May 28, 2005

Having tried to go to bed "early" the night before, even though my best friend and sister and I were having a sleepover in the back hallway, I had been pretty unsuccessful at getting very much sleep. Way too much on my mind - I'm one of those people that can't sleep when I have a lot of details to think about the next day. Plus, it probably wasn't a good idea to sleep on the floor that night.

I popped a couple of Advil, showered, dressed, grabbed some breakfast, and barely made it out the door on time. Getting to church thirty minutes or so after we'd agreed to meet, I rushed in the door and started getting things ready. My dad had been at the church getting things going for an hour or so by the time we finally made it there. Hair and makeup were first - I did my makeup, my sister-in-law's hair, and my aunt helped with my hair. A quick check to make sure everything was set for the day - tables set and decorated, flowers delivered, dinner started and set-up, snacks for the morning, the sanctuary decorated and ready to go.

The photographer arrived and started taking pictures of our preparations. A few of the dress, me before the dress, me after the dress, final touches of makeup and hair. My mom helped me lace up my dress. My girls were putting on their dresses, touching up their hair and makeup, and getting ready for the staged photos.

Checking the clock, we were running "late" - we were scheduled to start "formal" photos fifteen minutes earlier. I started to panic - we wouldn't be done with pictures before people started to show up! Deep breath... we'd make it work. After all, my mom and I had built some extra time in the schedule to allow for delays.

I walked into the hallway... oohs and ahhs sounded from those helping to get things ready for 2pm. I had the sanctuary cleared except for the photographer and J (although I'm pretty sure there were a few stragglers still in there).

Pictures went by in a blur. Look here, smile here, stand there, hold this. Before I knew it, the pictures were done and we were back in the snack area, trying to refuel ourselves before the ceremony. As guests started to arrive, a few stopped by the holding room to say "hello" and sneak a look at the bride.

Finally, it was time. I leaned over and told my dad that under no circumstances was he allowed to cry on the way to the front of the sanctuary. The doors opened. The girls went down the aisle one at a time - Tiffany, Holly, Alyssa, and Kelly. The doors closed, the music changed, and we stepped into the hallway. The doors opened and we began our trek to the front of the church.

Thirty minutes later, it was over. I was married. The ceremony was finished. A few Scripture passes, a few vows, a song, and a good laugh. It was time for FOOD! We greeted our guests as they made their way to the reception - fun and games awaited them while we finished up a few last pictures.

We made our entrance to the reception, got some food (didn't eat much of it), watched a video of our lives, had some cake, and made rounds to all of the tables. The time flew by. When people started to leave, we escaped to change our clothes and make our escape. My mom and MIL came to see us off - we snuck out the back door of the church into a vehicle with tinted windows and were taken to our "hide out" to wait for the guests to leave town.

We ended up hanging out with some "old" friends for a couple of hours while we waited for the coast to clear, since we were staying in town for the night and didn't want any company at our hotel.

Once we decided the coast was clear, we headed to the hotel and attempted to get into our room. (J had stayed there the night before.) There was a little league baseball team in the room. We went down to the front desk and they realized the mixup (thankfully, J had taken all his stuff out of the room that morning), and gave us a better room on the main floor.

We went in the room and went to sleep... hahaha... yeah right, but you're not getting details!

Four years and two kids ago today... seems like another lifetime ago. Happy Anniversary, J!