The rehearsal went beautifully. I wore a yellow/beige dress
with green accents, green ribbon, and floral pattern that I
bought specifically for the night. David wore his green
shirt that matched my dress beautifully. Ray pulled through
in the music department- he ran the march in/march out music
for us, as well as keeping an eye on the music at the
reception. We cleared up all the bugs that day and the next,
of which there were several, but he did a great job,
especially considering it was a last minute favor. After the
late starting rehearsal (our best man himself was an hour
late) we had our rehearsal dinner at Cooley's, which went
very well. I gave a speech and handed out gifts to my
attendants, as David did his. Our moms cried when we gave
them their gifts. David's parents paid for the dinner, which
ended up pricier than expected due to extra guests (aunts
and uncles that weren't originally included).
Saturday, my wedding day, I was awake by 7AM to go pick up the cake in
Camarillo with mama and David. I worked on my vows the whole
way there, and finished by the time we got home (David
didn't finish his till right before the wedding started!).
We then ran by AC Moore to get more ribbon for the dresses
(we ran short the night before). The day was full of
activity- women in the kitchen preparing the food (mom,
David's mom, Aunt Elaine, David's aunt Laurie, and Teresa),
preparing the bridal portrait stand, preparing the ribbon
for the bridesmaid dresses, assembling the centerpieces and
setting the tables outside, and a thousand other last minute
things. About 1.5 hours before the wedding I finally got
around to taking a shower and getting myself ready. I had to
do my hair and make-up; David was in his tux and ready
before I even started my hair. David and Len left to meet
the guys at their hotel room for some 'guy stuff' (they all
took a shot of tequila) while Stephanie finished my hair. My
lips acted up, itching and peeling the whole time, but you
can't tell in the pictures
the wedding photographer was amazing.
I was about 20 minutes later than I meant to be, which just means I had to
hurry to get ready once I got there. I got a few pictures of
the getting ready process, and a picture of me with my dress
and shoes in hand, ready to walk up to the room to get
ready. I got ready in the carriage house, a beautiful room
up stairs above the garage/office at the B&B. Best of all,
the walls are yellow, and matched my wedding colors well, so
the pictures look great! 10 minutes after we were to start
(to allow everyone to get there) John Byrne led us down the
stairs (after making David move aside so he wouldn't
accidentally see me). We walked around the back of the house
where we were to circle around to the gate to come through.
I was so nervous at that moment, more from stage fright than
anything to do with the vows I was about to take. Hannah and
Tyler kept asking me 'how are we supposed to walk? Are we
supposed to walk beside each other? Does this look okay?'-
which kept me calm.
The music started, and John motioned for Shannon to go. Each girl walked
out individually- Shannon, Stephanie, Renee, Windy, then the
kids. I held onto daddy tightly, both of us grinning like
idiots. Once Hannah reached her place Ray switched the
music, signaling my entry. Everyone rose, and daddy walked
me in. It was amazing to see all of my friends and families
faces smiling at me as we entered.
The
photographer got some great shots of the moment, I just
tried not to trip over my dress. Daddy gave me away, pulled
back my veil and kissed me on the cheek as I went to join
David, hand in hand. We sort of wrapped our hands around my
bouquet. I wrote the sermon, picking the words and the
verses to use, and the order of events, but I honestly don't
remember it. I just stared into David's eyes, grinning the
whole time (just like the stupid smile in my HS graduation
picture), until the cues came. I had my vows wrapped around
the bouquet, David's were in his pocket. I cried when he
read his, not sobbing, but just a soft cry (I didn't wear
any eye make up for this reason). I read my vows through a
teary voice, and I heard several women in the audience cry.
I was told afterwards by several people that our vows were
the most heartfelt, sweetest they'd ever heard, and that you
could really tell we loved one another. I passed my bouquet
to Windy as we retrieved our rings from the Maid of Honor
and Best Man. We exchanged rings, then lit the unity candle.
Again, there are some great pictures of all of it, the
photographer was amazing. After a few more verses and a
prayer, Donny pronounced us man and wife and we shared an
amazing kiss. Ray started up the music (Beatles- God Only
Knows) and we walked back up the aisle. My favorite picture
was taken at this moment, as David turned his head to kiss
mine, I was looking down and smiling- it looks like a
planned picture, but it couldn't have been more split second
(its the one I am applying to this entry).
Once we had all walked back up the aisle the photographers called all of
the guests over for a big group pictures, then David and I
went to sign the marriage license. Afterwards we did group
pictures (our photographer was a riot everyone had fun) ,
everyone leaving as their pictures were complete. Once
everyone had headed off for the reception David and I did
couple shots, then the photographer headed to the reception
(He needed to be there when we arrived). Pattie poured us
each a glass of wine, and we chatted about the honeymoon
before heading off. At this point it was about 12:15
(wedding probably ended around 11, then an hour for
photographs), and everyone at the reception had already dug
into the food. When we arrived everyone rang their bells,
and David dipped me for a kiss. The photographer got an
incredible picture of this . My daddy gave his speech (very
well written, funny and sweet), then Mars and Windy gave
theirs. Whitney's cousin Jeffrey played a beautiful love
song (that was a surprise, I had no idea!) and we toasted
our champagne flutes. After David and I had a little to eat
(reception food included BBQ sandwiches, chick salad
sandwiches, veggies, fruit, a chocolate fountain with
pretzels and such for dipping, bean taquitos, chips and
salsa, etc) we cut the cake and fed one another. I hate it
when people smash cake in each other's face- its supposed to
be a showing of trust. We fed each other kindly. Everything
happened so fast, soon after the cake cutting (and before I
got to eat any) we had our first dance (the same song he
used to propose to me- Whisper Away by TRM) then my daddy
and I shared our dance (You'll never be one again- Alabama).
I also danced with Tyler (priceless pictures), Mike, and my
father-in-law. David danced with my mom, his mom, and his
grandma. We chatted with our friends, were congratulated by
everyone, and danced a lot. People filtered out throughout
the night, and once the majority of people were gone I
brought out the moonshine, something David's family hadn't
had before, but had certainly heard plenty about. I danced
to Free bird, and Devil Went Down to Georgia, and finished
off a bottle of champagne, pretty much by myself. Ray and
Drew stayed over, and once it was down to pretty much just
the people staying David and I exchanged gifts- I bought him
a collectors edition of Risk (Because marriage is a Risk you
were willing to take) and he bought me the beautiful willow
figure of lovers, which I'm always looking at and fawning
over. I cleaned up a lot outside and put away food (still in
my dress because I didn't want to take it off), and we
finally went to bed.
|
