There is no way that I could capture all I want to say about my wedding day in one post- so I am going to go with a series. Here is the first! Enjoy!
As a little girl, I spent hours upon hour’s day dreaming of my future wedding day. I would dress up and pretend I was walking down the aisle and prince charming was at the other end. Well, the big day finally came and yes, prince charming was there! Hubs and I got engaged in December of 2009 after two and a half years of dating. The weekend we got engaged it snowed 19 inches in Maryland! We had so much fun that weekend. :)
We spent another year and a half planning our wedding! I really thought that year and a half would go by so slow, but with all we had going on our big day was here before I knew it! We kicked off our wedding weekend on Thursday. Mom and I got up and got our last minute errands done. Dropped off decorations at church and the reception venue took the guest bags to both hotels and picked up food for dinner. That night, Hubs’s Aunt and Uncle came into town to get settled in and we invited them over along with our neighbors (who have been like second parents to me) for a cookout. We had a great time! About half way through our cookout it started pouring and we had to move inside. The night ended with a power outage that lasted until 3pm the next day!
Friday morning Mom and I got up, went for a run and headed to the salon. Due to the power outage, I had to make a last minute appointment to get a wash and a blow dry for my hair. I didn’t want to risk not having power to get pretty for dinner! We had already planned on being there for our mani/pedi’s so it wasn’t a huge inconvenience. It was nice spending a few hours with just Mom. She always knows all the right things to say in the right moments, she is incredible that way.
The rehearsal at church went well! My pastor of many years was so wonderful at explaining how things would work to our friends and family. We went through the “walk through” and quickly realized our wedding party was so big the piano had to be moved to the back of the church! Following the rehearsal we headed to the Concordville Inn for dinner and some fun. Hubs and I gave a thank you to all our biggest supporters. We could not thank everyone enough for all of their love and support throughout our relationship – leading right up to the big day. We are truly blessed with the best family and friends. Hub’s Mom and my baby bro gave beautiful toasts as well. Of course, I’m a crier (in a good way) and didn’t have a dry eye almost the entire evening!
That evening my best friend and MOH, Julie spent the night with me. It was great getting a little BFF time in with her before the big day. She was absolutely the best maid of honor in the entire world. I know that lots of brides say that, but I am serious. I could not ask for a better supporter, craft maker, planner, and problem fixer in the entire world. She truly is amazing. When we woke up wedding morning the first thing I did was take a picture of us together. I LOVED that picture. Sadly, it was on the camera we lost on our honeymoon… but I still have the memory. Wegot some coffee and waited for my other girlies to arrive…
When everyone got there, we checked out their hair picture ideas and ate some breakfast. Two of Hubs and I's friends are hair stylists and they offered to come over to my parents house and do my bridesmaid’s hair, which turned out AWESOME. Everyone looked beautiful. MOH Julie and I got our hair done at the salon with mom, MIL, junior bridesmaid Rachel and my AIL. By the time we got back from the salon, my girls were all dressed and ready, looking absolutely beautiful. My photographer arrived a few minutes later and it was time to put on my dress!
The whole morning I kept thinking “holy cow, it’s my wedding day!” I kept repeating it and thinking “in a few hours, I get to marry the man of my dreams”! It seemed so surreal until….
I looked in the mirror and the dress was on. It hit me like a ton of bricks... this is the day I’ve been dreaming of my entire life...it’s finally here!
I knew for a while that I wanted to do a “first look” with my Dad. I am both a “mommy’s” and a “daddy’s” girl but there is something about a wedding day that makes you an extra “daddy’s girl”. My parents mean the world to me and I know this day meant just as much to them as it did to me. I put the dress on and crept down the steps to the living room… here are a few pictures from that moment…
He looked so handsome! He wore a sash with our Scottish clan colors and my bouquet was wrapped in my grandmother’s hanky honoring the Scottish thistle. I pinned on Dad’s corsage and took a picture with my parents.
After everyone dried their tears we toasted to the big day and took some bridesmaid pictures.
I even got a picture with my two favorite pups!
Meanwhile, this is what hubs was up to…
Before we knew it the limo was here and we were singing “going to the chapel and we’re going to get married”!!!
Up next... wedding ceremony!
