The Wedding
So, its been over a week and I guess I should post details about the big day...
Chapter 1 - The Night Before
The rehersal went well, everyone was there with the exception of Rosa. The whole walk-in thing was a little crazy because timing was off and Fr Tom was getting mad, lol.
The rehersal dinner was another story. We booked the banquet room of this restaurant, like, 3 months ago for the rehersal dinner. I get a call from my dad Friday morning with bad news: some dumb waitress double booked the room at the last minute, and WE were getting booted from the banquet room. TOTALLY not fair. I get really pissed and ask my dad if there was anything that could be done, and my dad said he'd talk to the restaurant owner (a good friend of his), and call me back. When my dad calls me back, he tells me that there really isn't anything that can be done, but that the had reserved a large section of the main floor for us, and that my dad had 'stern words' with the owner, and there really wasn't anything that could be done. The other party was for just a little before ours, and for 50 people (we were a mere 30). Really. Really. Pissed. We put serious thought into going someplace else. I vowed that if anything else went wrong that night, I would go completely ape-shit. In the end, we went to the restaurant as planned and ate there. Small tables, not much interraction between people. Not what I had hoped for, but at least the company was good.
Didn't end up getting much sleep that night (gee, I wonder why?), even with a large dose of vicodin in me.
The Morning of The Big Day
I get up around 7 to take a super shower, which felt WONDERFUL. Very hot, lots of water pressure, and wonderful smelling soaps and sprays. Around 8:30 Ben and I eat breakfast (english muffin, egg and cheese sandwiches, YUM!). At 8:45 I go to get my hair done down in Auburn. My mom had rescheduled the appt from 10 to 9 so that I would have adequate time to get back to the church, etc etc, but I guess Jodi forgot. She was very late, and I didn't end up getting out of there until about 11 AM. Then my mom and I book it up to St. Vincents to drop off the key to the hall for my dad. Its just about 11:30 when we get there, and I had told everyone I'd be at the church getting dressed around 11:30. Crap. So mom and I run back home, I pick up all the extra miscellaneous bits, and go back to the church. Most people are already there and almost ready for pictures. I run into the Bride's room and proceed to strip to near nakedness (OOOO!) and put on my dress, jewelry, etc. Alex does my makeup (thank you, Alex!) seeing as I know damn-near NOTHING about cosmetics. And we all race out to the church for pictures.
Pictures
LOTS of pictures. Me and Ben. Ben and the groomsmen. Ben and best man. Just the groomsmen. Me. Me and bridesmaids. Me and maids of honor. Me and flower girl. Me and nieces. Ben with nieces. Ben with flower girl.
The list goes ON and ON.
The cutest were, perhaps, the ones of Ryann (alas, not a flower girl) tearing apart flowers and dropping the petals all over the place and running away.
The Ceremony
Music plays, grandparents are seated. Bridesmaids and groomsmen walk in. Ben's parents walk in, Carmella (Ben's mom) lights a unity taper. My mom walks in, lights the other unity taper. Payton goes in. Then the big moment...
The big double doors are flung open! With my dad on my right arm, I stare in awe at the crowd that has gathered (no tears, mind you!). We start to walk slowly, stopping briefly at the baptisimal font for pictures and whatnot. Then we continue down the aisle where Ben meets me and my dad, I hug and kiss my dad, he lifts my veil, and hands my right hand over to Ben.
I cannot even begin to describe everything that was going through my head at that very moment. I was in shock, really, because it finally hit me, the gravity of the whole thing. 'This is it. I'm really getting married. I've been waiting for this day my entire life. And now I get to spend the rest of my days with Ben.' It was like my heart had been loosened from my chest was laid bare before God and the entire world. Or maybe it was just the fact that my heart was beating so hard I couldn't hear or think of much else.
Fr. Tom talks for a little bit, as well as fusses greatly over my veil, which is hitched on something, and then we turn to hear the readings. The first one was about Tobit and his wife, how they prayed together the night after they were wed that God may have mercy on them, bring them salvation, and bless them with many long years together. The responsorial psalm I can't really remember exactly, but I remember it was sung beautifully, and even Ben sang with it (which is a HUGE thing because Ben doesn't sing at all except when we're alone). The second reading was from Corinthians, starting with 'If I haven't love, I have nothing' and ending with the famous
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails."
The part that struck me the most was the last line, "Love never fails". Think about it.
The gospel reading was the Beatitudes. Then Fr Tom gave a lovely "homilette" about the readings, but I can't really remember what he said more than just he talked about the beatitudes as it relates to the second reading.
Then it was time for the vows. Ben and I both freely chose to be there, it is our intent to marry, etc etc. We recited our vows to each other (and I didn't cry!). Then Father blessed the rings, and we did the vows over the rings as we put them on each other. Then it was time for the unity candle lighting. We both held hands and walked over to the tapers, each of us picking up one, and we both lit the Unity Candle together. Then it was time for the nuptual blessing. We both kneeled and bowed our heads. Father did his blessing over me, I bowed my head and closed my eyes. Then Father went to bless Ben, and a few seconds in, Ben started to bow his head, too.
The first thing that struck me was, "Ben doesn't bow his head when he prays...?" And his head kept bowing... He passed out! Miro (best man) and I both caught him before he fell completely. Ben was only out for 10-15 seconds, but enough to scare the hell out of me (though I didn't show it according to some). He finally came to and said "did I just pass out?". Yes you did, dear. His next instinct was to get back up on the kneeler. We gave him a few extra seconds, and then let him resume. Father goes to bless him again, and finally finishes. We're still kneeling at this point, though, and I keep turning to him and mouthing "are you ok?" and at one point he said "its coming back", and promptly passes out. Miro and I again catch him before he can hurt himself. He's only out for 5-10 seconds this time, but when he wakes back up, we make him sit down on the nearest pew for a minute or two. Finally we stand and resume. We finish up all the blessings and everything else that needed to be done. "It is with great honor that I now present to you, Mr and Mrs Benjamin and Julia Montgomery." Thats our cue to GTFO! We kiss sweetly (no tongue or anything, lol), and we walk briskly out of the church. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was terrified Ben was going to pass out on the way out, lol.
So we leave the church and go to the vestibule and sign paperwork, Rosa was my witness, and Miro was Ben's. Luckily there was a sink in that room so that we could get Ben a bunch of cups of water. He was paler that pale. His shirt looked dark compared to his face, heh. Anyhoo, we had at least two people pop their heads into the little room to see how Ben was and if there was anything we could do. Naaa, we just made him drink a bunch of water, got the extra coat and vest off, and unbuttoned his shirt a little bit so that he could cool off.
With that done and overwith, it was time for... The Reception!
I'll write about the reception (and the "honeymoon") later because I'm tired of typing right now.
Feel free to add your own stories and reactions and things from your point of view.
Thanks!
Chapter 1 - The Night Before
The rehersal went well, everyone was there with the exception of Rosa. The whole walk-in thing was a little crazy because timing was off and Fr Tom was getting mad, lol.
The rehersal dinner was another story. We booked the banquet room of this restaurant, like, 3 months ago for the rehersal dinner. I get a call from my dad Friday morning with bad news: some dumb waitress double booked the room at the last minute, and WE were getting booted from the banquet room. TOTALLY not fair. I get really pissed and ask my dad if there was anything that could be done, and my dad said he'd talk to the restaurant owner (a good friend of his), and call me back. When my dad calls me back, he tells me that there really isn't anything that can be done, but that the had reserved a large section of the main floor for us, and that my dad had 'stern words' with the owner, and there really wasn't anything that could be done. The other party was for just a little before ours, and for 50 people (we were a mere 30). Really. Really. Pissed. We put serious thought into going someplace else. I vowed that if anything else went wrong that night, I would go completely ape-shit. In the end, we went to the restaurant as planned and ate there. Small tables, not much interraction between people. Not what I had hoped for, but at least the company was good.
Didn't end up getting much sleep that night (gee, I wonder why?), even with a large dose of vicodin in me.
The Morning of The Big Day
I get up around 7 to take a super shower, which felt WONDERFUL. Very hot, lots of water pressure, and wonderful smelling soaps and sprays. Around 8:30 Ben and I eat breakfast (english muffin, egg and cheese sandwiches, YUM!). At 8:45 I go to get my hair done down in Auburn. My mom had rescheduled the appt from 10 to 9 so that I would have adequate time to get back to the church, etc etc, but I guess Jodi forgot. She was very late, and I didn't end up getting out of there until about 11 AM. Then my mom and I book it up to St. Vincents to drop off the key to the hall for my dad. Its just about 11:30 when we get there, and I had told everyone I'd be at the church getting dressed around 11:30. Crap. So mom and I run back home, I pick up all the extra miscellaneous bits, and go back to the church. Most people are already there and almost ready for pictures. I run into the Bride's room and proceed to strip to near nakedness (OOOO!) and put on my dress, jewelry, etc. Alex does my makeup (thank you, Alex!) seeing as I know damn-near NOTHING about cosmetics. And we all race out to the church for pictures.
Pictures
LOTS of pictures. Me and Ben. Ben and the groomsmen. Ben and best man. Just the groomsmen. Me. Me and bridesmaids. Me and maids of honor. Me and flower girl. Me and nieces. Ben with nieces. Ben with flower girl.
The list goes ON and ON.
The cutest were, perhaps, the ones of Ryann (alas, not a flower girl) tearing apart flowers and dropping the petals all over the place and running away.
The Ceremony
Music plays, grandparents are seated. Bridesmaids and groomsmen walk in. Ben's parents walk in, Carmella (Ben's mom) lights a unity taper. My mom walks in, lights the other unity taper. Payton goes in. Then the big moment...
The big double doors are flung open! With my dad on my right arm, I stare in awe at the crowd that has gathered (no tears, mind you!). We start to walk slowly, stopping briefly at the baptisimal font for pictures and whatnot. Then we continue down the aisle where Ben meets me and my dad, I hug and kiss my dad, he lifts my veil, and hands my right hand over to Ben.
I cannot even begin to describe everything that was going through my head at that very moment. I was in shock, really, because it finally hit me, the gravity of the whole thing. 'This is it. I'm really getting married. I've been waiting for this day my entire life. And now I get to spend the rest of my days with Ben.' It was like my heart had been loosened from my chest was laid bare before God and the entire world. Or maybe it was just the fact that my heart was beating so hard I couldn't hear or think of much else.
Fr. Tom talks for a little bit, as well as fusses greatly over my veil, which is hitched on something, and then we turn to hear the readings. The first one was about Tobit and his wife, how they prayed together the night after they were wed that God may have mercy on them, bring them salvation, and bless them with many long years together. The responsorial psalm I can't really remember exactly, but I remember it was sung beautifully, and even Ben sang with it (which is a HUGE thing because Ben doesn't sing at all except when we're alone). The second reading was from Corinthians, starting with 'If I haven't love, I have nothing' and ending with the famous
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails."
The part that struck me the most was the last line, "Love never fails". Think about it.
The gospel reading was the Beatitudes. Then Fr Tom gave a lovely "homilette" about the readings, but I can't really remember what he said more than just he talked about the beatitudes as it relates to the second reading.
Then it was time for the vows. Ben and I both freely chose to be there, it is our intent to marry, etc etc. We recited our vows to each other (and I didn't cry!). Then Father blessed the rings, and we did the vows over the rings as we put them on each other. Then it was time for the unity candle lighting. We both held hands and walked over to the tapers, each of us picking up one, and we both lit the Unity Candle together. Then it was time for the nuptual blessing. We both kneeled and bowed our heads. Father did his blessing over me, I bowed my head and closed my eyes. Then Father went to bless Ben, and a few seconds in, Ben started to bow his head, too.
The first thing that struck me was, "Ben doesn't bow his head when he prays...?" And his head kept bowing... He passed out! Miro (best man) and I both caught him before he fell completely. Ben was only out for 10-15 seconds, but enough to scare the hell out of me (though I didn't show it according to some). He finally came to and said "did I just pass out?". Yes you did, dear. His next instinct was to get back up on the kneeler. We gave him a few extra seconds, and then let him resume. Father goes to bless him again, and finally finishes. We're still kneeling at this point, though, and I keep turning to him and mouthing "are you ok?" and at one point he said "its coming back", and promptly passes out. Miro and I again catch him before he can hurt himself. He's only out for 5-10 seconds this time, but when he wakes back up, we make him sit down on the nearest pew for a minute or two. Finally we stand and resume. We finish up all the blessings and everything else that needed to be done. "It is with great honor that I now present to you, Mr and Mrs Benjamin and Julia Montgomery." Thats our cue to GTFO! We kiss sweetly (no tongue or anything, lol), and we walk briskly out of the church. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was terrified Ben was going to pass out on the way out, lol.
So we leave the church and go to the vestibule and sign paperwork, Rosa was my witness, and Miro was Ben's. Luckily there was a sink in that room so that we could get Ben a bunch of cups of water. He was paler that pale. His shirt looked dark compared to his face, heh. Anyhoo, we had at least two people pop their heads into the little room to see how Ben was and if there was anything we could do. Naaa, we just made him drink a bunch of water, got the extra coat and vest off, and unbuttoned his shirt a little bit so that he could cool off.
With that done and overwith, it was time for... The Reception!
I'll write about the reception (and the "honeymoon") later because I'm tired of typing right now.
Feel free to add your own stories and reactions and things from your point of view.
Thanks!