Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Happy 3 Year Anniversary! (To Us!)


Happy anniversary Joe!  I can’t believe that it has been 3 years since our wedding.  It feels like it was just yesterday and I’m actually thankful for that because it was such a fun wedding and I’m so happy that I remember it so vividly, even after all those mimosas and sangria’s I drank all day.  Our wedding was stress-free and care-free.  Of course wedding planning was not either of those things, but our actual wedding day was.  The rain held off, everything went smooth, and we had so much fun.  I danced my ass off, playing with sparklers and drinking champagne out of the bottle.  My MOH had her dress on practically backward by the end of the night, there was lots of great memories from that night that I will never forget. 

love my dress!
25 bottles of champagne drank by 7PM, reception started at 6
our rings on some giant orchids that lined the aisle

In 3 years we have been through a lot more than I ever expected.  Things didn’t go according to the plan that I envisioned in my head, and now we are on a different path that I could never have imagined.  It’s a path that is making our marriage, already built on a strong foundation, even stronger, but today I don’t want to focus on infertility because that is not what defines our marriage.  There’s a lot more to the Ridley’s than that!

love that we incorporated our bike, this is the bike we'd wreck on 6 months later...
loved my dress and my cascade of orchids so much!
my handsome husband, so proud to call him MINE!
my favorite picture of me... ever.
all the groomsmen rode their motorcycles to the wedding
our grand entrance, sparklers and all! 

If I had to pick some words to define our marriage I would pick strong, adventurous, fun, & loving. We've had to endure some tough times as a couple, 6 months in as newlyweds we got into a motorcycle accident, it was a lot to deal with and something that helped strengthen us as a couple as I relied heavily on Joe and his family, his dad especially, to help me get around, help with the dog, etc. since they were our neighbors and I’m so thankful to them and the rest of our family & friends for all they did for us during that time.  I consider us to be adventurous because we absolutely love to take the bike and go, I wish that we got to do as much riding this summer as we did last.  It’s something that we both find true joy in and we experience that joy together.  We love to travel not only on the bike but also take vacation, cruises especially and explore beautiful destinations together.  We've always had lots of fun together, it just comes naturally for us and I think that's how you know you're meant to for each other.  At this moment we are having so much fun building our house and picking out all the details.  It has been majorly stressful too, but it’s been more fun and more rewarding than anything I can imagine and I can’t wait to see it all come together.  And of course, last but not least loving, I think that’s a word that should describe any successful marriage.  We have lots of love for each other that grows every single day with each struggle, with each fight, with each laugh, with each accomplishment.

our first dance
 me and my dad
we danced
 and danced...
and danced...
 and danced some more!
this is one of my favorite pics from the wedding, all of my favorite ladies in one photo!




3 down already with so much more in store for us over our lifetime.  I don’t think that we’ve even began to scratch the surface of what is to come for us.  Between seeing our house being built and finished and hopefully welcoming some children into our lives, I can’t wait to see what else our future holds.  We’ve faced challenges from the beginning and there is no one else that I’d rather face those challenges with than Joe.  He is such a genuine person who has always been himself and allowed me to be myself and that is so important in a relationship.  Our marriage has grown over the years for the best and I know that will continue as we make this journey together.  Here’s to 3 down and forever to go!

23 comments:

  1. Happy anniversary girl! You looked so gorgeous on your wedding day! Cheers to many more to come! :)

    <3, Pamela
    sequinsandseabreezes.blogspot.com

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  2. Stunning photos!! You are such a cute couple. Sending you lots of love on your anniversary!! xoxo

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  3. I love the picture of all the groomsmen on their motorcycles! Happy anniversary!

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  4. Happy Anniversary lady! Beautiful photos. You look gorgeous!

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  5. Happy anniversary!!! Your photos are beautiful :)

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  6. Happy anniversary to you two! I LOVE all your pics, you are absolutely beaming :)

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  7. aw happy anniversary gorgeous! your pics are beautiful, you made an absolutely stunning bride! love your dress :)

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  8. Ooh I just loved all those pictures! Congrats & cheers to many more happy years together!

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  9. Gorgeous! I'm looking forward to doing a similar post come Oct.

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  10. Happy Anniversary! You remind me so much of Kellie Pickler :)

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  11. Love your wedding photos! They are stunning. Happy anniversary, my sweet friend. Hopefully next year brings your baby.

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  12. Happy anniversary. Ur wedding photos paint such a great picture of what ur wedding was like.

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  13. Yall look like the perfect duo together... and you have so much to be proud of. I love that yall are building your house together. We did that too, and it's amazing to be living in a space that you feel like is YOURS. Cheers to many more years, and may God bless you with lots of babies <3 I am still praying for you, girl

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  14. ugh i think it ate my comment!! Without repeating the whole thing over. YOU ARE STUNNING! Happy anniversary!

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  15. Happy Anniversary! Gorgeous pics, love them all!! xo

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  16. You guys are stunning and it looks like you had an absolutely fantastic wedding day! Happy Anniversary!

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  17. Oh I just loved reading this! Your wedding pictures are so breathtaking! Happy Anniversary! Cheers to many many more!

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  18. Just got here on your blog. Am soooo loving your dress!

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