The Day: Ceremony

Did I ever tell you about the dream I had where we were getting ready for the wedding and then all of a sudden everyone was congratulating me and apparently we had gotten married and I couldn't remember any of it? Yeah, that was an icky nightmare!

I kept hearing the line "You won't remember any of it anyway!" about the ceremony and I was terrified of that. That's the most important part of the day! I damn well would like to remember it! But I am extremely happy to report that I was present and in the moment and remember all of it. And here for you (and largely for my memory), is our ceremony recap.

I remember looking at Brett before we walked out to the ceremony. Nerves were flaring up like crazy, so we took a deep breath together, took each others arms, and out we went. There were so many faces looking at us that I didn't know where to look. I looked down, around, at a few people, at him - and I was so glad we were walking together. We hugged our parents and then took our place at the front.

As the ceremony started, I moved my feet to find a comfortable place to stand, took a few breaths and made sure I was present. I listened to our officiant read the words we put together, let the meaning of "create a new family" sink in, saw our photographers out of the corner of my eye, and enjoyed. Two of our close friends came up to read the selections we chose. I laughed a little. Their presentation was almost theatrical - but classical them! Through all of this, Brett wouldn't stop staring at me! I was watching who was speaking but then kept getting drawn back into his gaze. His eyes were happiness. (At one point I looked out into the crowd, but the only face I saw was my dad's with eyes full of tears and I had to immediately retreat! Bad place to look unless you definitely want to cry!)

Our officiant gave his talk (we didn't know what he was going to say before hand) and it was a great balance of humor and insight. He referenced the economy, our beliefs, and noted the very characteristic pause Brett has when asked a serious question. Then it was time for vows.

First, we had community vows. Everyone stood up and said "we do" after three community vows. Very simple, but it was great to see everyone standing in support of us and hearing a nice resounding "we do" each time!

Next, our vows. I went first. I didn't feel a single nerve at this point, but took a nice deep breath to steady myself. I grabbed the mic and my paper and let it all go. There was a little shaking in my voice due to emotion, but I didn't cry a single drop! (Not sure how that happened...every time before the wedding, heck, even now when I read my vows I cry!) Brett read his vows - no tears there either - and just smiles galore on my end! He included the story of when he fell in love with me, made me laugh, and made me smile.

I loved the simple feeling of sliding the ring on his finger, of mine getting stuck at the knuckle, and then, of course, that wonderful first kiss!

Mission accomplished: we were married!