It Was The Best Day Of My Life...

...and it was only the beginning.

A year ago today was the best single day of my life thus far: the day I married the man I love. I'll go ahead and warn you that this post could be long, sappy, and cheesy (so feel free to skip this one if you don't care for such things), but it will be filled with fond memories, happiness, and adoration not only for my husband, but also for our friends and families who helped make our wedding day as incredible as it was.

I've spent a lot of time over the past week or two thinking back to what I was doing a year ago at this time. Last year, this past week was spent hanging out with my best girl friends, making final preparations, welcoming out of town family, and just enjoying being together with my nearest and dearest.

A few of those nearest and dearest: Eric, Megan, Molly, Kristina, and Heather

A year ago today, the day started with me waking up on the mattress in my dad's office, with my friend Kristina sleeping next to me. One of my favorite things about the time leading up to the wedding was that all the bridesmaids came into town early and everyone stayed at my dad's house! It was great to stay in a house filled with my best friends, although it put sleeping space at a premium. Heather and my cousin Molly shared Heather's room, my childhood friend Megan from Cleveland slept on the sofa bed in the family room, and my college roommate Kristina shared the mattress on the floor of the office with me. As soon as I woke up on the wedding day, I immediately went to Heather's room and woke Molly and Heather by asking them to sing "Going to the Chapel," which they had been doing pretty much ever since I got engaged (and very well, too!). I would demand this of them several more times throughout the day! 

 

Heather and Molly singing "Going to the Chapel" on New Year's Eve, 06-07

Once everyone had gotten up, we started getting showered and ready for the day. The hair and makeup artists arrived around 10:00 a.m. and got to work beautifying us. We spent the day just relaxing together, being pampered, drinking champagne, and enjoying the day. I absolutely loved that we were all able to spend the day together at my dad's house as we got ready.

Molly doing the champagne-popping honors

Getting beautified

Molly and my mom, enjoying the day

Heather and Megan, looking on as I got ready

Early in the afternoon, Eric's brother Ronnie stopped by my dad's house to pick up the groomsmen's boutonnieres and my gift for Eric, as well as deliver a beautiful red rose for me and a card from Eric. Eric's card absolutely moved me to tears, and after I read it I passed it around for everyone to read. While Kristina was reading it, I realized there was a "P.S." on the back! I demanded she hand it over immediately, and laughed out loud at the back, which can only be described as "exploding Eric." The P.S. apologized for all the "typos" (cross-outs) in the card and other various things that were just so very Eric. It really calmed my nerves, brought a smile to my face, and made me that much more excited to marry him.

Reading my beautiful card

Before I knew it, it was time to put the finishing touches on and head to the church. We ended up running slightly behind schedule, much to my dismay. I had been determined that we would be on time. But, what can you do? The ceremony started late, but contrary to popular belief, it was not entirely our fault. Yes, we were running a little behind, but once we got to the church, there was mass boutonniere/corsage confusion, which really slowed things down. I ended up sitting in the limo with the bridesmaids forever, until I got so antsy that the limo driver escorted us up into the church to a little holding room of sorts. So, it wasn't all my fault! Plus, the delay ended up being perfect, because it rained during the ceremony, but had cleared up by the end. Had we not been running late, our guests would have likely been leaving the church in a downpour.

From my little holding room, I was able to peek out into the sanctuary to look at our guests being seated. I was also able to listen to Heather's solo for the seating of the parents and grandparents. She sang "Panis Angelicus," which I chose because it was sung at my paternal grandparents' wedding. I know she was so nervous but she sang just beautifully.

Heather singing from the balcony

And at last, the big moment was upon us. The bridesmaids all lined up and I took my dad's arm. I heard the music - "Pachelbel's Canon in D" - begin, and that's when I lost it. Eric had really wanted that to be our processional, and as soon as I heard it and saw my bridesmaids start walking down the aisle ahead of me, one by one, the gravity of the whole day hit me. This was it, I was finally here. I was marrying that cute boy I met at the pool. I was marrying the man who makes me happier than I ever thought possible. 

As soon as my dad and I stepped through the church doors and started to make our way down the aisle, I looked to the end of the aisle for my husband-to-be. We locked eyes and I would not have looked away for anything. That moment is something that I will never forget. It was just indescribable...the love I felt for him, the feeling of being surrounded by our friends and family, the beautiful church, the music...just amazing.

A very memorable walk with my dad

My handsome husband waiting for me at the end of the aisle

Every time I look at this picture, I can still feel the emotions I was feeling at that moment. It's incredible.

And so began the ceremony. Eric and I held hands through the whole thing, which was unplanned and so wonderful. I got pretty choked up through my vows, but managed to hold it together much better than I thought I would. Through the whole day, I was really much more composed than I had expected. I had figured I would be a blubbering mess, but instead I was just so happy that pretty much all I could do was grin from ear to ear. 

Holding hands! And you can't really make it out, but I'm also grinning at Eric like crazy.

Eric wiping my tears during my vows

First kiss!

After the ceremony, we stood outside the sanctuary to greet our guests as everyone filed out. We took some family portraits at the church, then the whole bridal party hopped into the limo to go take pictures outside the Mahaffey Theater, our reception venue. This was another blessing in disguise thanks to the rain: we had actually planned to take our pictures at a local park, but nixed that idea after the rain because of wet grass and puddles. I am so glad we ended up taking pictures where we did. The backdrop was just gorgeous!

Our beautiful bridal party

I love this one!

After pictures, we got ready to be introduced into the reception. We had our bridal party introduced to the "Friends" theme song, and then Eric and I entered the reception to the "Jaws" music and "Go Gators," just like the Florida Gators run onto the football field to on game days! That was one of my most favorite details from the reception. Our Gator guests loved it, and it got us all pumped up and ready for the reception!

Go Gators!

We were then seated for dinner and my Uncle Mark said the blessing before we ate. The dinner was delicious! As dinner was winding down, Heather and Ronnie gave their toasts, which were awesome. We laughed, we cried. We loved every minute of it.

"It takes a strong woman to tame a W. man!"

"So from the very beginning, he knew that she was worth it. Good job, you're smart."

After the toasts, it was time for our first dance. We danced to a song called "Feels Like Home" by Chantal Kreviazuk. I love the lyrics, and our dance was great. Eric kept telling jokes (in true Eric fashion), so we spent much of the dance laughing together. Although there was one part where the gravity of everything hit us and we got a bit emotional.

Laughing at Eric's jokes

Our emotional moment

After our first dance, we did the parent dances. I danced with my dad to "Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole, and Eric danced with his mom to "The Perfect Fan" by the Backstreet Boys.

My dad and I after our dance

And then, the party really got started! Below are some of the highlights from the rest of the reception...

The conga line, in which my awesome Gramps participated:

The YMCA, with our friends Jeff, Joey, Eric, and Peter as the Village People:

The cake cutting and feeding each other (no smashing!):

The bouquet toss, and Molly catching it (it went right through Kristina's hands!):

The garter removal shennanigans:

The garter toss, and Molly's boyfriend Arturo catching it:

The garter putting-on shennanigans:

My mother's crazy dancing (many people have asked me if she was drunk, but she insists she was not):

The spontaneous line dance that Heather and I started to "Cotton Eyed Joe" by doing a polka step we learned in ballet class as kids:

And the absolute best part, which was watching all of our friends and family have such a great time:

It really was a perfect night. The whole day was just more than I ever could have hoped for. I got to marry the man I love so much, and we got to celebrate with the people we love most in the world. We are so thankful to all of our guests who came from all over the country (and my cousin Jacob even made the trip from Hungary!) to celebrate with us. We felt - and continue to feel - so blessed to have such amazing people in our life.

A few other things that I love to remember from that day:

• Heather and Ronnie being so invested in making things special for Eric and me. They both really wanted everything to be perfect, and it showed. We were so touched at how much they cared, and were lucky to have them as our best man and maid of honor.

• My bouquet was a small Bible decorated with gardenias and roses, in honor of my late grandmother, Nana. She had carried a similar decorated prayer book and her wedding. I used gardenias to decorate mine because they were her favorite flower, and I could smell them through the whole ceremony.

• The other meaningful things I did to honor someone I loved, like having "Panis Angelicus" sung at the ceremony, pinning my family tartan into my dress with a Marine Corps pin in honor of my late grandfather, wearing my mother's veil, etc.

• The little touches to the reception that were so "us," like the Gators grooms cake, the "Friends" lobster favors, our reception entrance, etc. It was great to make things personal to our relationship.

• Getting ready at my dad's house with all the bridesmaids and my parents. It was great to get ready for such an important day in the house I lived in for so many years.

• The dogs...oh, the dogs! After I read my tear-inducing card from Eric, I looked up to see those ridiculous dogs staring at me through the sliding door. They put on quite a show for us all day as they were banished to the outdoors.

• This expression of "YES, we DID it!" on Eric's face after the ceremony:

Wow. I apologize for the length of this post. If any of you are still reading, thank you for bearing with my excessive long-windedness today. I just can hardly believe it has already been a year...it has flown by, and truly been wonderful. I've heard people say that the first year of marriage is always the hardest, but ours has been a pleasure, even with the stresses we've faced. If this is hard, we'll have no trouble coasting on to our Golden Anniversary in 49 more years!

Thanks Eric, for being the best husband a girl could ever hope for. I'm looking forward to being your wife for many, many more years to come. You are, as you always were and ever will be, my favorite. Happy Anniversary!