My girls and I piled into the van to head back to church. at the end of our ten minute drive, Taylor Swifts' song Love Story came on. All of the sudden, the bridesmaids and I blasted the radio and started singing the lyrics with the windows down like junior high girls. It was a moment that even looking back gives me goosebumps and brings me to tears. The girls all surrounded me, singing and hugging, and I was totally overwhelmed by their love, and by the excitement of what was about to come!
Pre-ceremony was a whirl-wind of shout-sticks, make up touch ups, and tummy butterflies.
The girls and I gathered in the tiny church nursery to primp & wait, while the guys gathered in a classroom to get the bouts on and wait.
the following two shots are really special to me, even though they're not that great, quality wise.
My Aunt Jet--without whom my wedding would have been utterly impossible (or it wouldn't have been nearly as nice, and I would have been a wreck!) She handled everything perfectly.
(noticed I unzipped my dress for some breathing time!)
photos by sister White Choc
and secondly, my friend Mocha. She served as personal attendant, also assisted coordinating and was there with me all day. I don't know what I would have done without her!
photo by sister White Choc
Then we heard the string trio start. The processional was about to begin.
We prayed together, wiped a couple tears, and hugged it out.
and then got this show on the road!
We hired a family friend to video just the ceremony so we would have it in case we ever wanted to re-watch. I will cover this on another post--these seriously choppy clips were most of what I could work with. But play this video for sounds while scrolling through the photos, as they are much better!
Wedding Processional from LatteLove on Vimeo.
Parents and Grandparents and candle lighting: Air on a G string by Bach
Bridal party: Largo from the Four Seasons byVivaldi
Bridal procession: Con Te Partiro Intrumental (made famous by Andrea Bocelli)
once all the family was seated, our moms lit the unity candles, and the bridal party processed.
Finally E walked up the aisle for the last time.
and then it was all eyes on me!
Our church aisle was insanely short (take a glance at the video and you'll see!)
I grilled our bridal party on walking slowly for days beforehand, and then I practically bounded down the aisle when it was my turn. It resulted in a gorgeous song cut short (and a LONG time of my dad, E and I waiting at the front of church for the song to end!) Awk-ward.
But thanks to our photographers who made it look sweet and intimate!
and then my papa, with tears in his eyes, gave me away.
I never shared too much about our ceremony, and I think most of it would bore you all. We picked Song of Songs 8:6-7 as our wedding verses and wrote our own vows.
It was perfect for us. If you have specific questions, please let me know! I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to share our vows here, as they may cause some...discussion.
It was really solemn and emotional for both of us. But I still wish I would have smiled more. The video makes me look pretty unhappy and serious.
Thankfully, again, Chris and Sara came through and these pictures don't show it!
then we exchanged rings
and were given permission for our first married kiss
Then we were outta there!
press play on this audio to hear the instrumental version of Cold Play's Viva la Vida which we used as our recessional
And then we celebrated. I tried to embed the audio clip from the actual ceremony, but it was cut really shot. If you could listen to it, you would hear Sister White Choc squealing as she greets us.
(i love this picture, and hate it. I think you can probably surmise both reasons)
After a long line of hugs and congratulations, we grabbed what was left of the goodies served for those attenidng only the ceremony (and to hold over our wedding guests for another 2 hours before dinner)
a nod to my dutch heritage, I made these signs in dutch, of dutch pastries
We chatted and laughed and took some family pictures, and then prepared for our send off.
we made our transportation plans pretty late in the game, so I assumed no one would have the chance to decorate a getaway car.
I was proven wrong.
Alex drove us lovebirds off the reception.
all photos, unless otherwise noted, by Little Hands Photography
BEAUTIFUL ceremony! I LOVE your reading. I wish we would have seen that one, I would have used that instead of Colossians. I'm jealous of your send off- we didn't have one b/c of logistics. You did a GREAT job! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteLoving your recaps! I loved the part about singing in the car with your girlfriends--so special. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so curious about your vows. Did you guys write them yourselves?
I would love to read your vows.
ReplyDelete