If you are just joining me now for the first time…welcome! Before you continue on, refer to my first blog post The Beginning Pt.1 and start my story from “The Beginning”. The day before my wedding I was nervous and giddy. I couldn’t believe it was finally here! I had a checklist of everything I needed to do for my wedding and everything was almost done! I got my nails done at the salon and opted for white acrylic gel nails with a little bit of shimmer in the polish. My vision and theme of my wedding was an all-white modern wedding. We had a rehearsal at the venue in the afternoon (June 7th) and then a little BBQ for friends and family at my house after. I was in such disbelief that I was going to be getting married. I could hardly comprehend it, I would just think back to 2015 when I thought that no one would ever want me. After the dinner, some of my bridesmaids met up with me and we drove to San Diego together. My dad got us two conjoining rooms in the San Diego Marriott in downtown to spend my last night with my friends. By the time we got there, it was pretty late, so we hung out for a little and then we got ready for bed and called it a night. I could not sleep. My mind kept racing and racing. I really just couldn’t wrap my head around that I was going to get married! I was excited but so nervous, I mean this was a forever commitment! But I also wanted everything to run smoothly and be as stress-free as possible. Jacob: The night before we got married I wasn’t nervous at all. I was super excited actually. Mayci gave me a super sleek (Michael Kors) watch and wrote me a very sweet letter. I really just couldn’t wait to wake up and see her in her wedding dress. I think I got about 2 hours of sleep and I had been fighting a little bit of a cold since my bachelorette party the weekend before. I woke up at 6 a.m. and my nose was stuffed. I felt pretty tired… but the excitement of my wedding day made me feel energized. I took a shower and as soon as I got out, my hair and make-up ladies showed up. I put on my silky bride robe, and then my hair and makeup girls went to work! Soon my friends started waking up as well, I had robes for every one of my bridesmaids to wear! Their robes were beige, which was my accent color among the white. For my makeup, I asked to do a very natural look that highlighted my eyes. I also wanted it to last the whole day, which surprisingly, it did! I wanted everything to be simple, timeless, modern, and classy. So I just did my hair loosely curled, and parted down the middle. My dress and accessories were now on and it made me feel like a QUEEN. I felt so confident in myself and happy with how everything looked, especially my dress! My dress was pricey, but I felt like it was SO worth it. When I first tried it on in November I fell in love with it, but it was missing one thing… a long train. So in order to make it my dream dress, I added four feet to the back to give it that dramatic look I longed for. My dress and accessories were now on and it made me feel like a QUEEN. I felt so confident in myself and happy with how everything looked, especially my dress! My dress was pricey, but I felt like it was SO worth it. When I first tried it on in November I fell in love with it, but it was missing one thing… a long train. So in order to make it my dream dress, I added four feet to the back to give it that dramatic look I longed for. My sister and I left the hotel room and my bridesmaids were going to meet us at the temple a little bit later because I was going to the beach to do my first look. I made my way down the elevators and somehow, with the help of my sister, made it in the car. My dress had absolutely no stretch in it whatsoever and it was skin tight. So sitting in the car was a struggle. Jacob and I decided to do our first look in La Jolla. I told Jacob to get there early and pick a good spot for us. When we arrived I got out of the car and my sister went to go make sure everything was ready to go. People kept driving by me honking and waving and telling me how pretty I looked. It honestly felt so good, I really felt like a Queen! Once everything was good to go I walked down to the area Jacob was in, which was a little cliff right by the water. To get to this cliff I had to take my shoes off and slide over this railing. It was an area that people weren’t supposed to go, probably for safety reasons. Somehow, with the help of my sister, photographer, and videographer I made it over this railing haha. Jacob: I got to La Jolla an hour before we were supposed to meet up for our first look because I wanted to find the perfect spot. I saw this little cliff we could stand on that would be perfect but Mayci would have to climb over a railing and walk down a steep hill… but I knew it was the perfect spot for us. Before she came I sat on the beach and finished my vows to Mayci, I couldn’t wait to see her. People started lining up by the railing above us to see everything that played out, it was turning into quite the scene haha. Now I was nervous, but I was excited about our first look. I walked to the edge of the cliff and grabbed Jacob by the shoulder. He turned around and smiled and then hugged me. He held me in his arms and we looked into each other’s eyes. This was going to be my husband. We both got tears in our eyes. Jacob: My first thoughts were that her dress was absolutely perfect. I felt like the luckiest guy in the world. I was just so giddy and I saw the excitement in Mayci as she finally got to show me her dress. I felt so happy, everything was just absolutely perfect. We had about 5-10 minutes before we had to head back to the cars because we needed to head to the San Diego Temple to get married. Traffic was kind of bad, so we got there a little late but it wasn’t an issue. Jacob and I went to separate areas to get changed into our temple clothes. For those who aren’t a member of the Church of Jesus Christ (Mormon) we have clothes that we wear during the marriage ceremony and in other parts of the temple depending on what you are doing. I won’t go into the details because it is sacred and we don’t share the specifics outside of the temple. I will tell you about my favorite part of the ceremony that I can share. I kneeled across the altar in the sealing room of the San Diego temple and stared into Jacob’s eyes. Then we were sealed as a couple for time and all eternity. That’s when I got emotional, we were now married for time and all eternity! As we held hands across the altar we both cried because we were now an eternal family! As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, we believe that when we get married in the temple, that we get sealed together as a family for this life and the next. It truly is such a special moment. When I look back, this was my favorite part of the whole day because it was such a spiritual experience that I will cherish forever. Jacob: I was just locked in, staring into Mayci’s eyes during our wedding ceremony. I felt like I was looking into her soul. The ceremony was beautiful and it made me excited for our future together. I was excited to finally be her husband. After the ceremony friends and family lined up to congratulate us. It got emotional as I hugged some friends and family. Then I went back into the bride’s room to change into my dress and Jacob went back into the groom’s room to change back into his tux. My sisters and my mom were in the bride’s room helping me get back into my wedding dress and touching up my makeup. Then I met Jacob by the staircase and we were ready to go outside to greet all of our family and friends who came to the temple. Some of my friends/ bridesmaids weren’t in the temple so it was special to see everyone when we made our grand entrance outside the temple. I was also anxious to see Hudson since he couldn’t be inside for the ceremony. As soon as we walked out of the temple doors, everyone started cheering. Hudson saw us and sprinted down to give us hugs. I felt tears well up in my eyes again. I have so much love for Hudson and I just felt like the happiest girl ever standing outside the temple with my husband and my son. Life was too good to be true, I never thought I would get here considering the dark place I used to be in. We then walked to the little waiting area outside where we hugged our friends and family. Then we went to the main picture worthy area of the temple and took some photos of the whole group, as well as our individual families. It got a little chaotic because there were so many people there. After about thirty minutes we told everyone to leave and head up to Laguna Beach for the reception. My one regret is that Jacob and I didn’t get a photo with Hudson outside the temple, because, among the chaos and people asking for individual photos, we forgot the most important one. Also, because my parents dipped out with Hudson quickly after the group photos because they had to get other things at the venue ready. So sadly we never got an individual photo with Hudson outside the temple. Everyone left, but Jacob and I stayed at the temple to get some individual photos together on the temple grounds. I remember we were in between the rows of palm trees holding hands and looking at each other when Jacob said, “I love you, my wife.” I replied, “I love you husband.” It was weird to even hear those words come out of my mouth… I freaking had a HUSBAND! Jacob: I loved showing off my new bride and I just kept calling her “wife.” I was honestly obsessed. I loved her dress and how it fit on her body, she was absolutely glowing. It was so surreal that this was the beginning of a new journey. Holding her hands and seeing her engagement ring and a wedding band made me so happy that she was now mine forever. After about 45 minutes we were ready to leave. Jacob had me wait at the temple grounds while he ran to get the car. He surprised me by getting a sleek white getaway car. It was super awesome, I felt like I was in a James Bond movie. Then we drove down to Orange County. Traffic was pretty bad but we didn’t mind at all because we were both so giddy and in disbelief that we were now a married couple. We were both super tired driving though, the lack of sleep was hitting hard and I was about to take another round of DayQuil to keep my nose from stuffing up again. We also stopped at In-N-Out on our way to our reception because we were starving. We arrived at our reception and we headed into one of the suites where our bridal party was. We all hung out and relaxed before guests arrived for the ring ceremony. We decided to do a ring ceremony for our friends and family who weren’t able to witness our marriage in the temple. My main reason for the ring ceremony was so that Hudson could be a part of our marriage as well. I went into the restroom and my sisters helped me take off my wedding dress. I needed to relax a little bit before the rest of the night started. I was so exhausted from the lack of sleep and the cold I was fighting off. So I took my dress off and just sat on the little bench in the bathroom for about 10 minutes so I could breathe without restriction and just chill. I also touched up my makeup since my lips were pretty much bare from kissing Jacob, and some of the makeup on my chin rubbed off a little bit too. Then I drank some red bull, suited up and was ready to go again. To be honest, I was a little nervous about the ring ceremony because Jacob wanted to do vows. I HATE expressing my feelings, let alone in front of a ton of people. So the very thought of it kind of gave me anxiety. Jacob: I was excited to do vows because I felt like the people who weren’t inside the temple could see our relationship and see why we love eachother so much. I don’t have an issue expressing my feelings in front of others so I wasn’t nervous to do vows. I wanted to express my love to Mayci infront of all my friends and family as well. NEXT WEEK: My Ring Ceremony and Reception If you love my wedding or have any questions leave a comment below! Shoes: https://rstyle.me/+4jCkVBp7CP0nLUjpspI-nA Dress: https://www.stephenyearick.com/ Photography: Blake Hogge https://www.blakehogge.com/