Viva Las Vegas

So originally I had planned a surprise trip for Garrett for our one month anniversary. We were both dying to get out of provo for a few days, and it seemed like a good excuse. Well, seeing as how I can not hold a surprise very well, I accidentally divulged this information to Garrett. At which point, I decided it would be more enjoyable with friends. So we invited our friends Jess and Jer along...after much pressure and forcing, they finally said yes! We had SUCH a blast!!! We ate at a buffet, went to a magic show...and shopping. I know shopping, me? lol. We actually bought a ton of clothes( we didn't miss one store ;) I got the most adorable green coat!! Shopping with Jess and Jer is definitely the only way to do it. Here are some pics of our awesome little getaway! Thanks Jess and Jer for being on an equal level of awesomeness!

Mine and Jess's attempt at a sexy pose, thanks Garrett for cutting out our legs




Aww aren't our boys soo handsome!


So this is how Jess and I gambled, we both put our hands on the slot and pulled....we were not so lucky. Jer Bear on the other hand....always seemed to get a little lucky


I stinkin' HEART crepes..here is my with my loot




Garrett LOVES Magic so I took him to see Lance Burton


Jess was a fishy!

Its Finally Here

Tender Mercies

So I know...FINALLY!! and I realize these are reception and not wedding photos but the wedding ones have not gotten to us yet, so these will have to suffice. Anyway...here is a bit of our wedding drama during this lovely day

The reception fiasco:

So as Garrett and I arrived back home from our wonderful honeymoon, I began to grow ecstatic for our reception. It was going to be beautiful! We were going to have it at Edgewater with a lovely deck and a fireplace inside. And the best part was….it was NOT at the church. Which was my only request for the whole wedding. As we walked off the escalator and towards my dad, I could tell something was wrong. He had the sick look he gets when he is really worried. Then he dropped the bomb. He said, “do you want the good news, or the bad news first”. I said nothing. He then informed me, that the Management company of Edgewater had double booked my reception. He had also informed me that the chose the other party to maintain their contract with. The other party….a SWEET 16 Birthday!!!..umm yea seriously. My wedding reception was bumped for a lame 16 year olds birthday party! On top of which, they were SUPER rude about it. My poor parents were outraged and freaking out…they even tried to bribe them and they wouldn’t take it. So I am now left with one and only option….THE CHURCH. Yea….I know its silly of me but I was devastated. I cried and cried on the way home. Once I got my cry out, I did my best to suck it up. I knew that sulking was not going to change anything, and there was no use in making anyone feel any worse about it than they already did. My parents rented a HUGE tank parachute to put up and cover the entire gym. And I could not believe the effort that people from the ward put into making it beautiful for me. It was such a blessing and Garrett and I were so grateful. To my shock and amazement, I forgot I was even in church at all. It was like a dream and I got the tent reception I had always dreamed of. As I thought about it and thought about my emotions as I struggled to fight my disappointment and find the good in the bad….I came to the conclusion that sometimes, the lord asks us to go through things in order to show us his love for us. Having that reception come together the way it did, made me realize just how loved I am. The only way it worked was because of the efforts of other people and their willingness and selflessness. The lord helped me get what I really wanted in his own way. It truly was a beautiful thing. I could not have asked for more. My appreciation for the church buildings grew as without it, I would have had no reception at all. What a great reminder of the tender mercies of the lord. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing and wonderful family. From those who lost sleep helping my reception be beautiful, to those who sacrificed to make a great trek just to be there, they are all so wonderful. I am definitely a lucky girl and I do not think I would have been AS grateful had I not had to struggle a little to make it happen. Here are my favorite pictures from that glorious event!






Okay, so I love this one. This one really captures my true feelings that night. We stood in line for an hour and a half and I was STARVING!! all I wanted was food. My sweet little cousin brought me pineapple on a stick and a bag of candy lol.









Behold; the grooms cake...a cheeseburger cake representing Garrett's favorite thing..ME

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Oh Hunny Hunny

So I realize that I am going completely out of order, but I only have my honeymoon pics, and I have some free time at work and wanted to get ahead before I got behind. So anyway, on with the show...or story



Garrett and I went to Tulum Mexico for our honeymoon. It was amazing!!!! We stayed at the Dreams all inclusive resort, and it was incredible. We decided to not take a car and take the city bus since it was so much cheaper. The bus was actually not bad at all. It was more like a grey hound bus. We just had to make a few stops and switch buses but definitely worth it. That first day of arrival, we mostly spent traveling, which worked out perfect because it was raining all day anyway. When we finally arrived at our destination, we were amazed! From the moment we got there we were treated like royalty! When we first walked in they handed us cold hand towels to cool off and a glass of champagne (which of course we did not accept) We were then presented with 200 dollars in coupons to use on spa and wine, which we were able to trade in for a JUNIOR SUITE upgrade!! The room was gorgeous!! it was so elegant and classy and HUGE! We even had a jet tub in our insanely big bathroom. That first night we ate like kings. At this particular resort all room service is free!! All tips/gratuities were included. We totally took advantage! We also got all drinks free! We also got our choice of gourmet restaurants for free. We chose an Italian place the first night, They pulled out my chair and put a napkin on my lap...HEAVEN! I had the best salmon I have ever had in my LIFE! and it was served all super fancy with sauce designs on the plate! We then attended a Tonga party on the beach and had pina colada's!! MMMMMM



Our first full day was GORGEOUS! the beach was amazing. Our resort is secluded and not full. They had the most comfortable beach chairs and waiters who came around and took your order for drinks and snacks. We basically spent the first day relaxing on the beach, jumping off the ocean trampoline, Kayaking, and hanging out at the swim up bar….for mango Majito’s!



The second day, we rented a car for the day and went to the Tulum Ruins. The most beautiful thing I have ever seen! It was huge and mind blowing. It was also unbearably hot. I was dripping with sweat! And because it was the jungle, I got viscously attacked by skeeters. Of course, they did get theirs, shortly after mauling me, they would drown in my sweat and just stick to my leg. It was disgusting, to say the least and I will be honest it was kinda hard to enjoy because I was so miserable. BUT we did get to cool off at the beach below the ruins. Hands down the best beach in the world! Yes I am aware I have not been to all the beaches in the world, but how can you beat crystal clear, sky blue ocean, a white sandy beach, cliffs, AND MAYAN RUINS all in one place?? NO you can’t. I was celestial…seriously! Garrett and I could have died floating in that spot.



The rest of the vacation was spent at the resort, we originally wanted to go do some local activities, but decided the resort was amazing and wanted to take advantage of it, and use it at a more romantic, relaxing time, rather than a full blown vacation.



We took walks on the beach, had dinner at sunset on the beach, watched movies on the beach that the resort had set up on a projector, played beach volleyball and basked in the sun.



We seriously recommend this resort to everyone. They had optional activities planned from morning to night, excellent service, and even brought in different exotic animals everyday you could take pictures with. (I took one with a tucan!) Oh and the food was to die for!






aww after 24 hours, still so in love



This is what I ordered every night at 11 :)



These are the Tulum ruins we visited, notice the amazing beach below


Night beach walk



and we have the ceramic..Note* I am not creative, and I can barely color inside lines, let alone paint inside them. I had begged Garrett all week to paint this somewhat pricey, ceramic bowl and he finally let me! I was SOO proud of this thing. It was by FAR the best art I had ever painted..here is me SOO happy creating my masterpiece



Still So happy



And the finished product...little did I know then that in just a few short hours, Garrett would accidentally break my gorgeous masterpiece. :(


Umm I also left out the part where I was deathly ill and swore I had swine flew….I didn’t really…..and I will spare everyone the gruesome details, but other than that we had a perfect honeymoon!

If and then, a process of realization

So I have officially been married exactly a week today. Weird, weird slash awesome. I just thought I would share my thought process the morning following my huge plunge into an everlasting eternal commitment....they were as follows

1: I have a new last name. So if I have a new last name, then that must mean
2: I am a married woman, if I am a married woman, then I have a husband
3: If I have a husband, he must be Garrett Bradham, if Garrett is in fact my husband, then...
4: ROBERT GARRETT BRADHAM IS MARRIED!!...If Garrett and I are both married then we are married to each other, then that must mean
5: We are no longer engaged..sing songs of praise!

We are married, not engaged but officially married, we belong to each other ....to infinity and beyond. Being engaged is a nightmare. Being married is wonderful. Differences???

1: He no longer has to drive me home at the end of the night
2: I don't sit and stress over wedding and he no longer has to exercise and insane nearly inhumanly amount of Patience.
3: I laugh now instead of cry
4: we don't fight!...okay fine, we fight over things like, who the real bed hog is, but does it count if you are laughing while you do it???

Also I should note that we are in love.....if you have a weak stomach and such talk disgusts you, please stop now. Otherwise, suck it up and continue. Anyway, like I was saying we are mushy in love. We have turned into one of those couples that kisses in public. Not the make out kiss, that is still gross. Just the sweet affectionate ones. Garrett tells me he loves me multiple times a day and at the most random times. Its wonderful and awesome and I love it. Garrett no longer annoys me. In fact some of the qualities that drove me to reconsider, are some of his adorable features that I now find sweet and endearing. ( just kidding about the reconsidering part by the way, I added that for dramatic affect ;) Anyway, when Garrett discovers something new he loves, he cant stop talking about it. The first day we got to really enjoy our amazing resort, he would not shut up. I mean every other thing he said involved how wonderful the resort was, the engaged me would have begged him to shut up already and get over it. The married me finds this adorable. Being married is awesome. I will be reporting all our wedding/honeymoon/reception adventures upon our arrival home. But that is it for now

Quick Update

Okay, so just a quick update...Garrett and I are now home in GA. I can NOT believe that in just 4 short days, we will finally be married. YAY! that about sums it up. Since we have been home, we have been spending time with Garrett's family since he spent 2 weeks with mine in Hawaii. Its been wonderful getting to know them better. I already feel like a part of the family. Today Garrett and I went Kayaking down the river with his mom and her friend. We had a blast! It was so relaxing and beautiful. Although I must admit, Garrett tied my kayak to his, so I pretty much just benefited from the fruits of his labor in the paddling department. We also got to spend some time playing with our very missed friends Scott and Darcey. It was soo good to see them, since we really miss having them so close. Garrett and I also enjoyed some Waffle House, a southern staple. MMMM it was good. I got chocolate chip waffles. Not that anyone really cares all the much what I eat, but this is my blog, so you get all those needless details :). I am so excited for all that is to come, and I feel so blessed for the beautiful family that we have on both sides. I can not express enough my gratitude for all the work my family has done. Really my cup runeth over. Even though Garrett annoyed me a little tonight...(I know you are reading this, and yes you know why ;)...anyway..I am the happiest I have ever been. I am so grateful to my father in heaven for all the wonderful blessings Garrett and I are receiving. Having our wedding in just a few short days, we could feel very overwhelmed and stressed, and scared. But we don't. We feel calm, relaxed, peace, comfort, and most importantly joy. It has been such a wonderful experience being home and I hope we are blessed enough for that to continue. Anyway, WE GET MARRIED SATURDAY!!!!!!!