Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Playing Catch-Up (Part IV) - The Wedding.

Our wedding was amazing and just like I imagined (well, almost like I imagined thanks to the HORRIBLE DJ) - but, it was a complete whirlwind.  The Friday before the wedding we were able to set everything up at the venue.  My mom, 3 of my bridesmaids, and myself got there around 10:00 a.m. and worked our little butts off until about 3:00.  I was so happy that we could get inside the day before the wedding, it made life SO much easier.  Friday night was the Rehearsal dinner which Justin's parents hosted.  It was a great time! Justin's mom had a DVD made of pictures of Justin and I growing up and then of us together - honestly, at first, I wasn't too thrilled about the idea - but, I absolutely loved the DVD! I stayed with my mom Friday night and did not sleep a wink - my mind was racing with excitement and nerves.  I wasn't nervous about getting married, I was nervous about everything going as planned.  I had lived and breathed our wedding for a year and I couldn't stop thinking about things going wrong. 

Saturday we got ready at Billie-Jo's house and she had a wonderful spread of food and drink (i.e., lots of champagne) for the girls and I to eat and drink throughout the day.  The hair stylist and make-up artist came to us, so, we all just hung out, talked, and sipped on some champagne. Although I did go through bouts of pacing...this time with my mom and my girls was exactly what I needed! The car service came at 3:30pm to pick us all up and take us to the venue - once I was there I got dressed and then took pictures with my mom, by myself, and with my girls.  Before I knew it, it was time for the ceremony to start.  Our ceremony started at 5:30pm and we pretty much started on time.  From this point forward, everything is a bit of a blur - I managed to make it down the aisle without falling a part...mainly, due to the fact that I found out that the DJ's equipment wasn't working and that none of the music that I selected for the ceremony had been played.  So, needless to say, I was a little upset.  However, once I got down the aisle, everything was good to go! Our ceremony was amazing and very personal.  Our Pastor did an amazing job of having the perfect balance of a religious/traditional ceremony and a more modern ceremony.  After we were pronounced husband and wife, a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders and I was ready to eat, drink, and dance with my family and friends.

Justin and I took pictures during the cocktail hour and then joined all of our guests right at the start of the reception.  The food was amazing and we had such a great time with our family and friends.  We had some more "issues" with the DJ, but, all in all everything went well!  The reception went really fast and before we knew it, it was time for our sparkler send off! Justin's aunt had her boat docked at the venue - so we boarded the boat and she took us over to the hotel.  It felt so good to be married and it felt so good to be done with wedding planning FOREVER!

We didn't leave for our honeymoon until Monday, so, Sunday we spent time with family who had traveled to our wedding and then we packed and headed up to Tampa to stay in a hotel because we had a super early flight.  We honeymooned in Antigua and it was SO relaxing. No internet, no phone service - just Justin and I! It was perfect!

Now we are enjoying our life as Newlyweds!

Here are a couple of pics:

Wedding favors:


The Ladies:


The cake:

Our table:

Walking into the reception:


First dance:

Mom/Daughter dance (this is my favorite pic of my mom and I from the wedding):


Entry table (we had our guests sign oars, instead of a traditonal guest book):


 Heading down to the sparker send off:




 

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