July 12, 2008 Part I

I thought that today I would recap and reminisce about the wedding and pre-wedding festivities, and tomorrow, on our actual anniversary, I'd do the same with the reception.

I did not want to be one of those brides who cried all day on her wedding day. I wanted it to be a completely happy day for everyone; a celebration. But I'm probably the most sensitive and sentimental person ever. So I seriously prayed for weeks before the wedding that I would get all of my crying out before the wedding day. And yes, the week of the wedding there were many tears. Because I was so excited, and I was so happy to become Luke's wife. Also because I had a lot of stress, and crying was a way to deal with it. On the actualy wedding day, I cried twice: once because my grandpa was in the hospital and wouldn't be able to make it to the wedding, and the other time because of my hair freakout. But after that, I was blissully happy the rest of the day, and I didn't cry once. And neither did anyone else! I think God knew that if I saw one of my parents cry or anyone else that I'm really close to, I would lose it. I'm so glad it was a happy day :-)

So here's the re-cap.

6:00 AM: I woke up with butterflies in my stomach, and quickly took a shower so my hair would be dry for my 12:00 hair appointment. (My hair has to air dry if I don't want it to be a complete puffball).

8:00 AM: Julie and Lindsey (my sister and a bridesmaid from out-of-town who had spent the night at our house) woke up and Julie did my nails for me. I just used my natural nails, but Julie gave me a French manicure.

10:00: Bridal Party Brunch at Luke's aunt's house for all the bridesmaids and female family members. I remember being surprised that I actually had an appetite that day...I ate a hearty breakfast there, because I would only be snacking until the reception (I tend to get an upset stomach when I get really nervous, and I didn't want to eat too much too close to the ceremony!)
12:00: Hair appointment. If you've been reading my "Wedding Wednesday" posts, you know that this hairdo didn't hold!!1:00: Started frantically getting ready with Julie and Lindsey. I remember starting to get really nervous at this point, and Julie and Lindsey probably got annoyed with me talking about how nervous I was about the wedding, reception, and the wedding night. lol

2:30: Arrived at the church, and my breath was taken away by how beautiful it looked! Although I was crying at the same time because I was having my hair freakout. Which was completely legit. My hair looked absolutely terrible at that point.

2:45: Julie and Rachel re-curled my hair while my veil was still on. I'm not sure how they did it, but they made it perfect!!3:00: Spent the next 2.5 hours with my bridesmaids, getting ready, talking, laughing, and having pictures taken (which I am still yet to receive. But hopefully will soon since my photographer has been convicted of grand theft from 10 or 11 brides including me! You also know this if you've been reading my blog for awhile).5:00: The music started. I had a piano player and 2 singers. The singers were my cousins, and luckily there was a speaker in the nursery where we were getting ready so we could hear them. They sounded amazing!! They sang, "I Will Be Here" by Steven Curtis Chapman (that song still makes my heart melt!) "When You Say You Love Me" by Josh Groban, and "These are the Moments" by Edwin McCain.5:30: I walked down the aisle! To Pachelbel's Canon in D, in case you were wondering (my all-time FAVORITE song to play on the piano). I remember looking forward to this part the most. Luke and I made sure we stuck to tradition, and didn't see each other all day long. So when I walked down the aisle, it was like the big reveal. lol...I love on 27 Dresses when Katherine Heigl's character says her favorite part of weddings is seeing the groom's face when the bride walks down the aisle. I couldn't wait for the moment when we'd see each other. The funny thing is that Luke couldn't see me! lol...Everyone was standing and he literally couldn't see me until I was clear up to the stage. And being 5'1, I obviously couldn't see him. In the video, you can see Luke turn to his best man and say, "I can't see her!!" and then laugh.

The ceremony was perfect...I loved the little sermonette our pastor gave. It was all about commitment, and how we were truly pledging the rest of our lives to be together, for better or worse. I'm glad he didn't just give some flowery speech, but talked more about how important that day was for us, and how God truly planned for it to be FOREVER. My favorite part was when he looked at Luke and told him to be the Christian man that my family has prayed for for me since the time I was young, and then he turned to me and told me to be the Christian woman that Luke's family has prayed for for him since the time he was little: faithful, commited, and always loving.

Side note: I have always had a horrible fear of passing out. Not sure why, because I never actually have. But I was very conscious the whole time about not keeping my knees locked and trying to stay relaxed. Plus I wore heals, and kept shifting my weight from one foot to the other because they hurt. In the video it looks like I'm just fidgetty, and unable to stay still. lol...people actually commented about it. Kind of embarrassing, but at least I didn't pass out! Also, Luke must have been really nervous. He stood there so still with his eyes really wide. I seriously thought he was forgetting to breathe, or he was going to be the one to pass out! Never happened though, thank goodness!

We used all the traditional vows for everything, which is what I've always wanted to do. Another blooper happened during the exchanging of the rings. Does nervousness make your fingers swell? Because we both had trouble getting each others' rings on. So while we were saying the ring vows, we both were kind of smirking and trying not to laugh.

One of my very favorite parts of the ceremony was the lighting of the unity candle. After we lit it, we kneeled while my cousins sang "The Prayer" by Josh Groban and Charlotte Church. It was absolutely beautiful, and perfect for the moment.

Then it was time for the kiss! I mentioned in another "Wedding Wednesday" post about how Luke lifted me up for the kiss, because I'm so short. It was perfect. Everyone laughed and clapped.

My dress is so long you can't even tell He's holding me! But you all know I'm not 6'4 like Luke!

And while we recessed to Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring," every one of the groomsmen slapped Luke's butt on the way out. Hmm...should I have been worried?? Just kidding :-P

6:00: The ceremony was over, we spent a half hour or more doing a receiving line. Wow, was I ready to get to the reception hall at that point so I could SIT DOWN! Then Luke and I were "sent off" while everyone blew tons of bubbles and rang the church bells. Really we just rode around the block in the limo.6:45: Picture time. My photographer took tons of pictures outside in the 90 degree whether, and it was about to rain!! This was the only time during the whole wedding/reception when I got a little grumpy. I was afraid I was going to get rained on and my hair was getting droopy! lol...I wish we could have done more pictures inside, but now it doesn't really matter, because I don't have copies of them anyway! :-P

Who knows what time we actually got to head out to the reception. It was so funny, as soon as we climbed into the limo, all you-know-what broke loose from the sky. lol...I'm talking torrential downpour. But luckily there was an overhang at the reception hall, so we didn't have to get wet at all! It was pretty sunny all day up until that point, so I'm so glad it waited until the reception, when we were all safe inside, before it started to downpour.

And that's all! I'm sure no one will find this interesting except me, and maybe other people who were in the bridal party. But like I've been saying, I want to record my memories, so I can always remember every detail :-)

Tomorrow I will write about the reception, the fun part!!