Yes...you read that correct...'Peeing in a wedding dress"
After spending the last few weeks reliving my wedding (which was so amazing and so much fun to do btw!) I remembered something that definitely deserved its own post....having to use the ladies room after my dress was on...
Most brides don't realize how truly difficult it is to go to the bathroom once your dress is on....or at least I didn't...
I wish I could give some good advice to future brides, but really I have none. All I have to say is I have the BEST bridesmaids in the ENTIRE world....So get yourselves some good bridesmaids!!! :)
Just wanted to give a special shout-out and a HUGE thank you to my amazing bridesmaids and my best friends, Katelyn & Tina. I have no idea what I would do without you girls, you TRULY were there for me through it all!
So let me start by saying that before I was bustled, Carrie led Jeff and I into the ballroom to see the reception all set up before anyone else did. I felt like I was on that David Tutera wedding show haha. As Carrie led us into the room with our eyes closed, I was filled with so much anticipation. When she said "open!" my jaw dropped and I could not believe what I was seeing. What I saw before me was my absolute dream wedding. The ballroom was lit up with my 'pink' lighting, our monogram was on the dance floor, light music was playing, the votive candles were lit, and omg I can not even explain how beautiful our flowers had turned out. Everything was absolutely PERFECT. It brought me to tears. I was also SO excited to finally see everything all put together and for Jeff to see what we have been working on for the past year. He was speechless as well.
After all the guests had been ushered into the ballroom the bridal party and the parents took their correct place and got ready for the introductions. It was SOO funny to watch all the bridal party practice all their dance moves for when they were introduced...all wearing sunglasses. As "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas started playing I got SO excited. The parents were first introduced, and then one by one the bridesmaids and groomsmen were introduced and they all did their little moves which ranged from 'leap frog,' 'beating the beat- NJ shore style,' and 'raising the roof.' Then finally...the DJ asked everyone to please rise and he announced "And it is with my great honor to introduce Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Bender!" O.M.G.
Jeff and I walked through all our excited guests, and made our way to the middle of the dance floor where we shared our first dance as husband and wife. I will be honest I cried during most of it, I was just so overwhelmed with happiness. At one point I closed my eyes and opened them thinking I would wake up from the most splendid dream and I realized I wasn't dreaming, this was real, I was dancing with my HUSBAND with all our loved ones looking upon us, in the middle of the most beautiful wedding reception...our wedding reception. I'm not sure if I've mentioned before but our first song was "Your Everything," by Keith Urban. That song pretty much captures all the emotions Jeff and I feel for each other...obviously it doesn't capture all of them, because that would be impossible! Jeff broke away from our 'little world' a few times to look at our parents who were all bawling, and told me not to look, because obviously I would loose it too!
After our first dance we made our way to our cute sweetheart table where champagne and bread was awaiting us. Fr. Lance gave an opening prayer which quickly followed by the Amuse-Bouche course which was tomato bisque soup with pesto cheese crostini (which BTW was AMAZING...and also was the ONLY thing Jeff & I had to eat the entire night...) My Dad then stood up to give his welcome speech. And let me tell you it was probably the most amazing welcome speech I have ever heard. It was so well thought-out, so well spoken, and it was delivered with so much love. He loves public speaking and is always a crowd pleaser at all his NRLA events, so this was obviously no exception. He started off welcoming everyone and acknowledging those who had traveled far to be with us. He then acknowledged my Mom for their 25th wedding anniversary and all that she has done during the past year to help with the wedding. He played the most amazing slide show of their life together and then presented her with a beautiful arrangement of 4 dozen red roses. It was so sweet and so special, it was so hard not to get choked up. After Jeff & I composed ourselves we made our way to the front to greet everyone ourselves and to announce a very important occasion..Emily's birthday! We had a cute birthday cake brought out with candles and presented her with a birthday tiara, and got everyone to sing Happy Birthday to her!
The Maid of Honor and Best Man speeches were phenomenal. Sean, Jeff's Best Man, gave such a heartfelt speech and said so many kind things about me...and Jeff and me as a couple. It meant so much to us. Emily, of course was adorable, and really surprised me with how composed, well-spoken, and articulate she was. My baby sister made us laugh...made us cry...and overall made me so proud of her and reminded me how lucky I am to have her as a sister. I couldn't have dreamed of a better Maid of Honor. <3
While the first course was served Jeff and I started making 'the rounds' to all the tables, to say hi to everyone and to thank them for coming. Our table visiting obviously took awhile since we had 26 tables, 209 guests, and we wanted to spend so much time with every single one of them! Jeff and I missed the first course, the second course, and the third course while visiting tables haha. Even though we missed all the courses, we filled ourselves with our yummy signature cocktail! ;)
A little more into the evening, Carrie approached us and said it was time to cut the cake! Yay! Our cake was soo beautiful, Perrin at VT Cake Studio did such a fabulous job! Cutting of the cake is such a cute tradition. It was such a 'sweet' moment between Jeff and I :) And no we did no mush the cake in each others faces! We simply put a dab of frosting on each others noses and fed each other with a fork :) We didn't get a big enough bite/piece to tell if it was good or not...but I later heard it was the most amazing wedding cake, so flavorful and fresh! So we were happy to hear that! We can not wait to try it out on our 1 year anniversary when we get to eat the top layer! lol.
The next ceremonial event was...the Father-Daughter dance...I knew it was going to emotional...but I really had no idea how emotional it was going to be...my Dad said a few words, and he then played a slide show of pictures of me growing up, which then led into our dance. Our song was "Daddy Let's Dance," by Jamie Tate. It was such a special moment, a moment that every little girl dreams of having with her daddy. Jeff and Mrs. Bender's mother-son dance was also emotional. Their song was "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong, such a classic.
A few other special things that happened during our reception was Jeff & I really wanted to acknowledge and celebrate 6 important people in our lives and their BIG anniversaries! This year is my parents and the Benders 25th wedding anniversary (they have the same exact wedding date...CRAZY!) and my Memere & Pepere's 50th. We asked our cake-designer to make 3 mini-wedding cakes so they could all 'cut the cake' like they did at their own weddings. I actually brought my parents knife they used at their wedding! After, the DJ played a montage of all their wedding songs. It was a lot of planning and coordination on my part....but it went PERFECTLY! They were all SO surprised and it was so special :) ALSO- to further celebrate my grandparents milestone anniversary- my Uncle Paul announced on behalf of the entire Anctil side (my Mom's side) that we were sending them on a cruise to the Western Caribbean! They were shocked! Jeff & I were so happy to share our special day and celebrate so many amazing occasions!
Later on...the DJ invited the bridal party back onto the dance floor, and played "You & ME," by Dave Matthews Band, a favorite of Jeff & I, and then invited all the other couples onto the dance floor. Once the dance floor was PACKED the DJ then transitioned over to a fast-paced song, that gave you the urge to dance! Needless to say the dance floor was PACKEDDDD the entire night after that. Which made us SO happy! I wanted everyone to dance and have fun, and it was soo much fun to see everyone going wild and letting loose! Our DJ, Corey, was SO awesome and SO much fun. He was going wild and having a dance party of his own behind his DJ booth! Born to Run was obviously played for AGP, and Heaven was obviously played for my favorite girlies, Alpha Phi! While Heaven was playing, I completely lost it...for multiple reasons...I knew that this would be the last time I would see all my friends for awhile before Jeff & I moved to Georgia. I tried to ignore the fact that it was kind of 'goodbye' for awhile, and I did a good job ignoring it, until Heaven was playing. I had my BEST friends around me, I was already filled with emotions and champagne, I mean how could I now completely break down for a moment?? (Love you all SO much..and miss you all like crazy! But no matter the distance I think of all of you always, and you guys will ALWAYS be my best friends <3)
SO- I definitely need to mention the bouquet and garter toss. Bridget O'Mally, my college roomie, caught my bouquet, and Brian Mason, fraternity brother and friend, caught the garter. It is tradition for the person who catches the garter to put it on the person who catches the bouquet. WELL- our DJ decided to 'spice' it up a bit...meaning he had to dance around her and try to 'impress' her. Let's just say I haven't laughed that hard in SO long. One of my favorite memories of the night, was during the last song. Since it was Em's birthday, the DJ played, "Say Ah." What made it special was some how all 4 of the Durfee siblings were dancing together celebrating Emily, and then people made a circle around us. It was so cute, and it really meant so much to me, and people could see how close of a family we were. Overall...our reception was AWESOME lol. We had the time of our lives. And what made it so special, was there was a glow of love and happiness that FILLED the entire room. I really can not describe that feeling. It was so incredible. And also, it meant so much to me that people saw how awesome my family is. I really am so blessed to have suchhhhh an amazing, fun, loving family.
Our reception ended about 11pm, Jeff & I were both STARVING...and a bit too happy from all the champagne! So we headed up to our 'hidden' bridal suite to where we were greeted with our dinners, more champagne, and rose petals everywhere :)
And that is how the Durfee-Bender went down. I will never forget that weekend. I couldn't have wished or dreamed for anything more. So yes I am now married to my best friend, the love of my life, and my soul-mate <3 Love you forever and more Jeffrey John Bender.
So this is me...Jessica Lynn Durfee signing off....and now Jessica Lynn Bender signing on!
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!
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!
I woke up Friday morning around 6:30am to the boys getting ready to go to their tee time. I didn't sleep that well and I knew I wasn't going to go back to sleep, so I figured I would just get up too.
The girls hung out for a bit and then we decided to go get breakfast. I think my nerves were starting to set in, or I was nervous about looking 'fat' on my wedding day, so I literally had 1 egg white and 1/2 piece of wheat toast lol. To ensure I looked perfect on my wedding day I spent some time at the gym to make sure my arms were toned and I my endorphins were high :) My workout wasn't that good, probably due to the fact I was way to antsy and had to much on my mind.
Since it was such a gorgeous day, my Mom, Emily, Morgan, and I spent some time laying beside the pool (I stayed in the shade...didn't want tanlines!) Guests started arriving and my excitement started going through the roof. It seemed so surreal and crazy that I was getting married TOMORROW, and all these people were traveling for us and to share in our happiness!
During the day we met up with Carrie, our fabulous wedding planner, to go over a few details. We also got to see the programs we designed, our cute little maple syrups, our menus, and our doortags, and our welcome bags! Everything turned out AMAZING. Carey Bunker with Lasso'd Moon did such an incredible job with all our printed materials! We also got to see the ballroom in its early set-up...I was soo excited to see my gorgeous gold-chiavari chairs! (one of the main things that I NEEDED to have!) We also stalked the poor guy who had to go to all the assigned guest rooms and place our door-tag on the door and our welcome bag in the rooms!
My Mom, Emily, and I spent the rest of the afternoon in the spa :) My Mom, Em, and Morgan got mani's, and I got my hair done for all the big events that night!
By 3pm all our bridal party had arrived, along with soooo many guests. At 4:30ish the bridal party and direct family headed over to the church for rehearsal. It was soo exciting to see everyone and I was so excited for them to be in VT and be in the place that I fell sooo in love with. With all the talk and the planning, I'm sure they all had visions of the area and the resort, but I was so excited for them to actually see it! I might also add our resort is also a Mercedes test center, so we of course went to the church in style ;)
Rehearsal went really well. Carrie took charge which was amazing and directed everyone where to go, where to sit, etc. She did incredibly well with dealing with a bridal party of 18, parents, grandparents, and some other guests. Doing the practice walk down the aisle was so overwhelming, and I of course got soo emotional. It was so surreal looking around at everyone looking at me, and then looking ahead at Jeff. The.Time.Had.Finally.Come.O.M.G.
When rehearsal was done, it was time to party! We then all headed over to Spruce Camp, footsteps away from our resort for the Welcome/Rehearsal dinner. We decided to call it the "Welcome Dinner" and not so much the "Rehearsal Dinner" because we invited everyone, and we wanted everyone to feel welcomed. We wanted all our guests who traveled to arrive and have a nice meal with us and it was a nice way to kick off the weekend! We had 101 of our guests with us that night.
The Benders did an amazing job arranging everything. The location was perfect, the food was soooo amazing, and the linens and centerpieces were so gorgeous. Jeff's groomscake was also soo adorable! It obviously was an army-inspired cake. Mr. Bender gave such a wonderful, heart-warming speech to welcome everyone. He said such loving things about me and about Jeff & I together, and it just added such a amazing tone to the entire night.
During the dinner Jeff and I wanted to thank some important people and wanted to show our appreciation. We presented the bridal party with their gifts, the parents, and our readers. For the groomsmen Jeff had flasks engraved with their monograms and a bottle of their favorite alcohol. For the bridesmaids I got each of them a single-pearl necklace to wear with their dress, and a spa-robe with their monogram and matching flip-flops to obviously wear in the spa the next day :) (as part of their gift we also took care of their spa appointments) For our readers we got them Godiva chocolates. Our parents were tricky. We wanted to get them something special, but they are both soo hard to shop for! After manyy brainstorming sessions Jeff and I decided we wanted to have paintings made of our family's favorite spot, and where we had many childhood memories. Nantucket for my family...and Long Beach Island for the Benders. With help from my bridesmaid Katelyn, we found a local painter in Waltham who agreed to do the paintings for us. They came out amazinggg and our parents loved them!
I lovedd our Welcome Dinner. It turned out perfectly and it was sooo good to see so many of our guests, many whom I hadn't seen in awhile! When the dinner started to die down, I knew I should probably call it a night, I had a big day in the morning and I should probably attempt to get as much rest as possible. Jeff and I said our good-byes to everyone and we made our way back to the Lodge to have our last moment together before we said "I Do." We found a private spot and we exchanged wedding gifts. For our wedding gifts I had gotten Jeff a new set of golf-clubs and golf bag (which he received that morning so he could use them!) but I had also gotten him something very sentimental, something that means a lot to just him and me :) Jeff gave me the most beautiful pair of Mikimoto diamond and pearl earrings to wear with my dress...my 'something new.' They brought me to tears, and they were beyond gorgeous. I really do not know how he does it, he alwaysss seems to know exactly what I would love and what would be perfect, needless to say they went with my dress PERFECTLY. At that point I was just so overwhelmed and I had just felt so blessed to be marrying him the next morning. How did I get this lucky? What have I done in my life to deserve him. I must've done something right to have God lead me to him. We said our goodnights and then parted ways knowing the next time we would see each other we would be getting married!
So thankfully my bridesmaids all came to hang out with me in my parents suite for awhile. There was noo way I was going to sleep any time soon so it was nice to hang out and have company :) It was soo much fun to just relax, laugh, and tell stories. My Mom also gave me the most sentimental wedding gift ever. I looked up and she came walking out of her room with tears in her eyes, and I was like umm ok? Little did I know what she was about to give me. When I was a junior in highschool we took a trip to Europe. One of our stops was Brugge, Belgium. While we were there she apparently bought a hand-made lace hanky made by Nuns, that she bought to give to me on my wedding day. Well it was that time to give it to me. I was so overwhelmed with emotion (again) because I knew how special it was.
At midnight it not only meant that it was the day of the wedding...but it was Emily's 18th birthday! We all sang happy birthday and I gave her her birthday present. I knew I wanted to get Emily something very special, not only was it her 18 birthday, she also let us share her special day with us. I got her a Tiffany's necklace. It was her very first Tiffany's piece, and it brought her to tears too.
I would like to say that I slept that night...but I don't think I really did..I was soo restless.
Started dating in 2005, Engaged in St. Lucia 2009, Married June 5th, 2010! No longer a bride, but now a wife and loving life, however still obsessed with all things wedding!
