a small town wedding: husband and wife.

After the processional, mass began.  We had a full Catholic mass on our wedding day.  I know some people feel like a full mass is too long for their guests to sit, and I understand that.  But to us, the ceremony was the most important part of the wedding, and we didn't think an hour was too long to sit when we were vowing to spend the rest of our lives together. 

I was SO nervous during our ceremony.  I had butterflies all morning, but it really got out of control when I got to the front of the church.  It had nothing to do with being nervous to get married, I knew with all of my heart that I wanted to marry the man standing next to me.  It had more to do with my fear of standing up in front of a huge group of people, which I realize is ridiculous, but I couldn't help it!  Thankfully we had to kneel for a while at the beginning of the ceremony, so I don't think our guests noticed the fact that I was visibly shaking.  I just held on really tight to my groom's hand until the nerves calmed down a bit through all of the readings.

My friend Melissa read a passage from the Old Testament, Ruth 1:16 for the first reading.
"And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return from following after thee, for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God."

Adam's sister Megan read the New Testament reading, John 7:12.
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

I love this picture that was taken from the balcony.  You can see almost all of our guests that were at the ceremony.  The priest told us later that he had never performed a wedding ceremony with so many friends and family present!  I'm not sure if it's a small town thing, but for some reason a lot of people don't go to the actual wedding ceremony around here, instead they skip it and just come to the reception instead.  I was very grateful that so many of our guests didn't skip out on the ceremony and were actually there to support  us as we tied the knot.

Our priest read the gospel reading, John 15: 9-12.
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."

Soon it was time to say our vows.
"I, Adam, take you, Holly, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part."

"I, Holly, take you, Adam, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part."

The we exchanged rings.
"Holly, I give you this ring, as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.".

"Adam, I give you this ring, as a sign of my love and fidelity.  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.".

Our sisters, Angela and Lindsay, sang "The Prayer" by Celine Dion during the ceremony.

The priest gave the nuptial blessing.

We had Communion.

Received one last blessing from the priest...

and we were married!  My groom was given permission to kiss his bride.

We were husband and wife!

After the recessional, it was time to make it official.

My husband made me give him "knuckles" when we were finished.  Of course it was caught on camera, so I had to share it here.

We posed for one last picture with the priest before getting ready for portraits.

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

Mascaras Get Married: Processionals and Pep Talks

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

a small town wedding: becoming a bride.

When we were finished with hair and makeup, it was time to head to the church to get dressed.  

My dress was ready and waiting for me when I arrived, looking pretty.

As was my something old (brooch from my MIL), something new (bracelet and earrings), and something borrowed (necklace from my mother).

My mom and matron of honor helped me into my dress (lighting in the church basement was less than ideal, so we improvised near the door for pictures).

We put on my jewelry.

I slipped into my something blue.

I read the sweet card from my future husband and found pictures of my gift (he built me a sewing table!).  All while trying not to cry of course!

My mom attached the cathedral length veil I had made.

And we headed to outside to the church.

I finally felt like a bride!

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

a small town wedding: guys get ready, and a gift for the groom.

Wow, has it really been a year since my last wedding recap post?  So much has changed since then!  I promise the rest of the recaps won't be so sporadic.

Last time I posted about the girls getting ready, so naturally this post is all about the guys.

My soon-to-be husband and his groomsmen were busy getting dapper at the best man's house while we were at the salon.

I could not find olive green ties anywhere for our wedding, so a family friend made the groomsmen's ties for me!  They looked great!

Here's the man of the hour all ready to head to the church.

He's not a groom until he gets a boutonierre, right?  Doesn't he look excited?  

After they were all ready, the guys took some pictures outside of the church.

When the photo ops were over, his wedding gift was delivered.

He opened the box...

and put on his new watch...

All images by Deborah Cull Photography

It was time to get married!

Previously in our wedding recaps:
Mascaras Get Married: The Beginning
Mascaras Get Married: Giving Gifts
Mascaras Get Married: Girls Get Ready