Weddingbee Blog

As my dad placed my hand in Mr. Sunbeam’s and kissed my cheek, the moment of getting married really hit me. Slowly we walked up the stairs of the church with a hundred eyes on our back and took our places facing each other by the minister. For a quick moment, I turned to look at our audience and gave them a humongous grin. I wanted to acknowledge that they were there sharing our special day and many of them mentioned their appreciation of this small gesture.

Our ceremony was traditional and only took about thirty minutes, but we added a few elements to make it personal and to acknowledge our guests. Pastor Bill began by greeting our guests and thanking them for sharing our special day. At this time he also let them know that when the ceremony was finished they were free to leave for the reception. I mention this because at the time it seemed like a real time saver—which I’m sure it was, but it would have been so nice to release our guests row by row and have those small moments of one-on-one time with them.

***

He proceeded with a statement of marriage, the one used for hundreds of years that we’re all familiar with:

Dearly beloved, we are assembled here in the presence of God to join this man and this woman in holy marriage which is instituted of god regulated by his commandments blessed by our lord Jesus Christ and to be held in honor among all…

It’s easy to glaze over these words which we’re all so familiar with, but when their said in front of you and your husband-to-be they’re pretty magical. This was followed by a prayer and readings from my mother and Mr. Sunbeam’s brother.

My mother’s selection was scripture, First Corinthian’s Chapter 13: “If I speak in the tongues of men and angles but have not loved I am only a resounding gong or a chiming symbol…”

When my mom started reading the scripture my nose started turning pink! I could hear little moments of joy and sorrow in her voice and I knew hers would be turning pink too. Luckily through out the whole ceremony I was able to keep it together. My nose flashed pink a few times (the best man told me so; he was waiting for the waterworks), but all in all I was able to keep dry.

My BIL selected a poem to read at our request. Since he writes poetry I had asked for him to write one, but thought finding one for us was just as sweet. Forgive me if the format is off, this is how it was sent to me.

Hands

I’m not a poetry expert, so I won’t attempt an interpretation. You’ll just have to believe me when I say it touched us both that he was a part of our ceremony.

It was time to declare our intent. We, along with our wedding party, turned to face our guests. After we pledged to have each other, our guests were asked the following:

Friends of the Sunbeams: standing before you today some of you are beholding a son, a daughter, grandchild, and all here see the young man and the young woman who have become dear to you. You are here today because of the special place The Sunbeams have in your lives and so I ask you today as you have loved and supported the Sunbeams in the past: Will you now pledge from this day forward to love them as a married couple and will you do everything in your power to uphold them in their marriage. Will you?”

In unison everyone replied, “I will.” Now the time had come to be wed and in hand. We decided to say traditional vows. The same ones our parents had said, our grandparents before them, etc. It’s a lovely idea to customize your vows, but there’s something to love about traditions.

Mr. Sunbeam was first. He was so nervous on top of normally being soft spoken that I’m guessing our guests couldn’t hear him at all. At first I thought, ‘oh no, should I ask him to speak up?’ But I quickly came to my senses - these were his vows! I was the only one who really needed to hear them, and for goodness sake I should be focusing. It’s a special moment, hearing your husband say his vows to you—a pink nose sort of moment.

Then it was my turn, and I turned up the volume. I wasn’t nervous as much as I was excited, and everyone could see it written all over my face.

Our rings were blessed and exchanged…

***

And we sealed the deal with a kiss!

Our priest presented us as Mr. & Mrs. to our guests—can you tell I’m excited? Then he ended the ceremony with the benediction.

We proceeded back down the isle as husband and wife to Hand in Mine by Explosions in the Sky played by our pianist. It was a last minute switch, but I don’t think anyone noticed and it was the last thing on my mind—the freshly-wed bride with a face-splitting smile.

Our ceremony was pretty perfect and will always be one of our fondest memories! Because we spent a lot of time before the wedding taking pictures, we only took a few more but our friend Devin got a little creative. I’ll share those next!

Photos were taken by RAD photography with occasional additional editing by me. **Indicates a picture taken by a friend.

Previously with the Sunbeams:

• Love, Anticipation, and a Trip Down the Aisle
• The Lovely Bridesmaids
• Quintessential Portraits
• Chemistry
• Love in the Stacks
• Bride Meets Groom
• Bridebeam
• Old, Borrowed, & Blue
• Groombeam
• The Dress, Shoes, & Rings
• Let’s Get Beautiful!
• Papery Details
• One last busy night
• Dessert and an impromptu photo shoot
• Pasta & practice makes perfect
• Sunbeam final fling!
• Five days and counting