So, to conclude our wonderful September day's recap, I give you "the rest of the story."
After our first dances were over, we ate, we listened to speeches (from Camille's dad, the Best Man, the Maid of Honor, and Nolan's parents), took some more photos, and ate some cupcakes.
UNR's Alumni Rugby Girls
All the cousins!
All the ruggers at the wedding!
Cupcakes - because Nolan and I didn't "cut the cake" I had Michelle take some photos of me a my girls eating them! :)
More dancing!
The end of the night - this was at our after party.
hair was coming out, eyes glazed over, beer in hand - GOOD NIGHT!
THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME ON THIS JOURNEY, REVISITING THE WONDERFUL DAY WE HAD UNDER THE TREES.
Jessica, aka the Budget Savvy Bride, featured our September wedding on her blog this week. Jessica is from Tennessee and features a budget savvy wedding each week from all over the country. This week our stationary, boutonierres, flower girl, ring bear, colors, and our TREE adorn her blog pages! Thanks Jessica!
Once we finished our photo shoot, we were introduced as husband and wife.
From there we twirled on the dance floor to our song by Blood Sweat and Tears.
We ended with a dip.
Then is was time for our Father-Daughter Dance. This turned out to be one of my favorite times of the day!
About a minute into the song, our DJ, upon my request, asked all the other Father-Daughter couples to join us. That was one of the most fun things to see. I really enjoyed that moment. The photo above is me turning to watch all the other Father-Daughter couples, young and old.
We then were invited to get our food to eat - you know how difficult it is to eat when you just want to go socialize with everyone? I had to force myself to sit and eat something!
We ended our ceremony with a KISS then, grinning ear to ear along with a sigh of relief we ran down the aisle as husband and wife.
There were handshakes and high fives but mostly smiles and well wishes!
Soon after everyone picked up their chairs and headed to the reception I had help from my brother and maid of honor to remove wood chips from my shoes and pumped up for more pictures. I forgot to put on lip gloss at this point (Bummer) - so make it a point to tell your maid of honor to remind you! It's just not something you think of at that moment in time!
Then the real work began - wearing a non-stop smile! I tell you what, my cheeks felt it the next morning! We took family portraits and bridal party portraits under the tree and additional couple portraits inside the gazebo and around the park.
Here are some portraits to look at. If you can't get enough you can view more pro photos and friend's photos on Picurio.
This is when Michelle did her work and we just smiled and enjoyed each others' company.
The following photos are all by Michelle
Our photographer, Michelle Lee scouted out a few other spots earlier in the week so we spent another 20 minutes and took some additional couple photos, which I LOVE!
Then we walked elsewhere which was caught on film and I love this one by one of our guests.
After we took a few more shots and we were ready to be introduced and dance our first dance.
I used Polyvore to create this wedding look half way through the planning process, in May to be exact - 4 months before the wedding.
After reading about a million girls' planning "dos and don'ts" I knew I should create some sort of visual with a combination of wedding elements I'd like to include. At that point in time some of the elements, like the flower girl dress, were already decided. The rest of the visual was a combo of all of the ideas, colors, and textures that were floating around in my head. To a point, this validated my color decision and lingering questions if it was a cohesive look.
Above all else, I was really excited for the ceremony.
Sometimes I think couples get off course with grandiose ideas and details they'll only notice. I admit, those details seem all too important 3 months out - they really aren't! I'll be the first to admit that I, too put too much emphasis on the small details and crazy schemes. Nolan brought me down to Earth more than once.
As time passed, our vision become more clear and I really took a deeper look into our day. The ceremony became my first priority about 6 weeks out. I was in contact with Rocky, our officiant and Nolan's uncle frequently around that time. Between the three of us we wrote our ceremony. This was so special. Rocky took it upon himself to type it up and give us a fantastic copy after the ceremony. His 35 plus years of being married influenced his words! He really did a fantastic job.
Once I reached Nolan, and after my dad and I hugged, there we were, standing next to each other with huge smiles on! I didn't feel anyone else around for those few moments.
Part of our ceremony is below. I wanted to include our guests and this is what Rocky designed. He asked us to face our guests as he read the following. We did at first but then began to swivel back to look at each other, desperately trying to listen and take it all in.
"It is clear in this gathering of close friends and family that your support for Camille and Nolan is sincere and heartfelt. It is the fondest wish of the bride and groom that you all share this joyous occasion with them and continue to be an essential part of their new life. We ask for your participation in the following statements of support as we recognize that the fondness that we have held for them as individuals will only be enhanced as they go forth as a couple. Please join together in response to the following statements with “we do!”
We find this union between Camille and Nolan to be a noble and sincere commitment of love and affection to one another!
We do!
We pledge our support with friendship and warmth as they embark on this journey which unites the two into one!
We do!
We will keep our hearts and our minds open to their needs as a couple and stand ready with support and good counsel when called upon!
We do!
We will always strive to work as a bond for their union, never as a division between them!
We do!
Finally, we stand as witnesses to this occasion and hold the joy of this moment in our hearts to share with friends and strangers alike as a living reminder that Camille and Nolan are forever bound and will not be divided!
We do!"
The it was time for our vows, first Nolan and then Camille. I remember when Nolan began to read his vows, I heard the largest sob from my mom - it nearly put me over the edge, but both Nolan and I held it together! I am still surprised we didn't cry!
A section of my vows:
"I promise to eat candy and ice cream with you until we’re sick and drag you to the gym the next day, I promise to discover the world with you, and I promise to love what I know of you and trust what I do not yet know.
I look forward to waking up next to you, cooking our meals together, exploring the world by your side and forever share my life with you."
We then exchanged rings and finished the ceremony.
Our ceremony lasted about 20-25 minutes and ended with a KISS!
After the bridal party found themselves alongside the 1000-year-old cedar tree, it was my turn - or was it?
From the rec hall I saw Reese begin to drop her flowers and about 20 people begin to walk toward me along my wood chip lined aisle!
You can see the kids and their parents in the background of some of these photos:
The kids just finished a morning of fishing at the lake the park surrounds.
The group of 20 just kept growing and because most were kids they didn't know what was going on. Some just stood and stared, others were oblivious. The parents were useless and let them stomp down the aisle even though there were several other avenues to get back to the street.
I doubled over laughing holding onto my Pops. I just kept laughing.
Eventually Kami (my savior) ushered them off the aisle and I was able to come down. The music played and the fishing kids stared and said "congratulations" with prompting from the grown ups.
The song:
I always wondered what people talked about while they were in these types of situations. What do people whisper to each other while they up at the alter, walking down the aisle, waiting to walk down the aisle? I remember talking about grand kids with my dad. That is the only conversation that sticks out in my mind.
While I was approaching the ceremony site, Nolan was waiting ever so patiently.
Do you remember what you talked about up at the alter?
I am native Nevadan. I love baking, crafts, and design. I keep busy with cooking with my husband, exploring, cooing over our new baby girl, and starting to build an invitation portfolio.
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