Our Wedding :: The Transportation

While getting ready, the rain had lightened, but I had to make a decision about where the ceremony was going to be. My brother went to the hotel lobby's computer to check the hourly forecast one last time. 6 p.m. called for rain. The wedding would now be officially inside at the hotel. I had given my planner either phone numbers or instructions for each person on our guest list to get in touch with them in the event of this happening. She got on it a-sap and we went on without missing a beat.

At about 3 p.m. it stopped raining, though, so we decided to make use of the limo and the park (that we already paid for!) to take some pictures. My parents, brother, sister-in-law, 4 bridesmaids, photographer and myself piled into the limo.

All photos except the 3rd by: Edward Zeltser Photography

Our Wedding :: The Garter

The finishing touch for my wedding ensemble was my garter set. Then, we'd be out the door to ride in our awaiting limo.

My sister-in-law helped me with putting them on.

Images by Edward Zeltser Photography

Many thanks again to Peterene from Etsy for creating this gorgeous set for me as my 'something blue.'

Our Wedding :: The Veil

One of the final touches to getting ready was putting on my veil. It was simple and matched the applique on my dress perfectly. I always thought I'd wear a flower in my hair on my wedding day, but the veil just made me feel complete in my dress and I truly felt like a bride.

My mother helping me by holding up the mirror.

Finally a full dress shot!

All images by Edward Zeltser Photograhpy except the last one.

I was almost ready to walk out the door for pictures. I just needed to put on my keep & toss Etsy garters...

Our Wedding :: The Dress

After hair and makeup, I pulled my dress down from its pretty hanger and stepped in.

My mom zipped me up...

...even though the bodice was being difficult and I had to really suck in.

And then came putting on my pretty Nina shoes. Since I couldn't really bend over, my mom helped with this too as I felt my way in.

Our Wedding :: Getting Ready

My bridesmaids and I had a sleepover in my hotel room Friday night.

I woke up on Wedding Day a lot earlier than the alarm was set for, but thankfully I did get some sleep.

*Tip for Brides: If you're worried about getting sleep the night before the wedding and are thinking of taking a sleeping pill, make sure to test its effects on you beforehand. I tried Ambien Thursday night and liked that I wasn't groggy or still sleepy in the morning. I took it again Friday night and woke up Saturday feeling just fine.

The day was actually leisurely for me since all the girls and my mom had their hair and makeup done first. I showered, made the room as neat as possible as the girls checked into their own room and lounged on the couch.

As you know, weather was a big concern. And as we expected, the weather became terrible very early on. It poured rain for hours.

My mom and the hairdresser checking the weather out the window.

I remained extremely calm. No sense in worrying on your wedding day! I had until the afternoon to make a final decision on the ceremony location. I was just glad I had unexpected time to kick around and somewhat relax. I watched as the girls got ready...

Wine from a straw - don't stain the teeth!

Then, it was finally my turn...

All images (except the 1st two) are from Edward Zeltser Photography

Our Wedding :: Rehearsal Dinner & Drinks

The bridal party, everyone at the Rehearsal, went to a quaint tapas restaurant for dinner Friday night. It was nice to have this smaller group together before going out for drinks with all the out-of-towners.

When we started thinking about a Rehearsal Dinner, we became very overwhelmed. Over half of our guests were out-of-towners and we knew they'd all want to spend some extra time with us outside of the wedding. And unfortunately, we could not afford a traditional Rehearsal Dinner with that many people since we paid for the majority of the wedding already (it was going to be like another 1/3 of a wedding!) We decided to ask our bridal party to a casual dinner and then asked all the out-of-towners to meet us for drinks afterwards at one of our favorite spots in town.

My family and I before dinner, leaving the hotel.

My sister-in-law, me, MOH, bridesmaid, bridesmaid.

(No, the two on the end did not plan on wearing the same dress. One bought hers in Las Vegas, one bought hers in Ft. Lauderdale and they happened to both bring it to wear for Friday night. They both still wore it because they had nothing else packed! True story.)

MOH and Bride-to-be at the restaurant.

Bride with bridesmaids and our good friend walking Philip's sister down the aisle.

The about-to-be-married couple.

Our Wedding :: The Rehearsal

The Rehearsal was held at the park on Friday, the day before the wedding. It was supposed to rain that day, but it was beautiful out, giving us high hopes for the next day.

Everyone was in attendance and on time except for one bridesmaid who couldn't make it because of work. I chatted with the Best Man, who we asked to run the Rehearsal for us, to let him know how things were supposed to go. We ironed out a few details and then he took over.

I went to the end of the dock where the ceremony would be held to see how everything would look with the bridal party coming down the staircases and down the aisle.

The 1st run-through went well. Then it was my turn...

And then we practiced what we'd be doing the next day, only 26 hours from then...

My Maid of Honor made a joke, "You gonna be bouncing around like that tomorrow, too?" Apparently, I was so elated/anxious, I was doing a nervous, happy bounce while holding Philip's hands and the officiant was practicing his part of the ceremony.

Our immediate family, bridesmaids minus one, groomsmen and "honorary groomsmen" - one of Philip's best friends who we asked to walk his sister down the aisle in place of his dad.

It was a hot, sunny day and a great Rehearsal. We were all glad with how things went, but were glad to get out of the heat and get fancied up to go to dinner and drinks...