My wedding day was a blast and each day that passes since (going on 10 now) leaves a little more of the story foggy in my newlywed brain. So, for the records (yours but mostly mine!), here is what it was like:
7:00 wake up in my old room, now my brother’s room. The girls and I built a fort the night before, tacking bed sheets to the ceiling, stringing Christmas lights around the room. We had watched Muriel’s Wedding, and Father of the Bride. We had half-empty Smartfood bags lying around and empty mini cans of Coke Zero. But we had no time to clean, of course. We woke up, shut the door to that room for another day, and went to the salon.
8:00 At the salon, I got to sit down first. I sipped water, wanting to look “hydrated” and with the foresight I wouldn’t be nonchalantly sipping on my litre-sized Nalgene today like usual. We passed around the muffins my aunt and grama had made, and we laughed along to the mix CD my best friend made. (Imani Coppola, Spice Girls, Across the Universe songs)
My quirky hairdresser regaled me with stories of her failed marriage and recently-received divorce notice, quipping, “I know you don’t want to hear this today, but...”
She put on the veil and everyone swooned (including me!). My bridesmaids and mum’s hair looked awesome and sophisticated and we hurriedly tornadoed outta there.
10:00 Enter my house, it smells really good. Turn the corner and see my living room filled with vases of roses and flowers from fiancé. Wow! I honestly wouldn’t have expected something so sappily romantic from him, but was pleasantly surprised at how easily I became a princess.
We all stampeded upstairs to begin make up. I shaved my legs over the side of the tub before putting on my thigh-high stay ups and blue garter.
11:00 Best friends did my makeup and applied my fake eyelashes as the photographer and video guy showed up to “capture the magic” as they said. The video guy interviewed me downstairs against a backdrop of more flowers and the black leather book that was my present to fiancé.
“And what’s your present to him?” asked the video guy, who looked a little like Donna’s Dad from That 70s Show.
“Well, it’s a book of pictures no one but Rich should see!” I had taken boudoir pics for him, well mostly for him, but also so I can be an old granny and look back at how smoking hot I once was.
12:00 And I’m having my gown slid over my arms, shoulders and head. Best friend does up the back, slowly, so the paparazzi present could capture it. I put on my shoes, necklace, bracelet and earrings. Check my mum’s mirror one last time to make sure my makeup looks right. Photographer enters for our photo shoot. Bridesmaids and mum file in for pics with me at photo guy’s direction and I hear the door open downstairs and fiance's voice. I giggle and get so antsy! Finally, he is brought upstairs with eyes closed and he sees me for the first time. I cry a little nd the photo guy gets his shots before I can go hug and kiss my man. A few more pictures with family, I grab my pashmina and parka and we’re going to the market for pictures.
1:30 My brother dedicates the sweetest Gavin DeGraw song to us on the way downtown. I make a conscious effort to take it all in.
1:45-2:30 Downtown is really cold. We pose, we move, our hands get numb and our noses run but the photo guy says we take great pictures. We scurry between my parka and stone walls, benches, archways.
2:30 Mad dash with my brother back home to catch the limo to the church. Fiance’s parents have left without him so brother has to take him.
2:40 We’re in the limo, me, my parents, my girls. We sing “Chapel of Love” and touch up lip stuff.
2:55 We’re in the basement of the church. The flower girls are dancing, fluffing their dresses, we’re laughing, I’m nervous.
3:00 Justin Timberlake music starts playing and the church lady at the back assembling us all looks like a chicken with her head cut off. Each girl starts walking away from me, one by one. My stomach is flipping, I’m breathing deep trying to calm down. My dad squeezes my hand.
I walk down the aisle and forget about everything but the boogie jokes my dad is telling me, and trying to see fiancé. The video guy’s light is right in my eyes so I can’t see much. I see one of my friends bawling and I laugh at her. A big smile is plastered across my face from now until sundown.
We stand in front of everyone but I just look at him. We say our vows, we put rings on each other and hold each others hands. I cry a little bit but not too much.
We walk down the aisle together, the sun is shining right in, making a silhouette around us. We stop to look back at the photo guy, then at each other, before we leave the church as man and wife.
3:40 I have people all around me taking pictures giving hugs, coming, going. It was overwhelming and I don’t remember much. We go back into the church for family pictures and I get called Mrs. ___ for the first time. :)
4:30 The wedding party gets in a limo, we drive to our photo location to find we have 10 minutes before it closes! We take hilarious, speedy pictures and then some outside where it is cold.
5:00 We are in the limo, drinking champagne and laughing. I ask the limo driver to cruise for awhile so we can soak this all in and be goofy. I give him his present, he loves it. He gives me earrings that match my engagement ring, I love them too.
5:45 We get to the reception, at a hotel. Unload our stuff in our room. Check makeup fast and head out to wait to be called into reception room. People running all around me, photo guy going nuts.
6:15 get introduced into reception hall. Don’t notice much at first except a few faces as we head to the dance floor for our first dance. We dance to our high school song, "Hanging by a Moment.” I don't notice anything anymore but him. We laugh to each other.
6:30 We sit down to eat an awesome dinner. I didn’t really like the mixed green salad, but the mashed potatoes were sooo filling. We had champagne in special flutes. We stood up to kiss everytime someone sang a song about love, cops, or reporters. We laughed and cried in speeches. Best man had some surprisingly sweet things to say, I was speechless! Best friends put on an awesome slideshow that made me realize, “Wow, this is all for us!”
7:45 ish Daddy and I dance to “Daughters”, get the night kicked off.
8:00 Onwards all night now is dancing, drinking more water, getting hot, taking goofy pictures, asking for help holding my dress in the washroom and rubbing my sore armpits being rubbed by the boning in my dress.
The last song of the night, when most people had gone to bed but our diehard party friends and relatives. They circled around us, and we danced the last song, “Grow Old with You.” We say sweet things to each other and look into each others eyes. It was the best moment of my whole life.
And they lived happily ever after.