Weddingbee
WHERE WE HAD LEFT OFF:
NOTE: As usual, my recap photos are from a variety of sources. All post-processing has been done by me with each individual’s consent and permission.
***
After the ceremony finished, Mr. Shortcake and I stood together outside in the pouring, freezing rain. The sky had opened up its black clouds and it was absolute misery. But, the bells on our two hundred year old chapel were ringing, and we were married. Married! Woot! Woot!
For those of you who have commented on how serene I appeared in photos, here’s a candid that’s a little more indicative of my emotions during the beginning of the day:
Quick! Someone tell that bride not to hike her hoops up so high! 
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You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment.
I finally bought a DVD ripper so that I could tear apart the footage from guests’ home videos and put them back together. Here’s the processional from last week’s recap:
The embedded blogging version of this video is of pretty poor quality - so make sure to press “HQ”!
WHERE WE HAD LEFT OFF:
NOTE: As usual, my recap photos are from a variety of sources. All post-processing has been done by me with each individual’s consent and permission.
*Feel free to play our processional song while you’re reading this post (my entrance was at 2:00)
WHERE WE HAD LEFT OFF:
NOTE: As usual, my recap photos are from a variety of sources. All post-processing has been done by me with each individual’s consent and permission.
***
High heels on, hair in place, and umbrellas in hand, it was time to leave for the church. Our photographer had gone on ahead of us, so we had a moment to breathe.
Breathe in, breathe out.
Once that single moment was over, all hell broke loose as people scrambled to find their belongings and rides to the little chapel. My bridesmaids and I, of course, were traveling together in a stretch S.U.V. limo. Not so very vintage, but my hoop skirts necessitated something that could accommodate my dress without squashing it a la Princess Diana in her wedding day carriage. So, a S.U.V. it was, and it had been lovingly decorated by my mother for the occasion. Unfortunately, we all clambered into the vehicle so quickly that no one noticed the decorations, and no one thought to take any pictures of it. Whoops! Sorry, mom! 
Meanwhile, Mr. Shortcake and his motley crew had arrived at St. George’s Parish, and were nervously awaiting our arrival.
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WHERE WE HAD LEFT OFF:
NOTE: Excepting the flower photo, all of the photos in this post are courtesy of Mr. Shortcake.
****
MR. SHORTCAKE:
Fifty minutes of driving time away, the other half of the wedding party was slowly getting ready after an evening of margaritas and cards. The morning began with some homemade Egg McMuffins and a couple of beers to take the edge off. Nothing says, “I’m getting married today!” quite like breakfast sandwiches and a pint! Because almost none of my groomsmen had been in a wedding party, there was a definite nervous energy in the air - it wasn’t just from me!
Our videographer (a friend of mine) arrived at my parents’ house at around 8 AM to take a few quick clips of me handing the rings to my best man for safe keeping. After staying for our breakfast of champions, he too was off to visit the bridal party. It was now time for me to do the two things that a groom has to do at a wedding:
Get dressed, and show up!
Those are not always easy tasks for some of us - especially certain ones who still need someone to tie their ties for them! In true “man” fashion, we set up camp in the basement, laying our “James Bond tuxedos” on the Ping Pong table alongside our beers.
WHERE WE HAD LEFT OFF:
NOTE: As usual, my recap photos are from a variety of sources (father, family, friends, florist, me, and some from the “photographer”). All post-processing has been done by me with each individual’s consent and permission. You can see an example of a “before” picture here.
~~~
Gingerly stepping over the pre-wedding debris littering the stairway and every floor, we picked our way downstairs. Already doubting the skill of my photographer (he was chosen, long-distance, on the recommendation of a friend at the very beginning of my engagement when I didn’t know any better), I selected the living room and asked my bridesmaids to open all of the blinds and curtains on the lower floor. Light is SO important to photography; I knew that if I was going to have a chance of saving the photos after the wedding, I was going to have to combat the increasing gloom outside first. I asked our ’photographer’ if we could do some of the getting ready shots that I had suggested in previous emails (complete with sample photographs). He looked at me blankly. Someone hadn’t done his homework. I asked him to take some photos of my bridesmaids doing up the buttons on my dress, and he obliged, peppering his workflow patter with sexually harassing comments.
Where we had left off:
NOTE: As usual, my recap photos are from a variety of sources (father, family, friends, florist, me, and some from the “photographer”). All post-processing has been done by me with each individual’s consent and permission. You can see an example of a “before” picture here.
~~~
I left the florist on the front porch, where she continued to try and salvage what was left of our bouquets. I’m sure that at that point, had my pulse been taken, it would have resembled the rat-ta-tata of a jackhammer. I. WAS. STRESSED. I tried to calm myself down by breathing.
HEEEEEEEEEEEE… HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO… HEEEEEEEEEEE… HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…
I Lamazed my way up to the master bedroom, where I would be getting dressed, and was dismayed to find that my carefully organized command center had become the repository for everybody’s belongings. I couldn’t find my accessories! I couldn’t find my shoes! Where was my timetable and photo shoot list? My blood pressure rose to dangerous levels. I tried breath control again.
HEE HOO HEE HOO HEE HOO HEE HOOHEEHOOHEHEHE
It wasn’t working.
Anxious and behind schedule, Sister Shortcake and I returned home. My bridesmaids had already arrived, as per my elaborate timetable, but I was too harried to say more than a brief hello.
{my best friend from high school - such a beautiful bridesmaid!}
Ooh! You may have seen this wedding before, but just in case you haven’t, I just thought I’d alert you to this fabulousness:
Mrs. Shortcake
Mrs. Shortcake, Vancouver
Age and Occupation: 24, Marketing Manager/Children's Lit Writer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Master's Student/Personal Trainer
Engagement Date: August 7, 2007
Wedding Date: October 2008
Blogging Since:
Venue: Ceremony in a historic church, tented lawn reception at a golf and country club
About Me: 1950's housewife sent to the future, reborn as crafting-obsessed, jill of all trades. I enjoy decorating, writing, baking sweet things, singing show tunes/dancing in public, wearing pearls, and knitting sweaters for my furbaby, Harvey, to chew upon. I heart pink, and believe that sparkles are the new black.
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