Warning: Incredibly long wedding day post to follow

Well folks, we did it! Can you believe it? I can hardly believe it myself. Everything went amazingly well. Brad and I feel so blessed. We could not have asked for a more perfect day. It was everything we could have wanted and SO much more. The week leading up to the wedding was surprisingly uneventful and very relaxing. That's right, I said it, it was relaxing! We weren't running around crazy. I think I even took a nap on one of the days. Because my mother is so wonderful, I didn't have to worry about one detail of the day. She worried about all of it for me. Thanks Mom!!! You are the best!

On Wednesday (the day before the wedding), we had a rehearsal dinner. My main reason for wanting a rehearsal dinner was so all of the families could get together and chat BEFORE they saw each other at the wedding. We had the rehearsal dinner at my Grandma's condo. It was a barbecue. Complete with burgers, hot dogs, and the best thing ever...beer brats! Oh, they were SOOOO good. I wanted to eat more than the one that I had, but I didn't seem like a piggy bride, so I just loaded up on desserts instead! I could go on and on about the food. Lets suffice it to say, it was amazing. Really. I kind of want some right now. Yum. Okay, back to the rehearsal dinner. The weather was actually really nice. It lightly sprinkled a few times, but it actually worked out well because people were not dying of heat stroke. There was also a pool there, so my cousins were completely entertained the entire time. We were so lucky that lots of people from both sides of our family and a few of our close friends came. The biggest surprise of the night for me was my Dad showed up earlier than I thought he was going to. My Mom kept telling me he was coming in at 10:30 that night...so I believed her. Who wouldn't believe their mother? So when he showed up, I cried. A lot. When I'm truly surprised, I cry. Ask Brad the story of when he proposed. I cried. Sobbed. It took a good few minutes to gain composure. Not my proudest moment. But I was SO HAPPY my Dad was there. The rehearsal dinner was complete. I think my Dad described it perfectly when he said, "This rehearsal dinner is just a slice of heaven." It was so true. I hope heaven is like a big barbecue with everyone I love the most in the world. We got to talk to everyone and let them know that we were so thrilled they came to see us get married, and we were even more excited for Thursday!

I think I got about 5 consecutive hours of sleep. Not bad. I woke up and read my book for a bit and then fell back asleep so I got about 6.5 hours of total sleep. Again, not bad. I was only getting married that afternoon. What did I have to worry about? So I got up and ate a waffle breakfast with my mom, dad, and grandma. It was great. I was totally relaxed. I didn't have a worry in the world. I knew that that day was going to be the most special day of my life. I was so excited. After breakfast, I sent my parents off to the rehearsal. We had to have our rehearsal for our ceremony that morning because the venue told us we had to. Well, I wanted to see Brad for the first time at the wedding...not at the rehearsal. So I just didn't go. I didn't need to know what order to go in. I was going last. Easy. So, I sent my parents and told them to fill me in on the details later. While they went to the rehearsal, I showered and went to go and get my hair done. Went back to my grandma's. Ate a lunch, and then started to put my make up on. At this point, the nerves started to kick in. And they kicked in hard! The butterflies were really flying at that point. I was also SO tired of talking about the wedding, I just wanted to be at the wedding experiencing it!

It wasn't long after I put my face on, that we left for the Old Meeting House (OMH). Now the cold sweats were going. I can't really remember the car ride all that much. I just wanted to be there. We finally got to the OMH, and I sent my dad up to make sure Brad was in the groom's room with the door closed. As much as I wanted to see him. Kiss him. Hug him. I wanted the surprise factor more. I walked around and saw all of the details. Said hi to the families. And then they put me in the bride's room. And once I was in there, I wasn't allowed to leave. I wish I were kidding, but no. I was quarantined in this beautifully decorated torture room. I wanted to be out and about and talking to our guests. But no, I was in the bride's room/torture room. Our photographer took lots of pictures and it was fun to get ready. My grandmothers, aunts, an uncle, cousins, and friends came into the room before to give me their well wishes. Everyone was so nice to tell me that I looked pretty. I loved that. As the time was getting closer, I was getting a bit more nervous and I asked my mother to go and find my dear friend Lorraine. She had just experienced what I was about to do 6 days before ago. I knew she would understand what was going through my head. When her and her husband Dan came in, it was a huge relief! She gave me some really great insight. I told her that I just wanted to see Brad. I had only texted him once throughout the day, and was dying to just see him. She said, "You know Jord, when you do see him, it will change your life." Boy, was she right! That simple statement really calmed my nerves and I was so excited for my life to change in just a few minutes.

The last thing to do before walking down the aisle was have my Dad come in to see me. He hadn't seen any of my bridals. He wanted to surprised. I knew that I would cry when he saw me, so I wanted to getting the crying out of the way. My Mom went and got my Dad, and he came in and just smiled. I started to cry. It was a lot of emotion coming up at that moment. This moment happened to be one of my favorite moments of the day because it was just me, my Mom, sister, and Dad. Our little family. Spains for a few last moments. It was so precious. I will never forget that moment and the looks on each one of their faces. So I cried only a few tears. But once I got those tears out of my system, I was good to go! And luckily for me, it was time to go.

My Dad walked me down the aisle to Canon in D being played on the piano. I didn't really hear the music being played. There were two steps I had to step down to start walking down the aisle. The first thought that went through my head was, "Where's Brad?" I found his eyes as soon as I could, and had a hard time taking my eyes off of him. He looked SOOO GOOD!!!! I mean, stunning. He really took my breath away. There are not enough words to describe how I felt in that exact moment, but I was so thrilled, excited, and happy. I was so happy that I didn't cry. It was one of the many miracles that day. But as I walked to him, I couldn't help but just feel so loved by everyone in the room. Once I got to him, I took his hands and didn't let go. I was so happy to see him. Our wonderful Bishop performed a beautiful ceremony that ending with the most simple ceremony of him marrying us. I think that if it were appropriate, I would have jumped up and down, and almost did! Happy. Happy is the best word to describe what I was feeling. When the bishop pronounced us husband and wife, we walked up the aisle, and then I gave my new husband the biggest hug and kiss I have ever given him! Oh, I was so excited!

To give your eyes a little bit of a rest, I'll blog about the luncheon and reception in later blog posts. Thanks to everyone that reads! This blog has been a lot of fun for me!