It was scheduled to rain (30% chance) on our wedding day and so I was stressed out the entire week. On Tuesday, I went to the Broadmoor Spa for a relaxing facial/body wrap (oh, wonderful, wonderful spa!). That night, my family was in town and we had a fun dinner at the Macaroni grill. They gave us our gifts afterwards- thank you so much! In addition to the standard wedding gifts, my grandparents gave us a beautiful statue of a bride and groom made out of Waterford crystal, my Aunt Melanie gave us an I.O.U. on a Christmas ornament, and my Great-Aunt Bonnie gave me a very special gift- a knitted and beaded shawl that I decided to wear on the wedding day.
On Wednesday, we had the parents brunch at the Egg and I. The meeting was low-key, which everyone appreciated. The food was tasty and everyone had fun. That afternoon, after running a few last minute errands, we met with our ceremony coordinator, Danielle, and the Broadmoor catering manager, Lindsey, and did the walk-thru. Bryan then went over to his parents' house to go over the ceremony program while I tried to relax and not stress out about the wedding :)
On Thursday, things started getting hectic. Bryan went back over to his parents' house to print the place cards for the reception while I started packing up for the wedding. I remember being so busy that I was starving by the mid-afternoon. I finally made time to eat a veggie burger and it felt like a rock in my stomach afterwards. Yeah, I was starting to get nervous! We had the rehearsal at 4 pm at the Broadmoor. It was crazy to see everyone finally there! The rehearsal went well and it was a really good use of our time. The kids, especially, needed help learning what to do and where to go. Afterwards, we had the dinner at Marigolds Cafe and Bakery. It was really tasty! My out-of-town friends showed up to the dinner and it was great to finally see them! Almost everyone who would be at the wedding was at the rehearsal dinner so it was a lot of fun.
On Friday, I got up early and went to breakfast with my friends (again, at the Egg and I- love that place!). We got mani's/pedi's at a place called Nail Vogue II. I'm sorry to say, I wasn't too impressed with my manicure (I think I got the worst nail technician there) and I started to worry about my hair and makeup as well.
My friends drove me to the Broadmoor and we checked into the room, which had an awesome view of the lake and mountains. I ordered some Martinelli's sparkling cider (real champagne would have made me immediately tipsy and bright red) and we enjoyed the room before my hair/makeup appointment at the Broadmoor salon. All of my worries about how my hair/makeup would look disappeared immediately when I met the stylists. They are truly pros!
Once we got back to the hotel room, the dress and veil had been delivered from the Broadmoor dry cleaners. Danielle and the photographers showed up pretty quickly afterwards. My friends helped me into my dress and the photographers took a lot of pictures in the room. Outside, Bryan was waiting for me and was instructed to look at the mountains (so he couldn't see me approaching). I saw him out of the window in the hallway and my heart started pounding. They positioned me a few feet behind him for our first meeting. He knew I was there (there's nothing stealthy about a giant dress filled with tulle!). Finally, the photographers told Bryan to turn around and when he saw me my eyes filled up with tears. Bryan kept saying the same thing over and over, "you are so beautiful".
We took couples photos all around the lake and the front of the building. At no time did it seem like it was going to rain. If anything, it was sunny and hot. The session lasted for almost 2 hours! I don't have the pictures yet, but the photographers did post about the wedding on their blog. Towards the end, we accidentally bumped into my family arriving-whoops! Then it was time to assemble for the wedding ceremony. We all congregated into the lobby next to the South Terrace. Guests were also coming in to so I think everyone saw me before the ceremony. I could barely see the decorations outside and couldn't hear the string trio we had hired. Finally, someone herded people to their seats. I heard Pachabel's Canon start and saw the processional start. Emma, the flower girl, turned back and we chatted a bit before it was her turn to walk. She was so excited to be the flower girl! At last, it was dad's and my turn to walk. It was very surreal because everyone had their cameras out, snapping away. I felt like a celebrity going out to eat at a trendy club or something!
Once at the front, the ceremony began and it was very beautiful. My dad gave a parent blessing, which he memorized, and I was on the verge of tears the entire time. Bryan's mom, Jan, and his sister, Jaime, also recited beautiful readings. Bryan and I recited our vows without a hitch (although I'm pretty sure my friends giggled when I pulled out the large sheet of yellow paper which had my vows hand-written on). At the end, we kissed, whispered "I Love You" a few times and kissed again. Apparently, the Broadmoor clock started chiming when we kissed (I didn't hear it go off). We started the recessional back into the building. At some point, Bryan thrusted the bouquet back in my hand (everything was such a blur).
A lot of hugs followed and the formal family pictures were taken. Since I was immobilized in my dress, people had to assemble around me while I just stayed in the same spot. Afterwards, we went up to the Penrose Lounge for drinks. Danielle talked to the jazz band there and coordinated when to do the first dance. The dance started and I quickly learned that it was impossible to dance in my wedding dress. My heel kept snagging on the tulle in my dress and both of us were stepping on it. At the end, I burst out laughing because I was sure I looked like I was drunk trying to do our choreographed dance.
Next, everyone was seated for the plated dinner. The table arrangements looked great and the Penrose Room service was as excellent as expected. Both my dad and Bryan's step-dad gave beautiful toasts and we signed the marriage license. The photographers captured everything and we did a quick cake cutting before they had to leave. I found out that my dress was so tight, my stomach couldn't expand so I couldn't eat very much (lesson learned- I should have changed into a reception dress!). At the end of the night, I was so exhausted.
The next day, Bryan and I had room service breakfast and it was excellent. The weather on Saturday was cold and gloomy (Saturday got the bad weather instead of Friday!). That afternoon, we went to a BBQ hosted by Bryan's family. Afterwards, my friends and us went to Seven Falls so see the falls lit up at night. It was pretty but I'll never climb those steep stairs in the dark again! On Sunday, we enjoyed the Broadmoor's fabulous Sunday brunch, checked out, and enjoyed a Couples Massage (my wedding gift to Bryan) at the spa before leaving. The only hitch during the entire weekend was that it took the Broadmoor almost an hour to locate the remnants of our wedding cake. Other than that, Bryan and I had a wonderful time. Here's a picture of us on the balcony of our hotel room on Sunday. We are both so happy and I want to thank you for reading my little wedding blog!
Love, Bonnie
