We got pics back from the wedding! Here’s a sampling; slide show is coming. This also means we can finish thank-you cards! Bet y’all thought we forgot.

Joe writes:

I’m still in bliss. The wedding went wonderfully, with only a few hitches, a stuck heel and an army of kitchen helpers for the reception. More details and pictures later.

A little formal wear frivolity…

And the following picture is the number one reason my friend Ann should love me forever.

She doesn’t have to wear this dress to my wedding.

Paula writes:

Our wedding day has officially arrived!

Are we ready? Hell yes. Ready to be married anyway. For the ceremony and reception…not so much.

It is almost 1am and we are still feverishly working to get ready.

Poor Joe is probably very tired of saying “It’s going to be ok baby, I promise.”

I have never seen someone work as hard to make another person happy as Joe has done with me. I love him so much.

I want to second Joe’s earlier post thanking all the people who have helped us out. We could not have gotten through this without all of you. Thank you all so much.

Joe writes:

I had cold feet.

Seriously, I did. It’s because there’s an air conditioner vent right by my feet below the computer. So, I put on some socks, and I don’t have cold feet anymore.

Paula is tired of that joke, truth be told. But the wedding is less than 24 hours away. And the kindness of many has blown my mind.

Thank you Tara, Genevieve, Ann, Mom, Dad, Judy, Michael Sowers of Well Fed Head, and anyone else we have forgotten. This wedding wouldn’t have come together without you. Don’t worry, proper thanks are coming. I’m just overflowing right now.

The wedding is at 2 p.m. tomorrow. We’ll post a quick note and pic after the wedding and before the reception. Then we will drink margaritas and display frivolity. Woot!

I LOVE THIS WOMAN!

Paula writes:

I have my boys with me and I am about to marry the man I love.

Life is good.

Paula writes:

Joe has kind of taken over the posting lately because typing is a challenge since the surgery. But here goes.

“Dig” is an awesome song by Incubus. Fair warning though, it might get stuck in your head.

We all have a weakness
Some of ours are easy to identify
Look me in the eye, and ask for forgiveness
We’ll make a pact to never speak that word again
Yes, you are my friend
We all have something that digs at us,
At least we dig each other

If I turn into another
Dig me up from under what is covering
The better part of me
Sing this song
Remind me that we’ll always have each other,
When everything else is gone
Each other

This song is just an great reminder that no matter how much the world is getting on our nerves we always have each other. Having each other to lean on gives us the strength we need to get through the tough times.

It is also a reminder of something that all couples should think about. When you know someone as well as you know your life partner, you know all of their buttons(“we all have something that digs at us”) and exactly how to push them. But loving someone comes with the responsibility not to push those buttons. If we fight we have to remember it is our job to protect our partner and our relationship. We shouldn’t try to win the argument at all costs by resorting to pushing our loved ones buttons. Make the discussion about the issue, not about each other.

Hmmm… sorry about the rant. It’s late.

Anyway, great song.

Joe writes:

This song is a relatively new one to Paula and me. Maybe you’ve heard it:

Hear that cool keyboard music in the background? It’s actually the opening to one of the greatest love songs we’ve heard in a while. Shame on UPS for distorting it. It’s almost as awful as a cruise liner using a song about heroin addiction to sell vacations.

Here’s the real song, “Such Great Heights,” by The Postal Service.

What else can I say? Of course it’s on our wedding CD, because the lyrics are perfect. “I am thinking it’s a sign / that the freckles in our eyes / are mirror images and when we kiss they’re perfectly aligned.” That’s the first line. Are you kidding me? That line alone makes me wanna make out. And I’m a dude. It’s a perfect little song that talks about how great it is to be in love, and how others can’t bring us down.

We got a cake ordered! Woot!

Yeah, it’s, like, two weeks to the wedding. But we didn’t want to overpay. A while ago, my mom said she would take care of the cake. All we had to do was order it. But, as you’ve probably gathered from reading this blog, the wedding industry is highway robbery. And the cost of a cake just seemed like a way for bakers to take advantage of well-to-do fathers meeting the demands of spoiled daughters.

Seriously. It’s not like Proust had his madeleine moment with wedding cake. Sure, they look pretty, what with all the fancy icing, multiple layers, crazy themes, lighted pillars, escaping-groom toppers and such, but is all that really necessary? And whose idea was it to freeze a portion and eat it on the first anniversary? Paula and I have this crazy notion: For our first anniversary, we were thinking fresh cake might taste better. Wedding cake is one of the most overpriced things imaginable, and any baker that charges more than $100 for one should be tarred and feathered with fondant and Twinkies.

I didn’t want Mom paying a king’s ransom for a sugary delicacy that will look pretty. We found exactly what we were looking for at Dillon’s in Joplin. It’s a sheet cake with an 8-inch roundcake on top of it. White with silver leaves. Looks awesome, and the price is right: About $60.

Hip, hip.

In retrospect, it was probably mean of me to introduce this song to Paula. At the time, she was just getting used to living in Joplin, missing the awesome people she used to work with in Springfield, experiencing bad customer service and mistreatment from Joplin-area vendors. And making it worse: I was headed to Florida for some beachtime without her.

But this song has become a favorite of mine. It makes me think about her, because it makes me want to think about the future with her. It’s always fun planning a getaway with a special person, and — no offense to our Joplin friends — there’s plenty in this town from which to get away. I love dreaming about the future with her. This song reminds me of all the places I want to take her, all the things I want to show her, because I know she’ll find each place magical.

Here’s the lyrics:

Hip hip
Hip hip
Hip hip
Hip hip

We’ll run away together
We’ll spend some time forever
We’ll never feel bad anymore