Here Comes the Bride!

I know that there’s not a lot of originality to the title...but I couldn’t resist! =)

Here we are...the bride’s BIG moment...walking down the aisle. Towards a new life. Towards her future and the man of her dreams. For me, even with it not being my first trip down the aisle, this moment was no less special and amazing. The last time that I had made this momentous walk, I was making it for many reasons...but none of them were for love. People marry in the world everyday for many, many reasons...and love isn’t always the main one.

I had a small round of tears/fears earlier during the afternoon...but felt nothing at this moment but pure happiness. 100% joy. A million times different than I had felt at this moment the last time that I had made this walk. An encore bride tries hard (at least I did) to make this trip completely different than the last time that she made this walk...and you try really hard not to think about the last time that you said vows...and all of the reasons that you ended up not fulfilling those vows...but it’s really unavoidable. Maybe it was just me, but it was really hard not to compare the two days in my mind.

And this day? Well, like I said earlier, it was a million times better. I was completely, 100% in love with my groom, and wanted nothing more in my life at that moment than to marry this man. To forge our future together for better or for worse. And for someone who’s already seen what the worst could be like...it takes a lot of courage to do this again. You know that you might be hurt. You know that you might let others down. Worse yet, you might let yourself down. But I firmly believe, with all that I have, that making this journey with the right person makes all the difference. It makes a world of difference.

So there I was...peeking out from around the corner of the building, trying my hardest to stay behind the trees and shrubs so that my groom wouldn’t see me until the last minute...and my dad came to get my hand. I smiled a humongous smile...and got ready to get this show on the road. I heard all of the music starting and everything was going great. But you know, don’t you that something typically goes a little bit wrong, right? Hopefully it’s not too wrong, and if you’re lucky no one else but you even notices that it was wrong. That’s the best case. That’s not the case that I got.

Unfortunately, my wedding “moment” for lack of a better word, was totally and completely noticeable...and embarrassingly hilarious. I mean, like the whole crowd was laughing. Let me back up and explain...

You see, it all started because I had forgotten to plan one teensy, tiny detail that would make a HUGE difference during our wedding ceremony. Maybe you can remember back far enough to recall that I had waited until the last minute to decide on my wedding music...and something that I had never really thought about was who was going to run my wedding music. I think that it hit me like three days before the wedding that the DJ that we’d hired only covered the reception.

So what about the ceremony music? Yeah...it would have been nice to have thought about it earlier, but I didn’t. Hmmm...when the chips are down, and you’re in a bind, who comes through the best? Family. Right? Right.

You see, I have a cousin in college here in Austin that is a wizard when it comes to electronics. And I’m not exaggerating, either. When he was in high school, he started an ebay business where he bought broken iPods and fixed them and resold them for profit. Smart kid. And when you have someone in the family like that...obviously, that’s the person that you want to operate some sound equipment and handle your pre-made (and in order) CD on your wedding day, right? Right.

Except that I forgot to tell him about this plan. I meant to call him, I really did. I thought about it three days before the wedding...then again two days before the wedding...and again the day before the wedding. But when do you think that I actually asked him? If you guessed right before the ceremony started...then you’d be right!

I actually talked to my aunt (his mom) the day before the wedding when I ran into her at the hotel. She said that it was fine and he could handle it easily...but I didn’t talk to HIM specifically, or place the CD into his hot little hands with instructions, until the hour before the ceremony. Ok, maybe it was 30 minutes prior to the start of the ceremony. And maybe it was really my Mom who passed on the message, and not me exactly. But whatever.

In all honesty, it shouldn’t have caused any problems. There was a CD with before ceremony music that we had picked out that was set to play already. And then the ceremony music was on a separate CD with only four songs on it...in the right order...only needing to be sped up to the next song when we had extra time left. Easy, breezy.

But what happens when you need MORE time? Yeah. A really good question that maybe I should have thought about ahead of time...but honestly it just never crossed my mind. The song that I had selected to walk down the aisle to was a live version of Martina McBride singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” If you’re familiar with Martina, she’s known for holding out a note long and hard...and she’s one of the most talented country music singers there is, in my opinion. This song is no different. And there was this ONE part that I had in my head that would be perfect for me to arrive at the end of the aisle at...for B’s first moment of seeing me. The music builds and swells and she holds this fantastic note...it was just perfect.

The day before, when we practiced, I realized that my Maids were going to get to the front WAY before that moment in the song. So when we got to the back of the aisle (still hidden in the bushes and shrubs), I instructed them at the last minute to wait there while the prelude music played and not make an entrance until Martina actually started singing. Thinking in my head that this would buy the extra time that I needed, right?

Well, it worked. My Dad and I walked out at just the right moment. There was my groom and his handsome men standing at his side...
The music swelled...I stepped out...
And B got his first look at his bride...I love that the photographer caught our minister watching B's reaction to seeing me...The look on his face said it all. And then Martina paused to recover from her long note. You can see where this is going right?

My cousin, who is in NO WAY to blame for this mistake, thought that the song was over. And doing what anyone else would do in this situation, he hit fast forward to get to the next song. That’s what anyone in their right mind would do, right? Only if you had listened to the song before would you have known that Martina went on to actually finish the song for another 30-45 seconds after her pause. Which would have been the exact time that I needed to walk down the aisle. Or close enough.

But bless his heart, he hit the fast forward button just as I made my “dramatic bride pause” at the end of the aisle and waited for everyone to stand and turn to look at me. (Yes, it was MY day...I looked great...and was proud of the fact that I felt like a princess...I wanted to revel in it a little bit!) Just as they stood and turned, this is what the crowd heard...

“OW! I feel good...nah nah nah nah nah nah nah...” I think that you can finish the rest, right?

The look on B’s face was priceless...check it out!It's that frozen-smile-in-place, "OMG what is happening?" look...perfect!

You see, there was no music during the actual ceremony. So the next song on the CD was the song that we were going to use to make our exit. Except that the song that we were exiting to was a surprise to B. He didn’t ask, and I didn’t tell. I just thought that it would be so cute when at the end of the ceremony, after we were announced as husband and wife to have James Brown sing “I Feel Good!” It would sum up everything that we both felt in that moment.

Except that it came at the wrong moment. I was shocked. Didn’t know what to do. My Dad looked at me and I think he actually asked me if they were playing the right music? Which I found funny. As in totally hilarious. I started laughing. And looked up front at my groom to find him and his guys laughing. And that’s when the crowd lost it and THEY started laughing.

And poor Z, my cousin...he was frantically trying to rewind the CD as fast as he could. But in his haste, he just hit rewind once...which only went back to “OW! I feel good...nah nah nah nah nah nah nah...”

Which only made our wedding guests laugh THAT much harder! It was by far the funniest moment of our wedding. And the best news? Since I thought that it was funny...I refrained from being a Bridezilla (which I had been accused of being earlier in the week) and went with the moment and just relaxed about it all. I mean, who could I really blame? Only myself, if I’m honest.

Luckily, my cousin corrected his mistake very quickly, and restarted Martina’s song...and after settling down our giggles, my Dad and I started down the aisle. Still kind of giggling over the James Brown incident...But totally happy to be where I was...I only stumbled once or twice on the uneven ground...And finally arrived at my destination. My Dad stood there proudly and did his part in passing my hand to B when our preacher asked who gave this woman to this man...answered my favorite response “Her Mother and I do.” His part done, my hand was given over, and I stepped onto the stage, holding tightly to my soon-to-be husband’s hand. More ready than ever to make this incredible journey. I was here again...but for the right reasons this time. I couldn’t wait to say “I Do!”

**All photos courtesy of Christina Carroll Photography

Need to catch up? Here’s some links:
Girls’ Spa Day
Bachelor/Bachelorette Party
Setting Up the Venue…
Practice Makes Perfect…
Rehearsal Dinner
5 Minutes is All that I Need
A “Quick” Stop at the Hair Salon
A Sneak Peek at the Venue...
Arriving at the Venue...to Stay!
Getting Dressed
The Maids Pose for the Camera...
Oops - I’m Out of Order!
The Boys Smile and Say “Cheese!”
It’s Show Time!