3.30.2011

our wedding story - part lV - the ceremony


i had so many emotions in that moment....anxious, relieved, happy, excited...you  name it i felt it.  my first thought was thank goodness it is not raining!  then i realized, this was it.  soon i would be married to my very best friend.  all of that planning for a year was all for this very special day.  i could hardly wait to walk down the aisle.


matthew took the lead and everyone followed behind.  i stood with my grandfather (pop-pop) waiting for the harpist to begin canon in d...she played it so beautifully.


the groomsman stood beside us on one walkway and the bridesmaids on the other.  their parasols looked absolutely beautiful.  the black and white photo was a snapshot taken of my mom and step-dad larry...it's one of my favorites!  i also love the photo of the boys laughing...so candid.  our friend paul was looking out for us, making sure the rain stayed away :)


matthew and i wanted our ceremony to reflect us and our personalities and be filled with many memorable moments.  we organized our entire ceremony from beginning to end with poems and other writing that we thought fit perfectly into our day.  one of our favorite moments was the reading of "oh the places you'll go" by dr. seuss that our dear friend kathy read for us.  my favorite line read:

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3 / 4 one hundred percent guaranteed.)


KIDS, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!


matthew and i exchanged traditional vows and also wrote our own personal vows to each other.  my gosh i barely made it through...but it was beautiful.  i won't go through all of our written vows, but i will say we both made references to lady gaga - me telling him "i love you because it doesn't bother you that i insist on blaring the car radio whenever a lady gaga song comes on" and him telling me "i love you because of your free spirit and how you jam out to lady gaga in the car."  completely unplanned i must say!

after the exchange of our vows and rings matthew's cousin morgan who has an absolutely amazing voice, sang somewhere over the rainbow while matthew and i did our unity.  we decided on a unity tree instead of a candle.  our mother's placed soil into the potted tree and both matthew and i watered it.  it was beautiful, different and so us!


the most memorable part of our wedding ceremony without a doubt was the butterfly release.  we wanted a special moment in our ceremony dedicated to the loved ones whose lives were lost before our celebration day.  our harpist played wind beneath my wings while matthew and i released one monarch butterfly at a time.  we had 12 of them, each and every one of them floated beautifully in the air upon their release.

one of the best parts about it is that they stayed in the courtyard for most of the evening...i can remember seeing several floating around during all the dancing.


it was time for our first kiss as husband and wife.  all of our guests got party blowers and larry held up an applause sign to get everyone going!  and that was it...we were husband and wife!  we exchanged some happy tears with friends and family and then came time to celebrate!

all photos taken by corey rourke

24 comments :

  1. Loving the progression of your wedding story!

    I think the unity tree and releasing of the butterflies were both special and memorable gestures. Especially the unity tree - you can watch it grow as your love and marriage grows :)

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  2. This looks like the most amazing ceremony, I would love my wedding day to be something like this =) So beautiful!
    http://xrebelangelx.blogspot.com/

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  3. Ohmy you were so so beautiful!! Love the unity tree idea. The pictures are lovely and they really bring out all the emotions that were felt.

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  4. Stunning photos! Looks like it was the most special day for you =) You are so beautiful! xoxo

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  5. I love your style and Taste!! The oictures are beautiful!!! Thanks for sharing!

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  6. at first, i read this and went away without commenting but then i HAD to come back and just tell you that this gave me chills! real chills. haha soooooo beautiful and how you did everything so uniquely to the two of you is magical. i'm quite inspired and a little jealous because i'm not NEARLY that creative. i love how you fit so many things into your ceremony it was perfect and now you've got me all excited for mine and sean's vow reading :D

    you two are just perfect for each other, then aren't you? ;)
    such a wonderful wedding. i wish i could attend one like it.
    i need to tell all my friends to start getting creative!

    xx, kandice

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  7. alright, you got me in tears! i've never seen such a unique and beautiful wedding. i've never heard of anyone reading dr. seuss at the ceremony or using a plant instead of candles. So...can you be my wedding planner? hahaha. (it should be happening for me in a few years!)

    now i have to go and wipe my little tears. can't wait for the next post!

    Che'

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  8. What an amazing ceremony...wonderful...so thought through...so many special details...this is truly a day you will always remember and one day tell your grandkids about! Wonderful! xxx

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  9. soooo precious!!!!

    i LOVE the veil, LOVE the suspenders, and absolutely LOVE that last picture where you're popping out of the frames. sooo cute!! <3

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  10. Looks like a dream! All of that planning paid off...and you got every moment captured beautifully :) I love how you put so much of you and your husband's individual touches into it all. The releasing of the butterflies would have been so moving...and I'm sure it warmed your heart that they stayed around for the big celebration. Can't wait for the photos of the party! <3 <3 <3

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  11. Such a beautiful fun wedding!! You looked amazing. :]

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  12. These have got to be some of the most beautiful and creative wedding pictures I've ever seen. So beautiful!

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  13. GORGEOUS photos. isn't married life the best?

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  14. this is all so pretty that it actually almost hurts. it's really fun for me to look through all of your wedding photos on this particular week, because I just flew home this past weekend to go to a family friend's wedding, and so now i'm in such a wedding zone!! I want to start planning mine, even though I should probably work on getting engaged first, haha. Cant wait to see the party :)

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  15. Wow, I love that veil. So classic - you look beautiful!

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  16. everything looks just amazing. I loved the dr. suess touch :)

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  17. Oh my gosh, all these pictures are absolutely breathtaking! You looked so gorgeous and he so handsome! The fact that y'all had a reading of Dr. Suess is too amazing.

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  18. OH how wonderful. Congratulations Lindsey! I love being married to my bessie mate. It's the best thing eva!My life has improved every year since 2008 - oh you put me in mind of our wedding. You'll remember that day for the rest of your lives and want to to repeat it every anniversary if you're like us! ;D XXX

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  19. this is beyond amazing! so pretty and very elegant! love the butterflies...how clever and meaningful! that first shot {well all of them} was outstanding! you had a great, magnificent photographer! xoxox

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  20. Oh my gosh, I love every single detail Lindsay!

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  21. so so beautiful.
    really.

    ♥elisabeth

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  22. I am so amazed by the way you kept everything so unique and so you. It is so special that you tailored it to both of your personalities, making it your own. The readings, the butterflies, everything. Congratulations!

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