I had tempered my expectations on what the day would bring. I had spoken to people who said that, while they were happy to be married to their spouse, they could have gone without the actual wedding day. That is the opposite of how I remember our wedding. I don't know how it was so different for me but I think it all started with the planning phase.
For a bit of history, we thought we were moving to South Carolina in September of 2014. I initially wanted a big wedding in summer of 2015 but we thought that our time in South Carolina might be extended. If this were to happen (and it always seems to take longer than expected for IT projects), it would mean flying back to Vancouver for a short time (a weekend?) to get married at what would have been the most stressful time for PJ. Plus, planning a huge wedding from so far away would have been challenging. So we thought about what we wanted for the day. It would've been fun to have a big wedding but the most important thing would be that we would be married. I looked at a photo of my grandparents on their wedding and they looked so happy and I realized that was exactly what I wanted. I wanted to celebrate getting to spend my life with PJ (yay!!!!) and do it with the people closest to us. We figured we would be home for Christmas break and we would do a very small ceremony followed by a nice dinner.
It seemed as though we anticipated correctly: our timeline to move down to South Carolina was bumped from September 2014 to January 2014 (thank goodness we didn't plan a wedding for next summer - I hate seeing PJ stressed and rarely do but I think that would've thrown him). So it really worked out perfectly that we were having our wedding at the end of December.
The day was everything I could've hoped for if I had allowed myself to have high expectations. I stayed at a hotel with my aunt the night before the wedding. My sweet brother came and had dinner with us. I thought I would have trouble falling asleep the night before but I didn't (I did, however, wake up two hours before my alarm because I was SO EXCITED!!!). My make-up was beyond perfect - I looked like me but better (seriously, could my lashes be a little bit longer and a little bit fuller permanently?!) My hair was great and was exactly what I envisioned in my head. I got to get ready with my new nieces and sister-in-law beforehand - they made sure I had nothing to worry about. I had all my something's (old - a piece of the lace off of Judy's wedding dress; new - wedding dress, shoes, etc; borrowed - McKnight family jewelry; blue - undies; silver sixpence in my shoe - 1954 for the year my mum and dad were born). I said my vows wrong and just laughed at the mistake (I didn't realize that it was time for the 'I do' part!!!). I kept the secret that the recessional was the Hockey Night in Canada theme song (secret keeping is a big thing for me - check out my face below, I was bursting). I got to give my bouquet to my grandma. And, beyond everything else, I got to marry the man of my dreams.
During particularly lonely periods in my life, I never imagined that someone like PJ could've existed (I still don't know how it took us so long to meet). I never thought that I could meet somebody who I could be really and truly myself around. I didn't think that there was someone out there who wasas kind, as good, as loving, and as true as he is. And that someone that great would love me unconditionally. I feel so unbelievably blessed that he is my husband.
Our wedding day was the day that we celebrated our blessings surrounded by the people we are closest to and love most in this world. It was a true celebration. It felt like I was walking in a dream. I was so happy that we kept it small and simple. From what I hear, lots wedding days for bigger weddings have a way of being more about the event and less about the marriage. I read something somewhere that said 'I want a marriage more beautiful than my wedding' and I feel like we stayed true to that sentiment. The day was perfect and I couldn't have hoped for anything more. It was celebrating that PJ and I had found each other - the fact that we got to celebrate with our closest people was just gravy.
It really was the best day.
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