“Reader, I Married Him.”

Perhaps, after all, romance did not come into one’s life with pomp and blare, like a gay knight riding down; perhaps it crept to one’s side like an old friend through quiet ways; perhaps it revealed itself in seeming prose, until some sudden shaft of illumination flung athwart its pages betrayed the rhythm and the music, perhaps … perhaps … love unfolded naturally out of a beautiful friendship, as a golden-hearted rose slipping from its green sheath.

L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea

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Still waiting on official wedding photographs, but PLENTY of fun ones were taken by friends and family! I hope you enjoy this peek into my wedding day and the two days preceding it. I’m sure I won’t be able to resist making a similar post once the official photographs are in my possession 😉 And yes, I’M BACK TO BLOGGING!

Movie/pizza/wine/cookies night with our good friends the Germos at my sister Emily’s house, two evenings before the wedding. (We watched Runaway Bride, starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. 10/10 would recommend!

Rehearsal day! I wore the same dress I wore for our engagement photos and carried a “bouquet” my Aunt Gail made from all the gift bows at our couples’ shower. I also wore my mom’s veil for the rehearsal and the actual wedding.

Formal decorations in the church sanctuary…but also Lord of the Rings action figures gracing the tables at the rehearsal dinner. Because that’s what nerds DO 😂

WEDDING DAY!!! For those who might be wondering how well I slept the night before, the answer is that I was wide-awake at 3 AM 😂 Emily did my makeup; my mom helped me with the 29 buttons (yes, TWENTY-NINE) at the back of my dress. While Mom took out my hot rollers, Emily put the finishing touches on my makeup.

I can’t wait to get the official pictures, because we did take bridal party photos with Casey’s two sisters and sister-in-law, as well–along with a photo with all my sisters and my brothers! The photo on the left in the bottom row features me with my sisters. Joy (to the left of me in the photo) was my maid of honor.

My new sister-in-law Laura was the real super-heroine of the day. I’d had my dress altered because it was originally too long; when I got it back, it was perfect. But then we took it to be dry-cleaned and pressed, and…well…the whole thing relaxed and ended up being 2-3 inches too long. Definitely a tripping hazard. Laura, however, is an expert seamstress–and with only 45 minutes to go before showtime, she hemmed the front of the gown.

Wedding dress detail + a bridesmaid’s tussy-mussy + a back view of my dress

AND HERE WE GO!! I got really agitated right before we walked into the church: my veil wasn’t cooperating, it was windy outside, and I was about to just give up on wearing it over my face–but my dad soothed me and fixed it. As soon as we stepped out together and I saw Casey waiting for me at the end of the aisle, all my anxiety vanished.

I did start crying when our pastor invited me to look over my shoulder at all our friends and family. “I hope this day is everything you’ve dreamed of,” he said kindly–and the enormous truth of that statement brought me to tears.

First kiss as man and wife (screen-capped from a video)!

Reception photos will come later! We had bundt cakes (about 25, I think?), coffee punch, regular coffee, and butter mints–a true Southern reception. In the meantime, I’ll close out with this final photo of us leaving the church, “escorted” by my niece AK and Casey’s niece Eleanor and surrounded by bubbles. The following day Casey and I drove an hour or so to the romantic historical city of Natchez, MS, where we had a beautiful, relaxing honeymoon!

Okay, I lied: just one more photo, because this is my favorite one from Natchez 😍