we got hitched!!!
The conversation of December 13th went something like this:
Him: “I have some great news, I got a bonus at work!”
Me: “Well done, you! Woop! Woop!”
Him: “And I thought I could use it to come visit you this Christmas!”
Me: “Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” (Sound barrier broken)
Him: “And I was thinking that maybe we should get married while I’m there!”
Me: Silence. Tears. The word “Yes!” wanted to come out a thousand times but I was too choked up to say it. He knew it was yes, though. It was always yes.
The days leading up to Christmas this year were filled with last-minute phone calls and short notice invites and emails to a thousand people — searching for venues, finding an officiant, buying a dress, booking hotel rooms, renting a car, making dinner reservations, writing vows on Christmas morning and shopping for wedding bands on boxing day. I essentially had 10 days to plan a wedding between Christmas and New Years and the result of that planning was nothing short of perfect — an intimate wedding in front of a fireplace at the Adirondack Loj in Lake Placid on a stormy winter Wednesday. Somehow cupcakes and champagne featured. And there was a giant moose head overlooking the ceremony. And my friend Jess played our song and our friend Sean took these amazing photos and Joe’s brother flew in from England with his partner. And everything just magically fell into place.
It’s all a blur now. It happened so quickly. But I do remember the love in that room. Our legs were shaking like leaves and I was nervous as hell but nothing mattered. All the things I thought might matter… didn’t. I forgot about everything the moment I stood in front of him. It felt like the most “right” thing I’ve ever done in my life.
And now I am his wife. Mrs. Stewart. And I love calling him my husband. I love knowing that I get to be by this man’s side for the rest of my life, through thick and through thin. He really is the best thing that has ever happened to me.
I dropped him off at the airport yesterday for the last time. This is the last tearful goodbye. Next time I fly to London (fingers crossed for Spring – visa depending), I’ll be going home. To my husband. And we can finally start our life together. And we can think about what colors to paint the walls and what to do with that old couch of his and I can fix the faucet while he cooks me eggs for breakfast (he makes the best eggs and that faucet won’t fix itself) and we can plan our second wedding (yes. there will be a wedding in England. mental!) and where we want to honeymoon and what we want to call our babies, if ever we go down that road. You know. That kind of stuff. It’s been nearly 3 years since the day we met and we are only just beginning. The best is yet to come.
Us Two by A. A. Milne
Wherever I am, there’s always Pooh,
There’s always Pooh and Me.
Whatever I do, he wants to do,
“Where are you going today?” says Pooh:
“Well, that’s very odd ‘cos I was too.
Let’s go together,” says Pooh, says he.
“Let’s go together,” says Pooh.
“What’s twice eleven?” I said to Pooh.
(“Twice what?” said Pooh to Me.)
“I think it ought to be twenty-two.”
“Just what I think myself,” said Pooh.
“It wasn’t an easy sum to do,
But that’s what it is,” said Pooh, said he.
“That’s what it is,” said Pooh.
“Let’s look for dragons,” I said to Pooh.
“Yes, let’s,” said Pooh to Me.
We crossed the river and found a few-
“Yes, those are dragons all right,” said Pooh.
“As soon as I saw their beaks I knew.
That’s what they are,” said Pooh, said he.
“That’s what they are,” said Pooh.
“Let’s frighten the dragons,” I said to Pooh.
“That’s right,” said Pooh to Me.
“I’m not afraid,” I said to Pooh,
And I held his paw and I shouted “Shoo!
Silly old dragons!”- and off they flew.
“I wasn’t afraid,” said Pooh, said he,
“I’m never afraid with you.”
So wherever I am, there’s always Pooh,
There’s always Pooh and Me.
“What would I do?” I said to Pooh,
“If it wasn’t for you,” and Pooh said: “True,
It isn’t much fun for One, but Two,
Can stick together, says Pooh, says he. “That’s how it is,” says Pooh.
wonderingsandwanderings.com 
Oh Jeanine these photos are so beautiful and you look stunning and the two of you so very happy. Congratulations and good wishes for a long and happy life together! xo
You have made me believe in magic, possibilities and most importantly the power of love.
****CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS****
I am so looking forward to hearing/seeing the next chapter(s) unfold.
xo, Lisa T.
Gorgeous, beautiful, lovely, swoon. Love is the BEST.
Congrats to you. You two are just completely adorbs.
oh my my my. i am just so completely happy for you.
Oh that’s just great !!! Congrats ! You two look fantastic. I wish you the best for 2012 and for this long beautiful life together !!!
You look so beautiful and the happiness just radiates from these photos! Beyond delighted for you both! Congratulations!!!
So thrilled for you. And being married to a Brit is wonderful. I should know. 🙂
Congratulations to you both!
K.
“meraviglosa.” I remember when you stayed at my apartment after you both had just met. Wow… 3 years later it’s nothing less than awesome, you two, the boots, that moose… all of it. I just cried all over my keyboard, I am so happy for you.
btw… the man in the scond pic with the fur hat looks familiar, was”Red Green” at your wedding? LOL!)
Oh, congratulations x a billion! You guys looks so beautiful and happy!
HUGE congratulations, gorgeous gorgeous wedding x x I wish you both a lifetime of happiness together x
how utterly PERFECT that it was this time of year when so much launched forward that magical New Year’s a few back .. .oh,, oh oh oh.
utter and complete perfection.
I am swooned out to the swooniest max of swoonville.
When I recover, I will email you– just know your happiness is like a giant sky full of firecrackers lighting up the world for all of us.
xoxo, e
Wow I’m a stranger and you had me in tears. Congratulations! I am so happy that romance is alive and thriving…….
p.s: the photos are amazing!
Oh my God Jeanine! So excited and happy for the two of you. Your last post left me wondering how you were doing and I checked in several times over the holidays to see if there was a new post. Now I know why you weren’t writing. Congratulations!!!
Congratulations, Mrs. Jeanine Stewart!! We never met but I am so happy for you, what a wonderful conclusion to your transatlantic love affair! And you couldn’t have done it better if you had months and years to plan it. Somehow those spontaneous decisions are always the best! So glad you shared the photos, they are fabulous, especially the first one. Here is to a long and happy life for you and Joe! Kerstin xo
You made me cry… I’m so happy for you, you looked amazing and totally beaming!!! Hurry back to the UK so I can hug you in person! Congrats to you both, I’m so glad this happened your way, it really was meant to be xxxxxx
You have the most exciting adventures of any blog writer I’ve come across 🙂 Congrats!!!! The photos and venue are beautiful and you look stunning!
Congratulations! Amazing! Remarkable! You look fabulous! It looked totally perfect and I was going to say totally Canadian until I read it was at Lake Placid. Wonderful all the same. Good luck, may the visa fairy be kind and gentle. Have warm memories to keep you going until the spring. Everything is working out as it should be. What a way to start 2012. All the best, Libby
AHHHHHHHHHHH! YOU LOOKED STUNNING! OH MY GOODNESS!
You look so happy (and Canadian with those boots on, girl!)
Congratulations.
Beautifull, happy loving pictures …. Glad to hear there may be babys down the road … For the time being …. You both look so wonderfull … Mr. and Mrs Stewart xxxx
Beautiful like a fairtail… Bravo ma belle (Monsieur et Madame Stewart) xoxo Christine
Oups!!! fairytail hehehe
A hundred thousand congratulations (and SQUEEE about the moose! ha!)…you two are adorable and so beautiful and O! Am so very happy for you 🙂
Oh, how wonderful! Congratulations. LOVE the boots with the wedding dress!
The best love story EVA. And this is just the beginning…
Biggest congratulations.
xxx
So very happy for both of you! Your love of life is contagious, and for that I thank you.
Oh Jeanine, the photos and the feeling of the day, and the full circle-ness of it all, so terribly beautiful and magical and somehow utterly perfect.
Here’s to visas coming through with ease and speed, and faucets getting fixed, and the best eggs ever, and you in your home with the boy.
much love to you
xoL
over the moon for you (both). your photos are divine..and you are GORgeous! three cheers for finding a buddy for life…and for ‘home’. all is well that ends well.
loving it all.
Amazing!!! What a beautiful wedding. Congratulations to you both!
a thousand times congratulations my dear – you both look so beautiful and in love and I couldn’t be happier! xxx
These words and photos had me smiling with tears in my eyes. I could not be happier for the two of you and the amazing life you will share. Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Stewart.
Oh, what a perfect, perfect wedding. Those photos are fantastic and I can almost feel the love in the room too. Congratulations and I wish you all the happiness in the world!
Beautiful just beautiful……. Im so happy for the both of you xxxx
You have no idea how unbelievably happy I am for you right now 🙂 I have followed your journey with The English One right from the beginning and I feel blessed to have been witness to it. Congratulations to the both of you!!
I know have a tear of joy in my eye, and everyone at work is wondering what has happened, as facebook and wandw blog visits arent exactly allowed half way through a meeting, but i just could not resist. Wonderful wedding, wonderful people, wonderful love. Just right. Big hugs 2 u both.
My mouth is still hanging open. It could be a combination of any or all of these things: the title of this post, the fact that you planned a wedding in TEN days, the fact that it looks like an amazing wedding never mind the TEN days, how beautiful you are, the sheer size of your smile, the look in British boy’s eyes when he’s looking at you, how lucky you were to have snow, the gorgeous photos and/or the happiness dripping from every one of them. Congratulations to both of you. What a way to start the new year!
best post wedding comment EVER. thank you so much.
totally blissed out. happy new year to you. xo
I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!! 🙂
Congratulations!!
P.S. I LOVE your boots!
Congratulations to you both! I am so, so happy for you 🙂
Happy New Year to the lovely couple 🙂
Congratulations Mrs Stewart! Wishing you all the best.
I only know you from reading your blog, but I just said out loud to myself, while reading this post, “This is so her.” And I mean that in an incredibly positive way. I kept checking in after your last post, which was so sad, and then to see that in the meantime, you’ve gone and gotten hitched- well, that’s just fantastic! The joy in your face is beyond beautiful. Congratulations!
Here is my wish for you both…
That you always feel as happy as you appear in these photographs. That you continue to grow as strongly together as you do as individuals. That there is always understanding and compassion and peace in your home. That your days turn into years turn into decades turn into a long and healthy (in every way) lifetime. That you remember how you feel – right now. That on those days that feel less then awesome you can look into his or her eyes and see just how close awesome lives to you. Happy, Happy, Happiness always and Love too (always too). Aaaah… I am so happy for you.
I found your blog right about the same time you met ‘the boy’ – I’ve really enjoyed the unfolding story as time has gone by (especially the parts where photographs of Scotland were featured :-)) and have wondered where you’ve been and what your heart was going through since your last post. Who knew?!!
SO many congratulations and SO many wishes for a beautiful and lovely life together. May you always trust and support each other and be each other’s friend. If you tend well to each other the rest will always take care of itself.
Happy, Merry, Joyous Everything!
The woman sitting next to me in the café handed me a tissue with a sorry look… “Is everything okay?”
I showed her some of the pictures above and briefly explained how I’ve been following this blog for years (and what lead to said photos), like a good book you just can’t put down even if it’s 3 in the morning and you know you’ll be sooo tired at work in the morning.
She needed tissues too!
:’-)
Wish I had your magic touch with words to explain how happy I am for you two!!
oh.my.
best winter visit ever.
*tears of happiness after all those beautiful photos, stories and plans for the future.*
All the best to you both.
Love love love the photos and the story. So happy for the two of you… can’t wait to hear more. Sending lots of love xo
happy tears 🙂
can’t wait to see you
x
Oh!!!! Congratulations! I’m SO happy that you are both happy! Siiiigh…. 🙂
Congratulations! A million and more congratulations! You both look amazing and so happy. 😀
So very happy for you both! Congratulations!
OMG, Congratulations!
I love your blog, and reading of your wedding today has just restored my faithin love and romance!
Wishing you lots of fun and great times together 🙂
Ah! You look so pretty on your wedding day! Congratulations!
brilliant all around! so happy for you both.
happy new year MRS.!!!!! EEEP!
Dear J,
So so happy for the both of you. Congratulations and God bless you both as you journey on! Thank you for always being an inspiration to me. Lots of love…all the way from Malaysia :).
So wonderful! I’ve been so out of touch with your blog (babies do that to me) and so clicking here today was a wonderful and marvelous surprise! You could see the love in that room – even in the moose!
that first photo, the depth of love and joy in both your eyes brings tears of happiness to mine – this blissful happiness is your birthright girl you own it! reading thru the comments touches me in a whole other way, you have a profound affect on others and the growth you’ve had in your life has inspired me and many others in a deep and meaningful way – you have been living/writing your legacy.
ps-dude i’m so friggin proud of you!!
Wow! Congratulations! I’m so terrible at commenting but I’ve been reading since before you moved blogs (it used to be bohemian girl-something back in the day, no?) so I feel especially thrilled for you. I love these photos – what fun, and what love! The moose is wonderful, seriously the coolest backdrop ever, especially with the Santa hat. I love the snowy photos with the dress + boots too, perfect. AND you get to plan an English wedding next? You lucky girl. I know that your next post is all about patience but given all the great stuff you have to look forward to it seems like maybe your word should be: excitement! Or eager anticipation : )
Anyway – best of luck getting everything in order for the big move!
Oh God. Youve had me in tears…..again!
Beard, I’ve never seen you looking so smart. Literally. And Jeanine – classy & beautiful. Beats an HP hoody covered in mud eh?
Well done guys. You look the perfect match!!
We can have a retro stag do right?
X
ah shit now i’m really crying. kisses kisses to you two!
How beautiful!! Congratulations!
Truly one of the most romantic things I have read and seen and heard of. Congratulations you beautiful two.
H