no longer a bride, but now a wife!

After much anticipation and planning my wedding day came and was one of the absolute best days of my life.  Now that the dust has settled after the wedding, honeymoon, and getting back to normal- I am able to properly blog my experience.  I can not let this day go by in my history without writing what I experienced. :)

First of all, it really does go by fast!  It could be accurately described as a blur, because that is how fast everything went.  

It started out early with my hair appointment.  Whitney, Randi, and I went to Harrisburg to get our hair fixed.  As soon as we pulled in the parking lot, I realized I forgot my veil and hair piece!  Of course I would do that, since I forget everything that isn't written on a post-it and stuck on my forehead.  Thank goodness I had a great maid of honor.  Whitney took off back to the house to retrieve my items.  I loved how everything came together with my hair.  My veil was my favorite part.  It was a birdcage veil that just covered most of my face in a very delicate and sophisticated way. 

Next we headed to the church.  Our wonderful photographer had a nice schedule made out for us.  I loved having a schedule written out so I could see it and refer to it.  I know that is very teachery of me.  I love to know what is coming next and what I should expect.  Just a fact about me.  We snacked on yummy left overs from the previous night's rehearsal dinner before getting dressed for pictures.  This is when my  mother showed up with some troubling news.  I could tell instantly by the look on her face that something was wrong.  She didn't want to worry me, but if a bride asks you what is wrong, you better not lie to her.  (a nice tip for anyone)  She told me that my dad was having trouble with some kidney stones.  He was in the process of trying to pass some kidney stones, and if this pain did not subside, he might not be in any shape to walk me down the isle.  Of course this was upsetting to me.  My dad walking me down the isle was one of the most important aspects of the wedding!  So after a mini stress session, and some heavy praying by the time we started taking pictures, dad had passed the kidney stone and was feeling loads better! :) Thank you, Jesus!

As time slipped further away, and the church filled up, it got to be time to prepare to walk down the isle.  I wore a dress that was head to toe lace.  Very vintage, very me.  I love this dress so much!  I had my little veil on, some pearls and sparkle jewerly of mine and my mothers, and of course some champagne colored flats with some sparkle on them. (I'm not a heels kind of girl)  My bouquet had my favorite flowers, white hydrangeas, along with white roses, and purple calla lilies.  I wrapped the bouquet with handkerchiefs from both of my grandmothers so I would have a piece of them with me.  I was ready!  As I approached the doorway to the sanctuary, before my friend Miranda opened the doors for me, she prayed for me.  She prayed for the wedding ceremony, as well as asked the Lord to bless our marriage.  This was a very special moment that I shared with my dear friend who had worked so hard to assist me throughout the day.  Then she opened the doors, I joined my dad, and we walked down the isle together.  It is a very emotional thing walking down the isle to get married.  My arm was linked with the man who has done everything for me to not only survive, but live the life I want to live for my entire life.  We were walking toward the man who is going to be my partner for the rest of my life.  To my right sitting in front my mother sharing all these emotions gives me that grin you have when you are trying to hold back your happy tears.  To my left are three women who have supported my life decisions, and gone on journeys with me in life with both laughter and tears.  And then my eyes latch on to Dexter.  He looks so handsome in his tux!  I can see the emotions in his eyes.  The way he looks at me can always give away how he is feeling.  It's in the eyes.  From the moment my dad said that he and mom were giving me away, Dexter and I locked hands and didn't let go.  We held on to each other as tight as we could through the entire ceremony.  Just holding his hands is a comfort to me like none other.  The ceremony flowed so well.  I loved the words Pastor Ryan chose to say, and the vows he chose for us.  Our timing was perfect on every thing.  I regret now that no one video taped it.  I want so badly to go back and see it through some one else's eyes.  I want to see what every one else saw.  Because what I saw was wonderful.  To seal the deal and end this perfect event Dexter gave me the best kiss ever.  I call those Dexter kisses.  And yes some times I do ask him for a Dexter kiss.  It was sweet, passionate, and had that spark to it!

The reception was so much fun!  It too went by very fast.  The food was yummy!  We ate it up and tried to hurry along with all the things we wanted to do.  Cutting the cake was next.  We were a little silly and got some cake on our faces, but nothing crazy.  No one had a cake covered face with icing in their eyes.  Thank goodness.  We played some games for our friends to see, threw the bouquet and garter, and had some amazing toasts in our honor.  Whitney did an awesome job of describing our life long friendship and comparing it to a sisterhood.  She mentioned some of my favorite memories of our time together, including lots from our cross country spring break road trip a few years ago.  I'm glad that was a big part of her toast, because those memories are a big part of me now.  That was one of the most special times in our friendship, and I can't tell you how often I think of those days and smile so big or literally laugh out loud.  Charles also gave a touching speech.  He talked about his close relationship with Dexter and how they were the best work partners and friends.  He also was very nice to me with his words.  He really let me know that he was very happy about me being a part of their family, and that he will treat me like his own throughout my life with Dexter.  This part of the reception left me  very emotional.  Again, I wish some one had been video taping these so I could watch them again.  We kept moving on and were finally to the dancing part.  My dad was still recovering from his hard day and could not make it to the reception.  I hate it that he had to miss it, but him walking me down the isle was the most important thing, so I wanted him to rest and be comfortable the rest of the evening.  I shared a dance with my brother which was very meaningful!  Nick and I have always had a close friendship that I am grateful for.  This dance was precious.  Then for the rest of the evening I got to dance with my friends.  We haven't danced like that since prom times!  And I think quite a few of the songs were ones we danced to at prom.  We laughed so much, and just danced like no one was watching.  It was so much fun, and totally worth the swollen knee the next day.  And of course there was slow dancing.  Dexter and I danced to every single slow song.  We held on to each other and it felt so much more special than any dance before.  There was a spark and emotional connection to each other just through our dances that night.  I don't really know how to explain it other than true love.  True love was expressed through our dances together that night.  You could see it, and we definitely felt it.  The day and night was the most meaningful and precious night of our lives.  I will always look back on it and remember it as the day that went exactly as I wanted, which left me wanting it to never end.  The perfect dress, the perfect dance, the perfect man.  I just don't know how you could get anything more.