Now that I have officially been married for 18 days – I wanted to recap my wedding experience.
When I was younger, I conflated thought of marriage with the thought of having a wedding. As DH and I went through the planning process, it has never been more evident how completely different those two things are. The planning process took communication, decision making, sacrifice, and patience all of which are crucial to a successful marriage. The wedding was only a moment, but our marriage, that will last a lifetime.
The forced bridal shower was not terrible – I got to spend some intimate time with aunts and cousins that I had not seen since we moved east. I still took everyone's advice and reiterated to my MIL and mom that I couldn’t have them intruding like that in the future and they agreed.
Unfortunately, our rehearsal was a disaster. Our officiant and the sound guy were 50 minutes late due to construction, so we had to do a run through with no officiant and no music. I was a little stressed about practicing the timing, but DH reassured me it would all work out.
I stayed up till 4 AM decorating the reception hall. The hotel provided this service, but I could not imagine walking into my reception and having no idea how everything was going to look. In hindsight, that was probably a mistake, but the ballroom was perfect!
The morning of my wedding went as fast as a rocket. I can’t believe I looked up and it was time to leave for the ceremony. We did not do the first look, and it was worth it. The look on our faces when we saw one another for the first time will forever be cemented in my memory. The rain held off for the most part, but it did pick up as soon as the 25-minute ceremony was over. As far as the reception goes: the vendors were great, the food was awesome, and everyone had a blast! Everyone especially loved the late night food truck we provided.
My only regret is that we did not get a single picture with the entire bridal party. One of the groomsmen started partying hard, went missing, and we could not find him for post-reception photos.
The fact that it’s all over feels weird. We spent so many hours planning this day, and it was gone in the blink of an eye. I feel more connected to DH than ever, and I am happy we are starting our forever! Our photographer sent us a sneak peek of our photos; I can’t wait to get the rest!!
