My mother and her friend Linda took us to the salon. My hairdresser was on a role today and had us all ‘updoed’ in no time. It was a breeze for her after having done my hair for the bridal portraits a few weeks earlier. A few minor adjustments and it was even better than the first time. Two more of my 6 bridesmaids were having their hair done at this salon as well. Ronda was not pleased with her first hairstyle and patiently waited while it had to be redone. Then it was time for the flowergirls, Taylor and Tera to get their hair done. They were so adorable, like little dolls. I wore out my new digital camera as I photographed everyone throughout the entire process. Ronda, Sheri and myself then headed to Subway so we could grab some food. I was told this would be my last chance for awhile so I had better stuff my tummy. We must have looked pretty silly going into Subway with our updos, a girl in line asked us if we were having a wedding today, I guess it was a little obvious. Ronda felt the need to paint her nails so we grabbed some nail polish at the grocery store, while we were there I picked up the DMN to see if my picture was in there. Sure enough it was, Wow, it seemed so official. Here it was only 3:00 and it was already in the paper!

Everyone showed up to the church on time and they all looked fabulous! It was a whirlwind of makeup, you’d think we were preparing for the Academy awards. Rebecca, one of my cousins, applied my makeup for me. She does such a fabulous job. I have to say I looked marvelous, I was just stunning! I realized I had forgot to scuff my shoes so Sheri ran out to the front of the church and returned in a flash. Everything seemed to be happening so quickly. All my bridesmaids were wonderful; they were such a great help to me and were there for everything throughout the whole night. I am so lucky to have such good friends. Finally, it was time to put on the dress. The photographer was taking pictures of us at 4:15. I had some difficulty with the petticoat, it was too long and I was tripping over it. All through the fittings I never had a problem with it, but I did today. I had also painted my toenails blue and was wearing white sandals, without pantyhose. Keri, Matt’s sister, gave me a blue Turkish eye that is thought to ward off evil spirits. I pinned this on the inside of my dress. Before I knew it we all had on our best smiles and flashes were popping all around. The girls were first, then the boys. We were careful not to cross paths with them before the service. The photographer then started doing formal pictures, none of which included me, I regret this.

Back in the Bride’s room I was waiting for what seemed like an eternity now; my palms were all sweaty. At this point I was sitting in a chair with my trane draped over the back. I had to refrain from drinking any liquids so as to avoid the need to use the bathroom too often. I was getting more nervous by the moment. Every time the door would open I could see the people starting to arrive. Beth kept handing me towels so I could soak up the sweat on my palms. She humored me with thoughts of Matt dressed up as Elvis for Halloween to keep me from crying. I was fearful of messing up my makeup and my eyes were tearing. When I asked what time it was they said 10 minutes to six, wow the time really did fly, 10 minutes to go. The church was filling up quickly. This was about to happen and I felt so calm, but yet I was so nervous. I realized I had forgotten to give Matt the card and poem I had written for him. It would have to wait until later. It came time for the bridesmaids to walk down the aisle. I was left alone in the bride room. Something came over me and I just lost it, I started balling. I was whimpering and wiping away the tears, I started to go for the eyeliner and Anna came in and said it was time. I thought to myself, stop, stop it, you're about to get married. I grabbed a tissue and walked out where my dad was, he took my arm. He said something but I was too busy whimpering to hear what he actually said. As we stood in front of the closed doors, Anna opened the left door, then the right door. I felt the tears coming back and asked my dad to walk slowly as I did not want to trip on the petticoat.

Matt told me how beautiful I was when I reached the end of the aisle; his face was red like he had been crying too. I just looked into his eyes and squeezed his hand, to say I know, it’s ok, I love you too. I still had my tissue and struggled to hold back the tears. Matt messed up one line but it was not very noticeable, he almost started laughing thinking that the preacher had repeated a line twice. Tad did a great job with the readings and the wedding was over. The service seemed so quick to me but it was 35 minutes long. The preacher pronounced us man and wife; we kissed and turned around so everyone could see the happily married couple and their swollen eyes. We walked back down the aisle and to the side of the church to get away from everyone. Matt and I just hugged and kissed each other, we were so happy it was over. I giggled a little because he had lipstick on his mouth. After we got the people out of the church we quickly took the rest of the pictures. Everything was so organized and it was all happening so methodically. The photographer was so efficient that we made it to the reception before some of the guests did. In retrospect I wish we had taken more time to take pictures of the two of us.

John was driving us to the reception in his 1979 Rolls Royce. He even dressed up as a chauffeur. It was raining now, but we made it to the reception just before it really started pouring. Just before we made our entrance they bustled my dress and made the DJ aware that we were ready. My parents had not yet arrived so we grabbed a canopy from the waitress and waited for them. After they arrived, the Baron, our DJ announced us. We walked in to the room with our guests all clapping, I felt like it was a dream. We moved toward the dance floor and the Baron played Amazed by Lonestar for our first dance. Everyone watched on as we floated around the dance floor. Then the Baron directed us to the food and had the families and wedding party follow. The Baron was running a tight show and made sure we were able to eat without being pestered. I really was not hungry but I ate anyway. After we ate in peace we proceeded to greet all of our guests. We did our best to talk to everyone but I think we got pulled away a few times.

My dad and I danced to Butterfly Kisses. The dance seemed to last forever. I had the Baron play 70s music all night, that is our favorite and we wanted to boogie. The DJ was awesome; we got several positive comments on him and his style. We were, however, not prepared to be put on the spot but we handled it well, had I been more prepared I could have said something meaningful, instead all my words were jumbled and unorganized. After the infamous cake cutting, minus the shoving of cake down our throats I was talked into the dollar dance. I really was trying to avoid this tradition but in retrospect I am glad we did it because I was able to dance with several of our guests that I would not have danced with otherwise. Right toward the end of the dance I was dancing with Kenny and he went over to Matt and paid to dance with him that brought the room to complete laughter! The DJ made it a point to emphasize that my groom had made $5 and I had made $495! In reality our sneaky Best Man had given Anne some of the money to make it look like I made more money!