Previous wedding day posts: Hair & Makeup // My Wedding Dress
Our wedding ceremony took place at Christ Presbyterian Church in Edina. It’s the church I grew up attending (well, sort of–you can read a bit more about that here if you’d like) and the pastor who married us is the one who baptized and confirmed me nine years ago. He’s retiring in January, so I’m extra glad that we could have him officiate.
Once we got to church, my bridesmaids, mom, and I hid out upstairs in the bride’s suite. We were supposed to avoid being seen and chatted up until the actual ceremony, to make sure that everything ran on schedule!
We got the flowers distributed and I helped my dad re-pin his boutonniere. Apparently everyone had forgotten how to put them on since their high school dance days 😛 My pastor also came in to say a quick prayer with us. Then, it was time to line up for the processional. I still stayed out of sight until the last minute and had a few minutes just to talk with my dad.
And then… we proceeded! E and I had picked the music a couple of weeks earlier. For the bridal party and my dad and I, we chose Pachelbel’s Canon. One of my favorite songs ever, and I love it on the piano/organ especially. I wasn’t nervous at all walking down the aisle, but the music made me want to cry (happy tears, of course!). Some of the pictures of my dad and I proceeding are actually quite hilarious. You can tell we are both trying so hard to keep it together!
My pastor did a lovely job with the ceremony. Most of our family and friends aren’t practicing Christians/Christians/religious at all, but John cracked a lot of jokes and explained why we chose to marry in the church without being pushy or offensive. A lot of guests told me afterwards that they loved the ceremony. It was so meaningful, both to us personally and to people who weren’t Christian.
We chose to include verses from Song of Solomon, 2:10-13 and 8:6-7. I love 2:10-13 especially, because last year when we were in California, I felt like it was chronically “winter” in my life, and not in the wintery way that I like. I often daydreamed about how, maybe, we’d miraculously be back in Minnesota by our wedding, and how light and joyful I would feel standing at the altar that day. (God answers prayers, friends!)
After the meditation, we lit our unity candle and after a last prayer, we were married! *Cue joyful recessional music!*
Finally, we made it official on paper. My pastor signed our marriage certificate, and my sister and one of E’s best men signed as witnesses.
And then it was off to take formal portraits! I’ll share some of those in a post next week. (As usual, I avoid posting front-and-center pictures of friends and family on the blog. But we’ve got plenty of pictures of E and I to share!)
Vendors Mentioned
Photographers: Studio 220 Photography
Ceremony venue: Christ Presbyterian Church
Flowers: Bachman’s
Unity candle set: Busy Bee Candles
But tell me: how are you spending this Labor Day weekend, if you’re in the US? Or this otherwise normal weekend, if you’re not.
We had dinner at my mom’s last night and watched the entire The Return of the King movie–all four hours of it! I’m grateful to have a family that shares my Lord of the Rings obsession 😛 This marks my 25th time (yes you read that correctly) watching those movies. They never get old!