I think the reason I've hesitated in writing about our wedding is because writing is my trade.
I feel like I must get this replay perfect.
It was such a sensory day, and I want to capture it impeccably.The smell of the white mixed bouquets, fresh from the flower market. The fluttering butterflies I felt in my belly when I saw Taylor for the first time before the ceremony. The sound of my heart pounding out of my chest as my dad walked me down the aisle of the packed church. The sight of the passersby flashing phone photos as we floated to the reception in my uncle's classic car, with tin can clangingon the pavement (the moment I felt like we were living out a scene from a movie). The taste of the homemade wedding cake as Taylor smashed it into my face. The touch—embrace—of each faraway friend who made the trek to witness our marriage.
And, I can't believe it's been more than two months since this special day.
Should I start from the beginning?
My sisters and I woke up at 5 a.m. on TBD (THE Big Day) and were whisked off to a special edition of my favorite cardio workout class—arranged by my friend Leslee. A few of the other regulars were there that morning, but it was pretty much a private class. I couldn't think of a better way to start a day of favorites than with this class. Total stress reliever. We followed that up with coffee and breakfast.
I should note, I slept on my parents' couch. Elizabeth, her husband, and their three kids also stayed at my parents', and Stefanie, her husband, and their daughter slept down the street at my brother and Sara's house. Everyone converged on my parents' house though. Total hub of chaos.
The ladies escaped to NW Portland for a morning of pampering at an adorable beauty bar. One of my nearest and dearest friends, Matea, worked on hair while a team of makeup artists performed a miracle on me and gussied up my sisters, mom, and Taylor's sister. Sara, the MVP of the wedding day, jetted off to buy me a coffee, and it was pretty much bliss just sitting there, not really worrying about what was to come.
After the hair and makeup, we headed back to my parents', only to find out their refrigerator somehow kicked the bucket. No joke. It's not like this was some 30-year-old frige, either. This baby was just a couple of years old, new to my parents' remodeled kitchen, and a pretty nice piece of steel. This might not have been such a big issue except for the fact that my parents hosted a brunch for the wedding guests the day after our wedding...and we didn't ask for RSVPS for that one, so any number of people were expected to show. My mom's other refrigerators were in use, so we weren't really sure what to do in this moment. My brother-in-law Jordan came to the rescue and called a handyman who hopped on over just as we should have been leaving for the wedding.
I recall standing in the driveway asking aloud, "Is anybody going to take me to my wedding?"
We finally arrived at the reception venue, and a few loose ends I thought would have been tied had not, so I had to rush and arrange the easels and place-setting card display my dad and I made, setup the guest book table, and cross my fingers everything else would get taken care of. I got dressed at The Foundry, and we took our wedding photos before the wedding there.
How have I kept this little tidbit an afterthought? It was 80 and sunny on our wedding day...MAY THIRD. Unheard of in the Northwest. Such a special blessing.
The moment Taylor and I had our "first look," I felt this rush of relief. We were really doing this, and everything that I didn't manage to finish or every little detail I hadn't remember to check off one of my millions of lists...well, it just didn't matter at that moment.
From that second on, every moment flew by, just as everyone said it would. I felt like we were speeding through the photos, and then we were jetting back to the church, less than a mile from the reception venue, where I sat and waited for what felt like forever in the bride's room (weird...this moment actually did feel like a lifetime...so I guess I rescind what I just said).
Lucky Taylor got to greet all of our guests while I waited downstairs. I'd later feel so guilty and sad about the few people we didn't actually get to personally thank for coming to our wedding, but knowing Taylor got to say hello to everyone as they entered comforted me a bit.
The actual ceremony was the most important part, in my opinion. People always say you'll focus on one thing, and everything else will be complementary. For some people, it's the dress, the party, the food, the flowers, etc. For me, it was the ceremony. We had my priest from high school celebrate our marriage, and boy did he do a wonderful job incorporating our stories, along with the three readings we chose as our Word of the Lord. Each of these readings held and holds special meaning for us, as did the songs we chose to sing. We hired a very talented singer and pianist from the cathedral downtown. This was something I dreamed about for a long time. I used to attend Sunday evening service quite frequently at the cathedral, and I was always lifted up and inspired by the music. To have one of these upbeat musicians play at our wedding just overwhelmed me. I told the singer she was somewhat like a celebrity to me, and I couldn't believe she was there singing over us.
My mom will tell you my niece was the star of the show, toddling down the aisle. Unfortunately, since my dad and I came down after Hazel, I didn't get to see this, but our dear friends from Austin, Kevyn and Josh, recorded the whole ceremony and just sent us the video. I am looking forward to watching this so I can see everything as an onlooker.
Following the ceremony, we rode back down to The Foundry in my uncle's classic car, and it really started to sink in that we were married. Driving around in that car was one of the highlights of the day. It was so fun. Everyone stopped an stared. There is just something about seeing a bride and a groom, right? We went directly to the bride's suite and had a cocktail and a plate of our food. People always say you never end up eating at your wedding, so I wanted to be sure we ate. I couldn't even taste the food because of my nerves, but Taylor gobbled up his breakfast for dinner feast, while I waited patiently for a mimosa to calm me down a bit.
We were announced as husband and wife and immediately danced our first dance. We took lessons leading up to the wedding, so we had a special routine planned, and I must say, I was so proud of Taylor. I think we did a great job considering how many eyes we had on us.
Some people say they felt like a celebrity on their wedding day, but I tell you this...I felt like I was the one seeing stars. Having everyone you know and love in one place at the same time is just magical. It's such a surreal feeling though...having the couple whose dog I used to walk when I was eight years old stand right beside my high school volleyball coach...who was right beside Taylor's grandmother...beside a whole crew of people who flew in from Austin...and my college best friends from all over the country. Man oh man. It was so bizarre yet utterly amazing having all these people together.
My sisters, Taylor's sister and dad, my brother, and my dad all gave speeches. My dad really worked the crowd and thanked pretty much every person who had an influence on my life. He said since he had three other kids with weddings before mine, he had enough practice and finally felt like he nailed it on this speech. We then cut the cake, and YES! We smooshed it all over each other's faces. Bringin' it back, folks! It was so fun. Since we did breakfast for dinner, every table had a different breakfast pastry, which was our cake alternative, but we hoped the die-hard cake lovers would still take a piece of the perfect cake my friend Katie made.
The traditional father-daughter and mother-son dances preceded three special songs with ZUMBA instruction. I kid you not. Ever since I started taking Zumba years ago, I thought it would be awesome to have an instructor come to a party or wedding and teach it as it's fun line dancing. I was kind of nervous it wouldn't be a hit, but the dance floor was packed.
After that, Taylor and I tried to make it to say our hellos to as many people as possible. We vowed to make it to every table, but by the time we got to some tables, people had dispersed. Since it was such a gorgeous evening, the caterers moved the bar outside, and people enjoyed cocktails on the riverfront under the stars.
We exited to a row of sparklers and stayed on the south waterfront in a high rise with a view of the city. A sweet group of our friends set out flowers, champagne, and the works. It was just the most perfect way to end an amazing day.
To me, our wedding was a day of favorites. We tried to incorporate all of our favorite things in the details of the wedding, and we wanted our guests to know how special we think they are and how much it meant that they were able to be a part of our day.
There is no movie, manual, or first-hand account of someone else's Big Day that can truly prepare you for your very own. It's so personal. I don't want to forget about the feelings and the overwhelming sense of love and pride I felt on that day. I am *so* happy to be married.
I know I'm forgetting a lot. I'll have to come back and edit this.
Here's just a handful of our many, many, many wedding photos. I'm trying to finish a compilation to send to friends who weren't able to make it to the wedding.
