Thus the couple of photo-less posts preceding this one. I can post from my work computer but I cannot upload pictures to it without being harassed by our overtly creepy IT guy. I would go without a computer for weeks just to avoid this dude, seriously.
But now my love has remedied the no-monitor-situation and I have regained all reason for living again (I kid, I kid.)
So where were we? Oh yes, the week of the wedding.
The weather was truly dismal the week of our wedding. It was the one and only week we experience any sort of Winter-like weather. Monday and Tuesday I wrapped up at work, making sure everyone was prepared for my twelve day absence. Wednesday, I got buffed, manicured, pedicured, waxed and trimmed. I got an oil change in the car and headed out of Austin to my parents' home just outside of Abilene. The three hour drive was very cathartic for me. I was able to clear my head and sing my head off with the kids from Glee at decibels that probably aren't safe for human ears.
Thursday, the realization that rain was inevitable on Saturday set in. I was bluer than blue. I couldn't even put make-up on. I just rolled through the motions. I met with the florist, Sarah from Marcia's Creations. This lady holds a place in my heart forever. I could wax poetic about how this vendor became a friendor for life. She no doubt saw the gloom in my face, and showed me the bouquets she had prepared for my BMs and for a few moments that morning, I was genuinely happy this wedding was happening, even in the rain.
Then I met with our venue coordinator, Miss Debbie, to go over our final plan. We talked about how to work around the rain. She tried to console me with sweet words like "I'm sure the rain will be done by Saturday. It will all work out." Bless her heart, she was so wrong. It rained like a mo-fo all day Saturday but I will always appreciate her kind words in my moment of distress.
After our consultation, I met the man that would be my husband before the week was over to sign our marriage license. It was so great to spend even a modicum of time with him. Normally in Texas there is a 72 hour waiting period from when you apply for your marriage license to the day you receive it and can get married. But because we took a pre-maritial counseling class in December through the Twogether in Texas program, we were able to by-pass the waiting period. We also got a $60 discount on the marriage license fee making it only $12. Yes, I am that crazy lady that will sit through a torturous 8-hour class just to get a discount. Bargain-basement bride right here!
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| At the courthouse with our newly-minted marriage license |
Buy the time Friday rolled around, I was a mess. I had cried my eyes out about the weather, snapped at my dear parents more times than I'm proud of, and had a near melt-down at my in-laws when multiple people tried to talk to me at one time. By the time Friday evening rolled around, I was pretty much just a shell of a person. I was a bride-zombie without the cool make-up.
My parents and I loaded up three vehicles full of wedding paraphernalia and headed to Eastland in the cold and wet weather. We arrived at the surprisingly beautiful Holiday Inn to check-in and unload our overnight bags. I was ready to drop my bags and head straight for the venue, but as is every bride's luck, I ran into excited wedding guests that wanted my undivided attention. Crap! While maintaining my cool, I hugged, visited, and then declared that they should follow me to the venue to see how well my in-laws were getting along with rehearsal dinner preparations. Good grief, I was ready to get this show on the road!
The whirlwind of emotions continued to the venue. Immediately after I arrived, I ran into my dear perplexed FIL. It was clear from his exasperation that the set up for Rehearsal Dinner was not going so well. I never inquired why or what could be possibly wrong. I had bigger fish to fry at the moment. My AMAZING family from Michigan, that I almost never ever get to see, also pulled into the venue at this moment. Luckily, we all think on the same wavelength of "let's get the work done now and visit later." Got to love that Midwestern ingenuity. My grandparents, uncle, aunt, and tiny cousins all helped me lug box after box of wedding decorations up to the eighth story in the slowest elevator on the planet. On one of these elevator trips I got the best news I had heard all week. I'm going to have another baby cousin in September (pardon me while I take a moment to do cartwheels in excitement)!
Earlier in the year I had purchased enough string lights from Save-On-Crafts and Goodwill to wrap around the trees in the garden where the wedding was supposed to take place. Mother Nature pretty much put the kibosh on that little plan. Dammit, Mother Nature, all I've wanted for months, years even, was to have Edward and Bella's twinkly lights at my wedding!*
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| the addition of RPattz to the alter wouldn't have hurt either, jk honey! |
I don't ask for much, just to display my freak flag in the most discreet fashion as possible. After the weather related nervous break-down on Thursday, I knew I would have to say goodbye to my beloved lights. Then in a rare moment of clarity, I realized that lights could be strung in the rafters of the ballroom of the Connellee Hotel, our reception and now ceremony location. I put on my sweetest face and begged my dad to make this dream to come true. Naturally, after a couple of eyelash bats, he was at my mercy. What can I say, I've had this guy wrapped around my little finger for my whole life. Not to mention, he had just spent the last 48 hours watching me boo-hoo over the weather and all of my wedding dreams going right down the drainage ditch. My dad and uncle, the dueling Brians, set to the arduous task of wrapping lights around rafters. My family seriously rocks.
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| Photo by Aunt Lindz |
Before we knew it, bridal party members started showing up and it was just about show time. I needed to change out of my rain-soaked jeans and chucks into my pretty pink dress, lace leggings, and ballet flats. About those ballet flats, remember when I dropped all of my bags at the Holiday Inn? Yeah, my flats were in one of those bags. Double crap! Several people, including my darling groom, offered to go retrieve my shoes for me but I was in no mood to post-pone this any longer. I would just have to rock this bitch in my chucks.
*In the Breaking Dawn novel, there were twinkly lights everywhere during the wedding ceremony. In the Breaking Dawn movie, they did not have twinkly lights, but rather beautiful flowers cascading from the forest ceiling. What can I say, I'm a purist...and cheap.
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