It is true that the time flies by, and I made an honest effort to savor and soak in each moment and experience. The weekend began on Thursday, with the arrival of out of town guests. My mom arrived first and we settled her in to the Tanglewood Manor House, which we reserved for the weekend. We scurried around dropping off out of town bags and doing last minute errands before parting ways to welcome arriving guests. I had the pleasure of having the Conleys over for dinner, which was a recreation of the delicious pasta bake from my bachelorette party. My extended family arrived shortly thereafter to see the house and enjoy coffee, company, and Moravian sugar bread.
Friday morning I met up with all of the leading ladies in my life at the Old Salem Tavern for my bridesmaids luncheon, hosted by Grandmommy and Aunt Mary Jane. It meant so much to have everyone meet one another, various chapters of my life culminating into one. Several weeks prior, I had cozied up at a Starbucks to write a letter to each person, a process that made me quite misty eyed. I gave a special toast to my sister, my matron of honor, best friend, and role model. She is truly the best :).
The afternoon flew by, and before I knew it it was already time to head to the church for the rehearsal. It surprised me how emotional this was. It was very spiritual and gave me that same feeling that you get at the Christmas Eve service. With reverence and confidence for the next day's big event, Father Steve said a prayer and dismissed us on to the rehearsal dinner. The Dineens and Evans hosted an amazing party, truly one of my favorite parts of the whole weekend! The event took place at Noble's Grille, one of Winston's finest restaurants and a personal favorite. The private room was decorated beautifully, with monogrammed pumpkin centerpieces and fall leaves for place cards. The food was divine and the company perfect. I couldn't help but to tear up as I watched the slideshow of our childhood pictures and listened to the thoughtful words from those toasting to our marriage. The grooms cake was a snow covered mountain with a skier and snowboarder taking on Lover's Leap, a double black diamond. It was fun to see the final product of the vision we had created so many months ago. Thoughts, conversations, plans and ideas translated into quite the magical reality. I couldn't wait to fall asleep that night, knowing that in just a few short hours I would wake up on my much anticipated wedding day!!
Unfortunately, I woke up feeling very very ill. At first I brushed it off as nerves, even though I was really excited. But when I couldn't even stand up to shower and had to lie down to blow dry my hair, I had a pretty bad feeling that something was wrong. I pressed on to my 10:30 hair appointment and made it all of 10 minutes before I was overcome by a wave of nausea that was rather unbearable. I ended up passing out on the floor and without putting up a fight laid there for an hour while Andrea got her hair done. Luckily Michael was able to get my hair up in about 20 minutes and I slept through almost the entire thing. Looking back, I realize that I didn't even ever really look at my hair at all that day. It didn't really matter... I was too sick to panic and we quickly realized that we needed to toss out the old itinerary and come up with a new game plan. That plan involved picking up some medicine and getting me back in bed. When Andrea went in to pick up my medicine I stayed in the car, trying to remain as still as possible. Another wave of nausea hit and in my best efforts to make it inside, I ended up sprawled out in the front lobby of Walgreens, giving my best impression of death. I probably vomited and got sick to my stomach at least 20 times that day. I felt too weak to walk and questioned whether or not I would even make it to my own wedding. I stayed in bed for the rest of the afternoon feeling absolutely miserable. I have never been that sick in my whole life and was scared, disappointed, and sad to be missing out on pictures. The best moment was when Jarrett walked in and climbed in bed beside me. We laid there under the chandelier where my wedding gown was hanging so delicate and pure. It didn't matter that he saw the dress, it didn't matter that I was sleeping on my updo, and it didn't really matter that I was missing out on my bridal portraits and family photos. I knew that I was safe in his arms and knew how much he loved me. I'd be lying to say that I couldn't have been happier, but in many ways that genuine love was all that mattered. An hour before the wedding began, I prayed and found strength and conviction to make it to the church. Andrea did my make-up in the bed and helped carry me to the car and onto the church.
When we arrived I was filled with excitement. In retrospect, I am very grateful that I rested all day, conserving my strength for this moment. When I heard the organ and saw my bridesmaids, flower girls and ring bearer I immediately felt a little bit better. When I slipped on my gown and held my bouquet, I felt like a bride. And with five minutes to spare, I sat there calmly, praising the Lord for blessing me more than I ever could have imagined. Before I knew it, we were all gathered in the back of the church and the processional commenced. I held my daddy's arm tight, and watched as my beautiful wedding party made there way up to the front. The doors were closed and with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face, I made my much anticipated walk down the aisle, utterly captivated by my handsome husband. I truly don't think I could possibly articulate what that moment felt like. It was just perfect. We made a last minute decision to sit throughout the service. I was so relieved to be next to Jarrett and rested my head on his shoulder, using all of my strength to make it through. I nearly fainted at one point and was shaking with chills in my wedding gown, which was literally soaked in a cold sweat. By the end of the shortened service, my strength had left me and my husband very matter of factly swept me off my feet and carried me down the aisle to the beautiful sound of bagpipes, a special treat which he had secretly arranged. Although not exactly what I had imagined, this moment could not have been more romantic.
I was so excited to be able to take pictures afterwards. I sat between photos and turned on a smile for each shot. The trip to the reception was rough, and we even had to abruptly stop for me to get sick :(. But we were welcomed to Tanglewood by the brilliant and magical light show, which was a total surprise! As we made our way through the dancing lights, I couldn't help but to be filled with excitement. It was so hard to believe that only three hours earlier, I was asking my sister if it was ok if I couldn't make it to the reception. Not only was I there, but we were able to proceed without any major changes. After the big wedding party introduction, Jarrett and I danced to "I'll Be" sung by the talented Jamie Carroll. It didn't matter that I had forgotten to bustle my gown. I felt like a princess with her Prince Charming as my gown graced the floor. I was living a dream, and in that brief moment in time, I was the luckiest girl in the entire world. Each and every moment was precious, from our dances with our parents to the cutting of our cake. In a roomed filled with love, we took in each emotional word of the toasts given by Jason, Andrea, and my father. Memory lane is a precious thing. I didn't have any of the food or cake, but heard that it was delicious. What I did have was ginger-ale which was seriously one of the most exciting parts of the whole day! Up until that point, I hadn't been able to keep anything down and I instantly felt the sugar coming to my rescue. After testing the water with a few sips, I eventually downed two or three glasses. With enough energy to make it to the dance floor, I enjoyed dancing with my best friends and my amazing husband. The evening flew by, and before we knew it, we were running through sparklers and waving farewell to all our loved ones. I was entirely zapped at that point, ready to climb in bed and let my body rest and recover. We arrived to Graylyn where we were escorted to Rapunzel's tower. As I fell asleep in my husband's arms, I was confident that no dream could possibly be better than my reality.
My wedding day was absolutely perfect. I never would have imagined that I would have been so sick. Of course I regret missing out on pictures and I wish that I had been able to talk with more people at the reception. But I am truly amazed that the Lord gave me the strength when it was most needed. There are so many lessons to draw from this experience. Finding light in adversity, perseverance, placing value on what truly matters. And perhaps most of all, the lesson of love. For the Lord, for each other, for our partner's in life. I am truly blessed to be Jarrett's wife, and with outstretched arms and a happy heart, I will embrace my happily ever after!
Ah, Miri. This is absolutely beautiful {alligator tear}. You are gorgeous and you two (J+M) make a perfect pair. I loved your BIG day (minus the sickness of course!). Geoff and I have one word to describe your wedding: Genuine.
ReplyDeleteI love you guys. xoxo