1 Year Ago

(*Disclaimer*  These wedding posts are mostly for myself, so I can remember what these days were like in the future.  Therefore, they will be full of silly details no one else will care about. I won't be insulted if you bail.)

Next thing I know, it's about 7:45 in the morning, and the alarm on my phone is going off.  I had set it for a few minutes before breakfast was due to arrive, so I wouldn't miss it should I doze off.  Good call on my part! The plan was to veg out in front of the tube all night, or at least until I got drowsy, then set the sleep timer on the TV to turn itself off if I fell asleep.  Instead, I had zonked out so fast that the TV was still on when I woke up.   What I thought would be a long night of jitters and anticipation, turned into a night of dead-to-the-world sleep, and so passed really stinkin' quick. 

So here it was.  The Big Day.  Taa-Dahhhh!

For the past couple weeks, it seemed like every married woman I knew told me horror stories about how nervous they were on their wedding day.  I'd politely listened to harrowing tales of head-to-toe stress-induced hives, fainting, violent vomiting, etc.  Figuring it must be a universal experience, I lay in bed and waited for terror to strike.

And waited . . . and waited . . .Nope.

I felt just fine.  Cozy, calm, happy, . . .and hungry.  My omelet, danishes, and hot chocolate showed up about this time.  (Have I mentioned I love room service?)   The hotel was sneaky, and room service orders had to cost at least $10.  With just the omelet and a beverage, the price would be about $9.50.  The 2-pack of danishes was the least expensive option to bump the price up enough.  I ate most of the omelet (which was huge), and decided to save the danishes for a snack later.  Time to get moving!  Stuff to do!  People to see!

I went back to the Gateway, since I had some gift cards to spend, and also needed to get flower girl and ring bearer gifts.  It was a beautiful day!  Remember how wet and cold April was last year?  Earlier that week I had shivered through my Bridal photos, which had been postponed from earlier in the month due to bad weather.  Finally that day, Spring was looking and feeling like Spring should.  Bright, sunny and wedding-perfect warm!  A cashier asked if I had plans for such a nice day, and almost fell over when I told her I was getting married in just a few hours.

Time to have Brunch with the fam!  I was getting a little nervous by this time.  Not cold feet nervous, but I was worried that I hadn't planned to give myself enough primp time.  One big wedding day regrets is that I was paying too much attention to the clock, and not enough to my family.  Some of whom had traveled a very long way to be there. Dan, Lori, and their family flew in the night before, and Janice and Scott were down from Oregon.  I was happy to see everyone, though!  All the kids seemed to be enjoying seeing each other again, and the food was delicious!

Time flew.  It seems like I had just gotten there, when it was time for me to go back to my hotel room and get ready.  I do wish I would have asked someone to come back with me and keep me company while I was doing my hair and make-up.  I'd been living alone for a few years at this point, and I'm probably more comfortable than I should be with being by myself.  But that day I admit to being lonely while I was primping.  Since I did it myself and kept it simple, I was done in about an hour.  I had originally planned to get my hair professionally done, since that seems to be what brides do. I wanted something very simple, since my veil would be covering it.  Most pictures I saw looked too juvenile and prom-like than what would flatter a 31 year old bride, then BINGO!  I found a nice, simple, twisted bun.  And better yet, it had step-by-step directions, so I could do it myself and not have to worry about scheduling salon time.  I practiced it frequently and got pretty good. But since my hair is my hair, and not the smooth, straight, cooperative hair the model had, I was glad I did have a veil to hide the little bits that insisted on sticking out.  I gathered my dress, veil, and a few other neciessities, and headed up to The Canterbury Place. 

Due to the ginormous bun on the back of my head, my head was at a weird, tilted forward angle during the drive up. Not comfy.  Last thing I needed right now was a crick in my neck, thank goodness it's a short drive.  I got to the Canterbury a few minutes after 4, and saw Josh and his cousin/best man Jesse walking in as I was parking.  I did not for a minute think Josh would jilt me at the alter, but I do admit a small feeling of relief to physically see him there.  Just a quick wave and smile, even though I didn't have my dress on yet. No sense in tempting fate or bad luck or what-have-you.  So up to the Bride's Room . . .

The Bride's Room at the Canterbury Place is a lovely, dreamy, romantic place.  With precisely squat to do, besides get all dolled up.  Since I was already basically done with the doll-ing when I got there, and was waiting on the photographer to get some shots of my dress before putting it on, I was wishing I had an xbox and TV like the Groom's Room has. Absolutely nothing to do and at plenty of time to do it.

 Bored.  Bored.  Boredboredbored.

Time to venture a trip downstairs to see how everything looked all set up. Very much a sneaking down on Christmas morning feeling, except I held myself back from shaking the presents.  I may have "squee"-ed" a time or three. Those blue and purple orchids are now my favorite flower. The dining room looked great, and the arch and chandelier for the ceremony were so pretty!  More cars were coming, so back upstairs to hide until my grand entrance.  Manda was the first to arrive to the inner sanctum,  and brought her fancy phone that could play music.  YAY!!  It must have been feeling the vibes, since all it played were romantical type songs, which for once I didn't mind.  Now that my bridesmaids, Mom, and cute little flower-girls were around, that Bride's Room was way more fun.

This is when time sped up and memories begin to blur.  I remember it was a team effort to get me buttoned into my dress.  The photographer was snapping pictures, and when he had me pose with my mom, and I started to get a tad sniffly.  And then there was the adventure of needing to use the teeny-tiny bathroom in my big, poufy dress.  Another team effort, but no photographer to catch that one.  Then all my wedding party had to leave to be in place for show time and I was all alone for a few minutes.  I was excited and ready to do this thing!  Then my Dad came in, and after a few more moments, it was TIME.

Part II coming soon.