Once In A Lifetime

Since the wedding I've been putting off writing down how everything felt, with the exception of a few memories jotted down the night of.  I'm deeply happy with how everything turned out, though I wish the night had been about four days longer.  (We actually meant to make it a bit longer, but accidentally put a slightly later time on the invites than we meant to.  Ah, well.)  Looking back on the night, I keep thinking in superlatives: everything looked beautiful, everyone was helpful, everybody danced, the food was amazing, the clothes were gorgeous, the weather was perfect . . . but I really kind of believe all of those desciptors.  It's kind of nuts how well things went. 

Paradoxically, this has made it incredibly easy for me, the eternal regretter, to hone in on the few things that did not go 100% perfectly.  I'm not going to talk about them here because they're seriously minor, and I've learned already that bringing them up only keeps them alive.  But I'm working on letting go, and the more time and distance I have, the littler and sillier they seem.  I'm sure that in time they will fade completely, and the big-picture gorgeousness and love of the day will wholly overwhelm any lingering doubts.  Without further ado . . .

Fond Memories:

- The heavy moment right before the processional started.  Though surrounded by loved ones, E, birds and boxwoods, I felt shaky and overwhelmed.  Closest I came to crying the whole day.

- Walking down the aisle not to a sea of faces, but a sea of cameras.

- Our beautiful, awesome, amazing, gorgeous, perfect wedding party.

Don't they look beautiful?  Everyone chose their own outfits.

- Listening to my good friend read the same passage for us that I had read at his civil ceremony & watching him try not to cry.

- Having a brief moment alone with my brand new husband and a bottle of rosé.

- E bustling my dress after the ceremony, since he was the only one who I had shown how to do so.  (Thanks to Sarah for the beautiful bustle!)

- Giving a small impromptu speech when E and I rejoined the guests for cocktails.  I realized that on the walk over I had been looking for four-leafed clovers, as I frequently do, and then thought to myself: "Look all around you, and look next to you.  What more luck could you need?"

- Joking through our first dance, to "The Book of Love" by The Magnetic Fields.

- The positive SWARM onto the dance floor when "Twist and Shout" came on after the first dance.  And how everyone stayed up and dancing through the next 10 or so Motown classics before starting to take breaks.

- Dancing with EVERYONE to Like A Prayer.  That song is my jam forever and always.

- Getting in the middle of a delish slow-dance sandwich with two lovely ladies as Pete Townshend crooned "Let My Love Open the Door" (the E. Cola Mix).

- ICE CREAM SANDWICHES and PIE.  Served on DRY FREAKING ICE.

- Fabulous jerk chicken and spanakopita and mac 'n' cheese and so much more.  Though it was hard to eat at all - I swore I'd be the bride who broke the "forgot to eat" curse but my body was NOT having it.   Thankfully it was also hard to drink (kept leaving my beer bottle places, to go dance), so I did not disgrace myself.

- Good friends' beautiful, heartfelt toasts.

- Our amazing impromptu centerpieces.  We had planned the mason jars with battery-powered twinkle lights inside, and stolen the idea for tiny plant favors (thanks Mike & Meri!) but it was my overbuying of flowers and the last-minute arranging powers of E's mom and some dedicated wedding party members that really made the centerpieces truly awesome.  At the end of the night, nearly every single jar (lights, flowers and all) went home with a guest - so I guess they liked them!

- SO MANY HUGS.  All night long.  Non-stop hugs.

- The amazing way that everyone - and especially our immediate family and the wedding party - pitched in.  In the frantic hour and a half before things really got going, everyone was constantly on the move, hanging things and arranging things and collaborating and communicating and working miracles with (leopard print) duct tape.  We could NOT have been luckier, and we do NOT for a SECOND take for granted the effort they put in.  Thanks so much, everyone!

There's so much more.  I can't even start.  DIY photobooth pictures are up on Evan's Flickr (look out for the human pyramid!)  Professional photos should be coming soon.  Gratitude and joyful memories know no bounds.

Note: We don't have professional photos back yet, so these photos are all courtesy of my dad, my fabulous friend Carla and my cousins Laura and Stacy.  Thank you!