Married At Last

Hello & Welcome!

I’ve always wanted to have a blog to journal my way though life, but never seemed to have the time…until now. Well, that’s a lie actually. I don’t have more time on my hands, it’s quite the opposite these days! However, I now feel like I have something really worth writing about—our new life together.☺ The purpose of this blog is to invite you, our family and friends near and far to join us in our journey… as we move, bring baby Tackmans into the world, adopt new pets, change jobs, travel, create traditions and experience all the moments and events that make up this little thing we call life.

Let the journaling begin….

Married At Last

Brett and I began our new life together on Sunday, September 18^th, 2011 in San Dimas, CA. This was the day that I proudly became a “Tackman.” Although the seasons of dating and being engaged were fun and exciting, we never took our eye off of the real prize. The moment we had waited almost 4 years for finally came! This day was truly the happiest and most exhilarating day of our lives thus far. We were surrounded by so many people who we love and love us back, we couldn’t have asked for anything more. I will never forget the feeling of tremendous anxiousness and the GIGANTIC butterflies in my stomach as I waited to walk down the aisle-it was never fear, just overpowering excitement like I’ve never felt before. I had made up my mind that I would lock eyes on my groom and allow the rest of the world to fade away. I would only get to experience this once, and I was determined to do it right. Seconds before my cue to walk out, little did I know that my groom-to-be was around the corner softly crying as he waited in anticipation of what was to come—me. How cute! When I rounded the bend and saw his sweet teary face, I was overwhelmed with bliss at the sight of the most precious thing I had ever seen. The look on his face was of pure love and adoration—it was such a strong look, I remember literally trembling uncontrollably. When I finally made it to him, peace flooded me-I made it! I was exactly where I wanted to be. We had a beautiful ceremony that was led by our good friend and youth pastor, Gabe Neal. Looking back, we have declared this as our favorite and most treasured memory of our wedding. We have that mental picture engraved in our minds forever and what a beautiful thing it is! I might add that I won the bet over which one of us was going to cry!

We feel so blessed to have had the beach themed wedding/reception that we did. We were fortunate enough to have Brett’s cousins, Paul & Leanne photograph the entire day. Every song, decoration and piece of pasta was perfect. All of the hard work and countless hours paid off in the end! We had such a blast celebrating with everyone and were so pleased with how smoothly everything went. It didn’t even matter that our cake was leaning or that we looked like ghosts in our video montage (HaHa) because at the end of the day we were married at last…. and the icing on the cake…. we finally got to chuck the wedding planner! Woohoo!!

We received so much help, encouragement and support during our entire engagement process and up until the day the wedding bells chimed. Many people contributed to making our wedding awesome.

Special thanks go to:

- All of our parents: thank you for your financial support which was manifested in different ways, your love and guidance, and all of the special “little treats” you picked up for us along the way.

-To my mom (Pat)- thank you for walking me down the aisle. You made every step special for me. Thank you for being there to support me and give me away. You are the greatest mom and I love you so much!

-To our bridal party: thank you for being willing to be a part of our special day. Each of you are so important to us and our wedding would not have been the same if you were not up there with us. A special thank you to our Matron of Honor, Carly & Best Man, Jeremy (brother-in-law): for ALL that you did. You both delivered such sweet, funny and memorable toasts! Thank you for always striving to give us the best and make our engagement period so special.
To Carly (sister/sister-in-law): a special thanks for our engagement photos. Thank you for taking time out of your life to come shoot us. We are so happy with the finished product! You need to get into the business!
To April (friend): for flying all the way from Colorado to stand by our side—you are a true friend!

To Natalie (friend): for your faithfulness as a friend, for helping to throw the best and most creative bridal showers ever!! Thank you for always being willing to help with any task.
To Carolyn (Sara’s sister): thank you for your love, advice and flexibility.
To Cassie (Sara's niece): you did it! You pulled off the dress! We’re so glad that you were our Jr. Bridesmaid—you looked beautiful and helped bring comic relief to me in my stressful moments. You are the BEST at doing that! Love you!
To Emma (former student): you were the sweetest and most precious flower girl. You were a pro at throwing those petals! We value our special relationship and are happy you could share in our wedding.

To Noah (our nephew): although he’s too little to read this, we are proud that our wedding was the first wedding that he graced as the ring bearer. We couldn’t have found a cuter and more perfect little boy for the job! You looked adorable in your tux!! We love our nephew—good job Noah!!
To Jared (Brett’s stepbrother): thank you for being a good brother and standing by Brett’s side—thank you also for welcoming me into the family!

To Rick (friend): thank you for your willingness to be in our wedding. We were blessed to have you and are thankful for your ever present smile, positive attitude and friendship. P.S. we had you in mind when we made our wedding favors—saltwater taffy! Yum! We know how much you love that. Hope you scored more than one box! HaHa

-To Cathe Thompson (a family friend and former neighbor): thank you for blessing me with my all of wedding jewelry and accessories—what a great gift! I really appreciate the way you made the whole process so stress free! Thank you also for being patient with me as I asked a lot of questions and stumbled through making final decisions. 

-To Katie Mason (friend & Sara’s co-worker): You are a pure god sent! We would not have had the beautiful reception that we did if it wasn’t for you! We SO appreciate your willingness to go to the hall early and decorate—every sea shell was in the perfect spot. The room took our breath away....

Erika Allen (friend): Thank you for doing my hair for the wedding—such a nice gift!  Thank you for giving of your time and making those long drives and dealing with my difficult “anti-curly” hair (HaHa) Thank you for being a perfectionist! Haha I was so pleased with how my hair turned out—you did a great job and should start printing up your business cards!

Robert Sterling (Sara’s brother-in-law): Thank you for running the last minute errand of picking up the flower bouquets. Even such a small detail can seem so big in the midst of the chaos. Your willingness to take care of that for me was such a HUGE help. I’m glad you are a part of our family!

Nina Gruezo (friend/Sara’s co-worker): It may not have been my hair, but it was for my wedding…so thank you for being willing to do my bridesmaids hair—they looked awesome. It was great to have you there behind the scenes keeping it peppery!

Paul & LeAnne Sargeant (Brett’s cousins): Without you guys we wouldn’t be able to look back and relive the most important day in our lives. Hats off to our amazing photographers! Thank you for being at our wedding to capture everything. You guys have blessed us more than you know. We are so grateful for your gift to us!! You guys are the best. Thank you for making us and our entire bridal party have fun and feel uncomfortable!

Gabe Neal (friend): Thank you for agreeing to pull a double duty and not only act as the pastor but a groomsman as well. You are a great friend and a godly example. Thank you for the pre-marital sessions and always pointing us to Christ. We were honored to have you as part of our wedding.

To all of our guests: The love and support we felt on our wedding day was overwhelming. Thank you to everyone who came out to watch us become husband and wife.  It was SO wonderful to see friends/family that we see every day and others that we haven’t seen in years. It was nice to chat (even though it was probably only for a few minutes, as we were always being pulled in a thousand different directions). All of you made it fun for us and have given us wonderful memories. We are extremely lucky to have each and everyone one of you in our lives. We are grateful for your friendships! Love you all!!