a small town wedding: processionals and pep talks.

At 1:00 pm on Saturday, September 5th, 2009, our wedding had begun.  My grandma and grandpa started off the processional while an arrangement of "Canon in D" was playing on the piano.

Source: arrangement of Pachelbel's Canon in D Major by David Lanz

My soon-to-be husband then walked down the aisle alongside his parents.  

My mom and dad were up next

and then came our wedding party.  First down the aisle were Ryan and Angelie,

then Mike and Kiera,

Mike and Dana,

Matt and Anna,

Ryan and my matron of honor, Dona,

the best man, Mike, and my maid of honor (and sister) Dani,

and last but not least, my sister Gaby with our ringbearers Parker and Derek, and our flowergirl Aliyah.

While everyone was inside, I was outside seeing my dad for the first time.  It was a very emotional time for us both, and I will never forget that moment.

You see, my dad and I are very close.  He is my rock, and I am his.  One thing (of many) that my dad has always said to me, is to never depend on a man.  He's always wanted his daughters (all four of us) to be able to support ourselves.  To get a good education, be confident, strong, and independent so we would never need a man to get where we wanted in life.  So it was no surprise to me that as I was standing there in my wedding dress, waiting to walk down the aisle, he would whisper in my ear "I'll take you out of here right now if you don't want to go through with this".  Of course, I just laughed.  

Don't get me wrong, my dad LOVES Mr. Mascara.  He had considered him his only "son" for quite some time before the wedding.  But my dad wanted me to know that if I didn't want to go through with the wedding, for any reason at all, he'd be there to support me.  He'd come to my rescue if I needed to be saved at that moment.

Another thing about my dad is, he gets very emotional when it comes to his girls.  So when he started tearing up as we were standing there, I told him he needed to get it together.  I told him that I loved him, and that I'd always be his daughter.  Then I told him that we were going inside and walking down that aisle, and that I was going to marry my husband today.

And then, it was time.  The bridal processional started playing

Source: Vangelis' Hymne by The O'Neill Brothers

so we opened the door, headed inside, and walked down the aisle together to meet my groom.

My dad hugged his future son-in-law,

we stood there with our friends and family,

and joined hands to start the ceremony that we would leave as husband and wife.

All images by Deborah Cull Photography

Previously in our wedding recaps:

Mascaras Get Married: The Beginning

Mascaras Get Married: Giving Gifts

Mascaras Get Married: Girls Get Ready

Mascaras Get Married: Guys Get Ready, and a Gift for the Groom
Mascaras Get Married: Becoming a Bride