The Big Day: The Ceremony (Part I)
August 21st, 2008 @ 12:00 pm by Mrs. Gingerbread
Our officiant recommended that we spend the half hour before the ceremony somewhere quiet and private. As luck would have it, the venue let us retreat into their upstairs offices which had a nice view of the ceremony site. We sat around, sipped water, looked excitedly out the window, and let our flowers sit in some water. Down below, the musicians played as guests arrived.
My brother escorted our grandma down the aisle.
Once the guests were settled in, it was time for the ceremony to start.
First up, adorable flower children.
I think my brother-in-law was afraid that the kids wouldn’t want to go sit down so as you can see from these photos, he reached out to reel them in!
Then it was our turn. At first I was really focused on making sure I didn’t trip and sprain my ankle (I have a long history of doing this), but then once we entered the crowd, I was struck by this intense feeling of love coming from our community of family and friends. It was magical.
*photo by Aki
After some introductory words by our officiant, it was time for our nieces to light a remembrance candle and collect our bouquets.
Oops! In all the excitement, we’d forgotten to grab our bouquets! I didn’t notice this until we’d made it all the way down the aisle. Oh well, no going back now! 
Next, was the introduction of the ring warming ceremony.
Miss Gingerbread and Miss GB 2.0 have been wearing rings as a visible sign of their commitment to one another and will now wear them as their wedding rings. As this ceremony proceeds, we invite family and friends to take part in the warming of these rings. Each guest is asked to hold them for a moment, warm them with your love and make a silent wish for this couple, and their future together. When these rings come back they will contain, in their precious metal, that which is more precious, that which is priceless – your love and hope and pledge of support for their marriage.
The rings made their way around to each of our guests as the ceremony proceeded.
Our niece did an amazing reading of Sandol Stoddard’s “I Like You.” At first, I felt bad asking a 12 year old to read a couple of pages worth of text, but she totally blew us away at the rehearsal to the point where we were applauding at the end.
Next up was Grandpa reading “The Art of a Good Marriage.” You should have seen the proud smile on my grandma’s face as he read.
*photo by Aki
Wow, this is turning into the longest ceremony recap ever! Sorry about that. I just have so many things I want to share. I swear, our ceremony was only a half hour!!! I’ll give you a little break now and come back for the second half. Next up: Blessing of the hands, vows, and the ring that tried to get away.
All photos by Carlton Chan unless otherwise noted.
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27 Responses to “The Big Day: The Ceremony (Part I)”
I’m totally tearing up at this post - just blown away by the emotion in your photos, and in the love from your friends and family attending. Can’t wait to see more!
@Mrs. Bird of Paradise: Ditto, you have convinced me that I want one too
Ditto, I have tears in my eyes looking at these photos. Very touching. I love how involved and supportive your family is.
Your bro looks so GQ!
Yall looked so beautiful and blissful and your photog did a great job of capturing that.
Forgetting the bouquet seems to be a kinda common thing. And frankly, You didnt need them! You two looked so beautiful walking in together you didnt need flowers to detract.
Oh, I love the ring warming ceremony. I think we may do something similar at our wedding.
I love it all!! Keep it coming. You guys look simply beautiful in the picture of the two of you coming down the aisle together.
The ring ceremony sounds like a total success. What a great moment for your guests to participate in!
I also love the pictures of your brother-in-law hauling the flowerkids to their seats. The look on your flower girl’s face is priceless!
WOW! What a beautiful wedding! And all the details were so sweet…can’t wait for the 2nd part!
you’re still my favorite couple… hands (or should I say bouquets) down!
I love the idea of the ring warming. So beautiful.
I can’t wait to hear about your blessing of the hands. My husband and I did that at our wedding and we had so many comments after the ceremony and how beautiful that was. That was my favorite part of the ceremony.
Gorgeous photos!
Random question: did you attend APA last weekend? I went to a presentation and one of the presenters looked just like you.
Not too long at all! I never want wedding recaps to end! It all looks so beautiful. LOVE the ring warming ceremony!
You guys both look great!!
Also, you guys have some stunning little nieces - what pretty girls!
Too long? No way! More more more! Love the ring ceremony, the readings, everything… but especially that you forgot your bouquets. What a cute story that will be forever - and proof of how into the moment you were. Love it.
I love that you used ‘I Like You’ - did you think it was too long? I’d love to use it, but my mom thinks the guests would get bored. Did you use the whole thing?
Thanks!
I love that you included members of your family that were both young and old. It’s a very beautiful touch.
YAY I’m so glad Grandpa was there!!! And your wedding location is beautiful! And your flowergirl and ringbearer are adorable! And I love all the pictures! And…
Totally, totally… really there are no perfect words for the fantasticness.
I’m not around here as much lately, but will definitely wouldn’t miss the rest of this recap for the world!
Lovely! Lovely! I’ve been reading for awhile now and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. Guests, ceremony, you two, are all gorgeous.
@beanchar: It’s so nice to see you. I’m glad that you are still around
@Justine: Let’s see if this comment can handle the version of “I Like You” that we used.
Excerpt from “I Like You” by Sandol Stoddard
I like you and I know why.
I like you because you are a good person to like.
I like you because when I tell you something special, you know it’s special
And you remember it a long, long time.
You say, Remember when you told me something special
And both of us remember
When I think something is important
you think it’s important too
We have good ideas
When I say something funny, you laugh
I think I’m funny and you think I’m funny too
Hah-hah!
That’s because you really like me
You really like me, don’t you
And I really like you back
And you like me back and I like you back
And that’s the way we keep on going every day
If you go away, then I go away too
or if I stay home, you send me a postcard
You don’t just say Well see you around sometime, bye
I like you a lot because of that
If I go away, I send you a postcard too
And I like you because if we go away together
And if we are in Grand Central Station
And if I get lost
Then you are the one that is yelling for me
And I like you because when I am feeling sad
You don’t always cheer me up right away
Sometimes it is better to be sad
You can’t stand the others being so googly and gaggly every single minute
You want to think about things
It takes time
If you find two four-leaf clovers, you give me one
If I find four, I give you two
If we only find three, we keep on looking
Sometimes we have good luck, and sometimes we don’t
I like you because I don’t know why but
Everything that happens is nicer with you
I can’t remember when I didn’t like you
It must have been lonesome then
I like you because because because
I forget why I like you but I do
So many reasons
On the 4th of July I like you because it’s the 4th of July
On the fifth of July, I like you too
Even if it was the 999th of July
Even if it was August
Even if it was way down at the bottom of November
Even if it was no place particular in January
I would go on choosing you
And you would go on choosing me
Over and over again
That’s how it would happen every time
I don’t know why
I guess I don’t know why I really like you
Why do I like you
I guess I just like you
I guess I just like you because I like you.
@Leah: I’m a big fan of your blog! I can’t wait to see how your wedding unfolds and am really enjoying reading about your process
Your niece does NOT look 12 years old in that picture. She is gorgeous! I Like You is a perennial favorites in my circle of friends. I love that you used it for the wedding!
[...] room we’d been hanging out in before the ceremony to retrieve our bouquets that we forgot when we walked down the aisle! Our officiant actually recommended that we take ten minutes to “just be married” and [...]
Mrs. Gingerbread, Vancouver
Age and Occupation: 32, Psychologist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Software Engineer
Engagement Date: Sometime in the fall of 2004
Wedding Date: July, 2008
Blogging Since: March 24, 2008
Venue: Rainforest wedding, beachfront restaurant reception
About Me: I recently moved to Canada from Southern California. Trying to plan a wedding in a new city, not to mention a new country, is tough, but the fact that we can get legally married here more than makes up for it! The wedding will be an opportunity for most of our family and friends to see our new city for the first time so it will be both a wedding and a reunion. Besides my future wife, I am also madly in love with a good bargain, Swedish pastries, Tivo, and my two dogs and calico cat (in no particular order).
completely moved by the ring warming ceremony. wow. how wonderful.