Wedding photos: The ceremony

I hope you have enjoyed all my wedding posts so far.  Only a few more, I promise! For now, here are a few special shots from the moments leading up to the big event and the ceremony itself.

Our ceremony took place at 5:00 PM on Saturday, September 25, 2010.  It was a beautiful and completely surprisingly sunny day in Seattle. We were fully prepared for the normal Seattle doom-and-gloom sort of sky.  So, when the sun rose brightly that morning (yes, I was awake by sunrise), it was such an unexpected gift!

Thanks to some very thoughtful bridesmaid planning, all of us ladies enjoyed a can of Sofia Coppola champagne just before we lined up to walk into the Fremont Abbey, where the wedding took place.  We toasted, gulped and took a few adorable photos to commemorate the moment. 

My bridesmaid Kristin and I went to Pike Place Market the morning before the wedding to buy dahlia's and other flowers for the bouquets and the table decor.  Then, on the morning of the wedding, the bridesmaids assembled all the bouquets themselves.  They were amazing improv florists, who knew!

The flowers were simple, but lovely.  For my bouquet, I wrapped the flowers in the sash that came from my dress, since I bought the one you see here in this photo.  The long sash around my flowers hung nearly to my knees and blew in the wind.  The big, white dahlia's looked like pom-pom's.  

This is one of my favorite photos with my dear friend, Megan.  A stolen moment, caught on film.

All of these photos speak for themselves.  (And for that reason, I get a little misty-eyed when I see them again!)

These captured moments with my dad and Ryan's mom make my heart melt.  I love the concern in Kathy's eyes and the tender, affectionate hand my dad offered me just before we walked down the aisle together.  

Here is our flower girl, Grace and her mom, my bridesmaid, Olivia.  They made an adorable duo walking down the aisle.  

The moment we'd all been waiting for!  

My dad and I and the entire wedding party walked down the aisle to one song, Across the Universe, by the Beatles, but covered by an obscure band called Laibach (if you click on the link, ignore the bazaar video and just enjoy the music!). The acoustics in the Abbey made it sound like a choir was singing.  We thought it was beautiful.  

Since we had rehearsed the ceremony just the day before, at this point I was feeling totally in the zone and ready for anything.  A good feeling.

I don't remember very much humor during the ceremony, but so many of our photos show all of us smiling, giggling and laughing out loud!  I used the think weddings should be so serious, but having gone through it, it was fun to realize how much joy and excitement is bursting from each moment. We couldn't help but laugh and smile through the entire ceremony.  And since I cried my eyes out during the rehearsal, our ceremony was virtually tear free! 

Here is Ryan giving me my ring.

And me putting Ryan's ring on the wrong finger. Oops!  We'll debate whose fault that was for the rest of our lives.

For the readings during the ceremony, we asked my grandparents, Ryan's parents and our dear friends, Rachel and Than, to do the three readings.  We listed the readers in the program as "three generations of marriage that have inspired the bride and groom".  Their readings were one of my favorite parts of the ceremony.

Phew! That kiss made me think my veil was going to fall off!  What a moment.  Everyone cheered and clapped and it was official.... we were married!  

Our exit song was Rill Rill, an unrelated, but bursting-with-joy kind of song.  

Next up: decor, reception and dancing!  xo

P.S.  We bought this book for our readings and loved it.  A great book on love and relationships, even if you aren't planning a wedding.

P.S.S.  My grandparents read Hafiz, Ryan's parents read Ecclesiastes and Rachel and Than read Stanley Kunitz.

P.S.S.S. We tucked this poem inside the program:

One faith is bondage. Two

are free. In the trust

of old love, cultivation shows

a dark graceful wilderness

at its heart. Wild

in that wilderness, we roam

the distances of our faith,

safe beyond the bounds

of what we know. O love,

open. Show me

my country. Take me home.

A Homecoming, by Wendell Berry

Thanks again for reading!