Part 1: The Wedding

I apologize for waiting several weeks since my last post. I had every good intention to blog about our wedding and honeymoon shortly after the first post. I was waiting on our CD with the pictures form our photographer. The CD arrived in the mail yesterday, so now I can share the pictures with you! But first, let me share the stories with you!

The Wedding!

Brad and I are so blessed to be surrounded by wonderful friends and family members. I have the best Mom. I know most everyone says that, but I really do. She has sacrificed so much for my brother, Brandon, and I over the years, and my wedding was no different. Thanks to Mom, I was able to have a dream ceremony and reception. My sweet brother walked me down the aisle and his calming touch on my hand helped me to relax when the tears started to pour...but I am getting ahead of myself...

When Brad and I got engaged I knew exactly where I wanted to have the ceremony. Dawson Memorial Baptist Church was the only church I knew from the time I was born until I went to college. It is the church where I came to know the Lord and was baptized. Besides having wonderful memories at Dawson, I have always loved the beauty of the sanctuary, especially in the past few years when they replaced the lovely blue carpet with hardwood floors. I am so glad Brad and I got married there and even more happy that all of her family and friends where there to help us celebrate.

If you didn't read our wedding website then shame on you...but if you did you learned that Brad and I had an amazing wedding party. Brad and I were so glad to have our rather large group of friends and siblings standing beside us on that day. Thank you Katie, Audra, Dana, Elise, Jenna, Kristin, Lia, Meg, Rachel, Sarah, and Stephanie for being my bridesmaids. The day would have been incomplete without your sweet faces laughing with me. I still laugh when I think about a certain bridesmaid's husband walking in our room about an hour before the wedding with a large paper bag full of carbonated beverages. It would not have been a big deal if we did not have Pam as the wedding coordinator. Pam said no carbonated beverages should be consumed the day of the wedding, but that did not stop some anonymous bridesmaids from getting their much needed fix prior to the wedding. It was so funny to me and there was no way I was going to object, because I needed caffeine too! I love you, girls!

Brad's groomsmen were great, too! Brad had mixed emotions about our car not being decorated/written on when we left the reception. I was pretty happy we didn't have to find little gifts in the car or drive awkwardly through Birmingham with words and phrases displayed for the fellow drivers to see. Glen, Ben, Brandon, Bryce, Jeremy, Jeff, Ken, Luke, Mat, Nathan, Sterling, thanks for making my man look good on the day of the wedding.

Brad and I decided not to see each other before the ceremony once we were ready. Brad came to my house early the day of the wedding to pack the rest of my things into his car and to calm a few nerves before the ceremony. It made us both feel better to see each other then although not for long, but I was still a little nervous by the time 2pm arrived. I can be a pretty emotional girl at times so I was proud of myself for holding myself together prior to ceremony. In fact, I thought I was going to make it down the aisle without crying until it happened. As I walked towards my groom on my brother's arm I decided to look at our guests instead of making eye contact with Brad. I knew the second I saw how handsome and sweet Brad looked while watching me I would get emotional. Just as I made eye contact with Brad, my journey towards him took an abrupt stop as the end of my lace train got snagged on the wood siding of a pew. It literally took my breathe away and kind of scared me as I tried to continue to move but was obviously not going anywhere. Thankfully, my mom came to my rescue and unhooked me so I could continue towards Brad. By then the lump in my throat had surfaced the the tears were flowing. Brad looked at me helplessly and Brandon comforted me through his sweet patting of my hand. Once I started breathing again I was okay. I tend to get red spots on my chest and neck when I get upset, excited, and/or nervous. Brad told me later that the red on my skin went to a whole new level because the red had spread around my shoulder to my back. Lucky for him, I can't hide my emotions.

To be continued....Part 2: The Reception and Honeymoon!

Happy Valentine's Day!