Okay... So I'm feeling a little bit better now (I give credit to PS I Love You giving me a good cry...) and I finally put the wedding pictures we ordered into an album. Things are kind of refreshed in my mind now... So I'm going to do a little recap thing with little details that I encountered first hand or I heard that I might forget at some point... with some pictures. =)

*The reception rehearsal was a lot of fun, and almost everybody showed up. We ate at 2 Brothers BBQ afterward, and the families got along. I got the bridesmaids and flower girls bracelets with each of our names on our own, and Michael got the groomsmen pocket watches that had their names on them.



* We couldn't set up the reception area until the morning of the wedding, because they had been having vacation Bible school. Mom = nervous wreck Friday night about the food. When I got there Saturday morning after getting my hair done, the place looked fantastic.



*I finished the programs Friday night... only with the help of Mandy and the rest of my family. They are all lifesavers. Those programs were a definite pain, (especially with the number of times I made spelling errors/left people out) but I think it was worth it.



* I was really calm throughout the whole morning, and I even ate a little McDonalds while we were waiting around. This is one of the things I was worried about most. My mom can be quite the worrier, but my dad is the complete opposite. Thankfully (with the help of God I believe lol) I took after my dad that day.

* Michael, on the other hand, was really nervous all morning and all he had to eat was a little bit of a bagel until our reception (around 2:30).

* The only semi-crisis we ran into was my dress being crazy wrinkled, and we couldn't get any of the steamers or irons to work. We finally gave up, and my dress was a little wrinkly. Honestly, I didn't care that much, and you could barely tell.

* I was kind of hoping Beth would go into labor with Garrett.

* I love that I wore Converse. The only things I was very adamant about with the whole wedding were my shoes, and my nieces (flower girls) outfits. I picked the tutus and Converse for them because one of the memories I have from when I was little was my dad carrying my little sister and I out of ballet recitals in our tutus and converse.



* Songs we used during the wedding (That give me chills everytime I listen to them now...):
"Shh/Peaceful" by Miles Davis .... for seating his parents/grandparents.
"Now my Feet Won't Touch the Ground" by Coldplay.... Michael, the guys, and the bridesmaids
"Turn to Stone" by Ingrid Michaelson... What I walked in to
"Heartbeats" by Jose Gonzalez... Sand ceremony
"Backrow Politics" by the Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band for the recessional. =) (It's an upbeat contemporary jazz song... it suited us)

* Madi and Megan had been on an Alvin and the Chipmunks movie watching spree, and I am told that when they walked down the aisle they were saying "Bow chicka wow-wow" and cracking themselves (and everyone else) up. I was hiding in back, confused why everyone was laughing. Leave it up to these girls.



* Aidan (ring bearer) refused to walk down the aisle, which I figured would happen. His daddy (Aron, Michael's brother) carried him down the aisle, Aidan hiding in his shoulder the whole way. Yet, during the ceremony, he stood next to his sister (Shae, junior bridesmaid) the whole time, with the pillow in his mouth.

* I only started getting nervous right before I walked down the aisle, when my dad hugged me and was already getting teary-eyed. (Which is huge for my dad. He's never been one to really show much emotion.) Mom and dad both walked me down the aisle, which I loved.

* Michael started crying the moment he saw me.

* We wrote our own vows. Michael said his first... he didn't have his memorized, but they were long.. I wouldn't have had them memorized either. Mine were shorter, and I had them memorized. I was a sobbing mess by the time he finished his vows (as was he) and I cried all the way through mine, my voice cracking and everything. I heard everybody sniffling in the chapel, too. I'm surprised anybody could understand what we were saying, and I had to keep wiping my nose with my hand. (Graceful, right?)

(My older niece, Madison, leaning on my dad, and my mom's on the other side of him)


* We did unity sand instead of a unity candle, and it's now sitting on top of our entertainment center.

* When he kissed me, I playfully pushed him away after a second. He had such a devious look on his face, and most people said it was definitely a "me" thing for me push him away.



* When we went out to get ready for the receiving line, my dad (6' 4") full on picked me up in a hug like he used to do when I was little. That is one thing I will never forget. (Then he said "I taste like snot, I'm going to get Altoids. Hahaha)

* I loved the receiving line, and I'm very glad I got to see everyone that way since we didn't make it around to everyone during the reception. We got lots of comments about making people cry.

* We took more pictures after the receiving line... I wasn't sure about this picture, but my mom's extremely stubborn, and she wanted it... It's now a favorite.



* I didn't realize it until I was looking back on it later, but the music I had picked out for the reception didn't get played.

* I was in love with our cake.



* We fed each other the cake nicely, but then I seriously considered shoving it in his face. But I didn't.

* Loved all of the food we had there... Sadly, I didn't eat anything but the bite of cake I had, plus the goldfish my dad shoved in front of me so I wouldn't pass out.



* The other thing no one will ever forget... During his best man speech... Jon was telling a story about him and Michael from when they were kids... and Jon said "Scott" (Another friend) instead of "Michael". Our reactions:



* They only decorated Michael's car... it was covered in magnets from our local movie theater (?!) and they wrote "Just Married!" and all that jazz.

* We had all the presents packed up in the car, and we drove two cars the two and a half hours back to Manhattan so we could spend our first night together in our apartment. (We saved ourselves for each other until our wedding night...)

Let's see.... That's all I can think of for now. I'm sure I'll think of more and update this post every once in awhile. I'm pretty sure that's enough for now, though. =) You're amazing if you read all of that.