As I watched Emily, my MOH, and the last bridesmaid to walk down the aisle, my heart raced. The doors closed, Carrie situated me and lowered my veil, and we waited for our cue. I could hear the bridal march begin, the people rising, and then the doors opened. I grabbed my Dad's arm, took a deep breath, and we began 'the walk.' I honestly felt like I was floating. I remembered from rehearsal, slow...no running down the aisle...just a slow and angelic pace. Jeff made fun of me later because he saw me take my 'big deep breath' before I began walking lol. He said it was 'typical me.'
I remembered looking straight ahead, looking at my groom, the love of my life, and my best friend. He had a 'twinkle' in his eye, as he likes to call it, and his adorable smile was spread across his face. I think I drowned everything out, I don't remember looking at anyone else or even hearing the music. It was like Jeff and I were in our own separate world, where it was just me and him, despite all the guests and musicians around us.
When my Dad and I reached the end of the aisle, my Dad lifted my veil, gave me a kiss, and gave my hand to Jeff. I was so happy and in a state of pure bliss I could not get rid of my smile even if I tried. I also realized that I walked down the aisle without bawling, my eyes got teary-eyed and I shed one tear...but that was it!
There is not a word or a sentence to describe our ceremony. It was the most amazing, captivating, and spiritual moment of our lives. When planning I knew the most important thing to me was to have a beautiful ceremony, and it truly was. The joy, love, and happiness was all around us, I felt like I've never felt before. Fr. Lance gave the most amazing homily. Fr. Lance held me hours after I was born, and was our priest to our church in Bethel for a few years, so needless to say he added a real personal touch to it, which made it so special and beautiful. He spoke of the meaning of marriage, the importance of it,
and how special it truly is. His words touched so many people, and we are still having people tell us thank you so much for inviting them to our wedding and it was the most amazing ceremony they have ever witnessed, and it truly reminded them the importance of marriage and that they need to cherish their loved ones and rekindle that love that they had on their own wedding day. When some people think of Catholic weddings, they probably think of 'boring,' 'traditional,' and 'strict,' ours however was none of these. Fr. Lance had told us that during the ceremony that we will feel in such a state a grace and we will 'transform' before each other. And I honestly felt that, I really felt God was with us that day. It made me so happy and so blessed to have people say to me that they never wanted to get married in the church, but now they do, after going to our wedding!There was a few times I got really emotional and choked up during the ceremony. The first time (other then walking down the aisle) was when Mary-Jeanne read one of our readings, when she got to the part of "..Love is patient..Love is kind.." she looked at us, and it really choked
me up because she read it with so much love, and also because she means so much to me. The other time I got choked up was when I was saying my vows. Jeff had said his perfectly, and with so much love and devotion, that it made me cry. I knew at that point that there was no way I was going to make it through my vows. I made it through surprisingly well, and only choked up during the last few lines. I composed myself enough for when I put Jeff's ring on. Another time I lost it was when I found out my great-grand mother was there. She is 98 years-old we did not think she was coming. It obviously would've been way to much for her to sit in a car for the 5-hour roundtrip and be amongst all the hustle and bustle. However, there she was! It meant SO much to me, and I was absolutely speechless.When Fr. Lance announced we were 'officially' husband and wife I just remember feeling SO excited and beyond happy. I felt so connected and truly one with Jeff. At the end of the ceremony and Fr. Lance announced for the first time "Mr. & Mrs. Bender," a shrill ran through me and I was finally able to kiss my husband for the first time.
Jeff and I proc
eeded down the aisle and I still don't remember seeing anyone's face, all I could see was my husband, we were truly in a different world. Jeff and I then were hidden in a small staircase and we waited for all the guests to make their way out of the church so we could make our grand bubble exit! This is something that I'd envisioned from the beginning and was praying that it would be able to happen. It was a 50/50 chance it wouldn't happen because of the weather. A good 20 minutes passed, and Jeff and I were getting hot and thirsty in this little stairwell, but finally one of my wedding planners crew motioned for us to come down, and she yelled "Blow Your Bubbles" and I knew I was going to get my bubble exit!!!! Jeff and I moved toward the entrance of the church and the bridal party and all the guests were blowing bu
bbles, Jeff and I shared a kiss, beautiful pictures were taken, and then we made our way through all our loved ones to our car awaiting us. The driver helped stuff me and my dress into the car and we were on our way to CELEBRATE!*A side note- i
t rained for a few minutes as guests were exiting, the poor bridal party and some guests got a little wet...but right before Jeff and I came out, it just stopped...God was seriously with us on that day.**Another side note- I was nervous that our 'small' VT church wasn't going to hold everyone, but it was the perfect size! Every pew was taken, and it made the church feel full and happy.
The car ride back was so exciting and Jeff and I could not stop looking at each other and beaming. The happiness and joy in his eyes is a sight I will never forget.
When we arrived back at the resort, all the valet guys were so excited for our arrival and wished us congratulations. Carrie was also awaiting us, and ushered us back to the spa to do hair and makeup touch-ups before pictures. The spa staff had champagne waiting for us! It was nice to just relax for a few moments in the spa and getting composed again before making our way back out to everyone.
When we stepped back outside...it legit looked like a tornado or a monsoon was about to happen. The clouds just looked like they were soo heavy with rain and it was about to let loose at any moment. Even though I was on 'cloud 9' I still was so anxious and nervous about getting all our formal pictures taken. We quickly took pictures with all the grandparents and family, and then moved onto the bridal party. We took a ton of quality shots in record time, and then moved onto just Jeff and I. I've seen previous weddings pictures taken at our venue and they were the most gorgeous pictures I have ever seen. . . So obviously . . . I wanted them too. . . howeve
r we would have to take golf carts to go onto the golf course and the weather did not seem promising. After a few seconds of thinking whether we should risk it or not, I decided who cares lets do it! I wanted those pictures so bad, I was willing to take the risk of getting poured on to get those pictures. Well can I just say it was one of the best decisions I have ever made? And let me repeat again...I truly felt like God was there with us. The further and further we drove onto the golf course the clearer the sky became, to the point where SUNSHINE was actually pouring down on us. I almost started crying. Could the day get any more perfect??It was so much fun to work with MKD photography. They took so many beautiful pictures of us, while filming at the same time for our wedding video...which we can NOT wait to see! When we were finished we made our way back to the venue to where Carrie was waiting for us, to whisk me away to get me bustled and ready for the reception!
My bustle experience was so funny. Carrie actually 'reserved' the entire Women's bathroom for me, and collected all my bridesmaids and my Mom to help. No one else was allowed to enter hahah. After my bustle was done, it was time to line up for our grand entrance into the RECEPTION!
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