Our Fairytale Wedding: A Top 10 List

After my longest blogging hiatus to date (my longest before this was maybe 2 or 3 days?), I'm back! Ten days later and it feels like it has been an eternity--I really missed writing and sharing every day, as this has become a big part of my life. But, as you all know, I was very busy getting ready to get married, getting married, and then going on a "minimoon," a term that I think perfectly describes our 4-day trip to the mountains of North GA right after our nuptials + celebration ;) 

It's hard to know where to begin or how to capture the past 10 days in words or images, but I've decided that the best way that I know how to summarize everything that happened, how it felt, and what it looked like, is, of course, through a list (are you surprised?). So, today's post is a list of my "Top 10 Favorite Moments" from the past 10 days, in no particular order. I hope that this gives you a little peek into our wedding, but know that there is still  much more to come on this front, as you know that I'll be sharing the professional photographer's pics as soon as I have them ;) Oh, and get ready--this may be the longest post I've ever written...

My Top 10 Favorite* Moments (From the Past 10 Days)
*In no particular order!

1. Standing at the altar, marrying the love of my life. It was magical. It literally felt like a fairytale (cue Taylor Swift, "today was a fairytale..."), or a dream, and looking back, the entire thing felt surreal yet completely real at the same time. Does that make any sense? Sure, things didn't go perfectly--the PA system kept going in and out and my dad "misplaced" his reading (he was sitting on it!)--but it felt completely perfect to me, nonetheless. As I said my vows, I was overwhelmed with love for Ben and for everyone who was there to celebrate with us. It was such a powerful moment but I felt completely sure of every part of it. Magical. 

2. Having (almost) everyone I love in one place, at one time. Many people warned me about how amazing this would be, but I still wasn't prepared for how overwhelmingly wonderful and emotional it is to have all of your friends and family--from all different times and places in your life--in one room. When we think about our wedding before the the big event, we focus so much on the details and the parts that involve the couple, but we often seem to forget about all of the amazing time we will get to spend with friends and family members that we don't see very often. Some of my favorite memories from the wedding weekend don't even involve Ben (don't worry, most of them do, haha!), and I think that's a really special part of such a special event.

3. All of the speeches. And let me tell you, our wedding was very speech-heavy. I mean, very. But, we absolutely LOVE speeches, and each and every one was extremely special in it's own way. We had 4 speeches at the rehearsal, and then Ben and I took turns saying something about each member or our bridal party (read: total sobfest) while we handed out their gifts. We also had 4 at the wedding, including a 20-minute speech by my Dad (I know! But don't worry, it was amazing and I don't think I'm the only one who thought it was worth every minute...). The speeches brought many, many tears to my eyes, but also brought a lot of laughter and depth to the festivities. 

4. Riding the "club cars" (10-person golf carts) up the hill from the ceremony site to the reception site with the entire bridal party. We had two cars that were completely full, and the drivers kind of raced so that we were all yelling back and forth at one another, with our hair blowing in the wind. For some reason, this is one of my favorite moments from the wedding--it just felt so celebratory and happy to me. Oh, and everyone was wearing shutter shades, which I bought for our grand entrance/introductions, so that was fun ;) 

I don't have any pics of this moment, but do have one of some people wearing the shutter shades, below. They were fabulous.

​5. Doing yoga the morning of the wedding. One of my bridesmaids and closest friends is also a yoga teacher, so she taught an amazing love-focused class on Saturday morning at the hotel. It was just what I needed to set the stage for the rest of the day, and I believe that this class played a VERY big part in my ability to relax, breathe, and enjoy the moment on the day of the wedding. Amazingly enough, I didn't have any big freak-outs on the day of, but don't think that doesn't mean that things didn't go wrong. Actually, at 10am our DJ cancelled on us via a text message (I got it while getting my hair done). Can you believe it!? But, he found a replacement, I got a discount after speaking my mind once I got him on the phone (yay!), and I let my wedding planners take it from there. Thank you, yoga, for keeping me sane during that little moment. 

6. Getting ready with my bridesmaids + mom. This was so much fun! I LOVED getting pampered, spending time with people who are SO special to me, and seeing how everyone's hair and makeup turned out. These ladies are another reason that I was able to stay so calm throughout the day--they kept me laughing and handled a ton of the little issues/details. I am filled with gratitude and love for them. 

7. Rapping "Shoop" by Salt n' Pepa on the mic at the reception. The entire song. Oh yes I did. And no, it was not planned. Can you believe it? But what's a girl to do when her favorite song comes on and her friends hand her the mic? I had to. It was fabulous. I hear that one of my friends got it on video, but I'm not sure that I'm ready to see it yet...I just keep telling myself that if you're wearing a wedding dress and it's your wedding, you couldn't possibly look that stupid, right? Right???  Either way, it was so much fun ;)

8. Magical memories on the dance floor. This includes: our first dance, the father-daughter dance, doing the Limbo under Ben's grandmother's scarf--which was attached to her neck (!), watching my brothers & friends dance in the middle of the "circle" on the dance floor, seeing my Maid of Honor's parents dance with the tambourine that I gifted her with (as a joke, to relive a past memory), watching my Dad go completely crazy to a few rock songs, seeing my grandmother and great aunt make their way onto the dance floor, and watching all of the adorable couples (of all ages) slow dance together. So much happiness on that floor. 

9. Having absolutely NOTHING to do on our "minimoon." Literally, we went to bed around 9:30/10 each night, woke up whenever we wanted to (usually around 9:30/10), and then took our sweet time making coffee & tea, sitting on the porch, and watching for deer in the field in front of the house. When we finally got some energy, we would head out for the day for an activity or two (apple-picking, visiting a farm where we bought fresh eggs, milk, etc., going on a hike), and then head home for a nap around 4. We'd wake up, make dinner, sit on the porch after dinner with a glass of hot cider, and then do it all again. It  was perfect. 

10. Our "First Look." For those who don't know, this is when the Bride & Groom have a staged first meeting before the ceremony. It was basically created by photographers to allow for some of the pictures to be taken before the ceremony (and thus, give the wedding party a chance to enjoy the cocktail hour!), and we decided to do one for a number of reasons, primarily because Ben wanted to.

​Although I wasn't originally a fan of the idea, I actually ended up really loving the fact that we did this. What I loved was that it was just a quiet moment that Ben and I were able to share before all of the excitement ensued. It was really special to see him before the ceremony, and I think it allowed me to be a lot more present during the ceremony, since I wasn't wondering what was going on in his head or dying to talk to him. Again, I don't have any pics from this time yet, so am just including a few more random ones below...

Other amazing moments? The Rehearsal Dinner, enjoying all of the delicious food, working with my mom and Maid of Honor to put all of the last details together, seeing all of my hard work come to life, sitting at the "Sweetheart Table" with Ben to enjoy our dinner, and cutting the cake (for some reason I really loved this moment--one I wasn't that excited about!)...

​I still cannot believe that the wedding has already come and gone, but I really do have to say that the memories will last a lifetime (and now I know why there are so many cliched sayings when it comes to weddings!). 

Thank you all for your well wishes, congrats, and sweet messages as the big day came and went. It meant the world to me :)

Now back to life, right?

Namaste!
Mary Catherine