Weddingbee

Now that the tent was up, lanterns hung, and porta-potties in the right spot, all that was left to do was rehearse for Saturday-Oh wait, I mean, all that was left to do was that and to check Weddingbee one last time:

Ok, phew, now we can rehearse.

Everyone was on time, and ready to go (I may have possibly told them all that we were starting thirty minutes before we actually were). I was carrying my bridal shower ribbon bouquet, which was the work of my MOH, Carolyn. She’ll probably never forgive me for creating her lackluster ribbon bouquet, which was falling apart during her rehearsal. Not so with her stellar version, which you can see a flower girl admiring here:

If you look closely you can see that she’s carrying her pink flower girl suitcase gift!

My Dad has been preparing for a long time for our walk down the aisle, and as he’d be the first to admit, he’s a big crier. He looks pretty happy here though, and it’s no doubt a result of his daughter-escorting conditioning exercises. Yes, that would be blasting Canon in D repeatedly in the car on his daily commute, while picturing the big moment in an effort to desensitize himself.

I was getting more excited by the minute, and standing in the exact spot where we’d be married the next day didn’t help things. Here we are as the Best Man (Brother Tiramisu) signs our marriage license:

I handed out my girls’ gifts at the church, but Mr. Tiramisu had already given out his gifts earlier in the day, and the groomsmen were proudly sporting them when we showed up to the rehearsal. One of Mr. Tiramisu’s favorite things to wear is a Wrangler shirt- you know, the kind with snaps? He got one for each of his groomsmen, embroidered with their nicknames, and they were a big hit.

Seven Wrangler’d groomsmen all in a row:

Debating something important at the rehearsal.

Best Man and Groom in matching Wranglers.

My brother and my Cutie-McCute niece.

A snap-off shirt is a good party trick. (And it’s no coincidence that this particular groomsman received the gold shiny thread shirt.)

After all the indecision about having a big welcome party in place of a smaller rehearsal dinner, I’m so glad we decided to go with including everyone. Really, just having that much more time with our friends and family who had traveled so far for our wedding made it worth it.

The Lobster in the Rough, at The Lobster Barn

We had a private room barn just for our party, which at the last count I heard was somewhere around 130. Since a lot of people were meeting for the first time, we supplied nametags which definitely came in handy (well, until the lights went out). Some people made better use of them than others:

When we first arrived, the place was all lit up with twinkle lights and it looked great. Then the rain came. Then the lightning came. Then the power went.

I have to say I was pretty relaxed about the power being out. I mean, this was just the rehearsal dinner, right? The staff at The Lobster Barn was awesome, bringing out lots of extra candles, and not missing a beat in the service department. In fact some of our late-arriving guests didn’t even know that we hadn’t intended to have a candlelit party. It was a rustic little picnic atmosphere, and a good time was had by all:

Mr. Tiramisu’s Dad surprised me when he gave a good night toast by reading a poem that he dedicated to me:

First tears of the weekend:

Contrary to appearances, I’m actually not rapping in this photo. Let’s just say you’d be excited too if the electricity finally came back on at your rehearsal dinner:

(Also contrary to appearances: the bride is 100% sober in this picture.)

Finally it was time to say goodnight…

Your wedding is just filled with surreal moments. Kissing my fiance goodnight for the last time before he would become my husband was definitely one of them. Things hadn’t really even started yet and we were already overwhelmed with excitement.

When I went back to the hotel with my MOH, the hotel front desk staff asked how our night went. We said that we had had a great time, but you’d never believe it- we had no power! What a story, right? Turns out that there had been a wedding that night at the hotel that went on without electricity too. We all lamented, that poor bride, a wedding without power! Well, at least they had had a generator. Still, wow, at least our powerless evening was just the rehearsal dinner, right? Little did we know…

Next time on The Time of Our Lives… the day is here! Here’s a sneak peek into Saturday and the bridal suite:

Previously:
1. The Pre-Game

• Boudoir Babes
• The 3 Guest List Bride