What the wedding is really about

Last night I was looking through some pictures of wedding bands for David, decorations for the reception, and as I looked at a picture of a couple holding hands I remembered something David told me not long ago: "Baby, this is our day and as long as we're married at the end of the day that is all that matters." And that is the truth, plain and simple. 


I've been stressing myself out trying to figure out what will work, what won't work, what will look best, what is the least expensive, what will be the prettiest,  how to create decorations and invitations, and whether or not to worry about chairs and tables and alcohol for the reception. Plus lots more. 


On our first date David got a flat tire and we had to walk from the beginning of his parents neighborhood to their house so he could get his truck (we were David's dad's truck). It was a mile walk. But was we walked David reached for my hand and we held hands while we walked--that mile did not feel like a mile at all. We talked and walked, while holding hands, and the time passed by fast. From that moment, the moment he reached for my hand I began to fall for him. Little by little.  


Last night he reached for my hand while we were sitting on the couch, a simple gesture he does all the time, and I got butterflies in my stomach again, just like I do every time he reaches for my hand, or kisses my forehead or touches the small of my back...It's the simple gestures of love that mean so much, that we often take for granted. My point is:


Our wedding is a celebration of our love, and we want to share our wedding day with our family and close friends, but what matters the most is that at the end of the day we are married. If it rains on our outdoor wedding, if the decorations aren't finished or even if we don't have very many, if only half of the guests show up, if anything or everything goes wrong then it will be okay...We're getting married. 

We're finally taking engagement photos

We're off to spend Easter with my mom's family at the lake. Great people and food and view. And while we're there my aunt is going to take a few pics of me and David so we actually have some engagement pics. They have a dock and we're going to take a few pics there, and a few pics in front of a tree, and a few with David holding his guitar...I'm excited about David meeting this part of my family (I have a huge number of aunt's and uncles) and he's only met my dad's family so far. So as we sip coffee and finish getting ready I just wanted to take a minute to catch up on things.

One more thing on the "to-do" list done (by the end of the day)....

Trying to create my own inpiration board

I'm in the process of trying to create my own inspiration board. Looking for photos, etc so I can do that. Music themed wedding, black/white/silver/red weddings, outdoor weddings, non-traditional, 50's theme, vintage...Lots of stuff to choose from. So my search begins.

Might have found someone to make our cake and cupcakes. Thanks to our friend Paige M. And might have found someone to alter my dress, thanks to our friend Tammy. And I think I might have finally created our invitations, thanks to PowerPoint and YouTube. So I'm gonna get back to googling pics and see what I can find for inspiration so I can make my to-do list for the decorations, etc...

Inspiration

My fiance David is a musician. While trying to figure out a theme for our wedding I came across an article that referred to a music/musician themed wedding. I remember thinking, "that sounds cool." I googled and found several images, some decorations for sale, one or two websites, but mostly lots of pics of sheet music inspired "stuff." I love black & white pics, black & white decorations, etc. Since I'd already changed the color of the bridesmaids dresses from dark purple/lapis to little black dresses (not matchy matchy) I thought "this might be IT." I did some more looking. I looked on Etsy, I looked on Ebay, I looked on wedding websites, in magazines, etc.

What it all acme down to was this: I found the niche between the two of us, that thing that helped bring us together (friends and music), and am using it as our theme. Our wedding/reception isn't going to be some formal shindig with a cocktail hour, nor will it be in a church or in a "venue," we're having it at my parents home. The wedding will be in their front yard and the reception in the backyard. We're having barbeque and the fixin's, beer, lots of family and friends, and some flowers and mason jars with tea light candles in them, and probably a couple of  bottles of Jack (my dad will haven hidden in the "mancave" for himself and a few of his close friends/relatives), and we're probably going to have a homemade red velvet cake withe wedding topper on it....and as I sit here thinking about everything (like my DIY wedding invitations that I'm working on, or my gunmetal grey dress that I need to have altered to tea length and my silver Cinderella shoes to match, or how I don't really give a rat's ass about whether or not everyone we invite shows up so long as the important people do, and most of them are either related to us, in the wedding, or both) I realize this just might be my dream wedding come true.

Would I want to have the fancy church, the cathedral train and veil, the sit down dinner and cocktail hour, the wedding planner, florist, etc...? No, not really. I'm a little stressed out about planning it myself, but at least this way I know it is about US.

Wedding angst

I'd only been engaged 2 weeks, and already "the wedding" angst had started. We had trouble picking a date that didn't coincide with anyone's birthday, anniversary, etc; then there were people who were trying to invite themselves into my wedding; then my daughter didn't want to be pregnant when we had our wedding...SO we finally decided on September 8, 2012. 
We wanted something sweet, romantic, fun, and most of all something that was a celebration of our commitment to each other. We checked into a few places, nothing really seemed right. I was talking to my dad and he suggested we have it in their yard. Now you should understand, my dad doesn't just have a yard, it's about 13-14 acres of trees--oaks, pines, gum, etc. The area in the front yard we were looking at for the ceremony has 5 trees that make a nice sized circle-perfect to put an archway in. The area in the back he's talking about has enough trees for shade but would be perfect for tables and chairs, a tent or three, and to even have a dance area.  The picture just shows a small part of the front yard.

David agreed it was a beautiful spot, and genuinely liked the idea. So we had agreed on the When, and the Where, and the Time. Now we just needed to figure out the colors, the Who would be standing with us, along with a lot of other details.

Surprisingly enough, I heard from more than one person that I could not wear WHITE. Both David and I have been married before, but neither of us had ever had a WEDDING. We were both married previously by a justice of the peace...Since I'd been married before I SHOULD KNOW that I CAN"T WEAR WHITE. I know lots of people who've gotten married again and worn white. WTH? Tradition? Well, I researched Tradition, and found that women didn't wear white until Queen Victoria wore white and then it became the "thing."

So I searched for wedding dresses, tried on numerous ones....And all along I kept looking back at several I'd seen that were gunmetal grey. I came close to buying a white one with red trim from David's Bridal that made me feel like a princess...But while we (me, my cousin, and my daughter) we happened upon a gunmetal grey prom dress. It was GORGEOUS!!! My fiance liked the gunmetal grey dresses I'd shown him online, and this dress was prettier, less sexy but more beautiful. SO, I tried it on.

AND WOW!!! I got it because it was the perfect dress, not because people said I couldn't wear white. I got it because once I alter it and make it tea length and it fits perfect it will be THE DRESS I imagined. And the perfect combination of what David wanted and what I wanted.