Our Wedding Day (1 of 2)!
Pre-Ceremony & Ceremony
Aaaah where do I even begin!? I think its kind of serendipitous that I'm recapping our wedding day on our 1 month anniversary. I'm feeling so nostalgic today! Our wedding day was perfect in so many ways and I wish I could relive it over and over again. I'll have to make 2 posts, because there's just too many photos I want to share with all of you to narrow it down to just 10!
I woke up in the morning pretty much right when I wanted to, around 8am. I was waking up on and off from about 6:30am, but I was always able to fall back to sleep (I thank the wine for that
) I started the morning off exactly as I had envisioned: having my morning coffee on the balcony, looking over the Wedding Gazebo, sunlight pouring in and the birds chirping their morning song. It truly was magical. At one point I even started tearing up just realizing that all my dreams were really coming drue. Matt and I had always joked about the rabbits that frequent the gazebo area and said they would be our "wedding crashers" during the ceremony. At one point that morning I looked down and there they were, running around and playing in the morning dew on the grass, and I knew that everything was going to be great that day. It was like my little sign from above that the day was going to be perfect and not to worry or stress!
With that I finished my coffee and went inside to start the day. I took a shower and got dressed in my bridal robe, and laid out all of the little details I wanted to make sure the photographers captured (invitations, jewelry, perfume, etc). We also took this moment to get our room serviced (smart thinking by my mom) so that the beds were nicely made for pictures and the room tidy and clean for everyone coming over.
Around 10:30 my bridesmaids started to arrive for our mimosa gathering. We all chatted about the rehearsal dinner the night before and the usual wedding day pleasantries. Around 11:00, my hair and makeup crew arrived (Weddings by Crystal) and they got to work. As girls were getting their hair/makeup done, others sat around talking or doing various things to get ready. I steamed my dress. Other girls steamed theirs. I was SO happy we had that extra connecting room, because it worked out great having one room for hair and makeup and one room for just hanging out. We had ordered lunch to be delivered from Panera around 11:30, which worked out great. Everyone ordered a boxed meal so they got exactly what they wanted and there was plenty of food. Around 12:30, our photographers arrived and got to work. I got my hair and make-up done in the middle of everyone which worked out well. The whole morning went by so fast, but it was so much FUN. I loved being with my bridesmaids, talking and getting ready, drinking mimosas (maybe one too many
), jamming to my awesome wedding day playlist, and just enjoying the day. That will always be one of those memories that sticks out to me and I will cherish always!
Around 2:30 everyone was just about ready (our hair and makeup teams worked so FAST). This is where time (and my memory) starts to get really blurry for me because of everything going on. I remember that we started with some pictures of me and all of the girls in the room- I had some chalkboard signs where they could write how long we've known each other, so we took pictures with those and I also had some cute purple confetti that I wanted to use as a photo prop, so we did that. Then I think I got dressed and took the usual pictures- my mom and sister helping me do the buttons, spraying my perfume, etc. After that, some of the girls wanted to bring their stuff over to Swan and Dolphin so that it wasn't left in my room after the wedding and they'd have to come back and get it. So they did that while I went down and did my first touch with Matt
. That was really a special moment. It was the first time that day that I cried, and boy did I lose it lol. I was so excited just to know that he was ready and waiting for me. That soon we would be husband and wife and we could celebrate with our family and friends. It was such a sweet and special moment that I will also cherish forever.
After the first touch, since we had extra time, the photographers suggested doing a first look with my dad. I initially hadn't planned on that being anything formal with him, as my dad and I are close but definitely aren't the mushy types with each other. That ended up being a really sweet moment as well and now in hindsight I'm glad we did it. I can't wait to see the photos from that and the first touch!
After my dad left to go to the ceremony location, I finally met my DFTW coordinator Chrissy. She was as much of a sweetheart in person as she was throughout the whole planning process! A flood of relief washed over me as I realized she was there and now I really had no fear that everything would run smoothly with her present. At least, everything with the Disney portion of my day...
It was also around this time we found out that the reception space at Swan & Dolphin STILL wasn't cleared of the earlier event they had that day. It was now almost 4:00 and my set-up team (comprised of some very gracious and helpful family members) still hadn't started setting up, even though it was IN MY CONTRACT that we could start setting up at 3:30. Panic. Bridezilla. Freaking out. LOL I think I started growing a second head with the rage that I was feeling in that moment. Thankfully, my sister and other bridesmaids handled the situation but at one point I did hear my sister say "well the bride is freaking out so you need to figure it out". I am definitely a little unhappy with how S&D handled some aspects of our wedding, most notably this hiccup. But more on that later...
I also found out about 10 mins later that our florist had gotten a flat tire en route to S&D with our reception floral!! ugh! Once again though, my MOH/bridesmaids handled it all and even though I knew it was happening, they called the florist and worked it all out and tried to shield me from the stress as much as possible.
Around 4:20, we took a few final photos with me and my bridesmaids, this time with our floral since I didn't get my bouquet until Chrissy arrived. Fun fact about Escape- you don't get your personal floral until your planner arrives 1 hour before the event! I had tried to push them on changing that and getting it delivered earlier (I was even willing to pay a fee!) but no luck there. Thankfully it worked out and we had extra time so I was able to get these pictures with them with our floral just before the ceremony.
4:50 rolled around real quick and we started walking to the walkway to the Gazebo! All I really remember saying at this point was "this is NUTS!" over and over again LOL
I just couldn't believe I was about to walk in to my fairytale! Everyone lined up and the music began. This. Was. It. I remember being nearly sick to my stomach with excitement. Everything looked beautiful, from what I could see. The only thing I noticed that I wish I would have talked to my planner about before hand was that they put out chairs for all of us, even those who would be standing. I knew they would do this, but what I wasn't prepared for was that one side would be completely in shade, and the other in the sun. So, naturally, EVERYONE sat on the same side- the shaded side. It looked a little funny because one whole side of chairs was practically empty
so that was a little annoying. Even though I thought about it well before the wedding, I just figured this was something that couldn't be changed, so I didn't bother asking. I definitely wish now that I would have though.
After everyone processed in- it was my turn! I heard my song, "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles, and instantly got teary-eyed. I remember my dad saying "I love you Ashley" just before we walked, and that made the water works fly even more!
It was a good cry though. I truly feel like I had an out-of-body experience in that moment. I was literally walking into the dream that I had in my head since I was 14. The song. The weather. The gazebo. The flowers. The people. The man. It was all perfect. I was def ugly crying all the way down the aisle
.
My uncle did a fabulous job with the whole ceremony and it all went perfect. I'm so glad now we made the decision to have my uncle marry us. I honestly can't imagine now it being anyone else. As I had always hoped, a bunch of my family members who couldn't fit within the 18 guests of Escape made it up to our rooms and were able to watch from the balcony, which was also extra special (my cousin also found the perfect moment to laugh REALLY loudly on purpose as a joke from wayyy up there). That was the other reason I really wanted our rooms to face the gazebo, so that could happen! I'm so happy it worked out. The violinist, Rob Kerr, was also freaking phenomenal. You guys, if you're doing the violinist as your music, REQUEST HIM. He performed every song perfectly- recognizable but also with its own spin on it to make it unique and not boring. I am still floored by the music and honestly that is part of the day that sticks out to me so much, because it really set the perfect mood out there at the gazebo.
After the ceremony we did the cake and champagne celebration which, for us, was mostly an opportunity to take pictures with our bridal party and family members. The fun part was we all got to enjoy champagne while doing it! The setup was beautiful and this was also another really FUN 30-45 minutes. The servers serving us were awesome and Chrissy did a great job executing everything. The champagne was really GOOD too! We did a staged cake-cutting since the cake was being boxed up and taken to our reception to have there.
After the photos everyone headed over to our reception and Matt & I got a chance to walk around the Boardwalk and take our photos. That is another memory that stands out to me so much because it was such a fun moment just him & I. We finally got to relax and felt a weight lifted off our shoulders. We were reunited and could talk about the day and how it had been going, we could laugh and be our silly selves, it was magical
One of our photographers also brought us food over from the cocktail hour which was a clutch move (and the food was so delicious). After we wrapped up some photos on the walk over to the Swan it was time to get the party started!!