1 Year Ago II

I heard my Bridal March song start, and the doors opened to reveal the room full of loved ones.  Staring at me.  And THAT is when the nerves kicked in. I forgot to look for Chrys's Axl Rose dance, or anything else for that matter. Finding myself as center of attention is the stuff of nightmares for me.  I can't quite remember if I actually did slip and almost fall stepping into the room, or if I was just so afraid I was going to that my brain made it a memory.  I do know it was probably one of the less graceful walks-down-the-aisle Canterbury Place had seen.  I forgot to practice actually walking in my wedding dress.  Up to that point, during pictures and such, to move from point A to point B I would simply hoist the thing up to my knees, walk to where I was going, then let it fall back down to the floor.  Trying to walk without it hoisted, I kept stepping on the hem and stumbling a little.  As much as I tried to convince myself nobody noticed, I'm pretty sure everybody did, since it was about every 2 steps the whole way to the alter. C'est la vie! Good thing I had my Dad to hold me up!

I wish I could remember more of what Judge Dawson said during the ceremony. I don't suppose anyone took notes I can borrow?  I can remember a few things, but not much.  I remember if I looked at Josh for too long I'd start tearing up.  I remember no matter how hard I tried to stand still, my legs kept wiggling.  I remember being distracted by how pretty and sparkly the chandelier was. Next thing I knew, we were officially pronounced man and wife.  There was a little music mix up.  I had given the venue people a CD with the songs for the wedding at our rehearsal, but had since picked a different song to use as our recessional song. Instead of Muse's "Starlight", which is a fine song, I decided I wanted The Scissor Sisters "Best In Me" and gave them the new CD, but the old one was played and "Starlight" it was.  Little bit of a bummer, but we were married, Hooray! so what song we walked back down the aisle to doesn't matter much in the long run.

After that it was a flurry of marriage certificate signings and pictures getting taken.  I had ordered a pair of garters (one for throwing, one to keep) off of Etsy, and they would just not stay put on my chicken-esque legs.  About this time they decided it was time to head south, and a few times I had to find a quiet corner to discreetly reposition one or the other of them from my ankles back to where they were supposed to be.  Awkward.  I was really not very good at the bride thing.  Lots of smiling and posing for pictures, I'm not sure how long that part lasted.  Didn't seem like long to me, but for those trying to keep kids occupied I'm sure it felt like hours.  After we had posed with all of the different combinations of family, it was time to head in for dinner. 

The few things I remember are having to explain to Josh why everyone was clinking their forks on their glasses, realizing that eating in front of an audience feels very weird, wishing I had figured out a way to bustle my dress so I could maneuver around the tables and visit with people, the adorable "kids table" that was my main source of entertainment (particularly Dax and his 100 punch refills.  That boy knows what he likes), and a little bit of the speeches.  I was too much in my own happy, slightly overwhelmed bubble to register much of what was happening around me.  I'm glad The Canterbury provided a nice lady to pretty much babysit us and keep the show going.  I also remember the cheesecake we had for dessert, because I love me some cheesecake.

Let's see, I believe we did the cake cutting next.  Dad had threatened me that if any cake got smushed on either of our faces, we would be paying for the wedding ourselves.  Josh had hinted at maybe getting a little frosting on my nose, but he behaved himself and didn't even do that.  My friend Sarah, who I've known since the 7th grade, has a very nice mom who makes cakes for a hobby, and it was her mom that made our cake.  Unfortunately my cake topper I chose just wasn't cooperating and wouldn't stay put on top of the cake that day, so it was a pretty table decoration instead.  But the cake sure was yummy!  Chocolate with raspberry filling.  MMmmmm.

Are you tired of this yet?  I kinda am.  Almost done!

I had thought it would be fun to have a little dancing at my wedding.  Mostly, I was trying to avoid the dreaded reception line.  I've stood in enough of those as a bridesmaid. Dancing sounded like waaaay more fun.  My parents even took lessons!  Me and Josh didn't, so we just did the "Jr. High Sway".  I tried to foxtrot with my Dad, but again that dang gorgeous dress got in the way.  And the fact that I'm not very graceful to begin with.  Still, those 2 dances might be my favorite memories. 

Josh and I had a very early flight the next morning, so we requested the limousine come early.  I was so excited for that limo!  I'd never been in one before, and who knows if I'll ever get to again.  I had requested the classic limousine, but during the evening got delayed elsewhere. The limo company asked if it was ok if they sent the Hummer limo instead.  To be perfectly honest, I always have and probably always will think those hummer limo are a bit on the ugly and tacky side, but hey, a limo is a limo. 

It was getting late in the evening now, and time to toss the bouquet.  Since I knew there would only be a few single people attending, I had wanted to open the floor to ALL the ladies, and whoever caught the bouquet got a gift card.  Same thing with the fellas and the garter toss.  Hard to overcome tradition, however, so it was still mostly the nieces and nephews that participated.  I can't quite remember who caught the bouquet, if anyone.  I do remember it fell to the floor and broke apart, so most of the little girls were walking around with mini-bouquets.  I think it was Dax who got the garter.  Or his dad, who then handed if off.  Feel free to correct me if I'm not remembering right.

With our ride on en route, it was time to change and get my things ready to go.  I almost cried when I took off my dress.  As cliché as it sounds, I did feel pretty special and princessy that day, and changing back into real people clothes felt a little bit like the magic ending after the Ball. When I bought my dress I had every intention of selling it after the honeymoon, but now I just can't bring myself to do it.  Even though we have no room for it and my parents are keeping it for me.

Anyways . . .

When the limo was ready, Josh and I walked through the sparkler line (good job, everyone!  It was an impressive sight from our perspective) and got in the ginormous limo.  It was HUGE.  I could lay down on the seat and still have plenty of head and foot room.  And it was pretty fancy, with lights everywhere.  After the initial excitement it seemed a bit silly to have such a huge car for just the two of us, but it was lots of fun to feel like a celebrity for a bit.  We had told the driver we were headed for the Radisson by the airport, and figured we'd be there in a few minutes since it was so close.  I'm not sure if the driver was trying to give us our money's worth of time, or if he had to take a longer route that he could maneuver the limo through. Or maybe he was enjoying the company of whoever was up there with him.  Although our driver was a guy, we did hear some rather feminine giggling and one pretty girly sneeze come from the other side of the partition.  We just kept driving and driving and driving.  Josh and I were starting to get a tad worried, but finally we pulled up to the hotel and our wedding was officially over, and married life just starting.

So there it is, our wedding as I remember it. Finally officially blogged.