I married my best friend at Historic Hotel Congress in Tucson Arizona

Its my first day back at the studio since I was married on Saturday. There is this crazy haze I’m walking around in… Nothing seems to bother me.

I walked into the tattoo studio this morning to discover there had been a little flooding from our first few monsoon storms of the season ( the first of which occurred during our ceremony) and the power is out on the entire back wall of my studio.

Ill have to rearrange so I can tattoo from a different outlet if we don’t get it fixed soon…. But thats it… Thats the worst case scenario. and its not that bad.

I feel like normally I would be in a state of panic.. Not the kind of panic that creates more problems, but the kind that distracts me from getting the right things done in the right order… Im married now. Which outlet I use to make tattoos is a very small issue. My wife has entrusted her heart to me…. That.. is a very big responsibility that I will handle with the highest urgency and regard.

I’ve heard of Pregnancy brain.. You know…. where you kind of get a little spacey… My wife has even exposed me to yoga brain after I’ve taken one of her classes at Yoga Oasis…. But this. This feels different. Or maybe its the same.. Im just content with all things good and bad. There is a peace that has washed over me…

Is this Honeymoon brain? Is this ” thank god the stress of the wedding planning is over” brain? Perhaps a little of column A and little of column B? Who cares? I sure dont.

Ive got a couple weeks til the honeymoon actually takes place. Which is nice. A little more time to relive the memories of one of the best weekends of my life.

Weve been pouring over the pictures all of our guests have taken. I could look at them all day long…. My wife and I were stunning ( she was 1000% out of my league then and now). The Hotel Congress was a main character in our wedding story as well, and she looked marvelous. Not bad for being 100 years old either!

The weekend was fantastic… From our favorite people flying in to celebrate with us. To our closest friends doing everything in their power to make us feel as if we were the center of the universe( Bobby Cyndi/Erika Jenn/Oli Jay). To my wifes tear jerking vows ( she was unamimously voted the winner of the vows haha). Our first dance… Dancing with my daughter to the Toy Story Theme Song that she picked for us. And the epic after party that so many of my clients and friends attended. It was pure Magic. ( it didnt hurt that we actually got married on Walt Disney and Lillian Bounds wedding anniversary either)

I thought for a second that I might be crazy enough to want to do it all over again (which I would in a heartbeat) but I think Ill be OK with a one and done.

Weve got some great things in store for the tattoo studio. Just had to get through this wedding business and the honeymoon and then itll be back to business.

Ill wrap up with some personal insights and a list of thank yous…

I wanted to mention what I personally took away from this… This was one of the very first times that I was able to focus on myself and my family exclusively.. Im sure you understand. In everything I do, I wonder what someone thinks about me… if they approve of what Im doing or if they are judging me. I think we can all be guilty of that from time to time… In fact, we had set expectations in our minds in regards to how the night would play out… how the family would get along, what would people wear ( semi formal was the code) and so on. I worried about that stuff… I really did.

It was all for nothing… At the end of it all. It was my wife and I floating around the room smiling and happy together.. The rest of the world didnt matter. Maybe I just needed to be married to her this whole time (11 years later).

I feel more unstoppable than ever before. and if things don’t go as planned. Im still married to my best friend. There is no downside in life anymore. We have our daughter and each other.

A huge shout out to our host, the lovely and aging so gracious Hotel Congress. It is truly my honor to be a part of your history. Specifically Melissa and her team in the Copper Hall. From day one with her we knew it was going to be her that made this day and weekend what it was. I only wish I had more events to host so I could visit with her weekly… Please do yourself a favor and consider her when looking to host any event. Thanks Melissa.

And of course for capturing all of the evenings festivities, a huge thank you to Sergio our Photographer. His skill are second to none. The most common issue we ran into while talking with other couples was their photos. We took our time and made sure to find the right person… and Sergio is hands down the best decision we made. Thanks

Jocelyn, Nate and Miriam at the front desk were incredible as well. We felt right at home for our stay. As did all of our guests. Im already planning on booking my next stay.

Matt at the Cup cafe was incredibly accommodating to my everchanging reservations for my family to join me for a post wedding brunch.

Keith and Mike in the Lobby bar were equally amazing. Making sure my cup never runneth dry haha.

All in all, the Hotel Congress and all the staff made sure our weekend and wedding day was exactly what it was supposed to be. This was the epitome of hospitality. I really can’t stress this enough. Im looking forward to enjoying this Tucson gem for years and years to come!

Have you ever stayed at Hotel Congress? What did you think? share your thoughts in the comments or this post with someone thinking about hosting there!

Dave