It was perfect.
No rain. No wind. Not even much cold on a December afternoon as the sun dipped just low enough to avoid shining in the eyes of our wedding party's faces, to give the perfect lighting for the shots of us together, becoming husband and wife.
The photographer's phone went off as the wedding band was slipped on my finger. She later went home with the stomach flu. But she also helped bustle my dress so I could dance. We didn't fall. My dear fiance, now dear husband, was able to lift me (dress and all) without fail.
We got to take our pictures. We got to give our speeches. We got to cut our cake and dance, and visit with as many guests as we could. Not everyone, but we tried.
Everyone said they had fun. That it was beautiful. Amazing. The best wedding they'd been to. A fairy tale.
My favorite compliment was that I looked like one of those figurines you see dancing inside a music box.
There is no possible way to write down every detail and every emotion and every experience from our big wedding day, but I know I won't forget it. The overwhelming feelings of everything at once. The excited nerves standing behind the gate waiting to walk down the aisle. Seeing all my loved ones together in one place as I stepped out on the arm of my father. Getting to hold Jayson's hands in mine. The laugh as the officiant mentioned the word "library", and the genuine smile at how he'd never had a wedding about libraries before. The reminder of how I first fell in love with Jayson--I just always wanted to spend time with him. How he surprised me with a bigger "kiss the bride" moment than I'd been expecting. How pleased he looked to be showing off his ring during the processional. His pride made me happier beyond words.
And then the reception. As beautiful as the ceremony turned out in a storybook setting outside with perfect light and no rain and no wind, my favorite part was the reception. A bundle of stress leading up to it as I feared I'd be late and that my bustle wouldn't work to dance. A fear that we wouldn't get all the pictures we wanted. A fear that it would all fall apart. And then that fear melting as my new husband took my hand in his and we entered our grand reception to the music we loved and started immediately into the dance we'd spent hours and hours practicing. We did it. We did it all--the lifts, the spins, the steps, the dip. And when it was all over we collapsed into each others' arms half laughing and half crying. All eyes were on us. There were cheers at every dress twirl. I lost which way was front, which way was up. But my husband kept me grounded. And soon we were bowing in front of his sister, beaming with pride for teaching us, and we felt we could relax at last.
The wedding zoomed by after that. Polite servers bringing us whatever food and drink we wanted. A photo montage that was slightly longer than the music. But who cared? It came out beautiful! The speeches were heartfelt and so endearing to hear. The DJ brought crowds to the dance floor in unique ways and kept the party going. I got to dance to "Cupid Shuffle"! With my groom! The bouquet toss and garter toss went off without a hitch, and we even had time for some photo booth pictures with our guests before getting pulled aside for more professional pictures and video. And of course, our "Grand Exit" was a lovely ribbon wand send off. Even if half our guests didn't get the message that we would be returning afterwards. Even if we felt pulled in a million directions and felt bad for the guests we didn't get to visit or take pictures with. In the end we knew in the bottom of our hearts we did our best. We tried to honor everyone we cared about. We tried to give everyone a good time. And we stayed true to ourselves in the activities, songs, decor, and everything about the night.
I barely got to try any of my gorgeous, four-tired cake (exactly how I pictured it). But the bite I had, and the bite I got smashed, was delicious.
I can't wait to see the photos and video. I am on the edge of my seat waiting for the photos and video. I should have them all before the honeymoon, which will be another blog post all together.
But for now, I'm just happy it all turned out okay. Happy to be married. To have a husband. A new ring. I didn't cry during my wedding. It's hard for me to cry in front of others. Few have seen tears fall besides my husband. But why cry when you're so happy, when you're so relieved (arguably an emotion even more sought after than happiness), when you're so overjoyed? Tears come far too often in this world, and a lack of tears doesn't mean a lack of emotion. You'll be hard pressed to find a photo where I'm not grinning from ear to ear. This was truly an execution of my dream, my vision, my fairy tale.
Now comes the happily ever after part.
Comments
Post a Comment