The 30 minutes before my wedding was completely nerve wracking. Photos were over about 4:30, and I headed back to the bridal suite thinking I’d be able to just relax and go over my vows a few more times. Everything had gone pretty well so far! It wasn’t on schedule, but by 4:30 we were on time and I was still in a very happy go lucky mood!

I noticed some things that needed finishing touches on my way to the suite so I checked in with my caterer and sister (aka wedding coordinator). I finally made it upstairs about 5 . . . with 30 minutes to spare. At this point I finally realized, how incredibly sweaty I was. Everyone told me I’d get hot since my dress was several layers. So I planned and wore some shorts underneath (chaffing is so not pretty) and my lovely bridesmaids had fanned me a couple times. . . but I was still hot. It was only 80 degrees outside and I was dripping in sweat. So I took my dress all the way off 30 minutes before I was to walk down the aisle and just sat in the bathroom for a few minutes . . . TMI? there’s more  . . . I was still sweaty so I actually stood over an air vent just in my shorts and started going over my vows with my bridesmaid Rachel to be sure I still had them down. I kind of wish I had a pictures of this, but it wouldn’t be pretty anyway. The next 20 minutes are pretty much a blurr . . . my other sister who lives a couple hours away came up to spend some one on one time with me right about the time I realized I was going to get MARRIED in twenty minutes . . . o! and by the way, I can’t remember one word of my vows. Why? No clue . . . but they were not in my brain . . . We had written our own vows together, and they meant so much to us. They said everything I wanted him to know that day . . . but I could not remember them at all.

Thankfully, my bridesmaids had it under control. Rachel wrote my vows down, Shanna and Beth gave me a banana and got me back in my dress, and Tiffany (my only married bm) related to my ‘imgettingmarriedin20minutes’ freakout and talked me through it! It was time to get married!

The processional started with my mama. She requested Scott to walk her down the aisle because even with 4 kids she had never had one of her sons walk her down the aisle at a wedding before! Scott chose the song “So was Red” for his walk down the aisle. It’s from his favorite movie Shawshank Redemption, and it’s really not bad plus that movie has a very happy ending. Then came his mom, who requested Jonathon her other son walk her down the aisle. Our grandmothers followed closely behind.

Scott and my mom

Then our lovely bridal party! I chose Butterfly Waltz for their walk down the aisle specifically the piano and cello duet. I played both the piano and cello in high school, and the song just sounded summery!

they were the only bridal party that smiled downed the aisle ha!

Then it was my turn! My dad and I had been hanging out in the garage just talking like we usually do, and I had forgotten for 2 minutes that I was getting married. But my hand instantly started shaking as we started to walk down the aisle. I looked at my almost husband a few times, and each time I started to tear up so I actually looked everywhere but at him on my walk down. When we got to the end tho, he was all I could see!

Our ceremony was  very important to us, but mostly we just wanted to be married so we requested a short ceremony. The preacher from the church we attend regularly, Lannie Smith, officiated for us. He gave a short, lovely sermon on 4 main points of marriage for us all to remember what we were there for. Scott and I read our vows to each other . . . ok, fine he quoted them by memory  . . . and then I pulled my hand written vows out of my dress, told him he was a better person than I was, paused for the helicopter going over us, and read my vows.   After we exchanged wedding bands was my favorite part of the ceremony, the unity ceremony called God’s Knot. We wanted to do some sort of unity ceremony, but since we were outside . . . and I don’t like to do the normal things. . . I didn’t want to do a candle or sand so we chose to do God’s Knot. It’s very simply 3 cords that the bride and groom braid together to represent the bride, groom, and God. It goes with Ecc. 4 – a 3 braided cord can never be broken! We had my nephew, Andrew, who is a very accomplished singer, sing I will made famous by the Beatles while we braided the cord. That song was almost our first dance song, but it worked out so much better to have him sing it here.

And then we were married! Lannie announced us as husband and wife, we got to kiss . . . and then everyone walked back down the aisle to ‘Bout time by Louis Armstrong.

kissy face

As soon as the recessional was complete, 2 of the very cutest thing happened . . . my nephew Me’Sean walked straight up to Scott, gave him a big hug, and said “you’re really my uncle now!” They have a true love! Then our flower girl realized she hadn’t thrown any of her flowers! So she went back outside and tossed them on the aisle! Have I mentioned that she is the most adorable person on the planet.

After a private moment upstairs to stand over the vent again and cool off relish in the fact that we were married, the party began . . .