My 8th Wedding Anniversary

Today is our 8th wedding anniversary! Feeling a little nostalgic, I went back through the archives of the Ultimate-Wedding listserv (remember those??) I belonged to at the time, and pulled out the recap of our wedding I wrote way back then. I’ve pared it down to about a third of the original document so you don’t all unsubscribe to our feed… but here you go. Oh, and I bet you can guess who the cousin is I keep talking about!
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Our Wedding Day

My sister got in the shower and then woke me up at 6:15. I took a long bubble bath, and then headed to the hairdresser’s. It was about an hour drive. My sister went with me, and took pictures and everything. She got a lovely one of my hairdresser pretending he was groping me! He took his time (not that I had anywhere to be or anything!), and it took about an hour, but I loved my hair. It looked even better than the trial the week before. He got my veil to work, which was a relief, and we were ready to go. Driving with a veil on is not all that easy! I couldn’t hardly turn my head! I don’t know how we made it back to Oxford, but we did. It was 11:15 when we pulled up at the hotel. I had no make-up and no dress on, and Andy and I were supposed to start our pictures at 11:30. I put my make-up on and got dressed in a hurry, all the while Andy was waiting for me right outside the door. At 11:40, I was ready to go. Andy was waiting in the hall, and my sister and cousin were there taking
pictures as he saw me for the first time.

We drove my cousin’s white VW Beetle to the pictures. We were about 15 minutes late, but the photographer was, too, so everything worked out. The photographer had my bouquet and Andy’s boutonniere. The flowers were beautiful!! I was really happy with them. Andy and I had our pictures together taken in a flower garden on campus. It was a beautiful day, but really hot.

We left the garden and got to the church, and finally it was time to line up. The bridesmaids and I stayed outside while the parents and grandparents were seated, and then we lined up in the Narthex. We had a classical guitarist and a flutist, and the music was really nice. The bridesmaids walked down to “Hymne” by Van Gelis. They sat down in the pews as soon as they got down the aisle. The flower girl and ring bearer took a minute to get started, but finally decided they would walk down the aisle. They were so cute. The musicians changed songs (to Kanon in D), and it was time for my dad and me to start. I told him at the rehearsal to make sure we walked slow, which was a good call because I would have sprinted down the aisle if he wasn’t holding on to my arm. I didn’t even look at the guests as we walked down. I just kept looking at Andy. He was crying, and I was trying not to. When we got to where Andy was standing, my dad hugged me and shook Andy’s hand (the priest didn’t even try to say anything about “who gives this bride away”, which I loved because I was going to ask him not to anyway), and Andy and I walked up the steps to where the priest was.

The priest did the welcome and an opening prayer, and Andy and I went to sit down on the left of the altar. The readings were next, and were done by friends of ours. I was trying to focus on the readings, but the two flower arrangements our florist did were so beautiful that I kept looking at them
instead! The priest’s homily was really good – it was about marriage (that’s a surprise), and all the forgiveness and sacrifice and everything that goes along with it.

After the homily, Andy and I came to the center again, and the bridal party came and stood behind us. The priest asked us if we had come there to marry willingly and all that stuff, and then it was time for the vows. Andy went first, and it was perfect. We memorized them. We chose simple, standard vows. He was looking into my eyes and looked so sincere as he said “I, Andy, take you, Emily, to be my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.” He was kind of choked up, but was able to get through them. Then I said the same vows to him, and didn’t forget them either!

After we exchanged rings, the bridal party sat back down, as did we. My friend Ana came up and read the Intercessions, prayers for us and our family and friends. We said the Lord’s Prayer, and then Andy and I stood back in front of the altar as the priest did the final blessing. Andy and I kissed, and everyone clapped, then we headed back down the aisle.

When we got out of the sanctuary, Andy and I both started crying. It was such a happy and relief-filled moment. The bridal party finished the recessional, and Andy and I hugged each one of them, and I was trying hard not to cry. I about lost it when I hugged my sister, but kept everything under control. I forgot we had to go back in and excuse people from their pews, but Andy grabbed me and we went back into the sanctuary. It was really nice to see who was there, and that way we were able to hug and thank each person for coming. It was very emotional, and I couldn’t even talk to some people as we hugged, because I knew I would cry. My mom’s best friend hugged me and whispered “She was here, Em,” and that definitely made me cry. So many people said wonderful things to me that day, but that comment stuck out in my mind more than anything. After we got through all the pews, we walked out of the church. Friends had handed out helium-filled balloons, and let them go as we walked through the crowd. We kissed, everyone cheered, and we got back in my cousin’s VW (which was running and had the air conditioner on, thanks to my cousin-in-law), and drove away. It was surreal almost, as we drove through town. I couldn’t believe we were actually married.

It was such an amazing day.