What An Absolutely Beautiful Day

I'm currently sitting on a blanket under a tree at a park in Canton South enjoying the shade, the sunshine, and the breeze. Absolutely gorgeous day. I just came from eating lunch with Johnny in the parking lot of the warehouse he works in and I discovered mit new fave drink at starbucks. In the winter I always get the caramel apple spice but it's entirely too hot for that today so instead I got the passion iced tea lemonade. SO GOOD. I only got a tall so it was gone entirely too fast but that's okay. I have a few other things I could write about, like my paycheck fiasco or how much I dislike driving so far all the time but it's just too pretty so I'm going to read instead.

Only 98 days till the wedding! So much to do!

Here's a pic of the tree I'm sitting under.

Have a great weekend!

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Going to the Chapel

My little sister is officially married to her boyfriend of almost 10 years. I know it's official not just because I was there but also because her last name and relationship status has changed on Facebook. ;-) Now it's officially my turn, as my bridal shower date for my mom's side of the family has already been chosen and Dad has finally begun to discuss final plans with me. All of this would be significantly easier if my Mom were here, but since there's nothing I can do about that I just need to suck it up and get 'er done.

The wedding was absolutely beautiful. Anne managed to lose over 15 pounds prior, her dress (created by my older sister) suited her exactly, the men looked super sharp in their white tuxes/military dress, and the whole shindig culminated in a saber salute by a Marine guard.

She stuck to very traditional stuff, minus the music prior to the ceremony. As a Star Wars buff, all of her music was Star Wars related up until Pachabel's Canon in D, the Bridal March, and Wedding Recessional. Of course, being the maid of honor I was in the basement playing checkers with the bride to keep her calm until it was that time, so I never got to hear the Star Wars music.

Everything went exactly to plan, and there were no mishaps thanks to my long nails and Jennie's ability to make me giggle at a moment's notice. Allow me to explain.

Ever since I was three I have spent quite a bit of time on stage, and due to this I rarely get nervous. But for some reason, when it came to my turn to walk up the aisle and onto the stage for the ceremony I began to shake like a leaf. I made it up the aisle without tripping (unlike at the rehearsal where I nearly biffed it on the stairs on our way out the side doors) and onto the stage where I found it incredibly hard to stand still and spent most of my time and energy keeping myself from a panic attack. My easiest time on stage was when I was fixing Anne's veil and train and taking her bouquet. As the shaking got worse I'm pretty sure it became visible to people in the front rows, so I turned my head slightly and whispered "I'm shaking" to Jennie.
"Why are you shaking?" she asked. "I have no idea." She she leans forward slightly and whispers, "I'm on a boat." (for reference to why this is funny, watch this clip.).

You can totally tell Jennie is talking to me, lol...

Giggling helped me, as did digging my finger nails into my palm behind the bulk of Anne's bouquet, and I made it through the ceremony without a panic attack or fainting, which would have been ridiculously embarrassing. I also didn't trip on my way out. :)

Moving on, the reception was also lovely. It was in one of the college dining halls, but it was still really nice and the food was extremely good. We had dancing, and Anne had the traditional Father/Daughter dance, which they did to Butterfly Kisses, at Dad's request. That song is a tear jerker anyway, but it's exponentially moreso at a wedding reception. Jennie and I both teared up while Johnny put his arms around my shoulders and gave some sympathy and asked about the song, which I don't think he's heard before. I "caught" the bouquet (it hit the ceiling and landed on the floor a good four feet in front of all the girls closest to me. I reluctantly picked it up, considering it's my fifth or sixth bouquet and I already know I'm next...) and then we realized the one mistake of the day.

We. Forgot. The. Garter.

Her dress was too fitted to wear the garter during the ceremony, and it was a lovely handmade creation given by a friend of Mom's who asked both Anne and me what our wedding colors were. I have one also. But I guess Anne gets to keep it now because the reception garter was ribbon cut from a maid's bouquet tied to Anne's leg and then tied to a fork so it could be tossed.

Classy, right? But if that's the only thing that goes wrong at a wedding, that's pretty much amazing. Well, I guess another thing went "wrong", but not really. None of the bridal party remembered to bring stuff with which to decorate the getaway car so in the middle of the reception the best man and a groomsman and I went downtown and got helium balloons and ribbon and tied them to the getaway car. We were also going to do streamers but IGA doesn't carry them anymore so balloons was it! And it was worth it because it was very rainbow and Anne really liked it. I have no idea what Jarrod thought, as he's the strong silent type.

It was all very exhausting but it was just beautiful, everything a wedding should be and exactly how my wedding will not be. I'm less traditional and a little more retro than Anne. Johnny and I are deep in planning now and hopefully our day will be every bit as lovely and special and wonderful as Anne and Jarrod's.