Whirlwind of Perfection

Where to begin? The past two weeks have been the biggest emotional whirlwind of my life. Mr. Bradford and I officially became husband and wife on June 15, 2013.

Hooray! 

As cliché as it may sound, there is only one word to define our post-wedding feelings: perfection. The only bad part of the day was that it had to come to an end. The ceremony was intimate and romantic as we had hoped it would be (and I somehow managed to refrain from becoming the sobbing bride). Mother Nature blessed us with the most perfect weather. I experienced quite the welcome to the Army during the saber arch that plastered ear-to-ear grins all over the faces of our guests from the very start of the celebration. Beautiful, tearful toasts and blessings were given by some of our favorite people. The dance floor was literally never empty or lacking in the goofiest of moves in true Brad and Kayla style. And every hug we received was followed by a heart-felt sentiment noting how incredibly happy we both looked. It's because we genuinely had never been happier!

Many of you are becoming quite familiar with our friend and photographer Jill Knight of Jillography; she is the mastermind behind the lens of our beautiful engagement pictures as well as those from Brad's graduation day. Well, she has outdone herself once again. If you haven't already, you must visit the sneak peek she posted on her blog (click on the "Hooray!" above). Be forewarned: the happiness of our day captured in these pictures will consume you and force you to feel all warm and fuzzy inside. We can hardly contain our excitement to see all of the pictures she shot from the rehearsal dinner BBQ on Friday, the wedding day, and the farewell brunch on Sunday. The sneak peek from Saturday alone is the bee's knees, the cat's meow, the bomb diggity (Brad's descriptive contribution)...we could go on for days. Enjoy!

So after the best weekend of our lives, we jetted off to Saint Lucia together for our honeymoon. We spent our week in paradise consuming an ungodly amount of ice cream treats and reminiscing about the whirlwind of perfection we had just experienced. One of the highlights for me was an afternoon spent in a very luxurious beach side cabana. We were served breakfast, lunch, and tasty tropical drinks and spent the day just lounging and reading in blissful peace listening to the ocean. In those moments I was finally able to feel myself unwind and truly relax. When we did decide to venture out of our cozy haven of a personal cabana or suite including a patio with a private pool and stunning ocean view (spoiled rotten, I know), we went on some pretty incredible island adventures.

One afternoon we found ourselves soaring through the rainforest treetops on a ziplining excursion. That trip ended on a sour note for me when we stumbled across a very hairy, large tarantula friend. I suppose it is the rainforest after all. On another day we took a speedboat tour around the island. Pit stops included a mineral mud bath and hot springs, a refreshing waterfall swim, an authentic and delicious home cooked Creole meal, and a visit with rainbow-colored fish friends while snorkling some beautiful reefs. It was the best way to see the best and most of Saint Lucia outside of the golden resort gates. We were far from disappointed! The natural beauty of the island is completely breath taking. Experiencing it alone would have been fabulous. Experiencing it hand-in-hand with my new husband was something I will never forget.

So now what? Life does not slow down for us. No way, no how! We are in New York for just long enough to unpack, do laundry, post this blog, and repack. Then we are on our way to Orlando to celebrate the wedding of great friends on the Fourth of July at Disney World. We fly back to New York on Friday, attend another West Point wedding of more dear friends on Saturday, pack up my beloved river oasis apartment on Sunday, and drive back to Michigan on Monday. Say a prayer for our sanity please. As soon as life slows down a bit, if ever, I promise to post all of the graduation, wedding, honeymoon, and summer adventure pictures for your viewing pleasure. Until then, I hope you enjoy Jill's blog and a few of our favorite honeymoon memories below.

Looks as though life will continue to be a whirlwind of perfection for awhile for the newly-wedded Witts!

Welcome to Saint Lucia!

Panorama of our patio, private pool, and ocean view

Cabana day

Cabana view

The famous Pitons behind us on our boat cruise

Sunset from our patio

Tanned and happy Mr. & Mrs.

The Long Gray Line

Before Brad left for West Point's 'Beast' boot camp, he gave me a CD to listen to while he was away. "All My Loving" by Jim Sturgess {listen here!} from the movie Across the Universe was track number one. There were many lonely days that I listened to it on repeat more times than was probably healthy. I wrote to Brad every single day as our only form of communication, and he still has a hard time expressing how much those letters meant to him. Our relationship was still so new at that point, but there was no denying we were falling in love.

Track number one again played on repeat for me recently, but this time silently in my head. As I waited for the commencement ceremony for the United States Military Academy Class of 2013 to begin, a wave of nostalgia hit me. As I sat in the freezing rain in my bright red poncho and rain boots I had begrudgingly worn rather than my adorable planned sundress (yes, the weather was that bad), I thought about the lyrics, what they meant to me then, and what they mean to me now. Four years have come and gone, and so much has happened! I was accepted to and graduated from nursing school, we adopted two kittens, I moved to New York. We traveled together to Key West, Las Vegas, Boston, San Francisco, Alaska, and France. We watched Michigan State win a lot and Army lose a lot of football games (sorry love, couldn't resist). We both said goodbye to our childhood homes as our parents moved on to bigger and better things. Brad asked a big question, and I said yes. A lot can happen in four years, just to name a few.

And now we can add one very big one to the list. Brad has joined the long gray line as a West Point graduate. He is now a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army and will join the 36th Engineer Brigade at our first duty station, Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

One thing that did stay the same as Brad journeyed from lowly plebe to officer rank was love. The love we share, love from our families, and love from new and old friends alike. Just as my daily letters got Brad through boot camp and a silly love song helped me survive, it is because of all of the love in our lives that we celebrated a very big accomplishment in rainy Michie Stadium on May 25th together. The weather of graduation day, although a bummer, did not dampen the happiness of the graduates, family, and friends one single bit. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise to hide the tears of joy that fell like waterworks down my cheeks as I got that much anticipated first hug on the field.

To 2LT Witt: Okay, okay. I guess you can take some of the credit. Maybe it wasn't entirely love that got you to graduation day. I suppose a good deal of late nights, physical challenges, hard work, and lessons learned in leadership were necessary on your part too. For some odd reason I expected you to come out of the barracks for the big reveal in your new officer's uniform as a different person. Much to my delight, you are the same exact guy I fell in love with four years ago, just with a spiffy new get-up and admirable title and career to match. You earned this, and I could not possibly be more proud of you. In fact, watching you graduate and commission was the proudest moment of my life so far. Choosing to serve our country in a time of conflict and uncertainty speaks volumes of your selflessness and courage. No matter where Army life takes us from here, together or far apart, know that I am always right beside you. You have "all my loving," always.

From R-Day...

West Point would post pictures of the new cadets every day during boot camp. My summer was spent in a tiny cubicle in the call center at Whirlpool Corporation. Needless to say, I spent many hours scouring their website searching for a familiar face in a sea of soldiers. Here is what I found...

...to Graduation Day!  

As captured by the photojournalism queen (who we are blessed to call our dear friend), Jill Knight of Jillography! 
We are forever grateful to you for giving us the gift of such awesome and emotion-packed pictures.

© Jillography 2013 / www.jillographyblog.com