Becoming Man and Wife...

Let’s see...where were we? Oh yeah...the boys came in, followed by the girls...then I made my own entrance with a little help from James Brown (at least it’s a memorable bride’s entrance, right?) and I joined my soon-to-be husband. So there we were, gathered in front of family and friends... Our photographer, Christina Carroll, captured the whole ceremony layout with some interesting lenses and angles...I'll let the picture do the talking...but I will mention that these are some of my absolute favorite pictures!Our ceremony was very special to us. In fact, we wrote the ceremony...and yes, that’s one of those “we” comments that really means “me.” But B did have input and he helped edit things down to where we thought it was a good representation of us. Something that we both knew for the start was that we wanted our wedding ceremony to be personal, a representation of us and who we were as a couple...and, since we’d both been married before, we wanted something different than in either of our previous ceremonies.

For instance, we knew we wanted to incorporate some type of unity ceremony to symbolize our coming together – joining of the families and all, but neither of us wanted to do a candle ceremony. After doing some research online, I was pretty set on having a hand fasting ceremony and lucky for me, B went along with me.

Once I had done some research, and our ceremony was written up, it was a bit on the lengthy side. Dwayne, our minister, was practicing at home several times a week, becoming more familiar with what we had written out for him, and was still timing it at about an hour. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem for most couples...but we knew that there would be somewhere around 40 children in the audience...getting more and more antsy by the minute. In hindsight...short and sweet might be a better plan. But we LOVED what we had put together, and we just couldn’t cut it down any further. After checking to make sure that Dwayne was ok with the length...and double (or triple) checking the sunset times with Christina Carroll to ensure that we would be able to do pictures after the ceremony, even though it was a lengthy ceremony, we kept it like it was. And I’m SO glad that we did.

I know that I like to talk, but I think that I'll let the pictures tell the story...for the most part, anyway!

We stood in front of family and friends, hands together...We heard words of wisdom, that came from the heart...There was laughter...And possibly a little "ribbing" since it was a friend who married us...But I don't think that we spent any of this time not touching...

He gave me a ring...And I returned the favor...We exchanged our vows...

While our friends and family looked on and struggled not to cry...and fidget...Luckily for us, Dwayne was a little nervous...and we were just a “bit” excited and before either one of us knew it, the rings had been exchanged...the vows had been repeated...and Best Man S stepped up with our hand fasting ropes. I loved this part of our ceremony SO much...I just have to share the words:

“S, take B’s hands palms up, so you may see the gift that they are to you:
These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and vibrant with love. They are holding yours on your wedding day, as he promises to love you all the days of his life.
Now B, take S’s hands, palms up, so you may see the gift that they are to you:
These are the hands of your best friend, smooth, young and carefree. They are holding yours on your wedding day, as she promises to love you all the days of her life.
Now, please join hands so that they may be fasted in the ways of old. Remember then as your hands are fasted, these are not the ties that bind…
[Cords are held aloft by Best Man]
The love already shared by your hearts has been strengthened by the vows you have taken.

You will be bound by your love as you are bound by your clasped hands from now until the end of your days.

[As the following is recited, the couples hands are wrapped with cords by Best Man]

These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch will comfort you like no other.
These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as you build your future together.

These are the hands that will hold you whenever illness, fear, or grief may find you.
These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it.

These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children.
These are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours.
[Binding is finished and cords are knotted]
Bless these hands that you see before you this day.
May they always reach out with love, gentleness and respect.
May they build a loving relationship that lasts a lifetime.
May they always be held by one another.
If you follow these words and heed this sacred binding, your hands will heal, protect, shelter and guide.
Now, you may remove the cords, but remember the knot as a lasting symbol of your binding and commitment.”

[Cords are removed and stored]

**Source from here.

I think that I'm laughing so hard because B was giving BM a hard time about how good of a job he did wrapping us up...taking them off was a little more difficult!

Truthfully, my heart still gives a little tug when I read those words...they were SO powerful and meaningful to us. I literally got a chill reading this part of our ceremony now months after our wedding.

Before we knew it, the ceremony was complete, and it was every bride and groom’s favorite part of the ceremony...our first kiss as man and wife!

**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!

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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!

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 Boys Smile and Say “Cheese!”

Since I’m not a guy...and since my guy didn’t want to see me on our wedding day until I was walking down the aisle, I’m not really privy to what went on in the infamous Boy’s Dressing Room. I’ve asked, purely for informational purposes of writing this blog I assure you, and was given explanations that were long-winded and included words like “guy time” and “man cave” and so on and so forth. But I think that Christina captured the happenings better than words could express...I give you the Boy’s Room...Yep, that probably sums it up.

When peeking through the window, I could clearly see them getting much use out of their new flasks that we gave them as groomsmen gifts...which warmed my heart, to be sure. At the same time, no bride wants a drunk groom (or even one that slightly smells/tastes of liquor) so I promptly dispatched one of the Maids to remind B to “please, please, pretty please” brush his teeth and use mouthwash before walking down the aisle. Yes, I know that he’s a grown man, fully capable of using the common sense that God blessed him with and brushing his own teeth of his own free will. But cut me some slack...I was a bride...it was my wedding day...and one thing that I didn’t want to experience right then was Jack D.

Poor MOH. At least, I think that it was MOH. I think that B gave her a piece of his mind...fully exasperated that I would actually send someone to tell him to brush his teeth...likehe was five years old...but he took it well. He humored me. And she still stood by me, so all was well in my world. And it gave us girls something to giggle over!

Once Christina and her assistant finished with the girl’s pictures it was time to start with the guys. To be completely fair, I forgot to give Christina a list of pictures that I wanted taken. So she followed the same pattern that we have used for the girls: group shots, individual shots and then one of B and his son together. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this pattern – at all. It got me all the pictures that I wanted, and I’m pretty sure that B could have cared less about pictures with his guys.

But this is a very important lesson that I learned. Even though you think that you know (in your head) what pictures you want, it’s good to have a list to give to your photographer. Pictures of the girls’ matching shoes? Not done. Pictures of the guys’ matching socks? Not done either. And this was NOT the photographer’s fault, it was mine. Oh well, live and learn. But maybe another bride out there reading this will take this to heart and learn from my mistake. Is me wedding day any less complete not having those shots? No. But I went to a LOT of trouble to find those matching items...specifically so that I could do THAT shot that I had been seeing over and over on Weddingbee and other wedding sites...so yeah, it would have been nice to have it. Oh well.

The shots that she got turned out great! Here are the handsome men...first up, group shots...Would it kill them to smile? B and his Best Man...this guy had style, class and charisma...I promise that you’ll see it in other pictures coming up soon, because here he's just trying to look all serious!B and Groomsman BNow that’s more like it! That’s a smile...wonder what was so funny?B and Groomsman RAnd another one of my favorite pictures, B and his son, T...even if they're not smiling!Aren’t they handsome? You can totally see the resemblance!

You might notice that there aren’t as many pictures of the guys as we took of the girls...yeah, that’s because they’re guys. And they had humored me all that they were going to with this picture business. So they headed off to brush their teeth (LOL!) and get ready to make the walk down the aisle...it’s showtime!












**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!