Snapshot Sundays: The Hyenas

Hi again, hive! The Hyenas are celebrating our second anniversary this week! I kind of can't believe time is passing so quickly. Year two seemed like a good time to revisit our wedding and share a snapshot of it with all the new bees. :)

Mr. & Mrs. Hyena

• City: Bryan, Texas
• Church: St. Luke's United Methodist Church
• Reception Venue: Downtown 202
• Wedding Date: May 2011
• Budget: $14,025
• Number of Guests: 127
• Bridal Gown Designer: Mori Lee (Blu #4602)
• Photographer: Danny Boyle Photography
• Music: iPod reception
• Flowers: DIY faux blooms
• Stationery: DIY, printed via Catprint
• Cakes: Cake Junkie
• Catering: D'Vine Cuisine
• Bartender: Luke's Bartending Service
• DOC: Hired Friendor
• Hair: Cutler2 Salon
• Makeup: DIY
• Bridesmaid's Dresses: Mori Lee (discontinued)
• Tuxes: Men's Wearhouse
• Ring Designer: Natalie K, via David Gardner's Jewelers
• Honeymoon: Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and a Carnival Cruise to Key West, Grand Cayman and Jamaica

guest photo

guest photo

If you'd like to see more photos, or read about my planning journey, all my archives can be viewed here.

All photos by Danny Boyle Photography unless otherwise specified.

How Time Flies!

How on earth have we already been married for an entire year?

It is completely unreal to me that it was a year ago that we stood in front of the church and promised the rest of our lives to each other. It seems like just yesterday I stepped into my wedding dress and danced with my new husband and laughed with everyone we love.

At the same time, it's kind of unreal that it has only been a year, because it's been such a whirlwind of a year. We've been busy with things like grad school, career changes, taking trips when we could and spending time with our families and friends. It's been a fantastic first year!

We're celebrating our anniversary tonight, with paper-themed gifts and a nice dinner and, obviously, CAKE! If you'd like to relive our wedding day with us, check out my archives, and I'd love for you to come hang out with me at my post-wedding blog!

What are you looking forward to most in your first year of marriage? Married bees, what do you think is the best part of being married?

all photos by Danny Boyle Photography

I Hate Talking About Money

Mr. Hyena and I had always intended to combine our bank accounts after the wedding. At that point, it seemed like a "what's mine is yours" situation — there was no legitimate reason to not combine accounts.

Except that we got married almost eight months ago and never got around to merging anything before now. We knew that it was something we both wanted. It would allow our household to run more efficiently and allow us to take control of our future in a more proactive way.

And yet I cried on the way to the bank, clinging to my measly checking account tighter than Gollum's grip on the Ring.

No! You cannot have the Precious!

Image via Fanpop

It's been quite difficult for me to reconcile that what's mine really is ours. Our life together. Our best interests. Our money. I have been more than content to let Mr. Hyena's paycheck be "our" money while hoarding my paycheck as "mine." I claim to have absolute faith in our relationship, but my actions have shown otherwise.

We've committed to a lifetime together, and I can't erase years of independence, but I'm learning my needs don't always come before his, and his don't always come before mine. I can't constantly focus on what I want to do and my goals while arguing with my partner that his need to feel secure — through different means than mine — isn't the best for us. He needs his equal say.

"For better or worse" doesn't mean that one of us has it better or worse than the other. We're in this together. We've always been in this together.

Are you and your partner merging bank accounts after (or before) the wedding? Is anyone else struggling with their sense of independence when it comes to finances?

Farewell For Now

"All that I'm after is a life full of laughter, as long as I'm laughing with you."
(video via YouTube)

Whenever I call my family, most of the time we end our conversations with, "Well, I've run out of things to talk about."

Unfortunately, I have to say it to ya'll today. I've run out of things to talk about, wedding-wise. So it's time to pass the baton to the bees who are still planning and recapping, and say goodbye for now.

I loved telling you about my wedding planning. Your advice and comments kept me going when I just couldn't plan anymore, and helped me keep my sanity when I came up with some crazy ideas. I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to share with you and be a part of this wonderful community. If you'd like to take a look back at my journey, I've set up my wiki page for easy referencing.

I'll still pop in from time to time, and I'll be buzzing around the Hive. You haven't seen the last of me yet! In the meantime, I'd love for you to come hang out with me over at Everyday Adventures.

Congratulations to all of you. I hope you have beautiful weddings, and more importantly, wonderful marriages.

Love,
Allie

Photo by Danny Boyle Photography

Miss No More

I'm finished with my recaps, but I'm not quite ready to sign off yet. I still have things to say!

After our wedding, I began the long, arduous journey of changing my name. Only it wasn't really that long or arduous. I went to MissNowMrs.com, paid the $29 to use the service and filled out all the paperwork easy squeezy. Instead of having you fill out every single form individually, MissNowMrs provides one big form where you put in your maiden name/married name/address/other pertinent information, and then autofills all the other forms for you. GENIUS! Sure there are a few things to double-check on each form, and you still have to send out each form and the required IDs and licenses and moneys with 'em, but it was seriously not that difficult. Definitely recommend this, especially if you're lazy like me.

Which leads me to the next part. I've talked here (and again, here) about my feelings on changing my name. I completely dropped my maiden name and took his, leaving my middle name intact. I do not regret my decision in the slightest. However, the day that I went to the DMV to get my driver's license changed, I was convinced this whole name thing was a huge mistake. I came home with my temporary paper license and mourned the loss of my identity. I was not excited about the change, and was so bummed out about the fact that I wasn't jumping for joy. I had wanted this ... so why wasn't I happy?

That feeling took a couple of days to go away. I think I just needed that time to say goodbye to the last name I'd had and loved for more than two decades. I needed a few days to accept the new name as mine and not just his.

I've gotten used to signing my new signature, even though I sometimes accidentally revert back to my old one. I respond when people call me Mrs. HisName. Mr. Hyena still calls me by my maiden name occasionally (ie. "Are you ready for me to destroy you at Mario Kart, Lastname?"), and I like that he does that. But overall, after going through the process and having different governing entities and banks and offices all with different names, I'm just glad to have one unifying name again.

Changing my name was the best decision for me.

Does your SO call you by your last name (or maiden name) sometimes? Can you beat your SO at Mario Kart? Would you please beat Mr. Hyena at Mario Kart? :)

After the Laughter: P-P-P-Party Every Day

You thought we were done partying just because the wedding was over? Not on your life!

The day after the wedding, we drove to Austin for our Sunday barbecue, generously hosted by Mr. Hyena's aunt and uncle.

It was really nice, because it gave us a chance to actually spend time with our families. We didn't get to spend more than a few minutes talking to people at our reception, so we were thankful for this extra time. Some of Mr. Hyena's relatives had flown in all the way from Germany for our wedding!

German family with SIL and BIL Hyena

Mr. H's family had Salt Lick Barbecue brought in, and family members provided so many delicious desserts! Not to mention we still had leftover wedding cake AND this adorable "congratulations" cake!

My family got the chance to get to know Mr. Hyena's family better and spent some time hanging out.

We also got to spend more time with our bridal party. They all had to go home that afternoon, and we didn't want to see them go!

After the party started winding down, Mr. Hyena and I headed back to College Station. We were exhausted from the weekend and were excited to get back to our home! 

Are you having a get-together after the wedding?

Previously on A Life Full of Laughter:

• "The One Where We Get Practice Married"

• "The One Where The Girls Put On Their Faces"

• "The One With The Beautiful Words"

• "The One Where The Dudes Get Sexy"

• "The One With The Big White Dress"

• "The One Where We Smize"

• "The One Where We Don't See Each Other"

• "The One With All The Walking"

• "The One Where It's Official"

• "The One After The Ceremony"

• "The One With Our Wonderful Families"

• "The One With The Bride and Groom"

• "The One Where We Dance"

• "The One Where We Mix 'n' Mingle"

• "The One Where Everyone Else Dances Too"

• "The One With The Sword"

• "The One That's Catching"

• "The One Where We Sing and Sway"

• "The One With All The Pretty Little Details"

• "The Last One"

• "The One With The Money"