We’re Man and Wife!

I’ve spent this past weekend organizing my wedding pictures...and yes, there were 395 that just HAD to be printed out for myself! Wink, wink!! No, my Mom was in town and I’ve been meaning to print them all out and put them in an album so that family members could look at them easier than perusing the 4 discs that we got from our photographer...but between home remodeling and baby stuff...wedding pictures kind of fell to the back burner.

But this visit prompted my little toosh to get in gear, and I ordered ALL 395 of my “favorites” to be printed. (And yes, it helped that Walgreen’s was running a great sale on prints!) We looked through them this weekend, and then I spent about an hour last night putting them “in order.” This was actually an easier process than I thought...I suppose working on my recaps has helped and I was able to put all the pictures into two large envelopes before I went to bed last night. Then, this morning, I took about 30 minutes and got most of the file names on the back of each shot...this was a hard-learned lesson from previous photo shoots – label your pictures well...that way when a family says “I want a copy of this one!” you know exactly which one this one is!

Anyway, all of that was a rambling way to say that looking at my wedding pictures over the last few days makes me SO happy! Most importantly, I love, love, LOVE seeing the smiles and laughter that are apparent in almost every single picture. Yes, the boys tried to not smile and just stand there and look serious...but for the most part, there was so much joy and laughter on our wedding day. And isn’t that the way that it should be? I know, from past experience, that this is not always the case...but looking at our wedding pictures I am just overwhelmed all over again with how MUCH happiness there was that day.

It flowed from us, from our families who (I hope!) we so happy to see each of us happy, and from our friends who had been there with us through the good and bad times before in our lives...and they were all celebrating right along with us. What a wonderful feeling...and how truly blessed we are!

I hope that is what you take away from these next few posts...the joy...the smiles...the laughter...and yes, the LOVE that is so apparent to me in these pictures.

So now that I’ve said all of that...let’s get to those pictures, shall we? We last left off right after the hand fasting ceremony and we were about to seal the deal with a great, big sloppy kiss! Well, maybe not that sloppy...

Our minister said some closing words and then spoke B’s favorite part of the ceremony – “You may now kiss your bride!”

We paused to take in the moment...

Then laid one on each other!I love that the second photographer captured the moment from a different angle...and that it was a bit closer!And there was laughter...just pure joy!And possibly a few great, big, belly laughs...I can’t tell you much about the kiss...but I can tell you how extremely happy I was at that moment. Total bliss. There’s no other way to describe it, I don’t think. I was finally married to the man of my dreams!

I got my bouquet back from MOH, and we turned to face the audience as the minister announced our new names...and then the applause and cat calls started!What didn’t start? The music right away...so there was an awkward moment or two...And after the mishap at the start of the ceremony...there were a few chuckles here!Once James Brown started singing his diddy, we moved on down the aisle, hand in hand, as husband and wife. I was ecstatic the whole walk down the aisle...just had the biggest grin on my face EVER! Our wedding party followed suit, and we all gathered at the back of the clearing.

As we made our way around the side of the clearing, back towards the front of the ceremony site for family pictures, the minister made the announcement for family to please stick around for some photos and friends could head to the reception hall, just across the road. It was a smooth transition to picture time...and I can remember nothing other than how happy we were...just kept squeezing each other’s hand, sneaking little kisses, and telling each other how much we loved the other one!

A perfect ending to the ceremony, if you ask me!

**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!
Here Comes the Bride!
Becoming Man and Wife...

It’s Show Time!

When we last left off, the photographer had done the pictures with the girls...then quickly wrapped up her session with the guys...and it was about five minutes until show time. The girls and I had just a few minutes for a quick pee break (that was for me) and a quick check on make-up and hair. Bouquets were handed out and the girls made me wait at the corner of the building well-hidden out of sight.

The processional had to start first, before I could make my way out of my “hidey-hole” and start the trek over behind the bushes and stay out of sight until my moment. But before I could come out of hiding, B had to make his way down the aisle. And before he could do that, we had to get the grandparents and parents seated.

First up...B’s grandmother on his Dad’s side, with her son (B’s Dad walking her down the aisle).

In fact, she was the only grandparent present to be seated. I’ve only got one left, and she wasn’t up to making the trip to the wedding, and B’s other grandmother had taken a fall the week before and wasn’t enough recovered to make the wedding. So seating the grandparents was pretty snappy.

I’m a firm believer in the husband walking the wife down the aisle. Not having the mother ushered in and the father following along behind like a good little puppy dog. But that’s just my personal preference. Plus, this was a pretty small wedding, and we had no ushers. So the order of the parents coming in was very important, as two Dads had to do double duty.

Once B’s dad seated his mom, he had to make his way back to the back of the aisle for his wife...and since my own Dad needed to escort his wife in and then come back for me, our order made perfect sense for our scenario. I’ll let the pictures show the line-up.

We’ve already seen B’s Dad and grandmother. Up next was my Dad and step-mother.B’s Dad and step-mother.It's totally OK to wave at people when you're making your walk...

And finally, my Mom and step-father. That order gave everyone the time that they needed to make their first escort, seat them (or drop them off) and then get back to the back of the aisle in time for their next escort. Luckily, no one had more than one person to escort, so it all worked out well for us.

After the parents were seated, it was the guys’ turn to make their big entrance, which then meant that I could come out of “hiding!” The minister led the way...Followed by a handsome groom...who was looking a little serious with NO smile!Groomsman R...Groomsman B...And then our Best Man...S...the man of the hour. Remember earlier when I mentioned that he had style/charisma? Here’s the proof that I was talking about. The other groomsmen simply made a walk down the aisle, no big deal. But that wasn’t good enough for this guy...he walked in with panache...there’s just no other word for it. Check it out. What did I tell you? He is a HOOT!! Trust me, these pictures don’t even capture half of what this guy’s got! And you know that it had to be funny, since there were more pictures of HIM coming down the aisle than there were of any of the other guys! Even the photographer recognized his "presence!"

He must have caught the "evil eye" from his own fiance, because he finished his walk with a sheepish look on his face...Anyway, once the Best Man finished his “saunter” down the aisle our ring bearer, B’s son, made his way down the aisle. Looking just about an uncomfortable as an eleven year-old boy in a suit is supposed to look when all eyes are on him. And then it was our turn. The girls had been moving me steadily closer to the ceremony site...while still being very careful to keep me hidden behind bushes and shrubs so that I stayed out of sight as long as possible.

First up, Maid Britney...Then Maid Momma...who was looking at the ground a lot...Being pregnant like she was, she was probably worried about falling down...with the ground being as uneven as it was...Followed lastly by MOH...And then it was J’s big moment. She concentrated so hard on walking and dropping those flower petals...check out her concentration. She certainly didn’t mind the attention that T seemed to be embarrassed by! Once she had made her walk...it was my turn. Did nerves hit me? Did I have a moment of panic? Or was I totally calm and ready to make this journey? Stay tuned to find out!

**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!”

The Maids Pose for the Camera...

Since B was opposed to a “first look” opportunity before the wedding ceremony, there was much juggling to be done before the show started to make sure that he got his wish. He’s a bit old-fashioned about it, and I argued against it before the wedding, but I have to admit that it was well worth seeing the look on his face when he saw me for the first time in my dress...well worth any juggling that we did before-hand.

We also had a bit of a time crunch, as we were starting our ceremony at 5:30 in the evening...one week before the time changed out of Daylight Savings Time...so I wasn’t really sure how much natural light we would have to work with after the ceremony. All of this meant that we did our individual pictures with our Guys and Maids before the ceremony started. I had originally thought (I don’t know WHAT I was thinking) that since there would be two photographers, that one would go with the Guys and one with the Girls and we would be taking our pictures at the same time. But seeing how much work went into getting these pictures...I know realize how foolish that thought really was. And how little I know about photography...

Even though we had plenty of light to work with on our BEAUTIFUL wedding day, it still took the second photographer working with a light shield thingy to get the most light in the most flattering spot on us for the best pictures. I’ll be honest and admit that there were possibly a few curse words spoken as she BLINDED me with the light screen to catch the glare right in my eyes, but the quality of the pictures was MORE than worth not being able to see for several minutes as my eyes readjusted to normal levels of sunlight...

First up, went the girls. Yes, we’re pickier...we actually LIKE to pose for the camera...and there were just tons of things that we could do. I had my Mom and little J on standby as our bouquet girls...along with some water as it was kinda hot outside. Don’t they look excited to be at our beck and call?
I think that J was just a "little" excited, huh?Christina loved Redbud Hall best because of the large field that is behind the hall. There’s a dirt road (sort of) that leads back to a fence line and you can just see for miles and miles...a great backdrop for pictures, I have to admit. And I love the way that she was right – getting out in the middle of the field and catching the blowing grasses really made the pictures that much more beautiful. Even if we had to deal with bugs, itchy grass and the possibility of ants.

By the way, there were a zillion pictures to choose from, and I just tried to choose and show off my favorites...

First, just the Maids and I...
Then we added the flower girl...Then we changed up the grouping a little...I wanted a single shot with each bridesmaid individually...first up, MOH...Then Maid Momma...And last, but not least, Maid Britney...These girls were SUCH a help to me during the wedding and the days leading up to the wedding. OK, I’ll be honest...it was the MONTHS up to the wedding! They still love me, so hopefully I wasn’t too bad of a bride-to-be!

Before we left the field, I wanted to grab a few pictures with J and I alone...I really LOVE this one where she leans in to “hug” me...so cute!And the last request that I had was a "generations picture" with my Mom, myself and J in it. I have to say, even though I’m talking about myself, that we are some good-looking women! Do you remember when my Mom called me and described her dress as being black and white paint drizzles? I talked about it somewhere and can't find it now...and was sort of worried...but she looked GREAT!

After we left the field – and got all the grasshoppers off of my dress – we headed to the hall next door, Tejas Hall to use their outdoor benches. There were too many guests arriving for us to use Redbud Hall, and I was sort of worried about going into someone else’s territory as Tejas Hall was rented and being used that same day. Luckily, their wedding started after ours, so no one but the groomsmen really saw us or anything.

Here we are trying so hard to follow Christina’s instructions to look serious, laugh, pose like Vogue or whatever...I think that these shots turned out great! Here’s my favorite one...After we finished these shots, I was getting anxious about the time and knew that Christina still needed to go and do pictures with the boys, so I shooed her off to do that while the girls put me back in my room...

**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