Modern Day Southern Belle: Marry Me Monday: Our Ceremony

About five hours after Ed proposed last year on the beach, I started planning our wedding. I thought I had done such a great job of appearing calm by not rushing to the wedding planning process but Ed saw it a different way. He tells me that I went right into full speed that afternoon with everything all planned out before we left Destin! That is only half true. But what would one expect when a girl is anticipating (growing extremely impatient) a proposal for a year?!?

Really I only had the big parts planned. We quickly figured out where we wanted the wedding because one of the most important things for me was to have the ceremony at my church where I was confirmed. I definitely wanted Fr. Tommy to do the ceremony and Ed completely agreed. Fr. T is one of those people that has a rare talent to make every one he comes into contact with feel welcomed and happy. I wanted as many of our family and friends to be able to experience the joy that is St. Thomas and Fr. Tommy.

Our ceremony was beautiful. Yes, there were a few mishaps like my music not being played at the right time. But I decided to not let little imperfections upset me because those little mistakes combined with the perfect moments make the day unique and beautiful. I have so many perfect memories of the day like being escorted down the aisle by my sweet mother, who has always been and will be by my side. And seeing Ed smile and all the nervousness go away. I did not look at anyone except Ed as we walked down the aisle to him. I remember someone crying beside me as Ed and mom hugged. I remember looking at my mother as she walked to take her seat. All beautiful memories.

Fr. Tommy managed to make the ceremony holy and funny at the same time. He even gave our guests the opportunity to take pictures so that they could post to Facebook immediately. I remember the sweet look Ed had on his face. I remember my voice shaking as I recited my vows but I don't remember the vows. Thank goodness those are written down for us if Ed ever wants to remind me of them!

I did not feel that nervous especially seeing all the sweet, smiling faces of family members and friends but I do remember trying to pay attention while I simultaneously reminded myself to not lock my knees. I did not want to pass out! But I did pay attention and it flew by. Yes, a Catholic wedding that flew by! But in full disclosure, it was a non-Mass Catholic wedding but even those can be long. Before I knew it, Father Tommy was ending in an Irish blessing (a special request from us) but in typical Fr. T style it was a true Irish humor blessing that ended with "may you be in heaven an hour before the devil knows that you are dead." And while the ceremony seem to go by in a few minutes, the time between him announcing us as husband and wife and telling us to kiss lasted forever. There were a few awkward moments where we leaned in to kiss but stopped because he had not told us we could yet. Fr. T, noticing the awkward movements, jokingly asked us could we wait a minute. The comment once again gathered more laughter from the church from another humorous moment.

There are a few things that I did not see or do not remember but our amazing photographer (Jenn D Photography) caught so many beautiful moments!