Breathe Gently - by Mamajags: All Things Wedding

Showing posts with label All Things Wedding. Show all posts

Today marks our first wedding anniversary. It feels strange going back to celebrating one, when we're coming up to our decade anniversary in just a few short months. It's been one heck of a year! Let me backtrack to June 11, 2011.

It's all the little things that stand out so clearly now, a year on. Standing alongside friends & family members.

Being paranoid about getting to the church on time; in the rush I forgot my veil & didn't have any bridal shots done.

Searching for my soon-to-be-husband's face as I walked down the aisle; wanting to see his expression.

My nervous husband practically whispering his wedding vows & sneaking little smiles at me.

Getting rained out during our wedding photographs and having to break out the gumboots & the brolly.

Holding his hands as my bustle got stitched into my wedding dress, thanks to a button malfunction.

Seeing him crack up into hysterical laughter as I fell on my ass in the middle of our reception.

Our first dances together. Awkwardly, in front of our friends and family. And emotionally, with just us.

The wedding was lovely, but so was our first year of married life. We had lots of great things happen!

In December, we brought home our second kitty - Evie. Her & Oscar are now BFFs. :)

In January, we moved into our brand new home - thank goodness for finishing the building stage. Phew!

And in May, the newest love of our life, Spencer, joined our little family. We love our fur babies so much.

The year hasn't been all positive, though. We've continued to struggle with our efforts to have a baby. There were many months of frustration, of sadness, of disappointment. Other people around us fell pregnant with ease, gave birth, celebrated milestones. We went through months of failed ovulation, thousands of dollars worth of fertility treatment, and a failed IVF cycle. We have another IVF cycle coming up in the next few months.

There's one good thing that has come out of our infertility journey: we've made it through together. Most people trying for a baby won't experience the emotional (and sometimes physical) trauma that comes with the territory. There might be disappointments & impatience, but ultimately they'll get there in the end without losing too much sleep. For us, we've learned to talk things through more - to share more. It's all too easy to keep the hard stuff under wraps, to try and protect the other person from the hurt. We have had a rough road to future parenthood so far; we've still got a long way to go. No matter what, we'll get through it together.

To my husband, happy first anniversary. I love you so much (as do the cats... and the dog) and I'm so blessed to be married to you. Thank you for looking after me & for letting me look after you, too.

You and Me: The Sparkler Send-off!

You have no idea how long I've been waiting to share this picture with you.

Yes, after all the worries and the dramas and the last minute express postage costs, we managed to organise the sparkler wedding send-off that I'd always hoped for.

So how did it work? Well, as Jase and I were finishing off our private dance upstairs, our guests had been arranged in two lines outside the venue, while our bridal party quickly started handing out the huge sparklers. We found out afterwards that they had been told to wait until we'd begun walking downstairs to light them, but apparently my new father-in-law got a little lighter happy, and set one end off too early.

That led to everyone panicking and lighting things on fire - but they eventually had them all done. This picture of my little brother looking cheeky with a lighter cracks me right up.

As Jase and I walked down the stairs, the doors were closed, so we couldn't see what was happening outside - but the foyer was FULL of smoke. It was pretty funny, actually. (Word to the wise: if you're lighting sparklers, move away from your venue! It was raining, so our guests were forced to stay huddled under the balconies.) The doors opened up and BAM. SPARKLERS. Magic.

We squeezed our way through the light show & posed for a few photos - some more flattering than others!

(Well, I was EXCITED!)

And because I'm way too obsessed with gifs that move, how about a face pulling visual?

We hugged our parents & bridal party members, waved to our guests and headed for our getaway car. And as the sparklers continued to burn down, we were scooted off towards our hotel room, as we said goodbye to the wedding & hello to married life!

Above two images via Amy Nelson-Blaine Wedding Cinematography

The Jaguar wedding was over.

All photographs by the team at Follan Photography unless otherwise noted.

Let's start at the very beginning - it's a very good place to start.
Our wedding rehearsal went by in a flash.
We finished off our last minute projects at home.
I had some girly time the day before the wedding.
I checked into the bridal suite and spent the evening alone.
A prank call woke me up... to my wedding day!
The girls had their hair and make-up done.
The boys relaxed and took it easy playing pool.
It was finally my turn to get beautified!
I put my dress on & became a bride.
My bridesmaids and I rush, rush, rushed to the church & arrived early!
The wedding began with a processional...
Our guests waved us out of the church with our home-made ribbon wands.
We took some bridal snapshots in the wind and rain.
I took a few moments with my new husband, just he & I.
Our bridal party posed with us as the daylight began to fade.
We relaxed in the bridal suite.. and I got sewn into my wedding dress
All of our wedding details came together beautifully.
The Jaguar bridal party made their way into our reception...
And on the way there, I took a tumble & landed on my butt!
We were spoiled with gorgeous speeches from our loved ones.
Mr. Jaguar & I snuck out to take some evening portraits.
We got tangled up in champagne toasts & cut our lovely cake.
Our first dance, to 'You and Me', was a bumbling success.
We got our slow dance on & opened the floor with a little jazz.
The party started & our guests put on their dancing shoes!
Our wedding celebrations continued with lots of fun shenanigans.
Mr. Jaguar & I had one last private dance together.

You and Me: Our Private Dance

If I had to choose a moment from our wedding day which left me reeling emotionally, it would be our private dance.

Image via Amy Nelson-Blaine Wedding Cinematography

I first heard about the idea from fellow Bee bloggers, Mrs. FroYo & Mrs. Elephant. I fell in love with the thought of spending some personal time with my brand spanking new hubby during the precious last seconds of our wedding day and the idea worked perfectly with our event conclusion. After our last moments partying with our guests, our MC cleared the room for us. Our bridal party gave us a few final hugs before heading downstairs to get our send-off ready. The only people left in the room were our videographer and our photographers. And us.

It was easy to choose a song for this dance. We wanted one that we loved. One that was as romantic and as sappy as we wanted. One where it didn't matter if our guests would 'know' it, or would care what it was. This one was just for me and my husband. The lights were dimmed. The piano acoustic started. Jase and I held hands, and we danced. Press play and follow along in pictures, if you'd like:

Till my body is dust, till my soul is no more - I will love you, love you

Image via Amy Nelson-Blaine Wedding Cinematography

Till the sun starts to cry, and the moon turns to rust - I will love you, love you.

But I need to know, will you stay for all time, forever and a day?

Then I'll give my heart, till the end of all time, forever and a day.

Till the stars fill my eyes, and we touch the last time - I will love you, love you.

Image via Amy Nelson-Blaine Wedding Cinematography

It was around this point that the tears started. And soon, after some snuffles and some laughter, our private dance was over.

I remember looking around at the room, filled with all of our carefully planned decorations and projects, looking beautiful but looking 'used' - with half drank glasses of wine on tables, chairs untucked, and napkins unfolded. The party was over, but the marriage was just beginning.

All photographs by the team at Follan Photography unless otherwise noted.

You and Me: Wedding Shenanigans

Our wedding reception seemed to disappear in a flash before my eyes. One minute we were just being introduced, the next minute we were dancing and mingling and it was almost time to leave. How did that happen?

We spent some time mingling with our guests and attempting to get to every table, which is way harder than it looks. Jase and I grabbed each other's hands and made the rounds, thanking our friends and sharing our excitement.

Meanwhile our guests continued to boogie...

... and mingle with one another on the dance floor.

It was at this point that Jase kindly offered to go and get me a cold beverage, since we were parched from all of the schmoozing. He headed towards the bar, I began chatting with a friend... and after a while, I realised that my new hubby had been gone for some time. Where'd he go? And where was my drink? A little searching, and I found him.

Well, lookie here: a certain someone got sidetracked at the open bar. But he wasn't alone...

Those sneaky groomsmen!

It's ok, though. I also made my way to the bar. And why wouldn't I, when we had these babies waiting for us? Mo-straws! Made with love by my Maid of Honour & loved by all!

But, like all good parties, the wedding festivities were about to come to an end.

All photographs by the team at Follan Photography unless otherwise noted.

You and Me: Dance, Dance

I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't worried about people having a good time at our wedding. We had an eclectic mix of young and old guests, some I knew well and some I didn't. How was I to choose the right kind of party music to get people dancing?

The best advice I can give you is to be random. We had classic jazz followed by top 40 followed by rock and roll followed by the occasional ballad. Sometimes people danced, sometimes they didn't, but the floor was hardly ever empty. And there was shuffling. Oh yes, we Party Rocked it up, my friends. (Although I'm pretty sure we were all doing the running man rather than the shuffle.

There was random jigging.

There was general merriment.

There were group numbers.

And then there were the surprise moments, like my friend C, who stole the show when 'Billie Jean' came on and she whipped out all the dance moves. Someone even obtained a hat, perfect for her routine.