May 23, 2009

It was a sunny, beautiful, Saturday afternoon at around 3:00 p.m. when our wedding began. We had been planning several months for this beautiful occasion. To begin, I’ll give a little background leading up to the engagement and then to the wedding.

On January 24, 2009, two days after my 21st birthday, my husband and I decided that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. We had talked about getting married throughout our year and a half relationship but we knew that this was the right time! After about three months of dating Josh, I knew he was my one and only and the love of my life! He always makes me happy and cares about me in every way one person who loves another should. He always knows just what to say to brighten my day if I am down. His smile is unforgettable and every time I see him I fall in love with him all over again. He has always supported me in everything by showing how proud he is of me or just standing behind me when I need him. Not one day goes by where he does not tell me he loves me and when he says it, you can see in his face that he truly means it in his heart. God brought us together and nothing can separate us!

After our engagement, we spent the next few months preparing for our wedding that we finally decided would occur on May 23, 2009. In the beginning, we wanted a small wedding but in the end it became much larger than we had planned but everything happens for a reason and to us one only gets married once. After a lot of discussing and conversing with his parents who live in Minnesota and my parents who live here in Phoenix, we got our ideas together. When I say “together” I truly mean together, Josh and I did everything together in planning for our wedding from the colors (coral orange, white and black), decorations, dresses, candles, invitations and so much more! We were a team through it all and enjoyed every moment of it!

We picked the date May 23, 2009 because it was a three day weekend in the summer which allowed Josh’s family (now our family) to stay for a few more days without missing too many days of work. We chose to have our wedding ceremony at the Cave Creek Regional Park off the Carefree Highway and 32nd Street. They had just built a new concrete amphitheatre near the nature center in the park. We went to check the place out and right away we knew that was where we wanted to get married! We would be the first to use the place for a wedding ceremony and we could not wait!

Now that we had a date and a place for the wedding, we just needed a time and a place for the reception. We decided to have the ceremony at 3:00 p.m. (the weather was beautiful). We called around to get prices on wedding receptions at different restaurants and immediately decided upon one of our favorite restaurant’s, El Encanto Dos, which was just a few miles from the park. My wonderful mom offered to pay for our beautiful reception!

We sent out our own invitations which were beautiful and special to us because we made them together. We also personalized our own programs with bows and a message that read “I never knew love could be so sweet, so overwhelming, then I met you…”

As we waited for the day that we would become husband and wife, we anxiously looked forward to Josh’s family arriving in Phoenix the week before. Everything was falling right into place! When they arrived, we spent a few days with them before the wedding. His family finally met my family, who they had never met before. We spent a beautiful day at Slide Rock and his family threw us a wonderful wedding rehearsal dinner!

The rehearsal seemed a bit chaotic but it was enjoyable and fun to have the two families who would soon become one conversing together, it truly meant a lot to me! The big day was now only one day away! I would become Mrs. Joshua Steven Lease! We were never nervous, just excited, we were both so filled with joy!

The wedding day began early for me: I woke up at 6 a.m., picked up my sister and my maid of honor at about 7 a.m. and headed directly to the girl’s home who did my hair for the day. She designed it beautifully and I loved it! Then, it was time to get the makeup done; we headed to meet one of the other bridesmaids at the place where a few of us would get our makeup done. After the makeup was finished, we drove back to my house to complete all of our finishing touches. It was chaotic with about nine of us running around to finish things up before we had to leave to head to the park. I stayed calm though and never felt stressed.

At 2:00 p.m., my bridesmaid and I drove to the park. My bridesmaids and some of my family snuck me in a room so Josh and I would not see each other because the place was not terribly big. While I waited anxiously to marry the man of my dreams, I took pictures with my family and some friends in the room we waited in before the ceremony began.

At about 3:11 p.m., I began walking down the pathway with my dad toward the amphitheater. I forgot to mention that my dad is a minister and he had two jobs that day, walking me down to my husband and marrying us on this very special day! As we walked together arm in arm, praising God for everything he has done, trying to hold back the tears when we just could not, I saw my handsome husband looking at me as I walked down each step and with joy, tears started flowing down my cheeks. I was more happy than I could ever explain with words.

An audience of about eighty of our closest friends and family surrounded us. My dad took his place in front of us trying to hold back his own tears; he performed a glorious ceremony where two people in love united to become one under God!

I could not have asked for a more beautiful, perfect day! It was everything I ever dreamed of and more!

Pictures followed with family and our wedding party which consisted of five groomsmen and five bridesmaids!

After about an hour of pictures, we headed over to the reception! We had an awesome reception with great food, wonderful guests, and lots of fun dancing!

It was a day we will never forget and we will cherish it forever!! We are now Mr. and Mrs. Lease officially and loving every moment of being married!