For all of the fuzzy haze I was surrounded in on the wedding day, our wedding ceremony stands out in my mind in perfect clarity.
I remember standing at the entrance to our church, thinking that it had a much longer aisle than I remembered and suddenly getting nervous.
I remember watching my first bridesmaid head off down the aisle at the speed of light and wondering whether Father Christopher would be cranky about it.
I remember watching my second bridesmaid begin her walk, cupping her bouquet of flowers under her hand to be sure no water spots would get on her dress.
I remember watching my Maid of Honour start walking, wondering vaguely if she would make it all the way down the aisle upright in her super high heels.
I remember hearing the string trio strike up the traditional Canon in D and telling my Dad that 'this was it'. It was time to go.
I remember nervously peering down the aisle, trying to see if Jason was as anxious to see me as I was to see see him.
(He was.)
I remember walking, walking, walking, nervously clutching my father's arm.
I remember getting to the front of the church and seeing my best friend standing there waiting for me with a smile on his face.
All of a sudden, I wasn't nervous anymore. I quickly swapped my bouquet into my left hand and my father placed my hand in Jason's - a quirky take on an old tradition of being 'given away' without actually saying as much.
I remember watching while the boys did some crazy ninja hand-shaking and hand-over moves, kissed my dad on the cheek and all of a sudden it was just my beloved and I, hand in hand.
Guest photograph
And with that, we faced the altar and our smiling priest... and our wedding began.
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.
The dress was on. The veil was in, albeit roughly. The girls were dressed. It was time to go. But was it? You see, this my friends, is where bride brain kicked in.
Instead of relaxing and taking some portrait shots with the girls, I was busy worrying about being late. I forgot to take a moment to drink our champagne, even though I'd made sure we had glasses and bubbly ready to go. I didn't even think to grab our props, the ones I'd specifically bought to use with my bridal party in pictures. If I had one regret about the morning of our wedding day, it would be not taking the time to breathe and remember that there was no need to rush. I was a bride: people would wait for me.
The only close-up picture of me prior to the wedding, taken by MOH Miss K.
But alas, I am the most time conscious person on the planet, so we left. Early. In that haste, I didn't have any bridal portraits taken, nor did I get any photographs with my bridesmaids - both of which I'm really disappointed about and could kick myself over, looking back in hindsight. Friends, be ye not so stupid. RELAX.We left not without a little excitement though, as my Maid of Honour spectacularly fell over her own feet and crumpled in a heap on the doorstep of our hotel room. This picture makes me laugh - if you use your imagination (or zoom in on your computer) you can see her on the floor, while I look on, unable to bend in my mermaid gown, while my bridesmaids helped to hoist her up. Turns out this was the first of many stumbles to be had on the day!
See how awesome the hotel lobby was? Wish I'd taken some pictures with the girls here.
Getting to the church was surreal. I remember...
- Sitting really, really awkwardly in the car - bending in a mermaid gown is ridiculously hard
- Trying not to move my head, in fear of causing my veil to fall out of my hair
- Cars honking their horns and lots of waving passengers when they saw the bride!
- Realising that I'd completely forgotten to have our photographer take a picture of the beautiful gift Jason had given me.
- Being really, really worried that I wouldn't be at the church on time.
While we were on our way to the church, Jase and the boys had already arrived. Our florist had decorated the first few pews with some simple babys breath bouquets and the church was as beautiful as ever.
The boys handed out programs and greeted guests as they arrived at the church.
The string trio we had booked set themselves up and started playing classical music.
Our parents made their way into the church, while the boys got comfortable waiting for us.
In the meantime, my girls and I had arrived... dead on time. 2pm. On the dot.
Unfortunately, just because I was on time? Didn't mean the rest of our guests were. To my horror, there were loads of friends and family members still slowly making their way inside the church - and there I was, sitting in full view! I got nervous then and made my lovely bridesmaids act as human shields for me, as well as hiding behind my bouquet.
But in a few minutes... Father Christopher was on his way to see if we were ready.
A little bit of veil adjusting...
Right everyone... let's go get married!
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.
With the boys on their way to the church and with the girls' hair and make-up done, there was only one thing left for me to do. It was time to get the dress on.
I snuck into the bathroom to get my sassy sucky-inny-undergarments on. When I returned, it was just my mum and my girls waiting in the room, ready to help me slide into my wedding gown. As soon as she saw me, my mum took it upon herself to get teary and come give me a hug. I not-so-gently replied to her cuddle with a 'GET OFF THE DRESS' outburst, which caused us to get the giggles while I attempted to keep the unbuttoned dress from falling off.
Image via Amy Nelson-Blaine Wedding Cinematography
It was time to do me up, buttercup. I was so, so nervous about the dress fitting me.
I've never sucked in my guts as much or held in my breath for as long as I did during those few minutes. As soon as I knew the dress was going to zip up and close after all, I relaxed.
Image via Amy Nelson-Blaine Wedding CinematographyWe borrowed an old silver button-hook from my grandmother to help us with the tiny buttons down the back of the gown.
My dad hadn't seen the dress before - I loved seeing his reaction for the first time.
Next up, the most awkward part of the dressing stage - shimmying into my lace bolero! Some of the expressions I pulled wiggling in to this thing were priceless. (Seriously: watch the wedding video.)
Images via Amy Nelson-Blaine Wedding Cinematography
It was on! It fit! My boobs were snug! Huzzah! With me done, I helped my dad pin on his simple flower corsage. (When I say helped, I really mean 'fumbled stupidly thanks to my long nails', but you get the idea.)
After all of my indecisiveness, I decided on just one pair of wedding day shoes after all - the ivory ones! My Maid of Honour helped me into them while I hoisted the lower layers of my dress up out of the way.
A little wedding day perfume was sprayed on - not without more face pulling, of course. I chose j'adore: it's feminine, light and will forever remind me of our wedding day.
We were just about ready to walk out the door, but wait... what about the gorgeous veil I had borrowed from Mrs. French Fries to wear for the ceremony?Well, in the heat of the moment, I completely forgot about it. As in, hadn't even given it one single thought. And.. uh oh, our make-up and hair stylists had already left - with all the hair pins. Yikes! The girls improvised to get it wedged into my hair style, MacGuyvering it up with pins from their own hairstyles to keep it firmly in place.
With the veil wedged in as good as we were going to get it, it was really time to go!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.
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