Friday, August 6, 2010

recap: the wedding

Hello lovies!!!! I am back home and a Mrs. for sure now! I promise I will get back to the regular blogging over the next couple of days, but I want to give you what you've all been waiting for: wedding pictures!!


The morning of the wedding, I was surprisingly calm. REALLY calm... so calm my bridesmaids were nervous for me. I kept telling them "it's okay, when you know... you know!"

I started my morning the way any good morning should start: with overnight oats. I mosied around for a bit, packed up all of my stuff for the day and for the honeymoon, and headed to my parents' house. We figured this was the best place to get ready as my mom used to do hair and we have a salon in the basement. Hair and makeup came to us!! I felt like some sort of celebrity. We didn't have to start until about 11 in the morning - which is almost unheard of in wedding world.


getting my hair done
 I think the most special part about my hair for the day was the extensions. My hair used to be all the way down my back, but I have donated it many times to Locks of Love in honor of my dad (who has leukemia). The husband (ooo I love that!) loooves my long hair, so I thought I would surprise him.


you can't even tell they're extensions!
The woman who did makeup was amazing - she knocked out about 7 people in 5 hours. I was absolutely in love with my makeup, and I'm pretty sure I am going to hire someone to come live with me to do my hair and makeup every day for the rest of my lilfe.

bestie and me
 When the photographer and videographer showed up at 3, no one was near ready. It worked out okay, however, because the photographer had to take all of her detail shots which took almost 45 minutes. That gave us all time to finish up and get dressed.

At this point in the day, I really didn't feel like a bride yet. Weird, right? The dress, the veil, the hair... nope, it was all surreal. It really didn't hit me.

new sister and me

other bestie and me
 It rained for a good half hour while we were all getting dressed - the husband even called to see if I still wanted to do the ceremony outside. No, I didn't talk to him - he called my mom. My reply was it would stop and I was getting married out there!

Whoever said the woman is always right was probably a woman... because I was right.



The moment it hit me I was getting married was when I was left in the bridal suite all by myself. The girls were lining up outside, my dad was upstairs, and the DJ was testing the music out up in the reception hall. I overheard him playing the song the husband and I were dancing to together that night, and it took all the strength I had not to break down before the ceremony. They had mirrors everywhere in the bridal suite, and I kept saying to myself: "You're getting married", "yes, that's you - you're the bride". It is so surreal when you are actually the person getting married.

My dad and I walked the very long walk down the aisle, and I don't think I ever saw John smile so big in his life. He was my saving grace - every time my voice started to quiver or I began to cry, he knew to just change the look on his face to get me to smile. I guess it didn't help I started crying because it made everyone at the wedding cry as well.


lovely shot


I can remember the actual ceremony, but I really cannot wait for the video to see and hear everything once again. The husband's brother who married us encouraged us to use more contemporary vows using the phrase "I will" in place of "I do". I was a little wary of it at first, but it just makes so much more sense. My favorite line was when the husband said, "I will protect you"... uggh makes my heart melt.


The ceremony was pretty short and sweet - I think it only lasted about 25 minutes. We were on time and ahead of schedule, which was great for our photographer who had never shot so many formals in the time frame we had. We did in 1 hour what she usually does in 4 hours.


She got some great shots too - I have been saying over and over all week how I cannot wait to see our wedding pictures. We took these great pictures underneath some weeping willow tress (which I love) and am so excited to see how they turned out.

While we were taking pictures, our guests were enjoying a cocktail hour with drinks and passed hor'deurves. I didn't taste any, but everyone told me they were great!


I wish I had a good picture of the cake cutting - the husband, much to my dismay, decided to actually smash the cake into my face. I should have known that was going to happen. Yes, it was a crowd pleaser. No, I didn't enjoy finding dried icing behind my ear at 5 a.m. the next morning.

Dinner was delicious...and short. We only ate for about 3 minutes, which was until everyone else got served, for us to start walking around and greeting everyone since we didn't have a receiving line. We had a lot of people there, almost 200, so it was really important to us that we got around and thanked everyone for being there.

After dinner, the partying began. I knew our wedding would be fun, but I didn't know it would be THAT fun. I told the woman who did my hair to get those extensions in good because I was going to "tear it up on the dance floor" - and tear it up I did. I danced so hard my bustle on my dress broke!

For everyone (and I know there are some out there) who have commented before on how well I eat and how clean I eat all of the time, let it be known I am human as well. Gluten free cake WAS consumed (yes, it was delicious) and about 3 glasses of wine were drunk. I learned something that night. I learned that 3 glasses of wine are far too many for someone who does not drink... EVER. I may have just stopped at one, but I swear the husband's aunt kept feeding them to me. :)


There was stage dancing involved and TABLE dancing as well. I will keep those pictures at bay to spare some of my family's feelings however. The DJ warned us before the wedding if we started to see a "lull" in the dancing to let him know and he would switch it up. Fortunately for us, I have never seen so many people on a dance floor for so long. We danced from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. straight. I did not sit down once, and I am more than positive I can say that for the majority of my guests as well.


Apparently, my bestie caught the bouquet! Yes, it saddens me to say I only remember it due to our video the DJ shot on his "jam cam". In the video though, I sure was excited!!


When we left at 12:30, mommasita whisked us away to our hotel (which we stayed at for a mere 3 hours). 

Needless to say, you all were right. When it came down to it, the silly details that were happening the last week and up to the wedding were miniscule. The second I woke up on the day of the wedding, I was stress free. I am so grateful to my bridesmaids, and especially to my bestie, who made sure my day was absolutely perfect. I did not have to worry about a thing, and the day turned out perfect.

I have said time and time again throughout the wedding planning process that "when it comes down to it, at the end of the day, my wedding will be perfect because I will be married to the man of my dreams". It truly was perfect though.

The honeymoon is up next! I promise to have that up sometime in the next day or two - it was spectacular. For those of you who want more pictures, email me and I can set you up. There are a bunch more wafting around on the internet. :)

Question: What did I miss in your life in the last week? I do not have time to go back and read every post, but I want to hear the most exciting past of it!

18 comments:

  1. Hooray! I have been waiting for this post! You were such a beautiful bride! i'm glad you were able to relax and enjoy your day :)

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  2. I was thinking about you.
    Wow, you are stunningly beautiful. And the hair, the dress, the bridesmaids...could not be more perfect.
    Congratulations.

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  3. You're back! Back as a lovely newly Mrs! I love your hair! I think I'd want that kind of hair for my wedding too :D

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  4. This post legitimately made me tear up! You were a BEAUTIUL bride! I can't imagine how surreal that was to be getting married. It always seems like something so far off in the future! And I'm so glad the weather cleared up and you got to do the ceremony outside! =D

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  5. I am actually a new visitor today and what a perfect day to read your blog! Congrats on your wedding, you looked amazing!

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  6. Ah I have been waiting so long for your return to the blog world!! You looked gorgeous and your hair was absolutely stunning. I only hope my wedding is as big of a dance party as your was ha ha

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  7. Congrats Chelsey. You made a gorgeous bride and I loved reading all about your feelings and the special moments of your big day.

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  8. Aww, girl! I was just thinking about how your wedding went the other day, and I'm SO happy to hear that it went well :) Reading all of your words seriously made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and I've got to say that you were an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous bride. Your "husband" is a lucky one (I love how you kept calling him husband... too cute!)

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  9. Oh, congrats! You're such a gorgeous bride! Of course you were calm -- you knew in your heart that the is the one, and you married him! :D

    Your hair looks so beautiful. I think it's wonderful that you donated it to Locks of Love, and went for the extensions on your special day. The curls look natural and stunning on you. =)

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  10. Omg congratulations!!! :D All those photos are beautiful and i love reading through the story :) I can only imagine I'd be the exact same way on my wedding day- whenever that may be. :)

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  11. You look beautiful. Thanks for such a detailed post, I love reading every word of it. And stil, I cannot wait to hear more!

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  12. OMG. You were GORGEOUS!!! I'll bet you're still gorgeous without all the make-up and frills, but boy you were a stunning bride! Congratulations!

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  13. GIVE ME YOUR HAIR!!!!!!! haha, gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous!
    im so excited! these pictures are stunning. CONGRATULATIONS the start of a new life <3

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  14. Congratulations! What a beautiful wedding.

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  15. CONGRAAAAAAAATSS!! I am SO excited for you! Hello Mrs. Chelsey. :D

    You were a stunning bride and I can't wait to see the honeymoon pictures. :)

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  16. Congratulations! You were a beautiful bride! Everything looks great!

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  17. Congratulations, I'm so happy that the wedding went well! You look beautiful in your pictures and I loved reading your recap. Congrats again on being a Mrs! :)

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  18. You look so beautiful and radiant! Congratulations :) I am so beyond happy for you!! I cant wait to see the rest of your wedding pictures!

    Hugs to the bride and groom!

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