Weddingbee Blog

I love that two years after the fact, the thing I love most about our wedding (besides the obvious getting married to the love of my life part) was the fact that it was almost a huge disaster. The huge storm and resulting power outage not only made the wedding unavoidably memorable, but also brought this really cool spirit to the party, where all of the guests kind of joined together and made the most of it. I really doubt that anyone would be talking about our wedding two years later if the storm had not happened, and it’s pretty fun when we attend another wedding—especially say if it’s on a gorgeous sunny day—-and someone says, “hey! remember how crazy your wedding was!?” So looking back, I still wouldn’t change a thing, and in fact I’m actually glad that we had the storm. Maybe that makes me a crazy person, but it’s true!

So here are my favorite posts—the first is when I’m still a bit in shock about the whole thing, the second is right in the middle of it, and the last is when I realize for sure that a little (okay, a lot) of rain didn’t matter at all.

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Wow- what a whirlwind the past two weeks have been! Mr. Tiramisu and I returned to Maryland late last night after an amazing honeymoon, and I still can’t quite believe that this whole crazy thing happened! July 19th was by far THE best day of my life so far. It was quite simply, unbelievable- for lots of reasons. Believe me when I say I’ve got some interesting stories to tell! We’re still waiting on the pictures, so I’ll leave you for now with just a few of my thoughts of the day…

Things I planned/hoped/dreamed/wished for my wedding day:

1. Becoming wife to my best friend in the world
2. Tons of family and friends together to celebrate, all having a great time
3. An oceanside setting with at least enough sun for people to see the pretty Maine coast
4. A rocking dance party
5. Pretty little details not going unnoticed
6. A feeling at the end of the day that I wouldn’t have changed a thing

Things I didn’t plan for/wouldn’t have expected/didn’t wish for on my wedding day:

1. Rain ridiculous sideways pelting rain
2. BOOMing thunder
3. Scary lightning (witnessed from within a metal pole tent)
4. Hail
5. No power for three hours during the reception. Read that one again: NO generator, NO lights, NO electricity.
6. A rainbow following said rain, followed by two more bouts of rain, and two more bouts of sun.
7. An acoustic version of Green Day’s “Time of Your Life” replacing our carefully selected first dance song
8. An impromptu father-daughter dance, danced on the lawn, to a random song, sung by family and friends
9. Flip flop favors becoming not just a sort-of-nice touch, but actually essential in navigating rivers of rain inside the tent

And the most surprising thing of it all is that not a single item on list #2 interfered with anything on list #1. Best day of my life. Hands down. I had always been a little skeptical when brides return from their wedding days boasting that despite any and all snafus, the day was still perfect. I worried that if any aspect of our carefully planned day were to not happen, I’d wind up feeling a little disappointed about it in the end. I even coached myself beforehand to try not to notice if things didn’t work out the way I wanted, and to just try to relax and enjoy anyways.

I’m here to tell you that all of my worrying was completely unnecessary. As soon as I left my hotel room on the morning of the wedding and opened the door of the room where my best friends and sisters were preparing and being made even more beautiful than they already are, I was to put it simply, just elated. There was nothing- and I mean nothing (because certainly a nearly-collapsing tent and the little issue of no electricity tested this statement) that could have taken the smile off of my face. In fact, (and here’s the part I never would have believed before), all of the unplanned moments of the wedding somehow ended up making it better. I know, I know- this is crazy. But you’ll just have to trust me, and wait (alongside this impatient bride) for the pictures, and I’ll tell you the story of my bizarre (but hey- certainly memorable) wedding day.

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We left off with the sky darkening, the guests running for cover in the house and in the tent, and two newlyweds beginning to wonder if their reception was going to be ruined. Here’s what happened next…

A little proof that if it’s true that rain on your wedding day is good luck, then clearly we are due for a whole lot of it:

The rain was one thing, but it was the wind that really did us in. It turns out that having a big guest list is a good thing when you end up needing them all to hold your tent up:

The woman in the black tank top is our fabulous day-of coordinator. Unfortunately, I think she might be crying in this photo.

How good-spirited were our guests?!:

This blur of white off in the distance is one of the cocktail table umbrellas taking flight:

Meeting new friends while holding up metal poles in a lightning storm—it was an excellent ice breaker:

Still smiling:

Bonus of a mid-cocktail hour storm? Short line at the bar! Please note our now-soaked photographer in the background of this shot:

This was not really the cocktail hour scene that I dreamed of:

The thunder, lightning, and rain slowed down a bit… but now what’s that pelting sound on the roof of the tent? Oh, that would be hail:

Can you see it bouncing? It was the secret ingredient in the blueberry martinis.

Unplanned reception decor: swimming pool inside the tent.

Thankfully it dried up fast and was remedied by the now-essential flip flop favors:

The lights flickered, then went out, but thankfully the worst of the storm was now over and what followed was the most beautiful and most welcome sunshine ever:

(photo credit: Samantha Warren Weddings)

Where was I the whole time? Right there under the tent, and in a state of shock, mostly. Sam, our photographer, had this to say on her blog about the events, which made me cry when I first read it:

“The band was silenced by a several hour long power outages, a river rushed through the tent, and the only light to be found came from the flicker of candlelight beneath the tent and the bright bursts of lighting all around it. She could have cried, she should have snapped, but Emily just laughed and loved. “I just married Liam and everyone in the world who is important to me is right here,” she offered as explanation for her ease. And it was there and then, with hail in my hair and my drenched pants plastered to my legs that I knew Emily and Liam would live happily ever after, able to weather any storm no matter how strong or scary.”

There’s just one other thing that a bride with no power needs, and that would be a martini:

Next time: more delicious sunshine, a rainbow, and our amazing band makes the most of things.

~~~

During the final few songs that were played at our reception, I didn’t want to let go of my new husband. We kept asking each other, incredulously, “Did you have any idea how much FUN this was going to be!?”

I think in this photo we are screaming at each other the “BUM BUM BUUUUM” part of “Sweet Caroline”… you know, “good times never seemed so good”? It was appropriate.

I couldn’t believe it when I realized they were playing our last song… how could our wedding day really be over!? It flew by so fast—each minute rich with so many emotions. But that really was it. Mr. Tiramisu grabbed me, and spun me around a few last times as we listened to our song…

The first line of that song?

“Baby when I’m wrapped up in your arms, it never rains.”

And if you ask me, it didn’t rain at all on our wedding day, not a drop. I didn’t notice any rain at all.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for letting me share all of this with you!

*All photos by New England’s most fabulous photographer, Samantha Warren

Previously:
1. The Pre-Game
2. We Practice the I Dos and the Party Part Too
3. The Day is Here!
4. Going to the Chapel
5. We Do
6. Sweet Little Details Part I, Part II
7. A Few Formal Pictures and An Uninvited Guest
8. Free Fireworks!
9. The Calm After the Storm
10. Who Needs Power?
11. The Show Must Go On
12. Let There Be Light
13. Cake Smash
14. Singled Out