Today was the day! We finally, legally, joined our lives as one. i am finally Mrs. Brian Oates.
But, the day did not start out well at all. There was much chaos and things that went wrong. First, i woke up late and that was to a call from the hair and makeup lady, Sheri Hobbs, to let me know that her helper was not going to make it. So she was coming early to try and get everyone done on time.
At first it was no big deal, but then i found out i left my eye lashes at home which was a 45 min one-way drive. i told Adena and Becca and Becca found that there was a mall not far away and we drove to get new ones. They had to be M.A.C. eyelashes because all the makeup was M.A.C.
Sheri arrived and i asked her to start on the ladies while i did my own makeup. i was so grateful for the lesson that i took at M.A.C. i even helped out Sheri and helped apply lashes to the other girls.
Because Sheri was the only one doing makeup, we ran a little later than expected. She was wonderful and it was no fault of hers but the fault of the lady that bailed on Sheri. She did a wonderful job on the moms and ladies.
It was time to get dressed all the while being photographed. It was crazy. Such a whirlwind of events and activities. We were told by the wedding coordinator that i needed to be in the cottage where i am to walk out of by 3:30pm or 4 at the latest. at 3:45 i was pretty much ready and the last thing i needed to do was buckle my shoes. i was freaking out inside, but i was told i was one of the most calm brides on the outside.
i marched to the cottage and it was so funny. Adena and Marissa had a hard time keeping up with me.
“Angela, slow down! I cannot walk this fast in these heels!”
Once in the cottage i was able to relax a little until the precession. Then it started. It was a blur. It took forever for me and my Dad to walk down the isle. When we got to the bend, they asked us to pause in the rehearsal for picture opportunities. i was so excited that i was doing these little mini stomp with my feet. People who were watching thought i was cold. But no, that was not the case, was “revving up” and even asked my Dad if we could just run the rest of the way.
i was finally given away by my Mom and Dad. When my Dad hugged Brian he said “No receipt, no returns mother f*cker”. It was so funny and it was also caught on the video.
The rest of the ceremony went just like rehearsal but there were more words. The sand ceremony was beautiful.
Finally we exchanged rings and kissed to seal the deal! i was officially HIS!
We all went back to the cottage while the coordinators shoo’ed everyone back in the hotel for cocktail hour. We took the traditional pictures: with the parents, just the bridal party, with just the kids, etc. Man do Brian and i make a beautiful couple. With the boys, we make a very hamsome family.
The reception was great. It was so much better than anything i could hope for or dream up. Most of my family could not make it because i had two other cousins that got married the same year. They were also their first marriages where as this was my third. It was expected. But because of that we did not meet the minimum for head count so we were able to add on all these extras: better booze, a candy table, martini bar complete with an ice sculpture, white glove service, and that was only what i can remember off the top of my head.
We danced and socialized the night away. Sean gave a great speech and he was smart enough to write it down. Adena was like:
“I should have done that.”
Brian and i were so busy mingling that we hardly ate or drank anything all night. After a bit we went back to the honeymoon suite.
About an hour later, we got the boys back and took a nap before we had to leave for the airport at 4:30am which was in only 3 hours.