Getting Ready: From her perspective

First off, I am thrilled to be back. I truly enjoy blogging, and have been eager to get back at it since I slipped out last summer. Life has been exciting and busy since our engagement last December, the 11th to be exact. I am now married to the most wonderful man and we are learning to be grace-filled servants of the Lord. We live together, we sleep together, we eat together, we laugh together and we are constantly growing together, it's beautiful and overwhelming.

I married my husband on May 7th, 2011 at five o'clock in the evening. Our wedding day could not have been more perfect. I woke up to Mia crawling on my belly, sunshine in the sky, and my Matron Maid of Honor, Rachel, sleeping by my side (thank you Ben for giving her up for the night!). I slipped out of bed before Rach and began milling about as if it were any other day. Casually packing little by little, the excitement started to kick in.

We finally made it out the door and headed downtown to get my make-up done at Gary Manuel. After a quick bagel stop, we met my makeup artist, Ally, she was fabulous. We eventually ended up talking about marriage within a biblical framework, and I was so thankful to have Rachel and her wisdom there (Ally did not know Jesus). I was so encouraged by Rachel's ability to boldly profess the gospel in such a friendly and natural way. This is a gift I am working on honing.

A quick hour later, we were out of there and off to meet the rest of the girls in our hotel room at the Pan Pacific. I'm pretty sure I had repeated the words, "Oh my goodness, I'm getting married!" at least a hundred times at this point. I was so thankful for the Lord, who I could talk to and knew was just as excited about this day as I was. Aside from trying to convince myself (and others, for that matter) that this really was the day I was getting married, I spent a good deal of the morning in prayer.

It was surreal that this was my wedding day. I kept thinking about Arthur and wondering how he was doing. Was he nervous or excited? I figured a little of both. Arthur and his fellows got ready in the room we would stay in that night. I wondered if it had hit him that that room was where we were going to spend our first night together. There were so many emotions. I just wanted to hug him and tell him, "Oh my goodness, we're getting married today!"

Shortly after arriving at the hotel, our absolutely-over-the-moon-fantastic photographer, Kirk Mastin, arrived. We immediately connected and began taking advantage of the gorgeous natural lighting by shooting some photos of me in my beautiful robe. Although I had no idea the lighting would be so perfect, I had pre-meditated this scenario somewhat as an intimate gift for my new husband. The clock was ticking though and my dress was ready for me to be painted in.

I bought my dress right off the rack with no alterations, not even a hem. How lucky is that? I have to admit though, I could hardly breathe. The girls even unzipped me to give me some fresh air once in a while. It's a wonder I stayed moving the whole night. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do...

I finally made my way into the form fitting dress and began to squeal in anticipation. This was getting more real by the second. My gorgeous bouquet of soft pink peonies might have aided in the euphoria. I go weak at the knees in the presence of a stem of peony. Here I had a whole handful, just for me! The sparkly slippers were the last to go on, and my outfit was complete. This girl was ready to walk down the aisle.

I had the best support with me all morning. My ladies were relaxed and wonderful. We primped, we laughed and we jumped on the bed. It doesn't get much better than that. The room was filled with so much love.

I was a weepy mess all day. Every photo of me walking down the aisle has a ridiculous mushy-crying face. As silly as I look, I'm really thankful to have been so emotional. I know God allowed me these tears to express myself. Arthur was so supportive through all my weepiness, he just kept telling me that I have the cutest crying face ever.

It was a quarter to five and time to go. Kirk packed in with the five of us girls and we headed to 415 Westlake, our wedding venue. Rachel drove and prayed for our two minute journey. I was so grateful Kirk was there to capture these last moments. The clock struck five along the way and we all screamed in excitement. Oh my goodness, I'm getting married! 

There wasn't anywhere for me to go at the venue, so once I was out of the car, down the aisle I was headed. In light of this, our pastor, Bubba Jennings, came to pray over me in Rachel's car. My sweet bridesmaid Carrie opened our prayer and Pastor Bubba closed it. The butterflies were fluttering up a storm inside me, and finally, it was my turn. I was moments away from marrying my man.