Our Wedding

I started planning our wedding from Florida.  We would be getting married at a park back home, outside, in June.  The park was one of the places we used to go to alot before we moved to Florida.  The Nature Center had a big conference room with an outdoor patio, and the price was really reasonable.  Mom and Stephanie were huge, immense helps.  I made all the invitations myself.  Stephanie arranged my flowers for the bouquet, corsages, and decorations.

Mom insisted on paying for the reception, which was catered by a church member who owns a catering company and is the absolute best in town, I swear.  I had a pink dress.

  I figured it was my second wedding, so I could wear anything.  It was a pretty pink prom dress, with just enough sparkle.  I randomly found it at JCPenney and bought it a year earlier. 

Danise came into town just for me, and she wore a cute prom dress, too!  Hers was short, black and pink.  I loved it.  

It was a small wedding, mostly family and really close friends.  Stephanie was my photographer, and she did a fantastic job.  The pictures she took are gorgeous.  Bill's family all came, both sisters, uncle, and mother.  I had never met his youngest sister, so it  was nice to finally meet her.  Mr. Thomas, my former principal, also came, and I'm so glad, because you may recall he recently passed away.  Kelly was there with her oldest son, and I remember him playing with the little bells we had in the basket for when we left.  Instead of rice or birdseed (which hurts, by the way), people could ring the bells.  He took all the bells out of the basket, and then put them all back in.  It was so cute.

My former pastor, and friend, officiated, and he did a great job of meeting in the middle between me, the Lutheran, and Bill, the atheist.  My dad escorted me, and it's a good thing because, right before it all started up, I started to get all emotional, and he is an expert at getting people to stop crying.  Phew!

My cousin Colleen didn't think she would make it, because she was deployed, but the got sent back due to storms.  She took a taxi more than 40 miles just to make it to the wedding.  She arrived halfway through the reception.  I felt so bad, but so happy that she had come.  That was a really special moment, seeing her arrive.

We had cake that was so delicious I can't possibly describe it in words.  We also had a chocolate fountain, of which I did not partake nearly enough.  The whole thing lasted only a few hours, in the afternoon, and it was so perfect.   In short, the day was perfect.

We stayed in town for a few days to visit with Bill's family and Danise, before they returned to their homes.  I remember sitting in my car with Danise eating our lunch because the restaurant we'd gone to (someone wanted really fresh seafood) wasn't nonsmoking and Danise has asthma.

I didn't want to sit in the smoke, either, so I was glad for a good reason not to!  Bill brought our meals out to us and as it rained, we sat in the car and talked.  It is SO hard to have a dear friend live so far away.

Our honeymoon was to Niagara Falls and cities in Canada.  We drove the entire thing, which lasted 2 weeks.  That was great too, but I'll save it for another post.