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[ How We Met | How He Proposed | Our Wedding Day ]
So you wanna hear the story of our wedding day? Well, it was a whirlwind of amazing events and memories.
The girls (my bridesmaids) and I started our day off at Glamour Shots getting our hair and make-up done, then we all had our photos taken. It was a lot of fun!!! (I went and picked up the pictures last night and they turned out really nice. I will scan them in and get them up in my Photos/Occasions section ASAP.) It was raining most of the day, but since I was inside, I didn't even know to stress about that.
When we left Glamour Shots to head to Paradise Cove, it rained on and off a bit, but the sun would peak out now and then, too. Everyone assured me the rain would stop, and it did! We were able to have the ceremony outdoors with no problem! All the guys were there, the girls were there, the ushers were there. The cake was there, the flowers were there, the hall was decorated, the tables were set up, the wedding CD favors I made for my guests were out, everything seemed to be going smoothly. There was a slight hitch in trying to get Cody's (our soloist) microphone to work, but after 10 minutes of delaying the ceremony before it began to try, we gave up and just decided to have him sing without a mic. The sun was setting fast and we had to get a move on.
Everyone was telling me how handsome and sweetly nervous David looked. I was soooo excited to see him in his tux!! Everyone was commenting on how the weather was cooperating and how beautiful my gown and hair was. It was no doubt the happiest day of my life. I was surrounded by my family and all my friends. It was incredible. I remember telling my girls not to cry so that they wouldn't make me cry! I couldn't smudge my eye makeup! Dad and I stood arm in arm as we waited for Joy (Paradise Cove's wonderful wedding coordinator) to give us the sign to begin our walk down the outdoor pathway isle. I blinked back tears of excitement and couldn't believe this moment was about to happen. This moment I think I had dreamed about a million times before.
As I walked down the pathway isle to the gazebo location, I had plenty of time to see all my friends standing at staring back at me with huge smiles. It was incredible. As I approached, I tried to scan each and every face. My grin couldn't have been bigger, I couldn't have been more ecstatic to see each and every friendly face. As I got to the end of the isle, there was David, standing in front of me, looking more handsome than I had ever seen him before. He was softly smiling at me, pride and happiness filling his eyes. As Dad relinquished me over to him (and after they did their "high five" which elicited many laughs) David whispered into my ear that I was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. And I could tell at that moment he honestly meant it, which made my heart swell and made me feel more special and more beautiful than I'd ever felt in my life.
We turned to face our friends and the ceremony began. It was a wonderful ceremony, filled with laughter (jokes and misspoken words) and tears (touching moments-- Cody singing "To Make You Feel My Love" by Billy Joel). I wouldn't change a thing. I enjoyed looking over the groomsmen, all dressed up, a bit hot and nervous, but happy and smiling as they watched us state our vows. I enjoyed making eye contact with each of my bridesmaids, silently thanking them each for standing next to me on such an important day in my life. We are blessed with the best friends in the world. Several times, tears welled up in my eyes, but as I looked out over our audience... our best friends... I would smile and thank my lucky stars for each of them being in my life. Then I would look over again at David... so smiling, so overwhelmed, so touched, so gosh-darned handsome... and I would remember exactly what this day was all about. Pledging my never-ending love to him in front of our friends and God. Promising to love and to cherish 'til death us do part. And every vow I recited I meant whole-heartedly. They weren't just words. They were a promise, they were fact.
After our pastor announced us "husband and wife", we had our personal fun "just married" song play as we walked down the isle together: "Where's Your Head At" by the Basement Jaxx. Some people were confused, but most were laughing, knowing we'd be just the people to do something unconventional. We thought the popular techno song we loved was just so appropriate to play as we joined the ranks of married couples. :-)
Right after the ceremony, per my wishes, the wedding party and all the guests took a group shot together. My photographer friend climbed a ladder to get a good vantage point. I heard it turned out a little blurry due to the failing sunlight by that time, but I'm excited to see it anyway. How very cool to have a picture of me and all my friends! We then did more wedding photos as our guests went up to the reception hall for drinks and hors d'vors. After all the photos were taken and the sun had completely diminished from the horizon, we were "announced" into the hall. Everyone was cheering and it was very fun.
Then a scrumptious buffet dinner (including prime rib) was served. Several people (about 20) who said they were coming didn't show up, which was a little surprising, but we decided to not let that bother us. At the end of dinner, Wes, David's best man, stood up and gave a nice toast that included a great joke that had female guests returning keys now that David is a married man. The last one to get up and return a key was Leslie (male) and it was HILARIOUS!!!! After the laughs subsided, David stood up and gave the sweetest toast of all. He referred to the night before, when I had called and left him a message (since we decided to do the traditional not see each other thing) telling him goodnight and he mentioned how several of my stuffed animals also said goodnight to him in the voicemail. He then announced how much he loved me and my silliness and how I was going to be his "sunshine" forever. He then finished off by singing (in front of everyone) "you are my sunshine" to me in the voice of my stuffed Sunshine doll (that he does the voice for). It was so charming, silly, and romantic. It was perfect. I hugged him with all my might as everyone laughed and applauded his unique toast to me.
After dinner, the dancing began. It was a blast. David and I started off dancing to our song "Cruisin'" by Huey Lewis and Gwenyth Paltrow. Then the rest of our bridal party joined us. All types of music were played: techno... 80's... oldies... slow... fast... nearly everyone was out on the dance floor at some point, young and not-so-young. Guests flitted between the outside patio, the bar and the main reception room. As I danced and mingled and enjoyed my night (and made sure it didn't go by in a blur), I wanted to talk to each and every guest, but it seemed like that would be impossible. I wanted to thank each and everyone for being there and sharing this special day with David and I.
Then we did the cake cutting. The cakes were scrumptious. We had a white cake/white icing brides cake and a chocolate cake/chocolate fudge icing m&m grooms cake (m&m's are David's favorite candy). I was pretty nice as I gently shoved a piece of the white cake into David's mouth. Only getting a bit of icing on his cheek. David was more ruthless and pleased the crowd as he recklessly smeared a piece of cake all over my nose, mouth, cheeks and chin. Verrrrry funny! :-) Both cakes were enjoyed by all and they disappeared with lightening speed.
The night finally ended with David and I walking arm-in-arm outside, being serenaded by bubbles upon bubbles, to my Jaguar which was decorated with hearts, balloons and GOBS of foam! We waved a thankful, gleeful, but tearful (my tears couldn't be held back any longer) goodbye to all our guests and we zoomed off into the night, as husband and wife. David and Katie DeBorde. It was a fairy tale come true. It was breathtaking, exciting, magical and everything I always imagined it to be. And as long as I live I will never ever EVER forget the day I married my true love.
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