So, for me, I had a lovely morning with my parents at their house and were joined later by Mike's Mom, sisters Mary and Mallory, and Mom's best friend Mary for brunch and distractions until it was time to get ready. Nichola was there too, of course, and it was such a relief having people around to eat with (always most important!), talk with and stay distracted with. I didn't understand the hype about being nervous or anxious before doing it, but people really aren't making it up...getting married is un-nerving and no amount of talking myself around it would stop that that day. My lovely friend Kari (of Marigold Parlour-go and get your highlights done with her now!) came to do hair and my Mummy's friend Angela came to do our make-up. My lovely friend Lauren Walters also came to hang out and take pictures of us all getting ready, she's the best and we were all glad she was there to visit and drink champagne! :)
So, after a traumatic 30 seconds when I was convinced Mike was going to see me as we drove up to Sitti, it was a lovely afternoon/evening! Mike had brunch with his Dad and Step-Mom and played in the pool/drank a few beers before the ceremony....being a man is so much easier! He showed up to the ceremony with battle wounds from "pool ball", a Mahoney family tradition, and a bit of sunburn (not like the Hangover, just a little bit). Anyway, we all made it down the aisle (thank you Daddy for holding me up!) and we agreed to spend forever loving each other, getting on each other's nerves and, ultimately, having fun together no matter what! We loved our minister and the ceremony, he did a great job managing us and making it special, we love Rev. Bill!
The reception was next, obviously, and what can we say other than AMAZING! Mike and I couldn't have been happier with everything that happened that day, and Sitti did a great job of making sure the reception was everything that we hoped for! The food was yummy, the drinks kept coming (clearly most important), and they took care of all of the little and big things that happened along the way! DJ Billy did a fantastic job with the music, we really wanted everyone to have a great time and dance the night away and were very happy to see that Billy made it happen! He even threw in some Nascar updates for my beautiful sister and her husband, definitely not planned but appreciated all around! :) It was a perfect day and we were beyond thrilled with all of it, there's just no way we can say thank you enough to everyone involved for making it our perfect day! We can try, of course, so thank you to my parents, Mike's parents, our siblings, family and friends for being so supportive, kind, encouraging, and fun, it wouldn't have been the same without you all!
Because this is already too long, I'll keep Wedding Part II short, but it was amazing too!! My Mummy planned a wonderful Blessing at St. Wilfrid's Church and a fantastic reception at Ashfield House. We had a live band (it was only two people, but still a band...and they were awesome!), delicious food, and lots of drinks-can you see a theme here?- we caught up with family, ate, danced, and had a generally lovely time! Even the rainy English day didn't stop us, nothing that a fur coat borrowed from my Auntie and some umbrellas couldn't fix! We are so lucky and so grateful that we got to have two special days and two chances to say I do and celebrate with our families and friends, it was truly more than we ever imagined!
We're still waiting for professional pictures, but here are a few from friends for now:
 |
| Ready for the ceremony, let's go!! |
 |
| I do! |
 |
| Our wonderful Bridal Party! |
 |
| Dancing with Daddy! |
 |
| Mr. & Mrs. Mahoney! |
