My new husband and I had a small ceremony on the beach, with just the closest of our family members and friends. It was absolutely lovely, the summer sun was setting on the waves behind us as we spoke our promises of love and foreverness to one another, and the pictures are unbelievable. I read thousands of articles on weddings in the weeks leading up to D-Day (our wedding was actually on D-Day, June 6th), and listened to dozens of women regurgitating the details of their weddings. But what happens when everything is said and done, when all the family and friends are gone, the excitement has faded, and the marriage has begun?

One of the first emotions that hit both of us, immediately after the wedding, was of course love. We couldn’t stop looking at one another, our hands were constantly reaching for each other, and we snuck kisses at every opportunity. Actually, I can’t speak in past tense, because it is still like that. But then we got back to our apartment, and noticed the mess. And my gosh, was there a mess. There were food wrappers, dishes, pillows, blankets, random articles of clothing, pieces of paper, and shoes everywhere. And since everyone was gone, the duty of cleaning fell to the newlywed couple. But, since our hands kept finding their way over to the other person, finishing the monumental task we were faced with took us the better part of the week.

I suppose I should mention that our honeymoon will be taking place in a month. We are both incredibly nerdy in a lot of ways, and thus decided that the prime destination for our honeymoon is San Diego, for Comi-Con. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it is the biggest nerd convention ever created. Comic books, video games, television shows, and everything that is part of nerd culture is present there. It is fantastic, but we are beginning to realize that there is a reason most couples take their honeymoon directly after the wedding. Namely, because a wedding is exhausting! No one wants to go right back to every day life after their wedding, they need time to recouperate, to just be lazy and have other people take care of everything.

On top of being completely exhausted after our wedding, we experienced a bit of shock. We were both the center of attention for a while, and the bachelor and bachelorette parties the night before amplified that. At the reception, everyone toasted us, and we felt as though we were walking on air. And then, bam! Reality hits, and all of the sudden you have joined the group of people who are married, and it’s back to real life for you. No more planning, no more trying on dresses, looking at flowers, tasting cakes and lots of wonderful food, no more stress. And, while it is a relief to have all the stress gone, it comes with a sense of emptiness. We had grown a bit fond of all the details and planning, and now it has been replaced with a lack of money. I definitely call that an unfair trade.

But I love being married. Calling myself a Mrs. now is weird, and waiting in line at the DMV and Social Security office to change my name is definitely draining. But it is so worth it. My husband and I have decided that we are going to print our vows out and frame them to put on the wall once we move out of our apartment, and into our first house. I can’t wait to go house hunting, travelling, and eventually go shopping for baby clothes. But for now, time to finally finish cleaning…