Happily After All: The I Do's

Our ceremony probably lasted 30 minutes in total, and the majority of it was spent during the readings, solo, and message.  It seemed like once we got to the "I do's" the rest of the ceremony just flew by.
We said our vows, which by the way were just the standard vows taken from the wedding ceremony program the pastor had.  Neither one of us was very interested in writing our own, or even writing the ceremony for that matter.  We were happy to pick out the readings and solo, and then leave the rest to the pastor to follow the traditional layout.  I can't speak for Mr. T, but for me the decision was based solely on the fact that any time I think of a wedding ceremony, I revert back to all the traditional vows and proceedings that I heard growing up.  When it comes to things like this, I don't like to rock the boat.

I think I was laughing a little in the process of trying not to cry.  And it probably had a little to do with the fact that I was pledging the rest of my life to my just about husband! 

So after the vows, the best man handed over our rings and Pastor Benke blessed them.

Then it was time to slip them on!  I forgot to switch my engagement ring over to my right hand ahead of time, so there was a little fumble when I pulled it off quickly and switched it over.  Apparently everyone saw too, because I got teased about it later on.

And then before you know it...we were married. But it wasn't over yet.  We still had to light our unity candle...

...and present roses to our mothers.  We kept this a surprise ahead of time, and I think they both really appreciated that we took the time to thank them for all they did in raising each of us.  First was my mom, and then Mr. T's.

Then it was back up to the altar again, where we had the whole church join us in the Lord's prayer.

And then....our first kiss as husband and wife!

And then it was official...we were actually married!  Pastor Duey announced us for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. T and that was that.

Then we made our way down the aisle, and the rest of the bridal party followed.

 

Next up:  Our second exit and the bubble tunnel!

Unless otherwise stated, all pictures are by Brandy Swartz of Photography by Brandy.

In case you've missed anything...

The Readings and Solo

The Processional

The Pre-Processional

The Church Details
Heading To The Church
Slipping Into My Dress

The Flowers

Getting Pretty
A Crazy Lady The Morning Of
Decorating the Reception Hall
Honoring Our Family
The Rehearsal

Happily After All: The Readings and The Solo

Once we reached the altar, it was time to pledge our love and support to each other in front of all our family and friends.  In the year leading up to this moment, I probably put 90% of my effort into decorating and getting ready for the reception, when in reality, this moment was 100% the purpose of the day.  I was so excited to plan for the party, but I didn't let that take my mind off of how important the wedding ceremony is.  

I won't lie though, I really don't remember much about our ceremony.  As I'm writing this recap, I'm having to look back at our program to see the order of events that went on.  It was so hot that day and there was no air in the church.  And in all honesty, I think I was too busy smiling at Mr. T and being happy to really let anything sink in.

After the invocation and opening prayer, my good friend Sarah stepped forward to do the readings.  Sarah is in fact the entire reason that Mr. T and I were getting married that day.  When I started hanging out with her, I made friends with her husband's friends as well.  And Mr. T happened to be one of those friends.  So thank you Sarah!

I chose two readings for the day.  I had originally settled on "Union" by Robert Fulghum.  For those of you who haven't stumbled upon it yet, you can find it here. 

I also decided towards the last minute, to have her read from 1 Corinthians because it coincided with the banners that were hanging in the church.

Then, following the readings, Mr. T's mom and aunt came forward to sing a solo.  

Originally it was just going to be his mom singing, but she decided to ask her sister to join her and they did a little practicing the night before and were ready to go that day.  The song they sang was "He Has Chosen You For Me" by Pat Terry.  She came to us with the song when we were discussing what to do.  They have sang it at multiple weddings in the family, and we knew it had to be sung at ours as well.

We don't know what tomorrow holds, but we know who holds tomorrow.
Knowing this we'll live above the world and all its sorrows.
I have prayed for all my life that we would be together.
Serving Him together seems so right.
Oh, oh yes, it's true.
He has chosen me for you.
Take my hand and we'll agree
That He has chosen you for me.
Now and then I like to think about the day He saved me.
All the love that He bestowed and all the gifts He gave me
With all this I praise His name for putting us together
He knew we'd be together from the start.
Oh yes, it's true
He has chosen me for you
Take my hand and we'll agree
That He has chosen you for me
He has saved us
Washed us white as snow
Now we're together
Cause He has made it so

While we were busy paying attention to the song and just being busy being in love, some of our guests were having a good time as well.

 I can't blame them though...it was HOT that day!  I bet it was hard for them to keep focused.

After the readings and the solo, it was time for the wedding message, or what would be a sermon in a typical church service.  We had our MN pastor do this part of the service, because he has known Mr. T and his family for a long time, and he got a chance to know me while we were doing our premarital counseling.  The pastor at the church had only been there for a couple years, and really didn't know either of us well.

Hopefully one day soon I'll be able to share the message with you.  He gave us a copy of it that day, but it's still at my parents' house and they're away on vacation right now!  It was really great though, and very personal.  He had us and most of the guests who know us well laughing on a couple occasions. 

 

Next up:  The I Do's!

Unless otherwise stated, all pictures are by Brandy Swartz of Photography by Brandy.

In case you've missed anything...

The Processional

The Pre-Processional

The Church Details
Heading To The Church
Slipping Into My Dress

The Flowers

Getting Pretty
A Crazy Lady The Morning Of
Decorating the Reception Hall
Honoring Our Family
The Rehearsal

What We're Doing This Weekend

Last night we headed out of town after I got off work to go visit Mr. T's brothers for the weekend.  I don't know if I've told you guys before or not, but his oldest brother Jake rents a little one bedroom "apartment" which is kind of more like a "cabin" in Baxter, MN.  I use both terms loosely.  It actually looks like at one time it was an old time motel, you know the kinds that are lined up in a row on the side of a highway?  Yeah, kind of like that.
Anyways, it walks out onto a big stretch of lawn that goes right down to a lake and a beach.

We haven't had a chance to get there at all this summer with all the running we've been doing, so we're going to take advantage of Mr. T's last weekend before football season and go up and see them.  We took up the truck and boat so we can all do some fishing and hopefully enjoy some great weather.  Maybe get a little sun. 

So that's where we're at through the weekend!
Then Sunday we'll be back for a birthday party with all of his family, and hopefully by Monday I'll get back to normal posting!

Enjoy your weekend!

Happily After All: The Processional

The moms walked, in the unity candle was lit, and the aisle runner was laid.  It was finally time to get this show on the road!  We decided to have all of the groomsmen walk in with the bridesmaids because there was just no room for them to be up front, or for them to come halfway down the aisle to meet them.  So we all lined up outside in the hallway, and they entered in pairs.
First up was Katie and Russ.

Then it was Arin and Scott's turn.

After those two, Brianna and Eric followed.

And then it was onto Brittany and Joe, one of the best men and Mr. T's brothers.

And finally, the maid of honor, my sister Sam, and the other best man and Mr. T's brother, Jake.

Our pastor told us numerous times leading up to the wedding and during the rehearsal that the flower girl and ring bearer should walk in with Sam and Jake.  He kept saying that they were little and they might not do so well on their own.  That might be true, but that's what makes them so darn cute when they're coming down the aisle and looking for mommy or daddy.  I wanted to give them the spotlight and let them walk themselves down the aisle, so I pretended to agree with him, when all along I knew we would be doing it my way.  And yes, they didn't make it the whole way down, and my flower girl didn't carry her parasol, and she walked way faster than the ring bearer, but they were so cute that it didn't even matter.  I wasn't expecting a perfect performance, nor did I expect them to stand at the front of the church for the entire ceremony.  So they did a great job and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

I would have loved to watch them walk down the aisle, because there was some laughing and oohing going on, but I couldn't see them without stepping out into the doorway, and I wasn't ready for Mr. T to see me just yet.  I think he was ready to see me though!  So the organist cued up Bridal Chorus, or "Here Comes The Bride."  I decided to go very traditional when I picked this song to walk into.  And then it was time.

I think this might be the exact moment that I stepped into the doorway on my dad's arm.  I managed to keep everything about my attire for the day a complete secret from my almost husband.  He had absolutely no idea what the dress was going to look like, or how my hair was going to be done, or that I was wearing a veil in front of my face.  It was all a complete surprise to him, and I'm really glad I didn't give anything away.

When I think back on my walk up the aisle, sometimes I think it went incredibly quickly, like maybe we were walking too fast, and other times I remember it taking forever.  But either way, I made it to the front of the aisle where Mr. T was waiting for me.

Then it was time for my father to give me away.  They came up with a great hand off the night before at the rehearsal dinner, and they made sure to practice it multiple times to get it just right.  First, my dad lifted my veil over my face.

Then it was a kiss on the cheek and an "I love you Dad."

And then a handshake...

...that turned into a hug for his almost son-in-law.

And then on the release, they did a nice stealth move that placed me in Mr. T's arm.

And up to the altar we went to begin the ceremony!

Next up:  The Ceremony

Unless otherwise stated, all pictures are by Brandy Swartz of Photography by Brandy.

In case you've missed anything...

The Pre-Processional

The Church Details
Heading To The Church
Slipping Into My Dress

The Flowers

Getting Pretty
A Crazy Lady The Morning Of
Decorating the Reception Hall
Honoring Our Family
The Rehearsal