And when I awoke that morning and realized, groggily, that it was the Big Day, I was ready. A friend had told me to not jump out of bed, but to think about it a bit. Well, I'd slept for awhile, but I'd been tossing and turning for a few hours, so, when the alarm went off, I paused briefly, said a quick prayer, and then I got up. I took a shower, got the paper, ate some breakfast and headed to the salon with Raegan, my veil, and my headpiece.
Two experts awaited us at the salon to do hair for all six of us. Almost everyone had the same theme in mind to go with the "flowy, romantic dresses." Hair some down, some up and wavy curls, for four of us. Two played it straight, one with tiny braids, one with a sparkly barrette. We started at 9:30, and by just a little after noon, we were all finished and ready to head to my house, dresses and makeup in tow for most of the girls.
So THAT'S how you put a veil on.
Sarah and her coffee get beautified. Mary and Anne watch.My Aunt Liz and my cousin's girlfriend, Jill, served us a variety of delicious sandwiches, chips, salads, veggies and (yum) cookies. They'd even decorated the table and had matching tableware. And everyone got personalized stationery: I saw my new name, Katie Kelley Schmid, for the first time in anything other than my handwriting!! With a bit of a nervous stomach, I nibbled the scrumptious choices, while the other girls enjoyed the luncheon as well. (Thanks Aunt Liz and Jill!)
We sat around and chatted briefly, but then it was time for us to get ready. With a flurry of dry cleaner bags and makeup brushes a-flying, we congregated upstairs in my bedroom and the guest room (which was full of homeless furniture, but I'd precariously balanced a mirror against the new closet) and traded turns in the bathroom.
"Can you zip me?"
"I think my straps are too tight."
"Um, my top seems a little loose."
"Ooh, your eye makeup looks good."
"You did not just take a picture of me half-naked. That is NOT going on the blog."
But before I knew it, we were dressed and headed downstairs. Our luncheon hostesses had left by then, and it was up to me - dress, train, veil and all - to close and lock the door on the way to the limo. No one would be back inside until July 9. (Wish I'd checked, but we left a fan running the whole time we were gone. Whoops!)
Um, hello, bride here. Anyone going to help? :)We piled in the limo after some confusing conversations with the driver, who asked if the church was "before or after Vine." (Um, the street the church is on doesn't cross Vine.) He got on I-71 at Ridge and then exited on Smith-Edwards. "Must be going the back way," I thought, as we then proceeded to drive around the block and get back ON I-71. "Do I need to get up there and give him directions?" I thought. We got off at Dana (right exit). And then Peggy and I yelled up at the right point "turn here." He did but then passed the church. We thought he was going to turn around so we'd be on the right side to get out at the curb. But he didn't.
"Um, you just passed the church." So he went into a parking lot, turned around, and passed the church again. "Wait, that's it, right there."
"Where?" he said, putting on the brakes. "There, that building that's a church." (Apparently he was new and couldn't tell the church, from, say, the dorm across the street.") He backed up, and we exited. I was just hoping he could find the groom and not get Mt. Lookout confused with, say, Mt. Healthy.
My beautiful, wonderful family, about 2 hours pre-wedding!My parents were at the church, and we took a few photos, and then the photographers arrived and started herding us around to various nearby spots. The first one, there was a slight issue with dog poo, and when the photog tried to kick it out of the way, let's just say it got more spread around. So with a slight eau de poo, we took about a gazillion pictures. OK, probably just 100. But it seemed like a lot. Thankfully, they turned out pretty good. I wish I weren't so squinty. But as we were posing, I saw a familiar white limo go by. "The groom!" I screamed, and suddenly a gaggle of girls surrounded me. "He can't see you," they said. It was just after 3:15, and the carefully printed schedule I made said the guys should arrive at 4. Not 3:15!! The limo sailed past and we debated whether maybe it was a different limo. But, soon, groomsmen Jim showed up, to scout out the situation. It was decided the groomsmen would hang in the limo in a semi-distant parking lot for awhile.
Finally finished with pictures around 4, I headed inside for some much needed water and powder. As I waited in the "activities room" with the bridesmaids and various other friends and family members who stopped by, I repeated my mantra often: "No one is allowed to make me cry." (Which my sister said means "Don't say anything at all to her.") But I chatted with a few people, got a few lumps in my throat, smiled for some photos and let my stomach jump all over the place. I picked out voices outside the door. "I hear Sheila," I said at one point, straining to hear who else was out there.
Soon, the music started, and the bridesmaids left me alone in the room. I thought my parents would be there, but they were out with the bridesmaids, so I stood, suddenly feeling very small, peering out the door until they came to get me.
Next up: Recap Part 2 - The Ceremony
No comments:
Post a Comment