kristen&josh {happily ever after}

Happy first anniversary, Kristen & Josh!! 

Tell me about your wedding:

1. What was your most memorable moment?
Kristen: The first look was very memorable & special. It made me much more relaxed & even more excited about marrying Josh. Our first dance was also unforgettable – it was to the song that Josh sang to me when he proposed.

Josh: For me, the first look was also very meaningful, as it was the first time I got to see my beautiful bride in her wedding dress, & our brief interaction calmed my nerves & helped me focus on Kristen & me rather than the logistics of the day. Another memorable moment was watching Kristen come down the aisle. Even though I had imagined the scenario many times prior to the wedding, the actual event was surreal.

2. What were the inspirations for your wedding? themes? Why did you pick this time of year? 
We wanted something simple & timeless. I've always loved antiques & vintage-style things. We had just gone through some of my grandmother's silver that she received from her wedding, & I wanted them to be a special part of the decor. We ended up putting some of the silver pieces on the tables. Tying more into the vintage theme, we had my sister use her calligraphy talents to create table numbers with fun facts about me & Josh.

We wanted a spring or early summer wedding because it would be cooler. April was also a month of wedding anniversaries on both of our sides so it was also a sentimental decision.

3. Was there anything that was not worth fussing over? In other words, did you have a bridezilla/groomzilla moment over something that was insignificant?
We are both pretty laid back so we really didn’t have any issues or ‘zilla moments over anything. Toward the end, we both were ready to be married & to not have to make so many decisions! 

4. Any advice for those planning now?
Kristen: We did a pre-marital counseling course through our church. It gave us great insight & tools & helped us talk through important aspects of our upcoming marriage. We learned that patience, communication & looking at things from each other's perspective are all key to building a strong marriage. We would advise any couples getting married to take some sort of pre-marital counseling or go through a book or questions together.

Decide on what is really important to you & what you want to keep/remember from your special day. The other things need to be planned but don’t need as much attention.

Josh: Don’t stress about things you can’t control. Ultimately, things will happen that are unplanned. In our case, our original wedding venue flooded six days before the wedding, & we were forced to relocate. Then, on the day of the wedding, we had to move the event indoors, as it started pouring just an hour before the ceremony. In short, there were a lot of circumstances that could have soured our special day, but Kristen & I tried hard to stay focused on what truly mattered. Ultimately, we got married, so I’d say things turned out pretty good!

Tell me about married life!

1. What has been the easiest & hardest parts about adjusting to married life?
Kristen: The easiest thing about being married is having fun together. Josh is my best friend, & I get to spend most of my non-working time with him, so we’ve had so much fun together this year, including holidays, weddings, road trips, etc.

One hard thing about marriage has been my planning out legitimate meals. When I was single, I would eat cereal a few times a week for dinner. Now that we are married, I have to think about dinner for two – which is a good problem to have! Josh is a great help in the kitchen so the cooking & cleaning go faster with two sets of hands.

Josh: For me, the easiest part of adjusting to marriage has been the amount of time we spend together. Originally, I had wondered how often I would feel as though I needed “alone time.” To my surprise, however, I don’t really enjoy “alone time” as much anymore. Being around my best friend is way better!

The most challenging part of being married has been training myself to think about my decisions as affecting not just me, but also my wife. Every decision I make now carries a bit more consequence.

2. What's been the most surprising thing you've learned about each other?
Kristen: When I met Josh two years ago & introduced him to my cat (George), he said he wasn’t a “cat person.” Now, Josh can’t wait to come home every day to his “buddy.” I can’t believe Josh loves George as much as he does!

Josh: Kristen is way more patient with me than I thought she would be, & she’s also skilled at getting me to do stuff. For example, I have a bad habit of taking off my shoes by the couch & not taking them upstairs to the closet. Instead of getting upset with me, though, Kristen will just say ever so gently, “Hey, when you go upstairs, would you like to help me take your shoes up there?” With that kind of gracious directive, it’s hard to say no!

3. What do you guys do to spend time together? Do you have weekly dates? something nightly? monthly? 
We enjoy trying new restaurants & returning to favorites at least once a week. Another activity we enjoy would be exploring different areas of Houston, especially driving around looking at fun houses & shops.

4. What did you do, or will you do, to celebrate your one year anniversary?
On our actual anniversary, we will be going out to dinner. However, we are also planning to celebrate one year of marriage by taking a vacation to Italy this summer!

5. Any plans for the future? Or, rather, what would you like to have done/seen/experience in the next five years?
We are looking forward to growing closer as a married couple &, God-willing, growing our family in the next few years. Besides our Italy trip this summer, we would like to travel to other fun locations like New York City & Chicago.