanted to give our mom's roses as a representation of our love and thanks for everything. It was supposed to happen near the beginning of the ceremony but someone forget to put the roses on the table. But the coordinator was able to get them and had the guys pass them up to us.

And the only other issue we had.. well I did was during the sand ceremony.. it took forever.. and I kept spilling my sand on the table.. Oh well! lol

Mr. & Mrs. Turner!

I'll stop here and come back at a later time to recap the reception.. that's something you won't want to miss.
Where else where you find a gamecock, pink converse sneakers and groomsmen running around without their shirts..... Um that would be our reception! Stay tuned....

The Day Before The Big Day!

It's hard to believe the big day has come and gone.. and boy did it sure fly by.

Here's a little recap of the night before the wedding, including some pictures.

The whole event began on Friday, May 20th with rehearsal at the Officer's Club. Things went real smooth and everyone was pumped and excited about the big day to come. Without wasting time, we headed to California Dreaming for dinner. We were joined by the wedding party a long with some of our family from out of town. Dave's mom did a amazing job decorating and organizing the dinner. It was perfect.

After dinner, we recognized each of our wedding party for their friendship and thanked them for being a part of our big day. 

Mandy & Chaunte'

Dave & Tracy

The Girls

I gave each of my girls a hanger with their name on it..  made out of wire. (I took a picture of them but can't find it right now), a fused glass pendant made by Dave's mom, along with a small photo album and a monogrammed bag.  For the guys, Dave & I made personalized beer bottle opener mounts for the groomsmen and a cornhole set for Ryan, the best man.  I hope everyone enjoyed their gifts because we really appreciate their support.

Melissa, Me & Mandy

Seeing Ashleigh For The 1st Time In 10 Years

After dinner, the girls headed back to the hotel before heading out to meet a bunch of our out-of-town guests at Wild Wings in the Vista. We got to see my friend Ashleigh and her husband, who traveled from Colorado, my friend Bryan came in from Alaska, Dave's Marine Corps buddy Bobby made the trip from California and my mom's best friend from high school and her husband came in from Alabama. We can't thank these people for traveling so far to be with us.  We had a great time drinking and dancing and just getting to celebrate and have fun before the big day!

The night before the wedding, I got to stay with some of my amazing girls.. Amanda, Melissa, Christie and Krystle at The Whitney Hotel. We had a great time and of course had girl talk before going to bed.

Time for me to get going.. I'll be back to recap the BIG DAY sometime this week!!..

Until Then....

I'm A Married Woman!!

After 18 months of planning, the big day has come and gone and now I'm married!! I'm finally Mrs. Turner!!
Things couldn't have gone better!!

I'll be sure to write more... But for now.. here's our exit from the reception...