Thursday, Sep. 10, 2009

BethZilla Got Married

Weddings are a lot like lightening bolts. Blink, and you might miss them.

My wedding has come and gone and even though there was a full 24 hours in the day, I can only seem to recall 2 of them.

The condensed-soup that was my wedding was like a fairy tale. Of course nothing can ever go perfectly, but we came pretty close to achieving that no-worry-wedding-nirvana.

The flowers were perfect (Thank you, Just Roses!), the dress was fantastic (Thank you, Fashion Corner!), the cake was delicious (Thank you, Kakes by Kathy!), and the venue was magnificent (Thank you, Cameo Heights Mansion!).

It also helped that my hairstylist from B&G House of Style was on-site, as well as my makeup artist/best friend. Minor touch-ups were literally a step away.

We opted for a fairly traditional wedding. And by traditional, I mean "what people usually see on TV" since neither of us were religious or had any preference. I stayed cooped upstairs in the bridal suite, while he was smack in the middle of the chaos of setting up everything (a special thanks to my mother who was the brains behind this operation, even a year ago).

Trying not to see each other, my bridesmaids and I peeked out the French balcony doors and watched my future hubby and his groomsmen take their group photos outdoors. We were like boy-crazy teenagers, giggling in front of our locker.

When it came time for me to step into my dress, my heart started to beat like a fire station alarm bell and I suddenly couldn't breath. I don't care who you are - when you are faced with the question of "Am I doing the right thing?" You will have to stop and think about it. Even if you're positive the answer is yes, it doesn't hurt to mill it over, just in case.

Our photographer Paul was very calming, lying to me that I was doing fine in comparison to other brides he's had the pleasure to work with. In between breathes, I kept repeating all the little nuances in my head: Deep breathes...Don't lock your knees...You should have stopped drinking Dew cuz your teeth are yellow...

As I waited at the top of the stairs for a cue that it was okay to come downstairs, friends and family kept making their way up to snap pictures with the bride. I'm no Oscar-winning actress, but I'm pretty sure I kept my composure and tried not sweating too much in that 50-pound dress.

My favorite part was when my father handed me my bouquet and took my hand. I leaned on him for balance, as I've always done in life, and he shielded me from the crowd -- protecting me down to the end. While the wedding aisle was a bit narrow and I had to walk ahead, I remember looking back into his eyes and seeing a very happy, yet sad face.

There were a few instances of waterworks that day, including my older brother, who is normally like a rock. Even after running on a treadmill to get his jitters out and drinking two glasses of whiskey, he couldn't hide the fact that he was nervous, which was incredibly endearing.

On the lighter side, our last-minute musicians were a hit with the crowd (Thanks Ken Wilson & Gary Winston!). As we ate dinner, one of the groomsmen smiled and said under his breath, "That's the cut right there..."

While I didn't get to talk to everyone in depth, I was glad to see that my girlfriends were having so much fun. Every time I looked at them, they were all giggly and constantly taking photos inside the mansion. They also kept clinking their water glasses, which Mr. Big 'n I learned meant that we had to kiss. Silly friends.

Seeing our families mingling with close friends made it all worth it. We know that there's not many instances left where we'll all get together again, so I think we knew how important this was. It was hilarious to see my dad's brothers and sister, acting like identical clones of each other. I told my Uncle Howard I would give him a shout-out and promised to spell his name correctly.

What was even better was seeing Mr. Big's side all together. When we took a group photo of both families, I kept thinking, "Wow... We are now one..."

As cheesy at it all sounds, I wouldn't change a thing. No rain during the ceremony (as predicted by MSN Weather), no drunk accidents, no family rivalry, no breakdowns of any sort. We even got to eat a slice of cake (we had plenty of leftovers for the past week). While we're not saving our top tier in our freezer for our one-year anniversary, we are hesitant to dig into it. Perhaps we'll stave off for a little while in an effort to prolong this blissful newlywedded feeling...