So today I want to talk about all the little things in the days leading up to and the morning of the wedding that were mostly fun, but also somewhat necessary in actually getting to the point where I started to walk down the aisle with my dad.
I would say that wedding preparations (aside from the planning process obviously) technically started on Thursday, October 5th. This was the day of our rehearsal and dinner. I worked about a half day and then met Chris at home to get ourselves dressed and ready to go. It was everything we could have asked for in that day/evening, and you can read more about it here.
Friday was totally a “get your mind in order to get married” kind of day. I worked a full day (I would not recommend this to anybody – TAKE THE TIME OFF) and then met up with all of my bridesmaids, plus one elementary school friend, to get manicures and pedicures. We had champagne and basically the entire salon to ourselves! Then we went to my favorite restaurant for dinner, where our waitress made me a special wedding dessert.
We tried to make Saturday as normal a day as possible. I knew I was going to start to get emotional and really wanted to avoid that for as long as possible haha. So I went to yoga in the morning, per usual, and then tackled getting the house clean and ready to go with Chris. We also did a bunch of laundry and packed. I also washed my hair really good – random fact, but it was much needed. Eventually we made our way to my parents’ house in the afternoon where we prepped all of the guest “thank you gifts,” triple checked that we had everything we needed for the next day, and hung out with my aunt, uncle, and cousin while we ordered pizza and watched the U of M vs. MSU game.
It felt a little odd when Chris left to go back and spend the night at our house (we tried to do like, one traditional thing), but nothing really felt real yet. Once he was gone, my sweet sisters gave me a really sentimental gift and my parents gave me a gorgeous necklace. (*Sidenote: I ended up wearing none of my original jewelry that I had shopped for so diligently! I received too many pretty pieces the weekend before that meant more to me than random (but beautiful) things I picked out at Nordstrom. I am keeping them though and am totally looking for an excuse to wear them soon.) I also had to finish writing my vows, because for some reason I was procrastinating on that like crazy. I just really wanted them to be super natural and not forced, and I knew that if I wrote them more “in the moment” they would be. I slept in my sister Olivia’s room and tossed and turned a little bit, but slept better than I thought I would.
When I woke up on Sunday morning, I read a sweet letter that my mom had left on the nightstand for me to read. Then I went downstairs to have coffee with my dad and talk with him for a while. My mom and sisters were already gone getting their hair and makeup done. I really cherish that quiet time we got to have alone on what turned out to be a crazy day later on. Eventually I made my way into the shower and got my stuff all together, thinking I was missing something about 11 times before I finally got in the car. Melissa and Clare drove with my dad and I to the venue, with my mom, sisters, and Rosaria not far behind us.
The two girls that were to be doing some of our hair and makeup (Rosaria, Clare, Melissa, and I) were getting there at just about the same time. It took our group a ridiculous number of trips to get everyone’s car unloaded and all the stuff into the bridal suite upstairs. As soon as I unpacked them, I gave the girls their gifts from me which included a beautiful pair of Kate Spade earrings and personalized “getting ready” robes. The hit was that they had pockets haha – who doesn’t love a pocket?! I loved seeing everyone wearing their robes that were the same shade as their dress, and I finally started to feel “bridal” in my white robe with a bunch of lace on it and my new initials.
We spent a little more time getting organized, and then the actual “getting ready” process began! I wanted to get ready as late as I possibly could, because I really wanted some time to just sit and hang out with the girls, and I also selfishly wanted to be uncomfortable for as little amount of time as I could. So I had some time to make a bagel, get some fruit salad, have a mimosa, and just try to be as present as possible. We put on a fun country music playlist and really did have such a good time all just being in the same place. That never happens, and I really tried not to take that time for granted.
Things had been really calm up until this point, but as soon as I sat down in the chair to begin my hair, it started to get a little crazy.
More people started to arrive (my dad, Chris’s parents, the photographers, the videographer, our wedding planner), and it seemed like time just started to fly by. I was really trying as hard as I could to remember as many details as possible, since everybody was telling me that it’s so easy for the day to just become a blur. And I must say, I am pretty proud of the job I did. My memory is very clear from that day, and I spent a lot of time while we were on our honeymoon writing out a detailed journal with as much as I could remember.
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As I am sitting down to start writing these recaps, I can’t help but get emotional all over again. It sounds sooooo cliché, but my wedding day really was magical. I am so grateful for my family, best friends, and especially Chris. They went above and beyond to make it incredible.
The next recap is going to be about what happened once we were all ready, leading up to the start of the ceremony!
If you are married, what was your day like leading up to the craziness?
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