Monday, June 13, 2011

surprise

We are married! Oh wow. I'm taking a few minutes to rest while my HUSBAND (wow!) takes his mom to the train station. One of my good friends told me to pretend to write a letter to a relative who couldn't make it to the wedding while the night was fresh in your mind, describing everything, so you could read it again in years later and remember all the details. I thought well, that's a great idea, but instead of pretending to write to a relative, I would write to all of you. ;)

I woke up super early from excitement and didn't know what to do with myself for the next four hours, so I baked a simple lemon yogurt cake and bounced around the apartment until my sister arrived.

cake

We went and spent three nice hours getting our hair and makeup done and then came back. During that time the moms and some friends had turned all the flowers floating around our apartment into some GORGEOUS centerpieces of yellow roses, white carnations, greenery, and yellow stock. I was in awe of the amazing creations they put together. The white milk glass vases looked perfect, so sweet & simple!

After my mom left to drive over the centerpieces to our venue, a fire broke out in our apartment building a few stories down! OMG. Because it's a highrise, we were told to not evacuate our floor immediately, so we sat there, wedding dresses at hand, ready to run down thirty some flights of stairs. Thankfully the fire was put out quickly (we believe it was just a kitchen fire) without any serious damage.

After everyone finally got dressed, it was off to the ferry!

ready to ride the ferry!



We made a small procession through Paulus Hook four blocks over to the ferry dock and caught the little ferry across the canal to Liberty State Park, where we hung out and took pictures.

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At this point, my mom called. She had gone back to the apartment to pick up some stuff and locked herself out! Thankfully we have doormen who rescued her.

I had a little point and shoot camera with me, so most of these pictures are from it. During the whole day the camera was in my dress pocket- my photographer kept laughing that I was shooting him back. The pockets were wonderful! I carried around the camera, my cellphone, and a few little things. The skirt on my dress was so poufy that you couldn't tell I'd stuffed the pockets as full as chipmunk cheeks.

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We eventually decided to crash the marina and walk right out onto the docks for photos.

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After that, we went inside to rest up as guests started arriving.

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The sun had miraculously been shining all afternoon, but some clouds blew in for the evening and it got a little bit chilly before the ceremony.

Some of you may recall my mentioning here that the sailor wanted to wear a tux for the wedding. I was a bit sad that he didn't want to wear dress whites, which meant that we wouldn't have a sword arch at our wedding, but there you go.


Well. He certainly knows how to pull one over on me - I thought I'd had this wedding perfectly planned and all sorted out, and super under control, but apparently not. Behind my back he got in touch with the minister, my dad, and our wedding coordinator to pull a HUGE surprise on me!

I'd seen him earlier in the day in a tux, with his groomsman, all spiffed up in tuxes. They had picked them up, got dressed, and took pictures in them, then snuck away to change... at that point, the name of the game became "Keep the bride away from the groom", although I didn't catch on and couldn't figure out why all of a sudden people had pressing things to talk to me about and dragged me off to sit in a little room by the kitchen!

So ceremony time arrived and we assembled our little flower girls, my best friend, my sister, and Tom the ring bearer! Up we went to the deck where the guests were assembled.

So at this point, I thought Dan was up there in his tux. However, when we got upstairs to the deck, and the bagpipe started playing and my dad stepped out with me to walk down our aisle... my sailor was down there with his dress whites on. I don't even remember this, but my dad says I just stood there and said "OH.My.Goodness." for a full second before I (sort of) recovered.

It was incredibly windy during the ceremony and my looooooong veil kept whipping around, so my sister and best friend ended playing "capture the veil before it mummifies the minister" duty the whole time. It went by in a blur- I remember my brother in law doing his reading, our rings went on, and we were married!

At the end of the short ceremony we turned to walk back down the aisle, and all of a sudden out the doors came four of my sailors friends. All also Coast Guard lieutenants, all in perfect formation.

They stopped, drew their swords, and there was my sword arch! I could not believe my eyes that he had really pulled that off without my having ANY idea whatsoever that this would happen. Here I am in a picture taken by my friend, getting the biggest shock of my life!

Sword Arch

If you've ever seen a sword arch, you walk up to the first set, and they drop the crossed swords in front of you, and you must kiss to pass. You advance through each set of swords with a kiss and lots of cheering from the crowd, and after the last one, one of the guys taps the new bride with a sword and says "Welcome to the Coast Guard".

I was beaming the rest of the night... it was so magical, all our family and friends gathered together for an incredible dinner, lots of loud irish dancing music, and the NYC skyline sparkling in the background. Wow.

I even got to wear my coat out on the deck when it got chilly!
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32 comments:

Melodye said...

Congratulations!! It sounds magical. Best wishes for many years of marital bliss.

JoanneM said...

Breathtaking!!!!
You look lovely!!!!
I love the headpiece worn by the flowergirl and your dress is simple beautiful.
Thank you for sharing. Best wishes!!~!

Anonymous said...

This is my all time favorite sewing blog post! Actually I got teary. Thank you for sharing. Everything was gorgeous and looked like a lot of fun!

fairmount said...

You are truly amazing. A bride who can take photos at her own wedding! So happy for you that things turned out so well. Actually better than well with the surprise of the dress whites! From following your wedding prep blog I know how much that meant to you. Hopefully there will be more photos, especially of your dress. Bet wishes to you and your wonderful family. Mimi

Carol said...

Incredible! I got teary reading your story. Congratulations and best wishes for your wonderful future.

Meg said...

Awwww! So beautiful, Wendy! Many, many happy wishes to you both. XOXO.

SEWN said...

Wow, I can't believe you posted already. It looks like a super dreamy day. What a great memory for you to cherish. Congratulations. Oh, and you looked so beautiful!

a little sewing said...

Oh how special!! thanks for posting the story and the photos. I can understand why you wanted him in his dress whites and the sword arch. Magnificent!

Much happiness to you both!

Faye Lewis said...

Oh happy day, congrats!

Lisette M said...

Many many congratulations! Everything looked perfect!

gMarie said...

thank you so much for spending your down time sharing your day with us. I'm so glad that your sailor managed to suprise you with his Dress Whites and sword arch. Sounds magical. g

Elaray said...

Sounds wonderful! I think it's great that your husband was able to surprise you! God bless you both!

Jodie said...

It's been fun reading about the wedding adventure. Congratulations to you both and it's terrific that your new husband was able to give you such a great surprise. I hope you have many years together,

Anonymous said...

I always cry at weddings and this was no exception. A tear came to my eye when I read about your surprise.

Congratulations. All the best for a lifetime of bliss.

~Sewjourner

Uta said...

Beautiful! Congratulations, and many happy years to you and your husband!

Eugenia said...

Congratulations!! Your wedding day looks like it was perfect - a wonderful start to married life. I wish you and your husband much happiness.

KID, MD said...

Congratulations!! What a wonderful story and such a sweet surprise from your sailor. You look radiant and everyone's dresses are beautiful.

Joy said...

You look beautiful! Congratulations and many happy years to come!

Gorgeous Things said...

Congratulations!!!!

BetsyV said...

Congratulations! And may you enjoy many many happy years together!

Audrey said...

Congratulations! Your wedding was so lovely. Thanks for sharing.

Alexandra said...

How awesome! Congratulations! What a perfect way to start off married life.

ACorgiHouse said...

Yay! It sounds so wonderful, and could not happen to a nicer person. I wish you every good thing! K

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

Wendy - thanks for sharing the entire evening with us! I feel like I was actually at the wedding! Congratulations and best wishes for a happy life together!

lsaspacey said...

Congrats!!!!

BeeBee said...

Congradulations, Wendy. You all look so pretty and so happy! And such a great surprise! And you even got to wear your coat! Thank you for sharing this and I wish you a lifetime of happiness with officially YOUR sailor.

Gwen said...

Congratulations, Wendy! What a wonderful day! Best wishes for a lifetime of joy together. :)

Antoinette said...

Congratulations to you both! Thanks for sharing the happiness. :)

Rosie said...

Congratulations and here's to a lifetime of happiness and health together! He sure got you with the sword arch.

Debbie Cook said...

I don't know how I missed this post, but CONGRATULATIONS! Love the sword arch surprise!

Dharma said...

THanks for sharing your wedding memories with "us" the sewing bloggers! What a wonderful day. I just smiled the whole time I read your post!! You look beautiful in your wedding gown. Loved the flowers!
Congratulations!! Best Wishes!

meredithp said...

How wonderful! Thanks for sharing the "journey" and can't wait for more to come!