It seems impossible that our much-anticipated,
long-awaited wedding day has come and gone! Many warned me that this day would
fly by, but I had no idea how fast time would pass on this first day of our
lives together! To say it was the perfect day would be an absolutely honest
statement.
We were thankful to be surrounded by family and friends—it
really meant the world to have our favorite people share in the joy of our big
day! Guests traveled far and near to be there—as far away as Texas, Florida,
Indiana, and Illinois {yes, people from Wisconsin were there, too!}
The pictures that were taken? I’ll cherish forever. Many
special moments were captured. Personality was evident. Happiness exuded from
so many. We got family photos {of both immediate and extended family} that will
be even more precious to me in 50 years. {You can check out a whole bunch of
wedding pictures on my facebook…there’s over 400 to sift through!}
For the remainder of this post, I’m going to share some of
my favorite moments…both big and small that I don’t want to forget!
1. December 21st got off to an early start—that IS what
happens when you have a 10:30am start time for the ceremony! Mom, Emma, Kaydie
and I arrived at the church around 6:30am. Katelyn and Marissa were there to
help make my bridesmaids hair beautiful J
We accidentally left the curling iron for my hair at the house, so mom went
back to get it. For some unknown reasons, I thought doughnut holes sounded
really good. Dad willingly went to the bakery and bought said doughnut holes
{which I didn’t actually eat…but don’t tell dad!}. Charity brought beverages
from hope and anchor {I got a white chocolate caramel steamer, which I didn’t
consume}.Fortunately, Deanna
specifically prayed I would sleep on Friday night and not be sick on Saturday
morning. Her prayers were answered! I drank lots of water and wasn’t dizzy all
morning, which was a big plus! Getting ready was kind of a blur—people were in
and out of the TILT room {where we were getting ready}.
There was laughter and makeup.
There was laughter and makeup.
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| I tried to eat dry honeycomb cereal...I ate approximately 4 pieces and was fairly sure I would throw up :) |
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| ...and maybe some nervous butterflies... |
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| After Mom curled my hair, Meghan thoroughly "poofed it" :) |
2. I was supposed to be ready at 7:45, which didn’t
quite happen! This bride was really super torn about whether or not Micah and I
should see each other before the ceremony. Not for any superstitious reason,
but I love the concept of a bride and groom seeing each other for the first
time when she walks in! For a myriad of reasons, waiting to see each other just
wouldn’t work for us. I was adamantly opposed to the idea of taking pictures
between the ceremony and reception, and I didn’t want to spend 3 hours *after*
the reception taking pictures either. {My family was fairly confident I would
have a nervous breakdown if I didn’t see Micah before! They were probably right}.
All that to say we decided that taking pictures BEFORE the ceremony would work
the best for us J
3. The first look was literally among
the best moments of the entire day. Micah has the ability to calm me down in
any situation. [Sometimes, it’s almost annoying how quickly he can do this!} Getting
to see Micah before the ceremony allowed me to calm down and get super excited.
I was able to enjoy the picture taking and the ceremony so much more! I will
admit, he looked pretty good in his gray suit and plaid bow tie! ;) {He picked
out his bow tie…he reeeealy wanted to incorporate plaid into his outfit!}
4. Waiting. The pre-ceremony pictures were complete
and it was time for everyone to hide J
The girls were chilling out in the nursery. Grandma Judy and Grandma Neva hung
out with us for a while. My mom came in, too…Micah’s mom was in there at some
point, too. My nerves started to creep back in because we were just
sitting…waiting for time to pass so I could marry my man!
Once the grandparents and parents were seated, Marissa sang “Somewhere in the World”, which was also sung at my parent’s wedding. {More on that later, maybe} At this point, my bridesmaids, my dad, and I were standing in the foyer {so we could hear the song}. Dad was pacing around the foyer—he’d go from end to the other, then look in the mirror, then come back to ask me if I was doing ok J Deanna told the girls when to go in, and Kaydie was going to make sure my dress was just right. There were tears in my eyes, but I was trying to “suck them in”.
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| Pre-ceremony, in the nursery. Love this girl! |
5. Then, it was time for the ceremony aka “the main
event”—I can’t even explain this, but I honestly had no idea who was in that
auditorium. I didn’t hear cameras clicking. I have no idea where certain people
were sitting. From the time I walked in to the back of the auditorium, I just
wanted to see Micah’s face. He had the best smile...you know, the big smile
that you can’t contain? That one. J
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| My cousin, Alison,, captured this--and it's one of my FAVORITE pictures from the entire day. |
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| Dad hugged his little girl just a little bit tighter in the front of our church... |
6. During the ceremony, Bobby {Micah’s uncle} did
the challenge at the beginning, and my dad did the rest of it {vows, rings,
unity candle}. There were a couple of
times during the ceremony when I was “on the verge of tears”. The first was
right after walking down the aisle. Micah and I were situated in the front of
the church, with my long train reaching the bottom of the steps. Bobby prayed, and for a split second, thought
I might break down into the ugly cry. {Fortunately for all, I didn’t}
I could
have cried was when Dad was talking, as well. He said something like “Today,
I’m giving you away with no reservations” No reservations. None. Obviously, we
had talked about this concept before {extensively and many times!}, but hearing
it on this day almost wrecked me. Mom has said many times that Micah loves me
the way she wants me to be loved J
I absolutely married the best, and words will never describe how awesome it is
to have my parents completely and fully support our new marriage.
7. Walking out of the ceremony? Joy! It seemed unbelievable that we were
actually married! We just kept looking at each other, probably in utter shock
because we had survived and thrived during our very long engagement!
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| This. Happiness. |
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| On top of the world... |
8. Micah and I cut our cake with the same knife
Grandma Judy and Grandpa Tom used to cut the cake at their wedding. It was
pretty cool J I
only ate one bit of cake, but it was delicious!
9. During the reception, we sang happy birthday to
Neva—it was her 70th birthday, after all! When we picked our wedding
date 15 long months ago, we asked Neva if it was ok to get married on her
birthday. She said it was…as long as there was cake. So, as promised, we have
cake! {Neva is going to get a blog post
all to herself soon…stay tuned!} It was a really cool moment, and I’m so glad
she could be there!
10. I had been looking forward to the really good food
at the reception. Yes, I can admit that! But I literally ate 5 bites…and heard
from everyone how good it all was.
11. There were lots of happy people on our wedding
day {you’re probably thinking “duh” or “I hope so”!}. Parents, grandparents,
friends, family—all were happy for us. But my mom? She was radiant. {That’s not
to say Dad wasn’t happy, too—he definitely was!} In every single picture, you
can see the happiness exuding from Mom. She looked beautiful!
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| Happy mom :) |
12. Telling my parents bye before leaving the church—words
can’t describe this. It was a weird feeling, in part because I had no idea when
I would see them again.
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| Not the most clear picture, but I love it anyway. |
13. A wedding 4 days before Christmas wouldn’t be
complete with pictures taken in the snow. I prayed for snow and 20 degrees. It
was 22 J Thankful for the way God answered my simple
prayer about the weather!
I’m fairly certain this post is the longest post I’ve ever
written {which IS saying something because there have been previously lengthy
ones!}, but there are many awesome moments I want to remember from 12.21.13! I’m
far from a writer, so kudos to you if you read the whole thing!
I'm so thankful for what God has given me in my husband, and I'm looking forward to learning and growing together in the months and years to come! :)
