Now that everything is over and DH and I have had a day to rest up, I thought I would post a recap of our day for you ladies! We had several small things that didn't go exactly as planned, and one very important thing that caused stressed but overall, the day couldn't have been more perfect.
My MOH and I went for my final fitting and picked up my dress on Wednesday and everything fit beautifully. We were able to do a run through with the bustle and make it work without too much difficulty and then we were off to have a celebratory drink! I was so excited and we were having such an amazing day and then...the call came in! Our officiant called to tell me that he was not able to marry us. He had just been diagnosed with shingles that morning and could not possibly make our wedding. I went from the highest of highs to panic in about 2 seconds flat! All I kept thinking about were all the posts that people on TK kept saying about all you need are three things - the bride, the groom and the officiant...that nothing else matters in the end. Well, I was gonna be short one of those very key elements! Fortunately, our officiant is a wonderful man and he worked very hard to find us someone who could cover our ceremony, but she wasn't sure she could make our rehearsal. After many calls and conversations, she rearranged her schedules to be able to make both our rehearsal and ceremony...and she was WONDERFUL. I think we actually enjoyed her more than who we originally chose to perform our ceremony! With that ordeal behind us, we relaxed and shared a nice evening with our family and some OOT guests at our rehearsal dinner, which was held in our backyard.
The morning of our wedding was exactly what I wanted. We all gathered to share an early morning breakfast then DH and his guys went off to enjoy some shooting at the range while my MOH and I went to have our makeup and hair done. We drank mimosas, laughed and relaxed for a few hours...which is just what I needed after all the stress leading up to this day. We drove from our hair appointment right to the venue to start getting dressed. Getting into my dress was hilarious because of the corset...I felt like Kate Winslet in Titanic. HAHA But we got everything in place and started shooting our pre-wedding photos. I had a very precise timeline of events for taking our photos because we both wanted indoor and outdoor shots but we didn't want to see each other until the ceremony so, we had to make sure to not run into each other in all the chaos. Unfortunately, the guys took WAY too much time on their outside shots and by the time I was able to go out for mine, DH family started to arrive. I didn't want anyone to see me before the wedding so I panicked and had to run back towards the house!
I tried to go around the corner of the porch but found out that DH was in the room that was right there and he almost saw me as I ran by the window. We found out later the his BM grabbed his head and yelled, "DON'T LOOK"!! Hahahaha. After that bit of crazy, I stayed inside until the ceremony.
Then it was time to marry the love of my life. My brothers walked me part of the way down, trying to make me laugh so I didn't sob uncontrollably. During this time, DH wasn't looking at me because he wanted to wait until I was close enough to see me completely. My brothers handed me off to my now FIL and that's when DH turned to look. I saw him and I just beamed with joy and happiness. I fought back my tears but it was really hard! The ceremony was beautiful, we wrote our own vows and DH said so many wonderful things to me. We heard after the wedding that almost all the women were crying and even a few of the guys teared up. I also had several people tell me that they were the best vows they have ever heard at a wedding...that made me smile!
During our ring exchange, DH gave me my wedding gift, which was a complete surprise. He gave me a wedding band to go with my engagement ring. When we had our rings designed, I said I didn't want two bands because I didn't want to take away from the details I have on the sides of my ring. He had our jeweler create a shadow band that fits perfectly against my ring, and it has all the same details so no one would ever know it was there when looking from the side. It's GORGEOUS! The ceremony went without any glitches at all and about 15 minutes later, we were married!!
We took our group photos during cocktail hour and DH and I stole some private time together right before the reception entrance. We came into the reception and everything was exactly how I had envisioned. The venue did such a great job bringing all of my details together. I am still amazed out how it all turned out. We had a few small issues during the reception like, the anniversary dance was meant for DH parents (they have been married the longest) and FIL was MIA! DH went to find him but the song ended before he could bring him back. And, our DJ went into our cake cutting song while DH was still looking for FIL so I stood by the cake while someone went to get DH! I saw him sprinting back to the reception and smiled, although I was a bit stressed, and he made it in time to cut the cake and enjoy a few sways to the end of our song. Those were honestly the only hiccups we had to our entire reception.
We had a lot of people stay until the very end and they gave us a high-five send off, which was a lot of fun. We stayed at our venue for the night and our DOC had our toasting flutes, champagne and some of our cake in our room for us. They also had rose petals everywhere, it was so romantic!! We got up the next day to have breakfast together before we had to start packing everything up. It was surreal to be eating breakfast with my husband!
We had a Cinco de Mayo party at our house the next day, which was fun but honestly, more stress than I wanted to have after the wedding. I was hoping we would be able to just enjoy our friends and family before everyone had to leave but, that didn't work out like I planned. It was nice to have everyone here but, I would have had it catered instead of cooking myself!!
Overall, it was the most incredible day of my life. I am so happy...so in love...and absolutely believe that all the stress was worth it! I know you ladies have heard this from many a bride but, I will share it just one more time. Take in every moment you can, don't worry about the little details because, no one else will ever know but you, smile a lot, laugh even more, and steal a glance from time to time of your DH and remember that he's the reason you feel the way you do. It's an incredible journey we have made ladies...celebrate finally getting there...because there is no better feeling in the world!!!
I wish each of you a perfect wedding day and a lifetime of love and happiness...you absolutely deserve it!