Our Wedding

A friend was asking about my wedding dress after I posted a picture on my blog about my anniversary. I was going to just post a couple pictures of it on Facebook but after going through those photos I started to feel all sentimental and decided to write a post about our wedding day.

I should start out by saying that it was definitely bittersweet. My dad was very sick and wanted nothing more than to make it to the wedding. A few days before the wedding he requested that we get married at home in front of him because he didn't think he was going to make it. Of course, we complied. We didn't sign our paperwork that day so it isn't technically the day we were legally married but our amazing minister came to the house and did our vows for us. We called Paul's parents over to witness it so the first time we actually said our vows was in my parents' bedroom while my dad was under hospice care. It was very tearful and sad and we felt like we should do something to turn it into a happy time so we went to dinner alone to commemorate the day. This picture was taken at dinner.

Unfortunately, my dad was right and he passed away two days before the wedding. The following day was the wedding rehearsal and it was definitely a difficult time for all involved. In case you're wondering why I didn't postpone the wedding, it's because my dad asked me not to. He wanted us to hurry up and start our lives together the way that we planned so that's exactly what we did. I was kind of a mess but here is a picture of us at our rehearsal.

The following day I married the man of my dreams. It's hard to describe the emotions I felt that day. Of course I felt a twinge of sadness when my mother stood up to give me away instead of my dad or when my brother walked me down the aisle but at the same time I felt so overwhelmed with love and kindness from our friends and family. Everyone was so happy for us and so supportive and they made our day very special. This is really turning into a sad sounding post but it really was the best day of my life and a very happy time. I guess I just really can't describe what it's like to feel joy in the midst of grief. All I can say is I fell so much more in love with Paul after the way he comforted me during that time. Anyway, here are some hilights of the day.

Getting dressed

Taking communion

Lighting the unity candle

first dance

My brother and I

Paul dancing with my niece

Wedding party

Look how tiny my nephew and niece were! (Ring Bearer and Flower Girl)

I like how it looks like Paul is asking for permission.