Wedding Recap, a Year Later

In looking over the blog and reflecting on the last year I realized that I never did a post about the wedding. The dang blog was originally titled Walk to the Aisle, but I never went over the walk down the aisle. So in honor of our upcoming 1 year wedding anniversary,  I'll do my long past due wedding recap. Since it's been a year the details won't be as fresh as if I'd done this 12 months ago, but here we go.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Alabama 4-H Center

Columbiana, AL

Ceremony at 3:00

I stayed up way too late Saturday night, the night before the wedding, making flower arrangements and finishing up wedding stuff (Andrew had stayed at his parents house). I think I got in bed around 3 am or so, then couldn't fall asleep. Of course. I had a hair appointment around 8:00, but it was on 280 in Chelsea (and we live in Alabaster) so I had to give myself 30 minutes to get there. I woke up, exhausted but excited. I was starving so I stopped at McDonald's to get some coffee and a biscuit. I ended up with a McMuffin, which I took 2 bites of and wanted to pull over and throw up. I felt so sick, then I freaked out thinking I was going to be sick on my much awaited and planned wedding day. I forced down the McMuffin and some water and kept driving. By the time I got to the hair salon I was feeling better and starting to get really excited. The hairdresser and I figured up a different hairdo than the one we had decided on during my hair trial. I wanted something slightly different so we kind of winged it. In the end it wasn't perfect, and I would have made some changes after seeing pictures, but I was happy and felt beautiful.

After my hair was set and done I headed home to start my makeup (I was doing it myself), grab all the flowers, and head to the 4-H Center. The morning was shaping up to be a beautiful day. (Which was a huge relief because the 2 previous nights had been overcast and very chilly). When I arrived the guys were already there and since they had minimal getting ready to do for themselves, I gave directions to them and our wedding coordinator, Amanda, on how to start setting up the reception area. My bridesmaids (Beth, Michele, Shannon and Kristina) arrived over the next 30 minutes and we set up in the girls room to start getting ready. I finished my makeup, the girls got dressed and we had a toast of mimosas.

*All photographs by of Callie Combs Photography*

Andrew and I had decided to do a first look, which we did in the chapel. It was really special to have that moment for ourselves and some time to admire one another. We did pictures, got in some excited kisses and then had the bridal party join us for group photos. After a while we had plenty of good shots, but were running out of time.

Once all the pictures were finished we all headed back to our rooms to freshen up and let the guests arrive. We stuffed ourselves into a few cars and headed to the chapel. After Amanda told us everyone was seated and ready we started lining up. This was it! I waited nervously with my mom for our turn. The bridal party walked down the aisle to The Sound of Settling by Death Cab for Cutie, but the Vitamin String Quartet version.

Amanda gave us the cue and my mom walked me down the aisle to the Vitamin String Quartet's version of Use Somebody by Kings of Leon. Even though Andrew and I had seen each other and it was no big surprise, the emotion got me and I teared up and almost ugly cried. Seeing him standing there, with this look on his face, it was such a strong moment.

 

The officiant, Kelly, started our service, and we were going. He paid remembrance to family members that had passed, specifically my dad. I started tearing up and getting emotional and Andrew just squeezed my hand, gave me a heartfelt look, and I felt better. Kelly had us holding hands and facing each other for what felt like an eternity. I didn't realize how long our ceremony was until we were in the middle of it. We designed it to have elements and wording that we wanted, but didn't know it would be so long! It was all good stuff but we were happy when he said kiss the bride!

 

After we walked out we hid in the car for a few minutes while guests headed down to the pavilion for the reception. We looked at our rings and smiled and kissed and said things like 'I can't believe it' and 'Thank goodness it's over!' (Ok, we were kind of tired of planning it and just wanted to be married already). Once the all of the guests except immediate had emptied the chapel we did family and group pictures.

Andrew and I slipped off to the dressing room to eat and have a few minutes of quiet while guests went to the reception and started eating. Danny with D'Armond Catering did a great job and had a wonderful spread for the guests and had some plates sent up to us. Unfortunately in all of the excitement I never really checked out the reception area to fully take in the atmosphere. That is probably the one regret I have from my wedding day. I wish I had taken 5 minutes to go to the pavilion before any guests arrived to see the full set up, and see what my months of DIY projects had turned into. We don't have a lot of pictures from the reception and sadly none of my handmade, hand painted centerpeices.

When we arrived at the reception we went straight into our first dance, Nothing Like You and I by The Perishers. I shared a dance with Chip and Howard to the song that my dad always sang to me (I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack). Andrew and Tammy danced to Stand by Me and You'll be in My Heart was the song for his mom and him. All of this was MC'd by our wonderful friend and DJ, Joe Biedron. Love him.

We then cut the cake and fed each other a bite. We had previously discussed not smashing cake. I was not on board with it. Lucky for me he didn't want to make me mad ;) I'm so sad that the picture of us cutting the cake has me making a stupid face. Boo. The cake was awesome, but in our excitement neither one of us had a single piece after the initial bite.

After cake Andrew, myself, and our two photographers, Callie and Josh, ran down to the pier to take some sunset shots on the lake. We didn't get any of the actual sunset, but we did have some beautiful lighting.

We went back to the pavilion, and at that point it was time to dance, mingle and have fun!

That's about where my pictures end, but the day didn't end there. We danced and drank and talked and had a great time. We did the garter toss, which ironically my cousin Jamie caught, and the bouquet toss which my sister Alyssa caught. Luckily she's in a long term, committed relationship so maybe the saying will be true. In reality we had a relatively small wedding (about 50 people I think) and a very small sample of unmarried [and willing] participants.

What I can't show in pictures or fully express in words is how awesome our reception was. After it got dark Joe turned on lights that he'd set up all around the pillars of the pavilion. We had glow sticks out for our exit, but a few people had grabbed them to dance with. Then it started raining. Not pouring, but a steady light rain. It tapered on and off for a while, but we didn't stop. We literally had a raving dance party in the rain at our wedding. It was awesome. Dancing in the dark, under the rain with my favorite people was so cool. I may be a dancer, but I'm not a social dancer. Ballet is more my style. But the excitement [and wine] loosened things up and I was out there shakin my tail feathers with the best of them. I wish I had some pictures of this. So much fun and such an amazing memory.

We wrapped up the night with one last dance to Ray LaMontagne's You Are the Best Thing. Our grand exit was complete with glow sticks. The glow sticks were really cool, until someone threw one and it smacked me in the head. Ouch. Bill and Beth had painted our car and Bill had strung Christmas lights throughout the car. They plugged into the cigarette lighter and gave a very festive feel.

*All photographs curtsey of Callie Combs Photography* 

And that, my friends, is our wedding recap. Oh and somewhere in there Andrew's brother, Matthew, had to run back home and got pulled over for speeding. When he explained to the officer what was going on, he got a police escort. Yea, talk about luck and a nice guy!

During all the planning I heard how fast the day would go by, to stop and soak it up, enjoy the moment. It's all true. A year's worth of planning gone in a flash. Our wedding was awesome. We got near perfect weather, a beautiful venue, great friends and family to share it with. It wasn't about the money we spent, the level of decorations, size of the bouquet, cost of my dress (which by the way, was a major steal), or how extravagant the whole thing was. It was about celebrating our love, making a commitment to each other, and doing it with our favorite people on Earth. While I can look back and pick out a few nit picky things that I would change or do differently, none of it really matters. I married my best friend, and the perfect match for me. And I wouldn't change that for the world.