In celebration of G and I's first anniversary as husband and wife, I thought I'd take a stroll down memory lane and share my top five moments from our wedding day, plus one "best-worst" honorable mention.
The first look.
Even though the straps of my heels kept getting stuck to my dress, which kept getting stuck on nails in the wood deck, the first look was a wonderful (if comedic) moment. G’s reaction was a bit quieter than I expected it to be. When he turned around he just smiled, and then tried to hold back the tears. While we only had a few minutes alone, I think those few minutes helped calm our nerves and it was nice to be able to actually talk to each other, compliment each other, hug and kiss—the things you can’t really do during the ceremony!
Words with my dad.
Right before the walk down the aisle, I had a few precious minutes alone with my dad, who was just a big teddy bear on my wedding day, so emotional and nostalgic. Worried about my hair and my dress, I asked, “Do I look OK?” My dad didn’t miss a beat, replying that I looked like a supermodel. Later, during our father-daughter dance, he had me blubbering like a baby as he recalled his memories of me, as a baby. It was beautiful and perfect, even if I was ugly-crying the whole way through.
Walking down the aisle.
As my father walked me down the aisle, to the Goo Goo Dolls song “Come to Me,” the scene before me was mostly a blur. It happened so quick! But I do specifically remember seeing my friend Stephanie absolutely beaming with joy for me. Next I saw my soon-to-be husband, wiping away tears as they fell from his eyes, despite having already seen me in my dress—proving that first looks do not in the least take away from the seeing-your-bride-walk-down-the-aisle experience.
The ceremony.
G and I wholeheartedly agree that the best part of our wedding day was the ceremony. It was so important to me that the ceremony be personal, meaningful and really reflect the significance of what we were doing—pledging to love, honor, support and cherish each other, forever. That’s why I took on the task of writing the ceremony, including a hand fasting ritual and a wine blending ceremony, and carefully selected two readings, one sweet and one funny. The pinnacle moment, however, was when G and I shared the vows we had written for each other. A close runner-up was when my groom slipped me a tissue just as our officiant-friend read the words, “These are the hands that will wipe away the tears from your eyes…” Perfect timing!
Our second dance.
While our first dance, to Train’s “Marry Me,” was certainly special, I felt infinitely more comfortable during our second dance. To kickstart the reception, the DJ put on John Legend’s “All of You” and our friends and family quickly joined us on the dance floor, making us feel less like the ice sculpture the reception revolves around and more like part of a great party.
The best-worst moment:
When my hubby & his boys "broke" the dance floor.
When my hubby & his boys "broke" the dance floor.
It’s a year later and I don’t yet find this as funny as people assured me I would one day, but it was definitely a memorable moment that guests still talk about! G had already gained a reputation for his enthusiastic moves and one-armed push-up to the Isley Brothers song “Shout!” but he took his fame to a whole new level during our wedding reception. Now, it wasn’t really his fault, but as G and his groomsmen jumped up and down on the lower deck, our dance floor, one of the planks began to bend and bow. It didn’t actually crack and no one got hurt (thank goodness) but the lower deck with our sweetheart table was basically off-limits after that and the dance floor was moved to the upper deck. Suffice to say, we weren’t thrilled, but we have an interesting story to tell and some fun photos from what is now his most infamous “Shout!” performance.
(Photos by heidi-o-photo)
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