We Do(e): Over Ten Years Have Gone By (and we're married!)

I last left off with the birds and all the elements joining in on the excitement that was our wedding ceremony. Even after I wrote that post, I had some of my bridesmaids and guests tell me that they too thought the birds were fake. Come on people, I can be cheesy...but fake birds aren't quite my thing. Someone even commented that luckily none of the birds did their business on any of our guests. I never even thought of that but that sure would have been a story to tell! Alas, the birds whistled their way through our ceremony as the thunder rolled and the rain drops begged to meet the ground.

Our ceremony was short and sweet and before I knew it our officiant pronounced us married and Mr. Buck could now kiss his bride.

Soon after that the recessional song started and it was time to head back down the aisle. We chose "Do You Remember" by Jack Johnson because not only is it one of or favorite songs, it also refers to being together for over ten years. It just so happens to be the perfect tempo for walking down an aisle as well; I highly recommend for your walking pleasure.

{Video via You Tube}

I clearly remember this moment because not only could I feel, hear and see the love and happiness surrounding us, I felt content knowing there is no other perfect place in the world than right here and right now. 

I remember looking off to the side and thinking, what the heck is the green material covering all the beautiful tables? Monte Verde was way ahead of the game and decided to quickly cover the tables during the ceremony just in case the rain decided to greet us. They wanted to make sure everything stayed perfect and nothing would be ruined in the rain. It was comforting to know that they had things under control and all I needed to do is relax and enjoy the day.

The recessional was among one of my favorite moments from the day. I had listened to that song and tried to imagine what it would be like for months leading up. It was surreal and exciting to finally be experiencing the real moment, not just the one I had so inadequately envisioned in my head.

*Photos by Martin's Photography

The birds and the weather join us

We promise to laugh

We journey down the aisle

The ceremony begins

The bridesmaids share a view out the window

The boys shake their nerves and take photos

The girls take photos

I show you my magical flowers

I talk about my whipped cream dress

The girls have fun getting glam

We get our hair done and grub down on some food delivered by dad

We Do(e): And There Were Birds

Up until this point I have prefaced the fact that the weather was a slight concern to us. The clouds were rolling in with a vengeance. Here is a photo a guest of ours took with their phone (amazing, right?) that shows exactly what we started to deal with towards the start of the ceremony.

Not exactly how I expected my Spring wedding to be, but we decided to just roll with what the weather wanted and see what happens. Earlier in the day the decision had been made to attempt to have the ceremony and dinner outside, with the rest of the reception inside the Inn. When we started the ceremony we had an inkling that we might be cutting it close. 

As the ceremony began, the clouds started to do a little talking. There were just a few slight raindrops, but nothing major. Just enough to make you think, "did I just feel a raindrop?" Then God decided to give us a few small fireworks-aka a flash of lightning. Then there was a slight rumble of thunder that proceeded. 

Here's the thing, we could have looked at this one of two ways. We could have been upset and frustrated that the weather was not at all what we had planned. Or we could be thankful that God decided to have the weather join in on the festivities. We decided to go with the latter and enjoy the elements. With that came a few pretty cool side effects. 

First of all, because the lighting was a bit darker, the twinkle lights that hung throughout the ceremony area were maximized and really popped. Typically if the sun is out and shining, the twinkle lights are bit more difficult to see. 

The next unanticipated thing that occurred due to the weather was the presence of birds in the trees. I think due to the weather, the birds were ultra active and sang their happy little tunes. The whole time during the ceremony you could hear the birds singing in the trees. There was absolutely no mistaking their presence there. In fact, we had many people tell us afterwards they thought it was pretty neat that the DJ had played bird music during the ceremony. Because ya know, that's the first thing I thought of when panning my wedding was to make sure there was bird music. No, the birds were certainly not planned, they were real, and they added quite a beautiful effect. 

Sometimes you just have to be okay with what you didn't have planned and know there is a reason for it. If you just accept and roll with it, then there is no mistaking that the man upstairs had intended it to be that way. 

How did you deal with unforeseen changes in the weather?

*Photos by Martin's Photography

We Promise to Laugh

We Journey Down The Aisle

The Ceremony Begins

The bridesmaids share a view out the window

The boys shake their nerves and take photos

The girls take photos

I show you my magical flowers

I talk about my whipped cream dress

The girls have fun getting glam

We get our hair done and grub down on some food delivered by dad

We Do(e): We Promise to Laugh

When it came to our ceremony, for awhile I was at a bit of a loss. I wanted it customized to us, I wanted it short, but I didn't know how to go about that. I thought that maybe wedding ceremonies had to include certain elements to make them official? I was not entirely sure, I haven't been to many weddings. After much research I came to realize that we really could do anything we wanted. From there I started to read everything I could on wedding ceremonies and pulled out certain pieces I liked. I had brainstormed all different words, saying, verses, prayers, quotes that I thought would work well. From there I took them to Mr. Buck and asked for his input and he was able to narrow down the list. From there I continued to write our ceremony all by my little self.

I've shared a lot on Weddingbee, and while I love you all dearly, I plan to keep what was said during our ceremony between us and those that attended. I do hope you understand, but I will outline a few bits and pieces.

My dad had practiced over and over the perfect response for when the officiant asked "who gives this bride away?" So naturally, my dad nailed it with "her mother and I do."

From there our officiant opened in a word of prayer asking for our savior to bless this day and for us to remember there is nothing more precious than the gift of loving each other. 

Our vows were pretty short and very straight forward. In fact it was only one sentence and more details and customization were actually put into our ring exchange. Unconventional? Maybe. But, it just seemed to work well for us.

During our ring exchange we did promise to always make one another laugh. It's something we're good at it, so might as well promise it during the most important promise of our life.

Our ceremony was a whole 15 minutes tops, including the processional. While we may not have had fancy rituals, like a sand ceremony or wine box ceremony, we stayed true to ourselves by keeping it simple. It was indeed short and sweet, but Mr. Buck and I wrote every word of it.

Where did you find inspiration for what to include in your ceremony?

*Photos by Martin's Photography

We Journey Down The Aisle

The Ceremony Begins

The bridesmaids share a view out the window

The boys shake their nerves and take photos

The girls take photos

I show you my magical flowers

I talk about my whipped cream dress

The girls have fun getting glam

We get our hair done and grub down on some food delivered by dad

We: Do(e): The "Journey" Up The Aisle

Hive, I've been holding out on you. I discovered the perfect bridal march song ages ago but decided to wait until my recaps to share. Here's the thing...all bridal marches are lovely. I wanted something extra lovely though. I searched high and low until I found the mother of all bridal marches.

Get this. Journey.

Well, kind of. It is a version of the bridal march played by Jonathan Cain who is the pianist from Journey. The wonderful thing about this song is that it takes a minute or two until you realize that hey, this is a bridal march.

Have a listen:

(Video via You Tube}

The moment I heard the song start, I knew I might have issues in the tears department. The thing is, my dad and I have never been the emotional type. That doesn't mean we aren't sentimental, we just don't express it all that often. As we started to walk up the aisle we talked about the weather, how great the table numbers turned out, and how I was trying not to cry. Luckily, we both made it with only a small tear in our eye and huge smiles on our face.

Monte Verde Inn's assistant, Megan, walked behind us part of the way to hold up my train. Right as we approached the beginning of the aisle runner, she fluffed my train and made sure it was picture perfect. 

We then started our journey up the aisle. I didn't trip, my bouquet looked beautiful (albeit slightly crooked), but more than anything I remembered to be in the moment. Every unnecessary thought flitted away as I held my dad's arm and made my way up the aisle to my soon to be husband. I just felt a huge sense of happiness, love and thankfulness towards my parents and Mr. Buck. It was as though everything that was meant to be was finally coming together full circle. 

Most girls spend years dreaming about their walk up the aisle with their dad. I promise you though that the real thing exceeds all that you would hope and dream it would be. It truly is a remarkable moment, a feeling you won't soon forget. 

I also had a fun little chuckle that I was kind of walking up the aisle to Journey, how fun is that? Don't stop believing, Hive. The perfect bridal march exists, and I think I found it. 

How was your journey up the aisle? Did you find the perfect version of the bridal march?

*All photos by Martin's Photography

The Ceremony Begins

The bridesmaids share a view out the window

The boys shake their nerves and take photos

The girls take photos

I show you my magical flowers

I talk about my whipped cream dress

The girls have fun getting glam

We get our hair done and grub down on some food delivered by dad

We Do(e): Let The Ceremony Begin

I last left off at the girls being creepers and staring at our guests as they arrived. That is until we were caught and our fun was over. Soon after though the real fun would begin; it was time to head downstairs and get ready to get the show on the road.

I remember thinking wait, already? Where had the time gone, the ceremony is seriously about to start? I started to get nervous. Not nervous because I was getting married, nervous because I couldn't predict my reaction. Would I cry? Would I remember to smile? Would I hold my bouquet correctly? What if I trip?  What if I forget absolutely everything? 

What if I forget to just 'be in the moment'?

Ah, there it is. Just be in the moment and I would be fine. I swear, sometimes I give myself the best advice. 

As I stood with my dad hidden where nobody could see us, I listened to the music I had spent months picking out. I knew exactly who was walking down the aisle all by the music that was floating gracefully through the air. 

I nodded my head side to side with a soft smile on my face listening to the instrumental version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow playing in the Canon of D. I knew that the honored women were now being seated.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow slowly faded out and in came the ever gorgeous sound of Pachelbel Canon In D. It was now time for the bridal party to enter the picture.

Mr. Buck's brother had the very special job of pulling the aisle runner. He was quite the perfectionist making sure it was absolutely perfect. Every few feet he would stop and straighten it out. What a guy. 

 {Some of our guests dressed to impress! Check out the dude's hat on the left. Right on!}

Next up to usher in my entrance was our fabulous flower girl. I know she was nervous, but she was quite the professional.

This whole time our venue, Monte Verde Inn, was behind the scenes being rock stars. The owner, Kelly Dalisa, had her headset on and was directing everyone and everything. Her assistant, Megan, was in the back telling the bridal party the exact time of when to start walking. It made the transitions flow absolutely flawlessly. She soon looked at me and said, "Okay, your turn!" It was time to take a deep breath, relax and just be in the moment.

Were you nervous about your reaction when preparing to walk down the aisle?

*All photos by Martin's Photography

The bridesmaids share a view out the window

The boys shake their nerves and take photos

The girls take photos

I show you my magical flowers

I talk about my whipped cream dress

The girls have fun getting glam

We get our hair done and grub down on some food delivered by dad