Our Wedding - The Ceremony

Since December is our anniversary month, I have been recapping our wedding here on the blog.  In case you missed any of the other posts, the links are at the end of this post. 

We had a 7:30 PM wedding because I wanted it to be dark outside during the ceremony since that results in dim, romantic lighting in the church.  Since the wedding was in the evening, the dress code was formal, which I also loved.  Any excuse for everyone to get dressed up!

Around 7:25 our wedding coordinator at the church started to get everyone lined up, but she didn’t want me to come out until the last second, so I was left completely alone with my own thoughts.  Talk about nervous.  All I could hear was my own heart beat and the soft sounds of the soloist singing Ave Maria and then transitioning to Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring as the grandmothers and mothers were escorted into the church and seated.

I’m sure I was only alone for all of three minutes, but it felt like a lifetime.   Once my Daddy had escorted my Momma to her seat in the church, he came back for me and it was show time.

One by one, each of my seven bridesmaids walked down the aisle to Canon in D (one of my favorite classical pieces ever), and then finally, it was our turn.

I remember walking into the church and taking it all in.  Everyone stood and turned toward us, and the guitarist played Trumpet Voluntary as we rounded the corner to walk down the aisle.  At that point, all I could see was Brian.  Once I saw my handsome groom, my nerves calmed and it was smooth sailing from that point forward.  I was so ready to marry him!

My family is Catholic, but Brian’s family is not, so we opted to not have a full mass.  Instead, we had a first reading (Genesis 2: 18-24) read by Brian’s dad, a second reading (1 Corinthians 13) read by my now deceased grandfather, and a gospel reading (Mark 10: 6-9) read by the priest.  

Our priest then said a few words about marriage and about Brian and me as a couple, including a few of the words that Brian had said in his speech at our rehearsal dinner the night before.  At the end of his homily, he presented us with a framed wedding blessing from the pope… I was completely honored and totally shocked to have received something so special.  Our priest has known our whole family since I was in second grade, and that was his wedding gift to us… something that we will treasure forever.  It still hangs on the wall in our bedroom to this day.  

After that, it was time to exchange vows.  Brian and I used traditional vows instead of writing our own.  There’s just something so romantic to me about repeating the same words that millions of other couples have said to one another over hundreds of years.  

After the exchange of vows, the priest blessed our rings and we exchanged them, again, speaking the traditional words that so many others have spoken in the past.

Once we were both wearing our rings, there was a nuptial blessing, along with several prayers for others, and then it was onto the final blessing and Brian and I were pronounced husband and wife.  

Then we marched hand in hand up the aisle to Ode to Joy to start our forever together. 

Don’t we look happy? 

After the ceremony, we snapped a few pictures with the priest, and then it was time to party… but first, my Momma had to tie up my bustle.  I couldn’t bust out my dance moves with that long train in the way!  ;o)

The next recaps will be the reception and all of our wedding portraits… they will be on the blog in the next couple of weeks, so be sure to check back!

And if you missed the prior wedding posts, you can see them below.

Planning & Details

Rehearsal & Rehearsal Dinner 

Before the Ceremony 

*Linking up with Jessi's Design and Going the Distance for What's Hap-"Pinning" Wednesday.

Photography: Julie Hedges