neebelung
09-23-2008, 01:02 PM
Alright, time for the story on our little impromptu wedding this past Sunday. For those who missed my thread about it, FH's (er... I mean, DH's) parents found at the last minute they'd be unable to go to Vegas with us for the wedding... they didn't want to miss out on seeing their son get married, and he was understanbly sad they wouldn't be there... so in a matter of 6 days, we put together a very simple, intimate ceremony.
Right away, our friends were right there helping us... it was amazing. We had not one, but TWO photographers, as well as an acoustic guitarist. A friend of mine also had a beautiful bouquet of red roses made for me...
Since I wanted to reserve my gown for the Vegas wedding, I had been on the hunt for a simple white cotton sundress (not an easy thing to find in late September, even in Florida!), but literally about 5 hours prior to the ceremony, I managed to find a really cute white cotton dress with black piping, and it fit perfect. Since it has sort of a retro feel to it, I followed that theme in my hair and makeup, setting my hair in loose curls, pinned on one side with a red rose, and then pin-up style makeup (courtesy of our local MAC counter).
We had the ceremony scheduled for 6:00 p.m... when we awoke Sunday morning, it was pouring. It rained steadily most of the day, then finally tapered off mid-afternoon, in time to dry up a bit before the wedding. We chose a spot under some big, old oaks, dripping with Spanish moss, with the river as our backdrop. The friend who would have been my MoH actually performed the ceremony; while we didn't want to write our own vows, I did want vows that were more contemporary and representative of our personalities... I put together the ceremony from bits and pieces of several vows I found online, and we also incorporated a "warming of the rings" into it (rather than a sand ceremony or a unity candle).
Prior to the ceremony, as we waited for DH's parents to arrive, friends kept appearing... and more... and more! By the time the ceremony began, we had some 18 friends there (a few more joined us at dinner afterward). It was just amazing... absolutely heart-warming that so many of our friends were able to come together to celebrate with us on such short notice.
The ceremony went off without a hitch (as busy as the park was, I was worried we'd have lookie-loos, or people invading our space, but everyone was very respectful of our little group). Following the ceremony, we did more photos (including goofy group shots with our friends) and then quite literally JUST as we walked back to the car, a light rain came... .it held off JUST long enough for our ceremony.
Following the ceremony, we all had dinner at a little local bistro. It was just perfect... we had a warm, intimate space, which allowed us time to visit with each of our guests individually, as well as spend plenty of time with DH's family.
It was truly just a perfect, perfect day... there's nothing I would have changed at all (except to have my parents there, but since we'll see them at Wedding #2, it's okay).... We've gotten so many compliments from our friends on just how beautiful it was (and everyone LOVED the warming of the rings... they'd never heard of it before!)
Here's a preview of the first set of pics (as a slideshow) (I should have the 2nd set later today).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neeandchris/sets/72157607434620959/show/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neeandchris/sets/72157607434620959/show/)
Right away, our friends were right there helping us... it was amazing. We had not one, but TWO photographers, as well as an acoustic guitarist. A friend of mine also had a beautiful bouquet of red roses made for me...
Since I wanted to reserve my gown for the Vegas wedding, I had been on the hunt for a simple white cotton sundress (not an easy thing to find in late September, even in Florida!), but literally about 5 hours prior to the ceremony, I managed to find a really cute white cotton dress with black piping, and it fit perfect. Since it has sort of a retro feel to it, I followed that theme in my hair and makeup, setting my hair in loose curls, pinned on one side with a red rose, and then pin-up style makeup (courtesy of our local MAC counter).
We had the ceremony scheduled for 6:00 p.m... when we awoke Sunday morning, it was pouring. It rained steadily most of the day, then finally tapered off mid-afternoon, in time to dry up a bit before the wedding. We chose a spot under some big, old oaks, dripping with Spanish moss, with the river as our backdrop. The friend who would have been my MoH actually performed the ceremony; while we didn't want to write our own vows, I did want vows that were more contemporary and representative of our personalities... I put together the ceremony from bits and pieces of several vows I found online, and we also incorporated a "warming of the rings" into it (rather than a sand ceremony or a unity candle).
Prior to the ceremony, as we waited for DH's parents to arrive, friends kept appearing... and more... and more! By the time the ceremony began, we had some 18 friends there (a few more joined us at dinner afterward). It was just amazing... absolutely heart-warming that so many of our friends were able to come together to celebrate with us on such short notice.
The ceremony went off without a hitch (as busy as the park was, I was worried we'd have lookie-loos, or people invading our space, but everyone was very respectful of our little group). Following the ceremony, we did more photos (including goofy group shots with our friends) and then quite literally JUST as we walked back to the car, a light rain came... .it held off JUST long enough for our ceremony.
Following the ceremony, we all had dinner at a little local bistro. It was just perfect... we had a warm, intimate space, which allowed us time to visit with each of our guests individually, as well as spend plenty of time with DH's family.
It was truly just a perfect, perfect day... there's nothing I would have changed at all (except to have my parents there, but since we'll see them at Wedding #2, it's okay).... We've gotten so many compliments from our friends on just how beautiful it was (and everyone LOVED the warming of the rings... they'd never heard of it before!)
Here's a preview of the first set of pics (as a slideshow) (I should have the 2nd set later today).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neeandchris/sets/72157607434620959/show/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neeandchris/sets/72157607434620959/show/)