Married!

So it has been quite a long time since I have posted here, and I would say that I am sorry for making you guys wait so long for a post, but I am not, since I have been incredibly busy and then extremely exhausted.

So I guess I will start with my wedding! I woke up at about 7 because I could not sleep any longer, I was so anxious for the big day. I ended up watching tv for a while and downed a Starbucks energy drink to keep me awake due to my lack of great sleep, because of the anxiety of the wedding. I then took a shower and put on a very cute robe that had “bride” spelled out on the back. I actually got this from someone who read my blog, so whomever you are, thank you so much! It was very thoughtful and perfect for me while I got my hair and makeup done.

Julie from EllaBlue came over at about 9 to do my makeup, and man, she does know how to make me look fantastic but not plastic. It was a more natural way of doing makeup that made my eyes really pop, she does fantastic work!

One of Rebecca’s friends, Kathy- who happens to own Studio 3 Salon, also came over to do my hair how I requested as “beachy”. At first I was nervous because the curls were a little too tight, but Kathy reassured me that they would loosen up with enough time to make my appearance at the wedding. Luckily, that was the case!

I had so many photographers, it was amazing, and they caught quite some good angles of Egor and I. They were beautiful! One of my photographers was Shaila Hogan from my swim team, another was Allyson Wiley and her assistant Chantel, and the videographer was Joel (Edge Fog Films). You should look them up, they do fantastic work and helped share in my joy for the day. They were all so nice and even interviewed myself and my groom (and maybe a few others) that I am sure we will see soon enough. Mine ended up making everyone cry, including myself, because I went into very persona things into my statement.

Anyways, all of my bridesmaids and my bridesman were on time and beautifully dressed and matching, and they all got to see me getting all made up for the wedding, and they shared in my crisis of losing 2 inches from dress since I got out of the hospital. Most of it was from the waterweight I gained in the hospital, as well as the heartburn that made me unable to eat very much. So we had to frantically pin up my dress so it would actually stay on. The dress was not as tight as I would have hoped, but it still looked really good on me.

After I was all ready with my garter, my shoes, a pearl necklace my mother-in-law gave me, and another pearl necklace that I turned into bracelet that my mom gave me. The bridal party, my brother, and I got to take a white escalade limo to the venue of my wedding. It was amazing, I have never had my own limo, or even taken one to prom, so this was definitely a dream come true. When we arrived at the wedding (only 5 minutes late, thanks to my shrinking body in my dress) I was able to see how many people were sitting down waiting for me to walk down the aisle. We had an order to things that we had practiced at the rehearsal dinner the night before. That night was also the first time I had seen Egor since May. So it was quite a cute reunion, and he told me that I looked beautiful, so that naturally made me blush. It was so nice to see him and be able to practice walking down the aisle so we could make the wedding as clean as possible.

First, the groomsmen walked across to their spot at the end of the aisle. Then, Egor escorted his mom from near the limo to a seat right in front of the alter. After that, my brother Mark escorted my mom down the aisle and to her seat to the left of the alter. Then my bridesmaids walked down the aisle one by one, starting with Kevin, then Susette, then Eden, then my maid of honor, DeAngela, then my junior bridesmaid Ava and her brother Owen, the ring barer. Then my dad and I made our way down the aisle, arm in arm. He then kissed me after he presented me to Egor. I could see the happiness on Egor’s face as I walked down the aisle and then turned to him, and again he told me I looked beautiful, and I totally believe that he meant it fully. We talked a little bit (due to nerves) when the officiant Jeanne from the coop spoke, introducing us and telling stories about me and then stories about Egor and I. Oh, and there were flies attacking Egor’s face during the whole ceremony so I had to constantly swipe at his face to get them off, it was cute and funny. And then a bee landed on a flower near his head, I freaked out, luckily he did not and kept his cool. When it was our turn to say our vows, we were nervous and shaky, but they came out all right. The part that gave us the most trouble were the rings. Luke, the best man, had issues untying our rings from the pillow (the same pillow my mom used when she married my dad) so he had to get help from Jeanne to get them untied. Everyone in the audience laughed, so it made it a lot easier to get over the nerves. The rings that both Egor and I chose were perfect for each other. I got him a white gold ring that had two darker bands around it and he got me a yellow gold band that goes perfectly with the ring I already had on my hand from my aunt Susan. And the kiss, wow, I am still amazed by it. He dipped me when we had our first kiss, it was magical and unexpected! It was the sweetest and most romantic thing that has ever happened to me. We then walked down the isle, arm and arm and then proceeded to the front of the property to take pictures. We took a lot of family pictures as well as some pictures with friends and the bridal and groom parties. They turned out fantastic if I do say so myself! It was so much fun, we took more pictures of him dipping me and kissing, pictures of him spinning me in his arms, and many other cute pictures. After all of that, we made our way to the buffet table full of delicious Mexican food (at this moment I do not remember the name). Later also came 3 party platters of sushi that came from the best sushi place ever- Mikuni. Not only was the sushi amazing, but they were donated to my wedding. After eating, Egor and I went over and took pictures in the photobooth that we had set up to keep things entertaining for everyone. Then we were ushered over to cut the 4-layer cake I had gotten from Freeport Bakery- I designed it based on two different cake I found on pinterest. Although I only got to try one level of the cake, the strawberry with yellow cake, but it was still so fantastic. We then had toasts after that, in which Kevin, DeAngela, Luke, and Job make speeches for us. It was so cute, and it was amazing to know that our friends love us so much. Then we had the father daughter dance (as well as the mother and son dance for Egor and his mother). Followed by that, I danced with Egor for our first dance to “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars. That song is so appropriate for the two of us, we accept each other no matter what the situation. Then I danced with Egor’s dad while Egor danced with my mom. It was all so sweet, it was perfect. Then I had to do a wardrobe change because it was so hot outside, I got into my old prom dress, which was a whole lot tighter than my wedding dress and I was much more comfortable in it. I spent a little bit of time talking to my swim team friends from college and danced a little bit, but Egor was getting way too hot, so we made our exit, only after giving my address to my swim friends so they could come to an after party at my house.

The afterparty was so fun! Egor, Luke, and I went to BevMo to get $200 worth of booze, including my favorite smirnoff ice blueberry lemonades, Blue Moon beer, Ciroc, Captain Morgan spiced rum, smirnoff pineapple vodka, beer for beerpong, and some margaritas and stuff. Oh, and not to mention we got mango Malibu rum. The afterparty group consisted of pretty much all the swimmers who came to the wedding, as well as my bridal party, DeAngela’s date, and the groomsmen along with their girlfriends. It was quite a fun night, we danced and played beerpong and other drinking games, and later on we got a hookah and smoked that for a little bit while we were outside. Oh, and did I mention that the afterparty started at 5? It was definitely an early time to be drinking, but I prefer day drinking so you do not feel as tired the next day or as hungover (although it takes too much hard liquor for me to get drunk, so I just drank a few of my favorite low alcohol percent drinks). The party ended at 10, and the only people left were me, Egor, DeAngela, and Grant- her date. We took to the couches to watch “Sinnister” a truly scary movie. However, I was the only one who was awake. Egor promised me he was going to stay up and watch it with me, but I could tell that it was not happening once I heard him snoring and felt him twitching. After the movie was over, I woke up everyone so they could go to their beds. Egor slept in my room with me (with the door open of course, out of respect) and all we did was cuddle, even though he took up most of the bed, it was so nice to actually cuddle with someone of the opposite sex. It was so comforting, and we held hands in bed too and he would kiss my hand, just sweet. Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for more. It was perfect and was exactly what I needed, I just needed someone to lay next to me and comfort me. DeAngela and Grant took to my upstairs bedroom with a twin bed and also, with the door open, cuddled. So the night went very well for the both of us. In the morning, Dee and Grant left so that Dee could get stuff out of her room so she could get new carpet. Egor and I slept a little bit longer, and then we finally got up at around 10. We were on the couch just hanging out for a bit until he went to his parent’s house to hang out with his family, which I was all for. At about 5 on Sunday, I went over to Egor’s house to say goodbye, as well as bring over some cake to his family and show them the guest book and other pictures taken in the photobooth of everyone there. There were other people there as well to say goodbye to Egor, such as Job, Abe, Luke, and Egor’s cousin. We all ate and hung out for a while, then the guys got kicked out while I stayed so I could say bye to Egor at the last minute. I would have gone to the airport with them, but I soon had to take more pain pills because my back was acting up as usual. Next time I will escort him to the airport, because I believe that he is coming back in about three weeks, and he will be staying for 10 days. Honeymoon maybe? Haha we will see about that one!

Anyways, yesterday I had an appointment with the oncology team and we decided on getting IV chemo once every three weeks, and during that week I will also be taking some oral chemo, which I have to say, tastes pretty darn nasty. But it is better than being in the hospital so often when I could be spending my time having fun and accomplishing things on my bucket list. I will also begin radiation on my upper chest and shoulder area to get rid of some of the pain I have in my upper back and shoulder. So lets hope that I can be feeling really well soon and be able to breathe much easier. Oh, and I have to say, the fluid in my lungs has decreased rapidly and is now only the size of a baseball! Yay!

So I really need to get to bed as I am going to catch up with an old elementary school friend tomorrow.

Yours truly,

Lauren McCullough