Originally I was going to continue from where I left off in Part 1 of my narrative recap of our wedding weekend, but then our official wedding pics came in, and they’re so fire (and there’s so many of them), I figured I’m better off letting the pictures do most of the talking.

Before we get into those, however, I just wanted to recount a couple of anecdotes that happened before the ceremony took place.

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“What’s going on with Joel’s shirt?”

So it’s Friday, April 22, the day of our wedding. The plan is for the groomsmen to meet in the Ready Room at 2pm fully dressed so that the videographers could start taking detail shots for the video, and then pictures with the photographer was scheduled for 3pm. I’ve been fully dressed and ready to go since 11am, though, since I didn’t know what else I could or should be doing with all the free time I had beforehand.  

 

By 2pm most of the groomsmen are with me and ready to go in the Ready Room. Everyone…except Joel. If you know Joel, you probably won’t be surprised thathe is not ready when he’s suppose to be. At 2:22pm he sends a text to our groupsaying the iron messed up his tuxedo shirt, and some black gunk had melted onto it.

At this point we’re not really sure what to do. A few of the other groomsmen had extra white shirts, but none of them would have fit Joel properly (his body is proportioned uniquely). Eventually though, Joel somehow finds a hotel worker that says he can get the shirt cleaned and ready by 3pm, and so he gives it to him.

As we get closer to 3pm (like 2:50pm-ish) Joel is texting the guy asking about the shirt, but the shirt is still in the dryer.

It gets a little past 3pm, and Joel texts the guy again. The hotel guy assures Joel they’re working on his shirt, but they still have to steam and press it.

 

Fortunately, Beth, our photographer, was still taking pictures with Christina and the bridesmaids, so we still had some time. 

 

 

It’s gotta be past 3:30pm by now, probably closer to 3:45pm. I know we have to be taking pictures soon, because the ceremony is suppose to start at 5pm.

Alas…Joel’s shirt arrives!!! Joel quickly tries to change…but the shirt SHRANK IN THE DRYER. Luckily it wasn’t too bad, and he was able to make it work. He was definitely choking, though, when that top collar button was buttoned.

Joel finishes getting ready not a moment too soon, because as soon as he finishes up, Beth arrives for our official groomsmen pics. As we’re about to start, I notice I have a text from Christina.

 

“What’s going on with Joel’s shirt?” she asks. I assume she’s seen the picture of me and my groomsmen I posted to my IG story, and Joel clearly does not have the proper shirt on.

“We got Joel’s shirt fixed and he’s wearing the correct one,” I assure my soon-to-be wife.

“Oh perfect,'“ she responds..

Christina’s First Look

                                  

(The following is a post taken from Christina’s Instagram)

A lot happens right before you walk down the aisle but getting into my dress was one of my favorite memories. Ann (maid of honor) and Diana (matron of honor) have been with me through all of the ups and downs and I see them both as my own sisters. We had a private moment where it was just them two in the room helping me get into my dress. Although it was only a few minutes, I will never forget how I felt having them by my side. I felt like I had been through so much with them and when I got into my dress and looked at them, it felt like I was finally where I wanted to be all these years, surrounded by friends and family, marrying my person. It really hit me then that my life was about to change forever.

 

 

 

Growing up it was just me and my dad. I knew I wanted to do the first look with him because I wanted a private moment with just us. I also knew I would be ugly crying when I saw him so I needed to get that out before walking down the aisle. I'm glad we had our time together, just like the old days. I will forever cherish these photos and I'm so glad Beth was able to capture it all.

 

 

 

 

 

 When it was time to walk down the aisle I was dropped off in a golf cart and had zero time to get my nerves out. Cabby and I talked about marriage pretty early on in our relationship and the day was finally here. I can't put into words how I felt when I turned the corner and saw Cabby's face. When I look at these pictures and see Cabby, I have that feeling all over again. Our wedding was everything we imagined and there were so many special moments. Cabby and I are so happy we got to share our special day with all of our friends and family. It makes my heart full just thinking about it. A special weekend I want to relive time and time again. ❤️

 

Official Wedding Pics

Shot by Elizabeth Wells Photography