Going to the Chapel

I said before, I’d be doing a couple posts on the topic of our big day. There is just way too much good stuff to fit into one tinsy tiny blog post. So here we go. In my last wedding issue – I shared the unforgettable experience of my bachelorette party that took place the weekend before we said our I dos. To continue on in that good old chronological order – I figured I’d I talk about that last day leading up to the ceremony.

Note – I am electing to skip over the couple of days prior to the wedding – not because they weren’t happy times, but because I almost don’t remember them. (seriously) It was such a crazy, whirlwind type of week filled with errands, exercise, projects and all the makings of a wedding that I cannot piece together what I did every day. Quite humorous, eh? One thing I do know and would suggest to any future brides out there is that I did take an afternoon two days before our wedding and hit the beach with just Bill, which was totally worth it. It is so nice to have a couple quiet minutes together before all of the craziness and excitement begins. Add it to your wedding week agenda, ladies!

Anyways, back to the last hours of officially being an Omar (although I plan to always be one at heart), starting with our rehearsal dinner. My spectacular in-laws threw the big hoorah at the Glynn family beach house in Marshfield and what an amazing job they did indeed. Billy’s mother has always been an incredibly thoughtful person who makes everything she touches just beauteous. Everything from the water bottles, napkin rings to the cake had some cute touch to tie in our wedding theme. She and Bill’s pops really put together an incredible evening.

 I completely embarrassed myself by starting to hysterically cry when I gave a little thank you speech as we gave out our bridal party and parent gifts. It was just such an emotional, overwhelming night. We were finally all together, the wedding was less than 24 hours away and I couldn’t stop thinking about how all of the people there were so helpful during the entire planning process. So I gave my speech – and I cried the whole way through it. Moving on.

 

The final day of my ‘single’ girl life ended with a big kiss to Bill before leaving him at the beach house and heading off to a sleepover with all of my bridesmaids. We went back to my parent’s home and watched Father of the Bride, which has always been a dream of mine to do the night before my wedding. Check!

And after getting a night full of rest (Not! Does anyone really sleep the night before their wedding?) I woke up to a house filled with my bridesmaids, family and excitement for the hours that were to come.

Everyone was kind of tip-toeing around me as they looked at the weather forecast, knowing it was saying 100% chance of rain to begin at the exact time our ceremony was scheduled. Our wedding ceremony was planned to be outside on a beautiful terrace and it wasn’t looking too good. I tried to not think about it and just go on with the day as planned. What the heck was I going to do anyways, right?

So on we went, with a healthy breakfast and probably the best part of the getting-ready process, a backyard yoga session, my best friend and yoga-lover, Jenn, put together. It was absolutely the best thing we could have done. I am still so thankful to her for planning the whole class (she literally choreographed an hour-long class with music and all!) as I really think it set the tone for the rest of the day and prepared me for the rain that was to come.

From there we did hair (thanks to the amazingly talented Miss Kerry!) and then hopped in the limo to head to the venue. The ride over was definitely funny, because everyone was very aware that the rain had begun and I think they were all a little scared I was going to have a meltdown. But I put on my big girl pants and got over it. Yes, I did book that specific venue because I loved the outdoor space, but when I do my next post on our ceremony, I think you’ll agree with me that the rain happened for a reason (the ceremony was perfect)!

Rain and all, we arrived at the venue and headed up to our bridal suite for that final hour before the evening began. Between getting our make-up done (I have to give Lauren a thank you here! she is so good at what she does!), taking pictures, my bridesmaids (force) feeding me and listening to my favorite wedding songs like “Today I Met the Boy I’m Going to Marry” and “Going to the Chapel”, I could not have been more relaxed and happy as we waited for the moment to arrive.

I’ll end it there for now. I can’t wait to tell you all about the ceremony and the evening filled with some serious dance moves next.

Cheers and here’s to saying “I Do”...