Wedding Blog

A couple hours after the meltdown (and possibly an El Presidente later), I had calmed right down and set my sights on the final things on our to-do list. After all, the show must go on!

The most important of these was the rehearsal.

I had never really given a rehearsal much thought, to tell you the truth. Even though I’m normally a type-A personality, I had enough sense to know that a destination wedding would be more relaxed. However, about a month before the wedding (right about the time I discovered I had a bone fracture in my foot, remember that? Ha!) I was out for a walk with my SIL and she changed my mind. She was reminiscing about her own wedding and said that even though hers was also a pretty simple affair, she really wished they had done a rehearsal because it just would have made things go that much more smoothly, you know? Since she’s one of the smartest gals I know, I took her advice.

When we met with our wedding coordinator Sandra, we asked her about the rehearsal, and to our surprise she told us that a rehearsal was unnecessary and that she didn’t normally do them.

Um, what?

“You’ll just line up and I’ll be there to tell you when to go,” she said.

At which point I looked at Mr Breezy, raised one eyebrow (yes, ’tis a talent that I always have possessed) and said, “Okay then. We’ll do our OWN rehearsal.”

We put out word to everyone in the wedding party to meet us at the Gazebo at 6PM the eve before the wedding, where we had a ‘pow-wow’ and told/showed everyone where they had to be and when.

It was a rip-roaring success. Everyone said they felt so much more comfortable knowing what was expected of them - not only for the ceremony, but also for what was to happen afterwards! And it was the best idea we had, because we were really relying on those people to herd the rest of our guests from the Gazebo to the lobby bar for drinks, then down to the beachside restaurant for dinner and back up to the disco. If they hadn’t known the plan, I think a lot of people would have been wandering around aimlessly.

So DW brides - even if you have to do it yourselves, do a rehearsal. It only takes twenty minutes and your wedding party will thank you for it.

Sorry I don’t have any pictures of the rehearsal since I was in full-on Bossy-Boss mode. Afterwards, we for our ‘Last Supper’; it was supposed to be a dinner with the gang from the rehearsal but it didn’t work out that way for various reasons. Instead, we hung out with all the ‘kids’ (i.e. everyone our age!) at the French Restaurant. The food was great and we had lots of fun, even though they had to split us into three separate tables as there were so many of us.

As for how we spent our final hours… I wish I could say that Mr Breezy and I went back to our suite and had a quiet moment together talking serenely about the day ahead of us… but you know that was SO not the case.

Instead, we had bridesmaid Miss P hunkered down on our coffee table preparing items for the next day’s dinner game, her amazing boyfriend Todd nearby re-organizing our iTunes playlists, groomsman Matt downloading ‘Hava Nagila’ in his room, and our good friend Lara coaching Mr Breezy on what to say for his vows.

And me? I was fluttering about gluing ribbon to my (very last minute) DIY shell ring-holder, preparing parasols, writing cards, laying out items for the photo shoot, telling Mr Breezy to not worry about his vows, and instead for him to just tell me in his own words why he was marrying me gosh darnit (!!), practising my own vows, and supervising everybody else. All at the same time. AHHH!!!

We didn’t go to bed ’til very late, but maybe it was for the best because we slept like rocks. And the next day… was the wedding!

What are you planning to do the last evening before your wedding? Past brides, did you rush around doing last minute things too, or did you enjoy a moment of reflection (like I wish I had been able to)?

DW in the DR: Pack It Up, Pack It In
DW in the DR: Airport Confessions
DW in the DR: Bienvenidos a Punta Cana
DW in the DR: The Guest List Is In the Bag
DW in the DR: The OOTs in Action
DW in the DR: Planning the Reception
DW in the DR: Planning the Flowers & Cake
DW in the DR: Planning the Ceremony
DW in the DR: Planning the Photography
DW in the DR: Stag and Showerette
DW in the DR: The Meltdown