Monday, June 21, 2010

Wedding Picture PEEKS!

Hi all! O.k., I wanted to wait at least another 2 weeks before showing you all any photos because that's when I get the 'Professional' ones. But I just can't. So here are a few amateur snapshots for you, and I will give you more details about all the decorations and such when the professional photos are done.

After a week of strong thunderstorms and torrential downpours, flooding, etc., God granted us a beautiful sunny day in the 70's. So praise God for that! The ceremony was held inside our sun room and Ashley descended down the staircase. Here is Ashley wearing the dress that I took an entire year to make, at the base of the staircase. That's her dad watching me (see that peek of teal?) adjust her train.


This is Ashley and Jason at the 'alter'. I just loved the fact that the pastor wore a tie the exact color of my dress. All the colors were tied together so perfectly. The main color was 'Guava', or 'coral', and the accent color was teal. Here is the couple sharing their vows.



Here they are lighting the Unity Candle. The cross behind them has been hanging in my bathroom for years and was the perfect touch for both sentimental and aesthetic reasons.



Here is Ashley sitting pretty in the living room. Isn't she just gorgeous?


This is my husband and I standing in the receiving line.






Both my husband and I walked Ashley down the aisle. This is us waiting for her to finish descending the staircase.






The radiant bride.






This is my son and the grooms sister, and would you believe they are both named 'Jordan'. And to make it even funnier, the sister's middle name is Ashley!!!!




Here is a little peek of the decorated sun room.













This is the couple with Ashley's grandmother, my husband's mother.





This is Ashley's Great Grandmother in the foreground, and her grandfather in the background. We hung paper lanterns in the window space that separated the food area from the service area.










I promise more photographs and details in the many weeks to come, I just wanted to give you a little taste. I also need to 'vent' a little now. Even though this is primarily a paper crafting/arts and crafts blog, I also use it at times as a personal diary. It helps me to sort through my feelings and deal with things. I will first of all say that it was a perfect, fairy tale wedding. My daughter said before she left on her honeymoon that her wedding day was more than she ever dreamed, and she thanked me for all my hard work and everything I did to make the day so special for her. And I've never seen her so happy. She never stopped beaming all day. However, for me, it was one of the worst days of my life. I was miserable, and spent most of the day 'hiding from people'. And here is why. because the wedding was held in our home some things were a bit 'nontraditional'. Ashley wanted both of her parents to walk her down the aisle and give her away. But first we had to walk down the staircase. If we would have all walked down the staircase together, either I or her father would have been blocking her. We wanted Ashley to be the focus of attention. So we decided that after the bridal party went through, we would walk down the staircase first, and wait at the bottom of the staircase for Ashley looking up at her. She then walked down the staircase alone, and when she got to the bottom of the stair case, I fixed her train and then we each took her elbow and walked her down the aisle. Well, after the ceremony we were standing in the receiving line and this old man who I never met and was the groom's father's brother came up to me and said 'I thought you were the bride at first'. And I replied with a laugh 'Wearing blue!'. And he said, 'Well when you walked down the aisle during the processional music I didn't know what was going on'. Then I said 'We did that because we all couldn't fit down the staircase at the same time and we also wanted Ashley to be the focus of attention'. Then he rolled his eyes and said 'Well, still.' and then walked away. He never spoke to me again all day. I was so hurt and crushed and I felt like a fool. I am the type of person who takes a long time to process things and get over them when someone hurts me. I tried so hard not to let his rude comment ruin my day, but I just couldn't. I told several of my friends what he said and they were just shocked that anyone could be so rude to the Mother of the Bride, in the receiving line, when he was a guest in MY HOME! I know every wedding has an uncle who ruins it, I guess he was the one. I guess I just felt so bad because we did the processional the way we did it so Ashley would be the focus of attention, and then he thought we did what we did because I wanted to be the focus of attention, and nothing could be further from the truth. I spent the past year of my life working part time to make a dream wedding for my daughter, I spent a year planning and making everything by hand, and then someone robbed the joy of my day from me. My friends told me to just let it go, and then reassured me that the way we did the processional was absolutely perfectly, but I just couldn't be happy. I spent most of yesterday curled up in a ball depressed, and today I'm still in tears about it. I know I will get over it eventually, but it will take me a long, long time. And hopefully, I will be able to relive the joy of the day through pictures, if not through memories. I just wish, more than anything, that we never would have invited this man. He was kinda a last minute addition that I gave in on because the groom's family had no other family there because his side of the family is either dead or distant. I keep thinking, if I never would have given in on inviting him, that comment would have never been made and the day would have been perfect. Instead it was just ruined for me. I know some of you probably think I'm over reacting, and I probably am, but its just who I am and no matter how hard I try to not feel or think this way, I can't. So I ask for your prayers that I will be able to forget this incident and let it go. Amy






12 comments:

  1. What a BEAUTIFUL Wedding Amy...She looks AMAZING!!!! So happy to hear the weather was AWESOME and everything turned out great!!! Thanks for sharing some pics of this very exciting day!!!! Hugs!

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  2. Beautiful Amy!Everything picture perfect! ;) Tracy

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  3. Oh, Amy, I have been patiently waiting for these pics, and they are even more beautiful than I imagined. You should be SO proud of what you accomplished! The bride is breathtaking, as is the dress that you created by hand. The decor is as professional as what you could have purchased at Niemann Marcus. You and DH and DS all look so happy! You cannot let one cranky old fart ruin this day for you. You did what YOU wanted, he was a guest in YOUR house, and it was none of his business who walked down the stairs, or when they did! I'm so praying that as I get older, I do not act like this man. I see so often that older folks seem to have less respect for others. I pray that God doesn't let me get that way. Stunning wedding, my friend! I'm glad that you vented and got it out of your system. You are a goddess in your daughter's eyes - I just know it! Hold your head up, dry your tears, and be so proud!!! Hugs!!!

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  4. The photos are BEAUTIFUL, and you all have excellent youthful genes!!! WOW!!! I swear you and your daughter look like sisters!

    As for the cranky old pooper, I'd simply laugh it off as someone who is obviously miserable with his own life, and maybe even a little jealous of your beautiful home (and your great genes!) that he has to make a petty comment like that just to make himself feel better. What a geezer. I hope he has the shits for a week.

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  5. Girlfriend ... don't let that old geezer rain on your parade! Your HOME, your DAUGHTER, YOU & HUBBY are BEAUTIFUL and God Blessed you with sunshine ... don't let ONE crotchity man spoil that for you!

    Your home looks AMAZING and I love the shelf of candles ... gorgeous idea ... so romantic! And your daughter ... what a beautiful bride!! Her gown is GORGEOUS ... oh my gosh ... how talented you are!! WOWSA!

    Your "ameteur" photos are wonderful and really tells the story! GREAT JOB! Thanks so much for sharing them with us ... I thought of you ALL DAY SATURDAY and just prayed the day was a beautiful memory in the making!!

    God Love Ya Amy! You are amazing! Enjoy & delight in all the wonderful events of the day ... don't give this ONE set of comments ruin that for you! He obviously doesn't appreciate what a wedding is all about!!

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  6. I am so happy for your daughter and so sad for you... You have every right to be upset about this Amy.. That is one thing that always upsets me is that we are not allowed to have our own feelings hurt.. Your daughter's wedding was amazing.. I have followed you through this entire thing and watched you work so hard at it. I think it is awesome that you both walked her down the isle.. I HATE traditional weddings. They are boring. I cannot believe that someone so rude would say that. My mom planned my entire wedding and we did everything for it.. It is one of the most precious memories I will ever have. We had it on our family farm.. Your daughter is the luckiest girl to have a mom that would do so much for her. You hang in there.. He is the one with issues.. Her dress is amazing.. Your HOUSE is amazing.. It looks so awesome... Hang in there and huge hugs...:)

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  7. The photos are terrific. Your daughter did look lovely. What a gorgeous gown she had. And you looked stunning yourself in teal. How nice that you were able to have the wedding in your home.

    I'm sorry that you had a bad experience with one of the guests. I do the same thing... agonize over things I said or should have said to the point of being depressed and not being able to sleep. It is hard to shake things off.

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  8. It was a perfect day! From start to finish. I am so blessed to have been there. I pray that my daughters have a day half as special as Ashley's.

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  9. Your daughter is beautiful and you did an amazing job on her dress. It is incredibly beautiful! I loved your dress as well, that is a gorgeous color on you. Don't let the words of one insignificant person ruin your fun, don't ever let someone else have that much power over your own life! You did an amazing job and you should be so proud of yourself!

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  10. awww, so beautiful!!! Everything!!!

    I agree with Kim, don't let someone else dictate your life! You are amazing and beautiful!!!
    hugs & blessings!

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  11. I couldn't wait to see the photos and hear about the wedding. It is so fun to keep up with what you are doing. Thanks for sharing! You did a fabulous job! Congratulations!!!

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  12. Hi Amy. I just now read this post.
    Your daughter looks amazing. The dress you made for her is breathtaking. WOW!! And the decorations... you are so so very talented in every way!

    I am so sorry that old man tried to ruined your day. He might have been already drinking...Don't let that ruin the memories of that beautiful day.
    Hugs,
    Ellie.

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