The Day of Days...Part II: Ceremony, Reception & Beyond

As I excitedly waited to take that special walk, I watched as the Woodland Center was transformed into a glistening sea of soft, rosy candlelight. Before my very eyes, the remaining cream and blush petals were placed gently atop our towering cake, the last menus were carefully placed, and the final candle wicks were carefully lit. Our "Parade of Sweeties" arrived in their adorable attire and suddenly it was time! Mom & I made the last minute call to proceed as originally planned with our ceremony despite the on-again, off-again drizzle, and before we knew it, my maids and I were headed toward the walkway!

As the Ashland Trio coaxed the most beautiful melodies out of their regal stringed instruments, the day suddenly felt a bit like a fairy tale. I watched in rapt emotion as one-by-one my best friends and family members strolled down that long, beautiful wooden path. First my sweet bridesmaids, then our little Sweeties. Finally, it was time for Daddy & I to take our special walk. As Daddy leaned in close to whisper, "Ready?!" I simply couldn't keep my tears at bay. My eyes welled with them as we began to smoothly glide down the aisle to Pachelbel's "Canon in D." It was magical to see so many smiling, loving faces as we proceeded toward my beaming Groom. And then...I saw him! He looked so overjoyed! His smile was as big as the day he had proposed, and I had a sneaky suspicion he was struggling to hold back the tears! As my Father presented me to my sweet Groom, I remember being filled with such love and joy that I felt as though I might literally explode!

Our ceremony began with a  loving prayer from my childhood pastor, Reverend Charlie, followed by two heartfelt readings (one from my Sister and Matron of Honor, Tiffany; and one from Andy's best man, Adam). Next we exchanged the time-honored traditional Christian vows, just as our parents and grandparents before us had. Following our traditional "I Do's," we shared our own personal vows, which were more reflective and intimate, and definitely very emotional (following Andy's heartfelt words, there certainly wasn't a dry eye in the forest). During my vows, we felt the faintest rain drizzle, which, thankfully, quickly subsided! After the exchange of our wedding bands, we participated in a unique unifying ceremony, called "The Hand Ceremony." My Groom & I carefully selected this ceremony in place of more traditional unity ceremonies like the lighting of a unity candle, mixing of unity sand, etc. due to its personal, heartfelt nature. In this ceremony, Pastor Charlie shared a brief reading about the significance of hands while my Grandfather bound our hands together with ribbon. As we were reminded that our hands would always lovingly support, comfort, and adore one another, the beautiful notion that our hands would be forever bound resonated deeply with my husband and I. Our ceremony was closed with a beautiful prayer and the pronouncement of our marriage. We were officially husband and wife! The joy on both of our faces was priceless! I'm so thankful our photographers captured our overwhelming emotion!

After a few special moments together, we were joined by our bridal party & family members for lots and lots of photographs! We've shared a few of our favorites below.

 

Family Shots

Bridal Portraits

 Mr. & Mrs.

Bridal Party

Following our formal photography session, we were ready to join our fabulous party! Mom bustled my dress (with a little help from the groom ;-)) and before long we were ready for our grand entrance! One-by-one our friends danced their way into the reception until finally my new husband & I were introduced. It was the first time that I had felt nervous all day! As soon as I saw two hundred beautiful, smiling faces though, my nerves melted as I remembered that we were surrounded by our loved ones.

Soon after our entrance, we settled into our cute sweetheart table & dinner was served. We were surprised to see that the meal was slightly different than the one we had agreed upon at the tasting, but thankfully it was still delicious, so our feelings weren't hurt too badly ;-) Next came heartfelt toasts from our best man and matron of honor--boy were they wonderful! Again, I don't believe there was a dry-eye in the crowd (mine certainly wasn't!).

Stay tuned for our wedding video, where you'll get to see these special toasts first-hand! Next, it was time to cut our delicious cake. I'm happy to report that my sweet husband behaved like a complete gentleman--that is, until I behaved badly! Honestly, I just couldn't resist the naughty cake-smashing-tradition and before long, we were both covered in yumminess! Thankfully, our outfits were spared, and no real harm was done (except to Andy's feelings perhaps ;-) )!

Reception Decor

 Children's Tables

Adult Tables

 Cookie Bar

Beverage Bar

Sweetheart Table

Little Sweethearts

Toasts and Cake-Cutting

Our romantic first dance came next. We had both highly anticipated our special twirl around the dance floor, and it was just as wonderful as we had hoped it would be! Our song, "Carrying Your Love With Me," by George Strait, played softly in the background as we swayed in the warm spotlight. My Darling Husband played this sweet song for me each time he would visit his family back in the Great White North, so of course the emotion-laden lyrics brought tears to my sappy little eyes! And unfortunately, the water-works didn't stop there! Our Father-Daughter & Mother-Son dances were just as tear-filled! Ladies, I'm sure you can all agree with me--there's just something about dancing with your Daddy on your wedding day that just tugs right at the 'ole heart. My sweet Daddy has always been very, very special to me, and as we floated around together, I remembered all the times we danced together in my life...at cousins' weddings, before prom, to lively bluegrass music, and now on my wedding day. Well, as you can imagine, my eyes didn't have the slightest hope of staying dry until that dance ended! And the same was certainly true for Darling Husband & his Momma during their dance!

After such emotional, tearful times, we were all ready for some fun, so thankfully we transitioned into the bouquet/garter toss and "The Shoe Game." Andy & I had opted for a joint bouquet/garter toss for several reasons: first, we've both noticed that at other weddings the single guys are certainly more reluctant and shy than the ever-eager single ladies! To avoid the dreaded awkward garter-toss, and to stir up an atmosphere of co-ed fun, we thought the joint toss would be perfect. We also thought the photo and video recordings of the joint toss would be twice-as-nice as the single tosses would have been. Thankfully, we were right on both accounts! Our single friends loved being surrounded by plenty of other single guys & gals, so the joint toss was certainly a hit! Andy's best man, Adam, caught the garter and one of our dear friends from the Great White North, Amy (Peter's Sister), caught the bouquet! Who knows, maybe we'll see sparks for those two ;-)

Perhaps just as fun as the bouquet/garter toss was "The Shoe Game," where Darling Husband & I answered fun questions by holding up either his shoe or my shoe. As questions like, "Who wears the pants in the relationship?" and "Who's most stubborn?" were asked, cheers and laughter quickly filled the Woodland Center! Sometimes we agreed, and sometimes we didn't, much to our guests' delight! After "The Shoe Game," it was finally, finally time to dance! I rushed off to change out of my beautiful ball-gown into my sparkly party dress and we spent the rest of the night laughing and dancing with our friends and family. One of the best dancing highlights came when Andy & Jordan (one of our ushers and a close friend from college) "Dougie'd!" The picture is just as priceless as that moment was! We ended the night in a huge dancing circle with our parents and friends, just as I had always dreamed we would! As my gleaming husband & I looked out on our guests, we realized that we had it all--loving family and friends, a beautiful wedding, and most importantly, one another! And finally, as we drove away in our decked-out Dodge Charger to enjoy a perfect honeymoon, we just couldn't get over how blessed we were!