Honeymoon
I've written about our honeymoon before (and apparently never finished... oops), but it was one of the best weeks of our lives. We went to Curacao and stayed at an all inclusive resort. I still think back on it often. It wasn't that I needed it after the stress of the wedding (because, even though there was stress, I liked doing all the wedding stuff), but we needed that time to be totally disconnected from the world and revel in our new roles as husband and wife. It was fun, beautifully romantic, and far exceeded our expectations.
I've written about our honeymoon before (and apparently never finished... oops), but it was one of the best weeks of our lives. We went to Curacao and stayed at an all inclusive resort. I still think back on it often. It wasn't that I needed it after the stress of the wedding (because, even though there was stress, I liked doing all the wedding stuff), but we needed that time to be totally disconnected from the world and revel in our new roles as husband and wife. It was fun, beautifully romantic, and far exceeded our expectations.
Invitations
Invitations were fun to pick out but were defnitely a source of stress! We ordered them from Vistaprint to save money, which we did save a lot of money!, but we had to send portions of them back 4 times!!! They kept sending us ones with messed up ink or edges. They did replace them every time, and even sent us some extra AND credited our account with quite a bit of money, so that was nice. One of my favorite wedding planning memories was when my parents visited and we set up an assembly line of invitation stuffing. Watching my dad put the seal on the envelope and making sure he got it *just right* was about the sweetest thing ever.
(The invitations are purple and white. The color behind it is scrapbook paper that it is matted on. My cousin matted and framed it as a wedding gift, and we have it in our living room.)
Invitations were fun to pick out but were defnitely a source of stress! We ordered them from Vistaprint to save money, which we did save a lot of money!, but we had to send portions of them back 4 times!!! They kept sending us ones with messed up ink or edges. They did replace them every time, and even sent us some extra AND credited our account with quite a bit of money, so that was nice. One of my favorite wedding planning memories was when my parents visited and we set up an assembly line of invitation stuffing. Watching my dad put the seal on the envelope and making sure he got it *just right* was about the sweetest thing ever.
Justice of the Peace
We had a deacon perform our ceremony, and did not have a Mass because only about 4 of us present were Catholic. We didn't want to make it awkward or exclusive feeling to our non-Catholic guests. We were originally going to have a priest preside, but he got sick. Our back up priest's father died about 2 weeks before our wedding and he had to leave town for the funeral. So then we got the deacon, who we already knew through RCIA. We met with him last minute before the wedding and LOVED talking to him. He and his wife had a beautiful story that he shared once we told him about our journey. It was one of those moments where it felt like it was all meant to be.
We had a deacon perform our ceremony, and did not have a Mass because only about 4 of us present were Catholic. We didn't want to make it awkward or exclusive feeling to our non-Catholic guests. We were originally going to have a priest preside, but he got sick. Our back up priest's father died about 2 weeks before our wedding and he had to leave town for the funeral. So then we got the deacon, who we already knew through RCIA. We met with him last minute before the wedding and LOVED talking to him. He and his wife had a beautiful story that he shared once we told him about our journey. It was one of those moments where it felt like it was all meant to be.
Keepsakes (letters before the wedding, favors)
We didn't like the traditional idea of doing gifts for each other before the wedding because 1) we didn't want to spend MORE money and 2) what better gift can you get than a spouse!? So we did letters instead. We met for breakfast on the day of our wedding, and exchanged our letters at the end. I brought mine back up to the hotel room to read, and managed to keep it together until the very last line. It was so sweet and heartfelt, and I love that we have them to look back on for all the years to come.
We didn't like the traditional idea of doing gifts for each other before the wedding because 1) we didn't want to spend MORE money and 2) what better gift can you get than a spouse!? So we did letters instead. We met for breakfast on the day of our wedding, and exchanged our letters at the end. I brought mine back up to the hotel room to read, and managed to keep it together until the very last line. It was so sweet and heartfelt, and I love that we have them to look back on for all the years to come.
Lady's Night
After the rehearsal dinner and a little get together at the hotel bar with some out of town family members, my bridesmaids and I got together in my hotel room for games and snacks. My sister picked out my favorite snacks from Trader Joe's, and she knows my love of board games :). I was very tired, full, and my stomach was a bit nervous, so I don't think I was the best guest at my own ladies night, but it was so meaningful that she put it together for me, and I was so glad to not be alone that evening! It was nice to have something to take my mind off of getting married the very next day. I think we attempted a game, decided the rules were too hard, and then just chit chatted until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. Two of my bridesmaids spent the night with me that night.
After the rehearsal dinner and a little get together at the hotel bar with some out of town family members, my bridesmaids and I got together in my hotel room for games and snacks. My sister picked out my favorite snacks from Trader Joe's, and she knows my love of board games :). I was very tired, full, and my stomach was a bit nervous, so I don't think I was the best guest at my own ladies night, but it was so meaningful that she put it together for me, and I was so glad to not be alone that evening! It was nice to have something to take my mind off of getting married the very next day. I think we attempted a game, decided the rules were too hard, and then just chit chatted until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. Two of my bridesmaids spent the night with me that night.
Music
We really enjoyed picking out the music for our wedding. I went back and forth between a few options, but ended up choosing Canon in D for the processional because I love the classic nature of it. I love classical music in general, and it was the only song that gave me goosebumps when I thought about hearing it as I walked down the aisle. In reality, I didn't hear ANYthing lol, but I just heard it again recently for the first time since the wedding and it choked me up! For the recessional, we really liked Psalm XIX (Marcello), so we requested that and then a mix of anything else the organist wanted to play. For our responsorial psalm, we chose Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 5. The response was "May the Lord bless us, may the Lord protect us, all the days, all the days of our life." Kinda obvious why we chose that :).
We really enjoyed picking out the music for our wedding. I went back and forth between a few options, but ended up choosing Canon in D for the processional because I love the classic nature of it. I love classical music in general, and it was the only song that gave me goosebumps when I thought about hearing it as I walked down the aisle. In reality, I didn't hear ANYthing lol, but I just heard it again recently for the first time since the wedding and it choked me up! For the recessional, we really liked Psalm XIX (Marcello), so we requested that and then a mix of anything else the organist wanted to play. For our responsorial psalm, we chose Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 5. The response was "May the Lord bless us, may the Lord protect us, all the days, all the days of our life." Kinda obvious why we chose that :).
Newlyweds
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue
My something old ,something blue, and something borrowed was a hanky that my great grandmother made. My mom gave it to me, but I told her that she was letting me borrow it until after the wedding, and then she could give it to me lol. My something new was my dress.
My something old ,something blue, and something borrowed was a hanky that my great grandmother made. My mom gave it to me, but I told her that she was letting me borrow it until after the wedding, and then she could give it to me lol. My something new was my dress.
Stay tuned for part III!
what a great idea to remember the first year with 'wedding abc's'...i'll have to remember that in June when we cekebrate our 1 year too!
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