Reminiscing is fun and it is hard not to do on a day like today. As I think back on our wedding day, I have many fond memories. I will apologize up front for being overly loving in what follows this sentence but sometimes it is OK to be annoyingly in love!
1. the yearly recurrence of the date of a past event: the tenth anniversary of their marriage.
2. the celebration or commemoration of such a date.
I see anniversaries much like the second definition from the list above: the celebration or commemoration of such a date! It isn't just looking back at us and our wedding. I like to remember everything that day held. It is about the people who attended, the weather, the food, the ceremony and most importantly: the feelings we felt & shared.
- The best part of the entire day may be a detail that many of you didn't know about. We are both from Catholic upbringings and wanted to be united as man & wife in the eyes of the catholic church. We also understood that a full catholic ceremony would be long to endure for guests! After many conversations with our priest and family we were able to plan a wedding day that would be most enjoyable and meaningful to everyone. We held a private ceremony in the side chapel of St. Bridget's Catholic Church at 9 am on the 15th of October. We had a full rite of matrimony in front of God, our priest, our parents, witnesses and our son. I didn't have a stitch of makeup on. My hair was pulled back into a pony tail and I had on a UWRF Track t-shirt. I was standing in front of a wonderful man who had always accepted every piece of me. He had never judged me for the paths I had already walked in life. He simply took me for who I was & am. That is the best feeling in the world. I have never had to pretend to be better than I was because being me was more than good enough.
- My favorite part of our Kilkarney ceremony was when our officiant was announcing us as Mr. & Mrs. Brant Johnson. "You can now make it Facebook official!"
- October 15th, 2011 was a beautiful and sunny 59 degrees with a hefty winds blowing. Many of our guest needed to wear their jackets but the short 15 minutes ceremony proved to be worth it. We had so many compliments about how touching & personal our entire ceremony was and several people commented that our ceremony was the most enjoyable they had attended because it was filled with so much love and laughter.
- Arriving to the reception hall at 6 am the morning of our wedding to decorate was hectic, overwhelming and exciting all in one bunch. The best part was walking in and discovering a vase of one dozen red roses and a note from Brant.
- The special touch added within our ceremony was by far the Hand Blessing. We joined hands before exchanging rings while Nate recited the following:
-These are the hands of your best friend. They are holding yours on your wedding day as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow and forever.
-These are the hands that will work alongside yours as together you build your future.
-These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch will comfort you like no other.
-These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief wracks your mind.
-These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it.
-May these hands always reach out with love, tenderness and respect.
-May these hands continue to build a loving relationship that lasts a lifetime - A couple of months before our wedding, one of my best friends asked me if we would mind sharing a part of our wedding reception so he could propose to his girlfriend, who just happened to be one of my bridesmaid and best friends. I was thrilled in being able to share in their joy and happiness. She had NO clue it was coming and that was the best part. We all watched from the balcony as they "went for a walk". Perfection at it's best!
- How about ALL of those handmade details? Wow, so much of my free time in the year leading up to our wedding was spent handcrafting every single detail from the bouquets to the centerpieces. I wouldn't change a thing. The details all came together to create a modern country chic fall environment that was everything that I had imagined. The caramel apples, hot apple cider, homemade pumkin spice cupcakes with buttercream frosting and a candy buffet added hints of my favorite fall things. I had help from family and friends in perfecting all the projects and I appreciated their lending hands very much.
- Having our family and friends travel from near and very far to share in our wedding day meant so much. I couldn't believe how packed it was. All the seats were filled and people were standing on the balcony overlooking our outdoor ceremony & personally written vows.
- The only 2 times I broke down and cried involved my dad. What can I say, I am a daddy's girl! He came through the doors to see me for the first time in my wedding dress and had a glistening tear in his eye marked the first time I shed tears that day. I knew in that moment how happy and proud of me he was. The second time I teared up was during our father/daughter dance. A very special moment I will hold in my heart forever.
- All the kissing & hugs from everyone! I enjoyed kissing Brant as my husband for the first time the most but man did we get showered with all sorts of affection that day!
Words can be a great way to describe the events that transpired on our wedding day but photos can offer up so much more sometimes. Here is a collection of my favorite wedding day photos that captured all of the detail and feelings. Thanks again to Jen Meneghin Photography for capturing such wonderful photos that tell the story of the day we became husband and wife!
peace & love
bj
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