Obligatory Wedding Post

I posted the things I learned from wedding planning, but I also think it's necessary for me to give some real details about my wedding and the planning process.

Courtesy of Richardson Fry Photography

My beautiful bridesmaids (courtesy of Richardson Fry Photography)

Silly groomsmen (Courtesy of Richardson Fry Photography)

To start off, my wedding was beautiful.  I was very happy with how I looked (which, let's face it, isn't always a given).  I thought all my bridesmaids looked beautiful (because they are, I just got to see them all look beautiful in matching colors).  My husband was incredibly handsome, as were all of his groomsmen.  But besides the superficial, I think the wedding, in general, was beautiful.  We chose songs that we both loved.  My awesome brother-in-law sang.  Our sisters read beautifully.  We served communion, which was a wonderful experience.  I really felt supported by everyone there.  Our reception was exactly what I wanted, and I didn't even know what I wanted until I saw it.  It was beautiful.  And the church gym didn't feel like a church gym, but it also didn't feel like a ballroom either, which is what we were going for.  I know not everyone will agree, but I thought the wedding was beautiful.






Now onto the stuff I know you're actually reading this for.  Planning this wedding occasionally turned me into someone I didn't really like.  I got panicky and stressed about things that didn't really matter to me.  Because our wedding was very DIY and low-budget, we required a lot of outside help.  Which was WONDERFUL.  We have an excellent support system, both in OKC and out of town.  But it required me to actually accept some help.  Which I'm not very good at.  I'm more of the "I got this" persuasion.  But since I never wanted to plan a wedding and I'm not a planner, I had to accept help.  It left me in this uncomfortable position of thinking that people didn't really want to help or were just being nice and I was taking advantage of them.  Thankfully I have amazing in-laws and "chosen" family who were more than willing to help.

Sporting my bachelorette bling.

I had a couple of breakdowns that weekend.  Every single person on my invitation list was from out of town.  I don't have anyone in OKC that not connected to my husband.  So, this required the oh-so-reliable flight arrivals.  On the Thursday before the wedding (or, rather, bachelor/bachelorette day) EVERY SINGLE FLIGHT WAS LATE.  I was doing ok with it.  We were working things out.  But every time we figured something out, something else changed and I snapped.  Thankfully, I have really good family here and everything was fixed and everyone made it to their respective parties.  On Thursday night I went out with 8 beautiful women for dinner and to a piano bar.  We had an awesome time and came back to have some bachelorette fun (and no one got sick!).  The boys went out and also had an excellent time, but very different from us.  :-)

The Henry women

 Friday we all got our nails done and had lunch.  I would get teary eyed every so often just looking at all the amazing women I have in my life (and my adorable nephew who came along for girls' day).  That night we went to the rehearsal and dinner.  Both went very well, and the dinner was incredible!  I'm pretty sure Friday was "breakdown free".  So, yay for Friday.

The Freeman women

Saturday was the big day.  I kept it together for most of the morning.  I started getting anxious while we were all getting ready.  And I'm sure all of my bridesmaids can attest to that (Sorry, guys).  Philip and I agreed to do a "first look" with our photographer where we saw each other in the sanctuary before the wedding, just us (and some onlookers!).  As soon as I saw him, I felt better.  I won't say I stopped being anxious or everything was perfect, but I felt better.  He looks good in a tux.  :-)

Our first look (Courtesy of Richardson Fry Photography)

We took some pictures together outside, and then came back in to the sanctuary to do some family pictures.  This led to my next breakdown.  Unfortunately, My mom was unable to come to the wedding.  It was the best decision in the long run, but that day it had really hit me.  I kept it together as long as I could, but eventually I was noticeably crying.  And when my (awesome) photographer asked me if I was ok and I said I was fine, she said, "I don't believe you."  So, we took a break!  I talked with Philip and my sister for a little bit and went back to the bridal room to get together for the ceremony.

Courtesy of Richardson Fry Photography

The ceremony, in my opinion, felt like it moved at warp speed.  I was terrified about missing something, or not remember every single detail, that I think I missed the big picture.  But, it's hard.  You spend so much time building up to this big moment, it's hard to see it when it's actually there.  I remember the big stuff, but I'm anxious to see the pictures.  I think I was focusing so hard, I'm worried that I didn't smile!

My college roommates

The reception was a huge relief.  I spent time with my friends, danced with my flower girls, I watched my husband and his friends sing and dance, I heard 2 wonderful speeches, I ate some good cake...It was great.

Dancing with sweet Emma

After the wedding, one of my friends said, "Now aren't you glad you had a wedding?"  I told her to ask again in a few days.  Now that it's calmed down and we're settling in to this new stage of our relationship, I think I am glad I had a wedding.  I could have lived without a lot of things in the planning process.  And, had we eloped, I don't think I would have regretted it too much.  But, seeing everyone we love and who loves us and having them be a part of the day was awesome.  So, I'm glad for that.  But it's the stuff that comes after the wedding that I was most looking forward to.  I love calling Philip my husband (in case you couldn't tell, I did it about 5 times in this post).  I love my new in-laws and officially being a part of their family.  I love planning for our future together.  Because, even though nothing has changed all that much, I feel like now we're a family.  Just Philip and me (and Charlie and Sookie, of course).

So this may not be the happy, fluffy, post-wedding response.  But it's the real response.  And it came with pictures!

Courtesy of Richardson Fry Photography