Weddingbee Blog

In the moments before our walk down the aisle, Papa Jelly and I waited patiently inside the front entry hall of Casa Real while the bridal party processed through the venue’s large wooden doors into the outdoor courtyard where our ceremony would take place. Papa Jelly and I both giggled nervously and made small talk while we waited for our turn to walk. Like father, like daughter.

After the bridal party finished walking out, the Casa Real staff closed the large wooden doors while the processional music faded out and the song I would be walking down the aisle to came on:

Comptine D’Un Autre Ete L’Apres Midi by Yann Tiersen.

About this song: it’s from my favorite movie ever, Amelie. I have loved this song for many years but when I was first thinking about walking down the aisle to it, I was afraid it would be too sad or melancholy sounding and that our guests wouldn’t like it. Then when I played it for our DJ, he gave me a great piece of advice: if you love it and it’s meaningful to you, who cares what other people might think? They probably won’t even notice the song—they’ll be focused on you. Our DJ gave me the encouragement I needed to go with this song and I am so glad I did. It was truly the perfect song for me to walk down the aisle to, and I invite you to play it while you read the rest of the post.

(Ax2D Photography)

Out the wooden doors we came, Bill Clinton stance and all…

(Because of the way we set up our ceremony, my walk down the aisle wasn’t a straight shot to the groom—it was more like a horseshoe-shaped path where I had to turn a couple of corners before facing him. So I still hadn’t seen my groom at this point.)

(Ax2D Photography)

We rounded the corner…

(Ax2D Photography)

And then I was facing my groom. Everything else seemed to fade in the background, and I felt overcome by the happiness of that moment.

A smile spread across my face as my throat tightened up with emotion. It was all happening. My groom was waiting for me at the end of the aisle. This was the culmination of seven years of love and laughter, of trials and tears, of learning from each other and growing up together. And all of our family and friends were there for us, to partake in our commitment and to share in our celebration. The feeling was indescribable.

(I love how you can see the smallest glint of a tear in Mr. Jelly’s left eye in this picture. Even though we did a first look, it didn’t diminish the emotion associated with the walk down the aisle at all.)

“Who offers this woman in marriage?”

“She gives of herself, and we give her our blessings.”

There we were: standing in front of all of our closest family and friends, and yet, at that moment, it felt like it was only the two of us.

*All photos in this post courtesy of Cliff Brunk Photography unless otherwise noted.