Ceremony

Hello, friends...we're back from our wedding/honeymoon hiatus! I can't resist reliving it all a little, so my next few posts will include some highlights.

It was a dark and stormy day.

Over the week, we watched the weather report go from great to okay to apocalyptic. We had to nix the outdoor ceremony planned for here...

But everyone kept telling us it was good luck to get married on a rainy day. So we posted this:

And we moved to Plan B: Indoor ceremony. Built in 1896, the building features a lot of dark, rich wood and actually felt quite cozy. The violinists were playing Bach, more beautifully than I could have imagined it.

The guys waited upstairs. After a small disaster with the wheat boutonnieres (which were meant to be tiny, but showed up that morning long enough to stab out an eye!), they pinned the trimmed-down versions to their lapels.

The bridesmaids and bridesmen* (my 2 brothers, their term!) made their entrances. The girls had JCrew dresses and the guys had ties to match. (Dear friend and youngest bro. How much are you digging his current shaggy hairdo??):

Dad and I tried to remember to walk slowly down the aisle, lined with great-smelling potted mums. My mom wrapped them in paper and my brother helped her tie the ribbons. The bouquets (mums, berries, and wheat) were ordered through the supermarket.

Our friends read from Thoreau (here's a snippet) and read a transcript of this adorable Sesame Street sketch about marriage. I had some reservations about mixing work and my wedding, but I've always loved Grover and always will, quite outside the context of work.

We read our own vows. I was floored by Chris's. We exchanged rings. Chris's ring was done through the Clay Pot in Brooklyn, by Jerry Spaulding. I opted to keep my engagement ring as my "one ring" (and made that nerdy Lord of the Rings joke every time someone asked about my wedding band). More about my ring later.

And we were married!!

Some time before the ceremony, we each realized independently that we'd never practiced the "wedding kiss." And now I'm super-glad...because it was 100% perfect and in the moment. What do you think about practicing wedding kisses??

P.S. Hairpiece was from Etsy, and my awesome mom did my hair!

P.P.S. Wedding day photos by Julie Kuceris. She darted around getting great shots and was SUPER-stealth!