October was brilliant! I got married the 11th!!
The weather was spectacular! It was hovering around 80 degrees and we were sweating at times- thank you global warming! I could not have asked for more. The girls wore chocolate and copper and looked stunning. My bridesmaids were an unyielding form of support and we made it through with a few bumps- but no one came out worse for wear. The groomsmen were gentlemen (until they found out that there was a class reunion in another room and they pretended to be people they weren't).
The food was great- the flowers were spectacular- the cupcakes were awesome (no matter how rude the woman at the bakery was to me and my husband)- the music kicked ass!!
I would like to say at this point that it took me months to create the playlist- I left the dj and my guests very little wiggle room for requests... Everything from Justin Timberlake to Van Morrison, Barry White to Snoop and Dre, and Jackie Wilson to Bob Marley. My girls walked down the aisle to the strings rendition of Yellow by Coldplay and I came down to Truly, Madly, Deeply by Ray LaMontagne (get that ridiculous cheesy pop song by Savage Garden out of your head). Mark and I came back up the aisle to Is This Love by Bob Marley! Everyone who knew the song sang it. Our reverend, "Father Tom," as we called him, is actually the partner of my best friend, Michael. He went online and became a minister to preside over our ceremony. The belief was: keep it simple, keep it close with the people we love the most. Anyhow, Tommy came in to Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode; the bridal party came in to Beautiful Day by U2; Mark and I came in to I Walk the Line by Johnny Cash. We cut the cake to Everlong by the Foo Fighters and I danced with my father to The Way You Look Tonight by Tony Bennett. Our first dance was to Hold You in My Arms by Ray LaMontagne.
I would like to say at this point that it took me months to create the playlist- I left the dj and my guests very little wiggle room for requests... Everything from Justin Timberlake to Van Morrison, Barry White to Snoop and Dre, and Jackie Wilson to Bob Marley. My girls walked down the aisle to the strings rendition of Yellow by Coldplay and I came down to Truly, Madly, Deeply by Ray LaMontagne (get that ridiculous cheesy pop song by Savage Garden out of your head). Mark and I came back up the aisle to Is This Love by Bob Marley! Everyone who knew the song sang it. Our reverend, "Father Tom," as we called him, is actually the partner of my best friend, Michael. He went online and became a minister to preside over our ceremony. The belief was: keep it simple, keep it close with the people we love the most. Anyhow, Tommy came in to Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode; the bridal party came in to Beautiful Day by U2; Mark and I came in to I Walk the Line by Johnny Cash. We cut the cake to Everlong by the Foo Fighters and I danced with my father to The Way You Look Tonight by Tony Bennett. Our first dance was to Hold You in My Arms by Ray LaMontagne.
Let me not forget- when my father walked me down the aisle, before he gave me away, he sang me More I Cannot Wish You from Guys and Dolls the Musical. I had loved that song and he promised to sing it for me if ever I got married. He had been working on it, but I didn't push him. I figured if he would sing it, it'd be during the reception. My father, much to my surprise, turned to me and sang before he turned my hand over to Mark. At one point, toward the end of the song, he forgot the words. I joined in with him and we finished the song together. Not a dry eye in the house. I felt like the luckiest little girl in the world!
Amidst the crying there were laughs and playful banter at the gazebo (we were married outside). We laughed and cried and generally tumbled through with smiles and eye swipes.
A very dear friend of mine did the reading from Miss Spider's Wedding. There had to be a reading- but I didn't want anything boring or overused. So, I chose the book that I had read years prior. My mother remembers me telling her that that would be the book I'd choose the reading from- I think I was 17 or 18 when this was decided. However, I went through many poems and prose and scoured different websites for help with this reading. I kept going back to Miss Spider and decided that, indeed, that would be the reading. Mary came up with a foreword and made everyone smile with her lighthearted rendition.
My flowers were insanely beautiful! They were comprised of white freesia, champagne roses, bronze mums, copper seeded eucalyptus, and hypericum berries. The girls had bronze mums, cymbidium orchids, and hypericum berries. They were the most amazing things I'd ever seen and I kept them in my classroom until all of the heads fell off and my students strongly suggested that I either buy new ones or let the old ones go because they were "too dead." It broke my heart to give them over the the garbage can, but I will forever have the memory of those magnificent creations.
And, for those of you that truly know me, know that I had to grab the mic and sing some karaoke when the dj busted out Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond. Someone snapped a shot of me singing and it is the most hilarious thing. I think that shot, perhaps above all else, demonstrates exactly how much fun I had. Some friends nominated me as "the bride that had the most fun at her wedding." I refused to be put off or disheartened by anything that day. My photographer had a headache, I offered up some crackers and 7up. My shoes were bothering me, I took them off. My lipstick and veil were stolen- (I have to admit that really sucked) but I got over it.
I could not have asked for more. What a Beautiful Day!!
The images came from another friend of mine- thank you, Donna!
