Five, Four, Three, Two, One...Happy 2010!

What? It's January 24th and not 1st? Okay, so I'm a tad bit belated, but this is truly a case of better late than never. So as I mentioned before, Mr. T and I decided (more so I did the convincing) to host a welcome party for our Nashville friends and out-of-town wedding guests, to kick off the wedding weekend on a festive foot. I found the cutest invitation EVER on Wedding Paper Divas that I would love to share with you all. However, since I am not the most savvy blogger, I can't figure out how to do that handy-dandy trick where you blur your address out, just in case there are any crazies out there. And so, unless one of you kind souls can share that trick with me, you'll just have to trust me that it was, in fact, a-dor-able.

Anyway, so as Salt and Pepa says, back to the subject. Let me first mention that I finally established a regular physician at Vanderbilt on the Tuesday before our wedding, simply because that was the only appointment I could get within a two-month time frame. After sitting down with my new doc and discovering we were going to be friends (she's in her mid-30's and so very cool), I told her I was a) getting married in five days and b) we were going to Mexico on our honeymooon to which she promply replied "You've gotten your flu shot, right?" Well no, friends, I actually had not (what? I've been busy, Mom) so she promply pulls Nurse with Two Large Needles into the room to give me the seasonal flu shot in one arm and the H1N1 shot in the other. And truth be told, she was right, I probably did need those little suckers since I was going out of the country and all. The only problem was that about two days later, I feel that little prickle in the back of my throat that tells me uh-oh...something is coming. I drink OJ for breakfast, lunch and dinner, double up on my vitamins, and basically start praying please don't let this happen. But the Big Guy had other plans. He took my perfectly healthy body and rocked it with some horrible flu-like funk to remind me, "Look sister, I know you think you're in charge here with all the crazy control you've been exerting over this little thing called a wedding, but you're due for a reminder that I am in fact the one in charge, wedding or not, and don't you forget it." Well I was reminded alright. Just as New Years Eve day arrives, I am a puny mess with zero appetite, sinus congestion out the wazoo, and a severely sore throat. How fun! Even worse, it's practically impossible not to kiss your groom in the days leading up to the wedding, so I passed it on to Mr. T as well. Ooopsie!

All that to say, you'll have to excuse my appearance in these photos, because I literally had just jumped out of the shower when the first guests started to arrive, andI look like quite a mess...and not a hot one. Thank goodness for the sequined tank top I extracted from the back of my closet...my hope was that it would divert attention from my chapped nose and watery eyes. However, looking back on these photos, I'm not sure it worked. At any rate, in an effort to remember the party that actually turned out to be fun despite my sneezing every five minutes, I have many fond memories from that night that I'd like to document. We had so many people show up (I think I counted 32 at one point, and our house isn't exactly a mansion) that it turned out to be a pretty excellent way to ring in the new year. And you can't start it much better than celebrating a wedding around the corner, introducing old friends to new ones, and being surrounded by the people you love the most. I might have had a 102 fever, but I sure had fun!

Amber and I modeling the champagne punch we collectively created. Please stop and zero in on these super-fun wine glasses, which were a gift from our Nashville friends, Liz and Adam. They were hand painted with cowboy boots, and even had rhinestone embellishments. Tres chic.

Amber and Justin - their save the dates just went out the week after our wedding and were shot by my favorite photographer, Evin Krehbiel, who also shot my bridal portraits at Cheekwood back in November. Get ready, guys. You have no idea the insanity that is coming your way! I mena that in a good way, of course. :)

And again with Justin. Notice our awesome Christmas card collection in the background. I was very sad to take it down after all the happiness it brought me.

Posing with Amber, Lauren and Erika, after we perfected our champagne punch. Never mind the fact that Erika mistakenly put a dash of red wine in the mix. We just used more champagne.

Practicing our midnight kiss!

Mr. T modeling his Miller Lite. I mean, Bride to Be.

My BFF and MOH, Stacy. One of about ten photos we took that night. We can never make one we're both happy with, try as we might.

The newly-expecting Robbins! They were married back in August and found out right before the wedding that a baby was on the way. So excited for them - they'll make excellent parents.

Stacy and Matt looking dapper And if you like Stacy's necklace, please know that it is actually mine that she borrowed for the evening. So please give the credit for her hotness to me. :)

All the way from NYC...one of Craig's best friends, Augie Niles, and his lovely lady, Sue. She's even wearing Virginia Tech colors (since they played Tennessee in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl that night) which I'm sure scored her major points with the boys.

With one of my favorite guys, Dan. Don't worry, he shaved for the wedding.

So there you have it, a very belated recap of our New Year's Eve Bash. One of the things I'll never forget is passing out champagne in Dixie cups (that's right, we do it up fancy for our guests) and toasting with all of our friends as we shouted "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" You just can't beat that feeling of knowing that all is right in your world. Even with a runny nose. :)

Next up - the Rehearsal Dinner at Tayst Restaurant and Wine Bar, also known as The Night I Never Stopped Crying. But in a good way. Someone should tell you how incredibly touching those toasts can be!