The Big Wedding Post

I'm so glad to see that some of you are still here, following along!  So, here it is - wedding pictures!  And a big, hairy recap!

I woke up early, early and went to pick up my sister - then all the bridesmaids convened at my parents' house and we all went over to the salon to get ready for the day.  Which, let me tell you, was a PROCESS.  There was lots of makeup to be done (for me) and lots of hair to be done (for all of us).  

There's the lovely Chip in the background working on my head!!  I never knew my hair could do that.  Seriously, it's a miracle.  I don't know how he does it.  But it can't be replicated, and certainly not by me.  

And my MAKEUP!  My makeup was miraculous.  Sweet little Stanly, the amazing makeup artist at my salon, airbrushed my face first and then spent forever doing other stuff to it.  He'd say, "Okay, now we're going to put on eyeliner," and he'd be mixing up paint and spraying things in a tray and dabbing at my face six ways from Sunday.  I was like "Uhhh, when I put on eyeliner, it (at most) involves digging my crummy pencil out of my bag and crookedly smearing some in the general direction of my eyes.  It takes about 2.3 seconds."

There's me, post makeup, but obviously pre-hair.

And there's my hair from the back, as we were getting ready to leave. 

I couldn't believe how hard those sweet folks at Fuze worked to get me, Mom, and the bridesmaids ready.  I was so happy with how everything turned out!

But because of all the primping and fussing we all required at the salon, we started running majorly behind schedule.  We went back to my parents' house, wrangled me into That Giant Marshmallow Contraption of a Dress, and were ready to roll.  The plan was for the groomsmen to come to the house, and each of them would pick us up in a convertible and drive us the mile or so to the church whilst we sat in the convertibles, parade-style.  Except the groomsmen weren't there.  And I was finally dressed.  And I couldn't really sit.  And I hadn't had much of a chance for any nerves to get to me until then.  So yes, I had my little bridezilla moment.  Or a big one, you could call it that.

Here I am, after wrangling myself into the rumble seat of the car, probably on the point of hollering, "NO MORE PICTURES.  GET IN THE CAR.  DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?"  I'm surprised people still talk to me.  It didn't help at all that someone called and told me they were closing the street where my parents live and where the church is at 4:00 and it was about 3:45.  I freaked, y'all.  Then it turns out they were actually closing it the next day at 4:00 for a 9/11 thing, so all that freaking was not even necessary.  But you know, it happens.

Here's Lia's view of the big parade as we came down the street!  Finally at last!

When we got to the church, PB sent over my wedding present.  I think the pictures describe it better than I ever could:

It was a Canon rebel!  I was so excited!

See?

That helped distract me and kept me from killing anyone or pulling at my hair like a psych patient before we went out. 

I wish I had pictures of the ceremony at this point, but alas, not yet.  It was perfect though - we picked out all the verses and wording ourselves, and it was beautiful.  No one bawled, even though I'd really expected PB to bawl.  I have to say, lots of that part is kind of a blur to me.  I was trying so hard to take in all the people I saw, but there are still names I see in the guest registry and think, "What?  I never saw those people there."  

Neither of us cried until we got out into the narthex and then PB hugged me and we both cried.  We're pitiful.  But at least I didn't cry in front of everyone - y'all know I am not a crier.  

The reception deserves its own post - so I think you'll get that one later.  For now, here are the amazing pictures from one of our photographers that we have so far!

Wedding, Part I: The Rehearsal

I talked and talked about the wedding and then I left you hanging.  Did it happen? Or did I go all Runaway Bride on PB?  Was I featured on Bridezillas?  Was it like an episode of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding?  Well, no, probably should have been, and maybe, are the answers to those questions.

No seriously, we did get married at long last, and it was just lovely.  And then our honeymoon was lovely because y'all, it's DISNEY WORLD.  So, here come a series of wedding and honeymoon posts, because turns out it takes about 10 days post-wedding to not feel like you are going crazy with your house looking like Animal House From the groomsmen getting dressed there, the mountain of {decidedly awesome} wedding gifts to be sorted and put away, and trying to catch up on approximately six months' worth of sleep.  Yeah, I still haven't achieved that one.

So, here's our wedding recap, part uno, starting with the rehearsal.  Everything had seemed so theoretical until we were all standing in front of the church, deciding whether the groomsmen were going to hold their hands behind their backs or in front of them and who should usher moms and grandmas down the aisle.  And then every time our music minister starts banging those organ keys, everyone wells up a little and it feels real, real, real.

We had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants downtown, and it was so nice.  I have to admit, I was a little stressed and anxious after the rehearsal, not because anything went poorly, but I think because I just realized how VERY close we were and how I had zero time left to achieve anything else.  Of course, everything was fine and I didn't need more time, but it's kind of like the midnight hour before a big exam and you think of all of the things that you could have studied, or studied more, but now it's too late and there's nothing to do but wait on it.  Or is that just my little OCD hamster brain?  Yeah, probably hamster brain.

This is basically the only picture of the rehearsal dinner that I have so far - I know other people took pictures, but I was so all-over-the-place that I didn't even think to bring my camera.  So that's me, my brother and sister, and (obvs) PB.  I promise the restaurant is much cuter, but the only place with enough light for a cell phone picture was the hallway by the kitchen.  So there you have it.  

Oh and that dress?  Those sequins might look sweet and innocent but then they will rub ALL of the skin off the underside of your arms.  And then you will put on Certain Dri and then you will scream like Kevin in Home Alone:

Anywho.

One of my favorite parts of the rehearsal dinner was PB's groom's cake.  Here's the back story. One of the things we did right before the wedding, because we're crazy or stupid, or probably both, was replace the backsplash in the kitchen.  And by "we," I mean that PB did it and I whined about how long it was taking.  So what I saw in my kitchen or in PB's hand for about a month before the wedding, was essentially this (except not a cake):

Our baker was amazing - seriously amazing.  If you're in the Charlotte area, I can't recommend her enough.

In short, a few glasses of wine, a medium rare steak and a baked potato, and some pineapple pound cake, and I was feeling better.  

We said goodbye to some folks, and then we had most of the bridal party over to my parents' house for some backyard-sitting and some cornhole-playing.  I suck at cornhole, so I think I threw the bag about three times and then parked it in a chair to be a spectator.  We had so much fun hanging out with everyone though, and I'm so glad I didn't go home and pace the house like a lion.  

And with that, I put on my Certain Dri, put in one last call to PB, took a few Nyquils, and went to sleep.  Nyquil is a beautiful thing.