Practice? We're talking about practice, man.

From this point on, my wedding weekend became an absolute whirlwind of smiles, hugs, tears (of both the happy and sad variety), and dancing. Seriously, if there is one piece of advice I can give to soon-to-be-married folks, it would be to slow down and take careful note of what is going on around you. One second you're practicing your walk down the aisle and the next second you're back home, eating leftover cake and opening a pile of gifts and cards from loved ones. It will blow your mind and if you aren't careful, it will feel like you weren't really there to experience it. But more to come on that later...

From the nail salon, we headed straight to the Oscar Event Center, our venue, for the rehearsal. Because the Oscar had an event that night, we weren't able to practice in the actual room where we were holding the ceremony. So, we did our run-through in the gorgeous lobby and tried our best to remember what Dianna (our wedding coordinator) and Wheat's dad (our minister) told us. Thanks to both of our drunk rowdy brothers, the rehearsal was a bit like herding cats, but we left feeling pretty confident that the crew would hit their marks the next day. I also left with the sudden, jarring realization that, by that time the next day, I would actually be married to the love of my life.

Our rehearsal dinner was held at Rick's Tavern, a laid-back sports bar near the wedding venue. Since we were having a sports-themed wedding, Wheat's Mom and Aunt Nancy decorated our private room to look like an arena and called it 'Hotchkiss Stadium.' They put sports centerpieces on the tables (crates filled with pennants, streamers, and little balls), displayed sports-related pictures of us on the welcome table, and set out postcards of old ballparks that guests were instructed to send to us at some point during our first year of marriage. It always brings a massive smile to my face when I open our mailbox and find one inside.

My favorite decoration was a large print of a baseball stadium that was gradually filled with guests' fingerprints and signatures throughout the night. To me, their multi-colored fingerprints, which look like people filling the crowd at a game, represent all the support and love we're getting from our biggest fans. It's a really special keepsake - I just need to find a place to hang it in our apartment.

Fitting with the theme, dinner was a buffet of hamburgers, hot dogs, and other ballpark snacks. My mom ordered an Orioles groom's cake for Wheat, but it got smashed in transit, so she improvised with some cute baseball sugar cookies. I can't speak to how the food tasted because I was too busy greeting (and meeting) our out-of-town guests. Wheat's parents invited our entire extended families and many of our out-of-town guests to the dinner, so I spent the bulk of the night being introduced to them. We gave our parents their gifts (large canvas photos of our engagement pictures) and watched a sweet slideshow that Wheat's brother put together. Mostly, I tried to compose myself because I was already feeling overwhelmed by all of the attention.

As the night went on, the public space at Rick's slowly transitioned from a sports bar to a Halloween party and the clientele followed suit. People dressed in costumes filled the dance floor as the Naked Karate Girls, a popular Cincinnati cover band, took the stage. After weeks of begging, I finally convinced Wheat to dress up with me for the occasion as Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. Get it? A few of my bridesmaids also dressed up and we indulged in a little Halloween fun since the actual holiday would be spent in formal wedding attire.

I knew we needed to get some sleep, so we called it an early night and headed back to our hotel, the Hampton Inn. Wheat stayed in his own room while I stayed in our "honeymoon suite" with my two maids of honor. Unable to fall asleep (and hungry from not really eating earlier), the three of us headed to Steak 'n Shake for some late night burgers, shakes, and crying talking. As we ate and discussed love and life, memories with the two of them began to flood over me - late nights spent with them at Steak 'n Shake, Backstreet Boys concerts, story-telling on the trampoline, choreographing dances in our living room. It was truly the perfect way to spend my last night as a single woman - surrounded by my two best friends and face-deep in some Steak 'n Shake fries.

Next Up: Getting Ready!