Part 4: The Ceremony

The Ceremony...the moment I've dreamed of, planned for, and waited anxiously for. Up until that moment, everything had gone perfectly, the rain had held, everything and everyone was on schedule, my hair and makeup turned out perfectly...so I knew that I was in the midst of living in my fairy tale.

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 proceeded 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 bubbles, 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- it 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. . . however 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!

Part 3: Getting Ready!

I was awoken from my 'light sleep' around 5am with my Dad taking a picture of me haha. I tried closing my eyes for a little bit more, but I knew it was hopeless. I ended up lounging around, showered, and then headed up to the Spa to visit with everyone. Our appointments started really early because we had 2 moms, 2 grandmothers, 8 bridesmaids, and a bride for hair (a total of 13 people needing updos..yikes!) and also 9 makeup appointments.

It was such a nice, relaxing morning. We had a breakfast cart and mimosas brought into the spa which was a lot of fun and yummy! It was also soo cute to have everyone in their matching robes that I got them! Everyone, including me, was so peaceful and calm, it was a fun girly morning :) Since it was Emily's birthday she got a massage haha. The weather outside did not look promising AT ALL. It was soo dark and gloomy, and it looked like it was about to downpour at any moment...but what really brightened my morning was that Jeff sent me gorgeous pink roses which was soo sweet. He also sent an arrangement to Emily, my Mom, his Mom, and his sister! He's the sweetest most thoughtful guy I have ever met! :)

At 10:30 it as time for my hair appointment. Even with the hair trial, I was still really nervous about my up-do. I've had numerous bad experiences getting my hair done for events such as prom, it never quite turned out as I wanted it to...and what made me even more nervous was my updo at my trial was soo gorgeous and exactly what I wanted, so how could my stylist, Hunter, recreate that?? Well to my relief, Hunter did amazing work again. It was even better then my hair trial...not exactly the same, but I still loved it! Sonya my makeup artist, who I love, also did amazing work. It wasn't exactly like my trial, it ended up being more natural, like I wanted, but I still felt beautiful :)

I felt like a celebrity the entire morning, I had many visitors all morning to see how I was doing, and our photographers were filming and shooting all around me. I think when I was sitting in the styling chair, and I had all my bridesmaids around me, the photographers snapping pictures, I think it finally hit me...I was getting married in a few hours...I remember not being nervous at all. I was in a state of peacefulness. The only thing I was nervous about was crying..and ruining my makeup lol.u

Emily and I were the last ones to be done with our appointments. While we were finishing up the rest of the bridesmaids went to get dressed. With a few finishing touches, Hunter put my veil on. At that moment I was able to look at myself in the mirror with my hair and makeup done...with my veil on...it was defintley an OMG moment. With everything running exactly on schedule (YAY!), Emily and I made our way back to my parents suite to get dressed, and where the rest of the bridesmaids were waiting.

It was so much fun to walk into the suite and see all my beautiful bridesmaids in their gorgeous pink dresses, and hear their 'ous and aws.' I knew the big moment of putting my WEDDING DRESS on was soon, so I peed probably five times and announced I was ready. Emily and my Mom helped me step into my wedding dress, and Emily zipped me up. Then Emily helped me put on my pretty shoes and my garters (yes garters..one for me and one to throw!). I then put on all my accessories, my GORGEOUS Mikimoto pearl and diamond earrings, MJ's beautiful pearl bracelet (my something borrowed), and with a few squirts of my 'wedding scent' Vera Wang Princess I was ready to go! Sonya came down to do a quick lip touch up and make sure my makeup and hair was good to go and nothing moved after I put my dress on. I remember feeling like I was having an out-of-body experience. I really felt beautiful, and like the bride I have always dreamed of.

I made my way back out into the living room of the suite to where my bridesmaids were awaiting. I couldn't look any of them in the face because I didn't want to tear up. I took a final look at myself, grabbed my GOREGOUS bouquet, and said "Ok lets do this!"

We all made our way out to the hotel lobby to take a few bridesmaid pictures and a few parent pictures. We were greeted by Carrie, my wedding planner, who looked at me and started crying, which obviously caused a domino effect, my Mom, and then me...I walked around and 'dabbed' my eyes before any real tears formed lol. But that really meant a lot to me. Carrie was such an amazing wedding planner, and we formed such an amazing relationship, I could see why it was emotional for her! There was also soo many of my family also waiting in the lobby, I couldn't look at them either, because they were so emotional too!

After we took pictures we all got into our assigned cars and headed over to the church! My Memere & Pepere and Omie were in one car, the Benders and Grandma M and Grandma B were in one car, my Mom, Grandpa, and Debby were in one car, the bridesmaids were in the limo, and my Dad and I were in another car (The groomsmen took an SUV limo over to the church earlier). I'm not sure if I posted this, but my Dad and I were in our own car over to the church. When we first started talking about transportation, Carrie suggested that some brides take a private car over to the church with their fathers. I knew that I wanted this option. It would be a special time just between my Dad and I before everything happened. And it was. I actually was dreading getting into this car with my Dad. I was doing so good in the tear department all morning, and I knew that it was going to be a very hard, emotional ride with him. We got in the car, and I basically said, don't talk to me don't look at me, lets just do this haha. (I was obviously half joking..) About 5 minutes into the ride my Dad asked me if I wanted a present. And I said "no." haha. I knew that it was going to make me cry, and I was doing everything possible to not cry. He said "are you sure" and I said "yup!" He then started crying, and said "I think you should open your present, because its something I want you to have before the ceremony.." Ok huge waterworks at this time. I opened the present, and it was the most gorgeous diamond tennis bracelet. He put it on me and we were both like okk, no more crying, lets do this!

The ride over actually flew by. The weather seemed like it was holding off, I hadn't seen a raindrop yet,and in some areas it looked like the sun was trying to poke through!

We arrived at the church about 1:50. Since the church didn't have much of a lobby, I remained in the car until it was time to line up and walk down the aisle! I remember stepping out of the car, taking a deep breath, and thinking "Holy Sh*t.". As each bridesmaid began walking down the aisle, and it got closer and closer to me, I was like omg omg omg!

And then it was my turn to walk down the aisle...