Let the Wedding Begin!!

Disclaimer...I have very few pictures of the actual ceremony. My sister and friend Christi took a few...and Ryan's mom took a few. But the majority will have to wait until we get our professional photos. Nevertheless, I'll share with you what I have along with more text from our program. Hope you enjoy. Might take a couple of days to get through the whole wedding. Hope that's okay!!!

First, let's talk about the weather, shall we? I had prayed and prayed so hard that God would give us a pretty day for the wedding. After all, about 30 people had paid quite a bit of money to travel a long way to watch a beach wedding and I so hated to have that all be in vain! God was more than gracious. An 82 degree day on the second of December - and perfect sunshine all the way through the day. We thanked Him over and over for this blessing! Ryan's mom took this picture right before the wedding started. This was our backdrop:

Stunning.

Ryan found a wedding coordinator through an online search. Her name was Julie and she was in charge of bringing all the chairs, setting up our wedding canopy, making an aisle for me with tiki torches, and playing the music for the wedding. She did an amazing job. We so appreciated her. (And of all the coordinators we researched, she was far and away the most reasonably priced with the most options to offer AND she really cared about our wedding!)

This picture gives you a basic idea of what the setup looked like:

We had the option of having color tulle on the canopy but we wanted just a clean, white look with shells hanging from the top and starfish tying back the tulle. We had two rows of chairs on each side that sort of curved around so everyone had a good seat. And she made an aisle leading up to the chairs with tiki torches. (The guys hovering around the canopy were our photographers and videographer, getting some pre-wedding footage.)

This is a photo of the scene from another angle:

We had a little table at the entrance where Cassie and her boyfriend, CJ handed out programs, tealight candles (battery operated) and stones for people to sign. We did that in lieu of a guest book. Here was our explanation from the wedding program:

When you came in today, you signed a stone and on the other side, you wrote the meaning of your name. We are the people we are today because of each of you. Because of your love. Because of your investment in our lives. The character traits that your names represent are the very sorts of things that have been poured into our lives. We will keep these stones as a reminder of your presence in our lives and each time we see your names and what they mean, we’ll be reminded of what you’ve invested in us. Thank you for who you are. Thank you for loving us.

Everyone sat down and the wedding began with the seating of our parents and the entrance of the wedding party. I'm sorry I don't have pictures of those. (I'll share pics of this when I get the professional ones in.)

But we had all those people enter to the hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness as performed by Selah. They were the first group we ever saw in concert together. Here is what our program said - and then I'll link to Selah's rendition of the song if you want to hear it:

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:21-23

As our families and bridal party make their entrance, please listen to the lyrics of this hymn. It is because of God’s faithfulness that we are here today. The words are our testimony and we are proof that His faithfulness is great, His mercies are new every morning, and because of His great love, we are not consumed.  

And then it was time for me. Not sure if I told you on the blog before or not...but I did not know what song I'd be walking in to at the wedding. I asked Ryan to choose a song he wanted to hear when I walked across the sand to him, and I didn't want to know what it was until I heard it that day. I had absolutely NO idea what he'd pick. I didn't know if it would be a traditional wedding song or a song we'd loved so much together or what. No idea. Julie (our coordinator) knew I didn't know, so she signaled me to start walking out of the little weed cove where I'd been hiding when it was time. (The next three pictures courtesy of my sister, Julie)

 This was Dad asking if I was nervous. My response: "Not at all. Just ready to be married!"

 At this point I was straining to hear the song. I finally heard it and knew I didn't know it. So I was leaning, trying to hear the words...

...and then I recognized the voice. It was Ryan. He had recorded a song for me. It surprised me so much because he'd told me from the very beginning he didn't want to sing at the wedding. He said he would if I really wanted him to but he'd rather not. I said that was fine - I wanted him to be able to enjoy the day. But then he heard this song by Matthew West and decided he wanted to be the one singing it to me on our wedding day. So Ryan, Adam, and a couple other friends of theirs, Darr and Brad, went to the church and recorded it.




* This just in!! If you want to hear Ryan's recording...try downloading it from here. **

Arriving at the altar with Dad...telling him he can sit down. :) (The perils of no rehearsal.)

 The picture above and below were taken by my friend Christi, and this one below is one of my favorites of the whole wedding. I love how he's reaching for me.

 This one taken by my sister, Julie...still listening to the song and looking into Ryan's eyes. (And trying not to cry.)

 Loved every moment of that song.

Come back tomorrow for more wedding?