It's been quite a while since I have connected with my blog - many things have changed in my life and I suppose the best way to "catch up" is to write about those changes.
One of the most monumental changes has been our wedding. Steve and I were married, finally, on August 6, 2011 at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo. The days leading up to our wedding were definitely muddled and stressful. Certain people tried their best to make this special time for us a stressful, muddled mess. However, despite a massive stress migraine during the rehearsal dinner, Saturday, August 6, 2011 turned out to be a magical day. We decided to have pictures taken before the ceremony in order to have as much time to enjoy the ceremony and our guests as possible after the wedding. There were definitely some huge hiccups throughout the day, but none of those really mattered to Steve and I.
The first day of our honeymoon at Mackinaw Island, we sat together and talked about how surreal the ceremony was to both of us. It was the most awesome and yet strange experience we have both had in our lives. If you have ever seen a picture of a ballet dancer in motion, completing pirouettes across the floor with dancers moving around her, you might have a slight indication of how we felt.
From my perspective, as my bridesmaids were walking down the aisle, I was standing with my Dad talking about how we would make sure to make one another laugh while we were walking down the aisle to keep from crying. As soon as Joshua Radin's "They Bring Me to You" began to play, the only other person that existed in that room was Steve. Listening to this song continues to bring me to joyful tears because I think it is perfection of mine and Steve's relationship to this point, yet, on that day, it only made me smile. If someone could have taken a picture of my heart, it would have been swollen and grinning with happiness. I felt my Dad's hand enveloping mine as we walked, I saw people's faces smiling at me, but they were all like floating heads or balloons - it was very strange. I saw Steve waiting for me at the front and while the walk was short I felt like it was slow motion. The ceremony itself was beautiful and again, while I saw glimpses of our family and friends surrounding us, it really felt like Steve and I were the only two people present - the rest were playing on a movie screen in the background or something. As we read our vows to one another, I could see Steve's best man and best friend, Craig, grinning at me, and if I was nervous it would have put me at ease, but I felt so calm and at peace and right standing up there with Steve. Now granted the microphone chose a very opportune time to scream at me during my vows and apparently several people thought I was "with child" because I told Steve how excited I was to see the father he would be to our future children, but those moments added to the beautiful memories of the day.
Our DJ must have smoked something pretty good that day and somehow managed to begin our first dance with MJ's "The Way You Make Me Feel" as opposed to Ben Fold's "The Luckiest" but once we got the right song we both knew WE were the LUCKIEST =) We barely touched our food because we were in awe of the day and completely excited to finally be celebrating us. Despite our DJ trying to put everyone to sleep with elevator music during dinner and also announcing that "BrieAnna is now DATING her Dad" instead of dancing, Joe Cocker's "Days Like This" was a perfect reflection of my Dad and I - we were happy, talking and laughing as we were dancing to a song that reminded me of my Dad's heart.
I wanted to be sure to preserve some of the most precious memories of this wonderful day, so thanks for letting me share. To those of you that love and support us together, THANK YOU for being there to celebrate such a wonderful day with us!
