The Day We've Been Waiting for...The Ceremony

Once the chaos of getting dressed had passed, I was more than ready to walk down that short aisle to meet Matt.

Thanks so much Mary Alise for your help coordinating our families in the chapel!!!


Jackie Gaut of Dana's Floral Designs did a great job capturing my vision of the chapel.




Matt and I have both lost grandparents in the last few years (he lost two this year) so I thought it would be nice to have them be a part of the ceremony. We included framed pictures of each of them on the piano at the front of the chapel.


The ceremony was short and sweet- just how Matt needed it to be. We simply exchanged vows and rings and it was official...and over! Matt is SO not into PDA and everyone knows it so we decided in advance instead of a first kiss that we would bump fists (and THEN kiss). Well, that was the plan. Matt decided on his own that it was a serious occasion so it warranted the kiss. So we kissed; the whole time I am saying "hey...what about the fists?" The pictures document it pretty well.







And the audience gave us the expected laugh!

The much awaited presentation of Mr. and Mrs. :


Can you see how thrilled I am????? You can't even tell that we just exchanged vows in the midst of tornado warnings and a tropical storm/hurricane!



Mama and I- her hair is not bad considering the sacrifice she made helping me get in and out of the rain!



Matt and his mom.


Because of the torrential rain, we were obviously limited to the tiny chapel for pictures. After all of the family groups were taken care of, Matt and I stayed for some of just the 2 of us. Here are some of my favorites from the indoor session. (I'll do the outdoor session in a separate post)


Matt looks particularly serious in this one for some reason! Did I mention he is not exactly a fan of having his picture taken?

(Notice the raindrops on his shoulders)




Not a typical pose for us, but with limited options we got a little bit creative.




And finally, we were off to enjoy the reception!!!

Stay tuned!

All photos provided by Kim Box Photography.

The Day I've Been Waiting For...

I started the day by waking up at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Montgomery. It is so beautiful and was such a comfortable room. I woke up super early, so excited. I texted Wendy first thing, thinking she would not be up yet. She and Anderson stayed at the hotel too. She responded immediately with a text "How 'bout that train?" Apparently the train across the street is what woke me up at daybreak! It was just as well since Wendy and I (Wendy) have a tendency to be REALLY late for everything and we had massage appointments for 8:00. Kristin met us there and we had the most relaxing start to the day.(Thanks girls...I owe you!)

Overnight, Tropical Storm Faye had made her arrival in the Capital City. It was FLOODING. I had expected her to make an appearance at the wedding so I wasn't tragically upset. Just a little disappointed. It mostly affected my schedule for the day as it was really difficult to drive at lightning speed in torrential rain.

Kristin played driver. We ran to Nails by Elizabeth at East Chase first. Next stop- Van Leez and the incredible Winston. The girls ran to get my rings cleaned as I got my hair done. (They spent a little extra time at the jeweler "playing". They had no intention of me finding out but when they came to Winston's to get me they received a phone call from the jeweler letting them know someone had left their diamond stud in one of the jackets they were trying on...busted!!!) So, after a quick trip back by Cronier's we were on our way to Lake Martin!

I drove the 45 (or so) minute drive because I had too much nervous energy at that point. I think I scared the girls to death. We hurried to Willow Point Villas where my Chanel makeup artist was meeting us. Elizabeth from Chanel did a great job putting up with me! It was a little chaotic by the time we got there so I was all over the place while she was trying to do my makeup.Matt's mom loaned me HER mother's jewelry:

The hairpiece was actually a pin that she wore with the set. She wore it to one of the inaugural celebrations for Eisenhower and when she arrived, Mamie Eisenhower was wearing the same pin! I just love history and to be able to wear a family heirloom with such an interesting background was so meaningful. Thank you Rhea!

The earrings were the kind that screwed on and we had quite a time getting them on.

I tried to put them on by myself, but required help from Mama to put one of them in.This one was so loose and I was really scared of losing one; Mama got a little carried away...
Don't worry, I recovered quickly:
My favorite bottle of Pinot Grigio, Santa Margherita!


Matt was in another part of the villa getting ready. Kim (the photographer) ran next door in time to see him open his wedding gift from me.


I gave him his first pair of cufflinks, a monogrammed sterling oval set from Red Envelope. He loved them!



My favorite from the "getting ready" shots:

and the Dress:

Due to the hurricane, there are no shots of me putting my dress on. I waited until everyone was seated in the chapel (and facing forward) and ran in the back door in my sundress with a Dillard's bag over my head! Mama carried the bagged dress in (and got herself soaked). The Dillard's bag and the weather overall are responsible for the stray strand of hair that DRIVES ME BONKERS in so many of my pictures.

Dressing was a little tricky since it was a ONE ROOM CHAPEL! I dressed in the stairwell to the balcony with Mama's help. Have you ever gotten naked in a sanctuary??? The stairs were only as wide as my dress and we could see the top of Matt's head from where I stood in the stairwell. He was seated in a pew, thank goodness. I was laughing so loud that Mama shushed me. Not exactly the easy, laid back day I had intended to have...but it all worked out!

Up next, the ceremony!

(all photos, except the dress, from the oh so talented: Kim Box Photography)

APRIL, I will have to get you to help me return to the normal background after all of my wedding posts are complete, the solid black just looked better than my pretty background!