A Look Back On 2017
How is it already 2018? It feels like yesterday that we had just started wedding planning in January, I was unsure of my job, and I had just started an online clothing boutique.
Life was crazy. It was hectic. But most importantly, it was amazing and I was so lucky to be where I was in life. I had just gotten engaged to my best friend, someone who had been there for me through good times and bad for 6 years. We were beginning to plan the rest of our life together. Then time slips away and before you know it, the best day of my life has passed, it's almost 2018, and you don't know where time has gone.
So before I say hello to 2018 and welcome it with open arms, I want to take a look back at 2017 and show you all some of the best times I had throughout the year. This in no way will ever show how wonderful of a year it was, but I want to show some of them to reflect back on the past year!
Technically we got engaged in December of 2016, but the year started out with starting to plan the best day of our lives! We were engaged on December 3rd, and I have never been more surprised in my life. What I thought was a celebration for my brother ended up being a day I will always remember, where I said "yes" to my best friend.
March 2017
My family has been going skiing since before I could even walk, so what better way to start the first half of the year than with a trip out to Breckenridge? We typically go two-three times a year and this was our second trip (we went in December right after getting engaged). My parents have always said that I could ski before I could walk, so it's no wonder that it's one of my favorite things to do.
March 2017
This sweet girl came into our lives. On our way home from Breckenridge, we stopped in Atlanta to pick up Charlie (Charlotte). The greatest gift we could have ever asked for. While she is unfortunately going to have to have a hip replacement in the next few months, she has brought us more joy and laughter by her crazy "boogie's" around the house and her instinct to always protect us (barking at any one and anything that walks by our house at any time of day). She is the sweetest and most loving dog :)
Summer 2017
We were able to spend a lot of time in Charleston over the summer, from days on the boat to concerts with some of my favorite people. At the end of each summer, Darius Rucker, a Charleston native, plays two nights in a row in Charleston, with some songs being from his old days of Hootie and the Blowfish and others from his solo career. I have been 15 out of 17 years since I have been alive, so if you can't tell, we love us some Darius.
June & July 2017
Wedding planning & engagement parties took up the majority of time for these two months. Ironing out those final little details seemed to be more difficult than climbing Kilimanjaro (on my bucket list). Luckily, we had the best wedding planner ever, Stacey from RLE CHARLESTON, who is more importantly a longtime friend of my families, created the most magical day of our lives.
July 2017
My squad. My family. My best friends. This year was definitely an interesting one for us. My oldest brother, Robert, moved away to New Zealand to be with his fiancé on January 3rd and it was one of the saddest days for me. I had never gone more than two months without seeing him, even when he was living in London, and I now had to go 7 months without seeing him face to face. We have ~9 more months to go with him living over there then he's and his soon-to-be wife will be back in the states with us for good. Let's just say, I can't wait until the squad is reunited in Charleston for good.
August 2017
While the men are away, the women will play.... more like watch the eclipse! I was able to watch the eclipse with my now sister-in-law and also one of my best friends. I am so blessed that my brother met this amazing person and to have her not only as family, but best friend. They were married in November and it was one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever seen.
September 2017
The most wonderful weekend of my life. #MeetTheMenzies The top picture is from our rehearsal dinner with some of the girls who flew over from London. The next picture is of my Made of Honor, Matron of Honor and myself. These girls. There will never be a way to describe how thankful I am for these two girls. One of them is my cousin, the other a best friend since 4 years old. The memories we have, the things we have been through, I can't say how thankful I am and how blessed I am to have them in my lives.
Next was our wedding day. I adjusted my dad's bow-tie right before we entered the church and he gave me away to my now husband. Our wedding day happened to fall on my grandfather's 89th birthday, so we had a special dance after Harry danced with his mother at the reception. He had no idea at the time, but everyone sang happy birthday to him and we danced to "You Look Wonderful Tonight". It was a moment I will cherish forever.
After our wedding, we shut down the streets of Charleston and were promenaded to our reception by the Charleston Gospel Singers. It was the most surreal moment of it all, with random people on the street joining in to sing "Oh Happy Day". Something else I will never forget.
The day after our wedding was my brother's birthday (the one who lives in New Zealand), so we didn't leave for our honeymoon until Monday so that we could spend the day with him and some family that we had in town. It was so great to see everyone and say goodbye before we left for our honeymoon.
November 2017
My brother way out kicked his coverage with Maggie when they became husband in wife. Oh, and that's their dog Raleigh, my doggie nephew :)
Christmas Eve 2017
I was able to go home for 24 hours to spend Christmas Eve with my amazing family! This year was different because 3 of us were married in the second half of the year, meaning that we had to learn to split up time between everyone's families. But thankfully almost all of us were able to be there at my grandparents.
Well, that sums up a lot of the wonderful times we had this year! So, 2018, if you are half as amazing as 2017 was, it's going to be a wonderful year!