Weddingbee Blog

Once we were all done with family photos, it was time for Mr. Lion and me to pose for portraits by ourselves. Our photographer wanted to show the diversity of the venue, so we got really into it and posed all over! But first, our videographer wanted us to recreate the moment from Disney/Pixar’s “Up,” when Ellie flung her arms around her new husband.

Our photographer brought some props for us to pose with…
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Del Sol Photography

Throughout our planning Mr. Meerkat and I debated back and forth on choreographing our first dance vs taking the “let’s just wing it” approach. I moaned and whined to you about wanting an upbeat, get-the-crowd-cheering dance, but in the end we totally went for the “wing it” option. And you know what? Our first dance turned out even better than I had imagined it choreographed.
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It’s hard to remember how the ceremony began. The moments happen so quickly—I’m walking down the aisle, kissing my dad, then I’m holding Mr. Barrettes’ hands and standing in front of Dr. Houtz. The guests gathered to witness us tie the knot fade into a beautiful background and I’m absorbed into the moment. My eyes dart back and forth between my groom’s and the reverend’s and I’m just trying to remember to breathe. The thrill is beyond.

I could see the excitement in my groom’s eyes and I just loved standing there, holding hands, staring at each other in front of our friends and family. I could have stood there all night. 3 1/2 inch heels? Forget about it! I couldn’t feel anything but our hands touching and my heart racing.
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After what seemed like an eternity, we stood there ready to wed and begin our lives together as husband and wife. With our hands locked together, my nerves slowly began to calm. Who would’ve thought that my bestie’s failed attempt to set us up in college would lead to happily ever after eight years later? Me! I love my Mr Piggy.
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Way back when, I told you all about how I was writing the entire ceremony from scratch. I promised to share the end result with you, in the hopes that it might help some of you who are as overwhelmed as I was by the whole process, and also as a way of thanking you for your input and influence on our wedding ceremony.

I’ve decided that the best way to do this is by working the text of our ceremony into my recaps, interspersed with pictures and commentary from the major moments — and I will do my best not to bore you!

For anyone who is currently undertaking their own similar adventure in ceremony writing, I highly recommend The Wedding Ceremony Planner by Judith Johnson as a good place to start. I mostly just used it to outline the basic structure of our ceremony, and then chose meaningful readings and wrote my own words on what each section of the ceremony meant to us.

If you do get the chance to write your own ceremony, I can’t stress enough what an incredible experience it is.
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When money is tight, your wedding party is large, and everyone comes in different shapes and sizes, a Little Black Dress can make decisions so much simpler—especially if you already have one in your closet. I had 7 bridesmaids. The tallest was 6′ tall and the shortest 5′ tall. The same dress can look very different on both. So early on, I decided to let each of my girlfriends pick their own LBD. My only request was that it had straps. Some wore dresses they already had, others went out and bought one, but it was their choice. It reflected their styles, and they actually could/would wear them again.

The moms decided to hop on the LBD bandwagon as well. And I’m so glad they did. Here is the beginning procession to our wedding. The parents walked down to Orange Sky by Alexi Murdoch and the wedding party walked to “It’s Good to Be in Love” by Frou Frou.

Mr. Espresso’s parents

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After the ceremony was over, we removed my birdcage veil…

bustled my dress…
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