It's been almost 2 months since I walked down the aisle and married the man of my dreams. I wanted to write down my feelings while I still have them (and yes, I still feel all the feels and remember every little detail from that perfect day).
Let me start off by saying that I'm an organizational freak (which is what this blog is dedicated to) and while that's amazing and worked out so well for me and our big day, it's also a struggle not to take control on the ONE day that I'm supposed to leave it all up to everyone else.
So I did what I do best and prepared. I prepared every little detail of the day, from setup to the food, music, timelines, and dances. I had lists and charts and bins to make everything be overly obvious and as easy as possible for the people that I trusted to handle the day. The best part of the countless hours I put into the preparation was that IT WORKED. Every person showed up when needed and followed my notes perfectly, which made for a day that I could truly enjoy.
Cue.. the feelings.
I woke up at the crack of dawn to make sure the storm from the night before didn't ruin my entire setup. And while some water covered the chairs and dance floor, mud puddles needed to be covered up. Everything was done before the bridesmaids even made it to the house (thanks to the help of some fantastic family members).
When the girls arrived at the house, all I could think about was getting ready. I opted to do my own hair and makeup (did I mention I'm a control freak) because I wanted to make sure it was done just like I would want and also wanted to look how I do on a normal basis because he IS marrying me for me. So while I sat and chatted with the girls, I tried to enjoy those special moments before diving into my makeup.
We spent the next 4 hours pampering ourselves and listening to music, which flew by. I'm incredibly happy that I scheduled so much time for this because I had all the time in the world to curl and RE curl my hair or touch up my makeup so that my last look in the mirror was perfect. And right as I took that last look, I realized it was really happening.
This was the day that I dreamed about my entire life. The day that, at times when I was a teenager, I never thought would happen, the day that I posted countless pins to Pinterest for, the day that I dreamt about, the day that I spent hundreds of hours planning, the day that I would get to walk down the aisle in front of all of my friends and family to marry my best friend.
And as I shed a tear, I was redirected to take some photos with the girls. I was grateful for that moment to feel the magnitude of what this day was. And was also grateful to be surrounded by the women in my life who continue to love and support me, especially on this special day.
The next 3 hours were a blur, in the best way possible. My amazing photographer (Photography by Lauryn) handled the photographs with such ease and we had so much fun. From the first look to portraits and family photos- we smiled and laughed the entire time. Both Alexander and I felt like the center of attention (which truly does only happen once in your life) and we soaked up every second of it. I stared into the eyes of the man I loved and laughed while he whispered jokes into my ear. I smiled, I danced, and laughed.
Then just like that, it was time for the ceremony.
I hid in the basement of the grandparent's house as I watched the last few guests find their seats for our backyard ceremony. I could see the reception area set up and the bridal party waiting behind the wall to head down the aisle. I was alone, with "Can't Help Falling in Love"
playing in the distance, and my vows in my hand. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I felt so much love and happiness flood my body. I was excited and nervous but so confident to marry this man. I wiped my eyes and walked to my dad.
As I linked my arm with my father's and set forth down the aisle, I made sure to take the advice of other women and to really soak up the faces of all the guests there. My heart raced faster as I saw countless faces smiling back at me, and to calm my nerves, I made eye contact with Alexander. And for the rest of the ceremony, that is where my eyes rested.
We held each other's hands and listened to our officiant talk about love and adventure, and within no time, it was our chance to speak about our love. Alexander requested early on in the wedding planning process that we say our own vows rather than choosing a more traditional route. And while I love the idea, it made me nauseous just thinking about speaking in front of all of those people. But Alexander spoke first, and I listened. He talked about our love, our experiences, and the things he vows to do for the rest of our lives- I held back the tears and took in every word he said. Never looking away, squeezing his hand to speak back, and truly relishing in his promises. When it came to my turn, I forgot about the hundreds of eyes staring at us and found comfort in the hands that held mine. I said my vows with all the honesty and love that I had. I watched how my words affected Alexander, and I hoped that many years down the line- when I forget everything else that happened on our wedding day, I will be able to remember the feeling I felt at this time.
I have to add that our vows also included an abnormal amount of jokes- which kept the audience laughing and proved that we were really being ourselves. But our vows weren't the only funny thing that happened during our ceremony... After we were announced as the new Mr. and Mrs. Haizman and had our first official real kiss- we realized the rings had never been exchanged and that our officiant had "skipped a page," so we rewound and finished the ceremony after all letting out a great laugh. Then truly presented as Mr. and Mrs. Haizman, we proceeded down the aisle!
We were then rushed to take some 'extended family photographs' which flew by (thanks to the reminder I sent out to everyone involved the prior day), so we were 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Which, in my book (and my photographers), meant MORE time for portraits. We snuck through the neighbor's yard to an open field and took more photos as the sun set over the river behind us. YES. It was real life, and although this part was less than glamorous (We tripped x amount of times and laid in a bed of weeds), the photos we got back were GORGEOUS! And truly captured the fairytale feeling that I was overwhelmed with all day long.
And now for the party!
Our reception was filled with some fun jokes, both planned and unplanned. Our DJ skipped a pair for the grand entrance, which filled the place with laughter, and Alexander had his pockets stuffed with fruit snacks during ours (which might not be the most uncommon occurrence). Our cutting cake was neon on the inside...a little fun for the groom, who loves his neon, and the speeches had more jokes than I could count. It was so much fun seeing the joy and laughter all around us.
We ran around to get photos with each table, and when we finally sat down for food, we both realized we weren't hungry. We nibbled a bit and tried to soak in the calm few minutes we had by ourselves.. but realized we didn't want this. We were so eager to go and talk to all the wonderful people who were there for us, so that's what we did. [Side note; This is incredibly contradictory to my introverted self.] People raved about the food (tacos from Bien Trucha) and couldn't stop talking about the emotion they felt during our ceremony. I can't say it enough but were were truly astonished by the love that we felt throughout the entire day.
The food was cleared, and the dance floor was ready.
We learned a dance choreographed by Rachael Pierce (Alexanders aunt), which is certainly more nerve-racking than public speaking. It was a beautiful song called "I Get to Love You" by Ruelle. Here is a link to the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IDqTFlFaAs&t=1s
We then did our "Daddy, Daughter" & "Mother, Son" dances before the rest of our guests hit the dance floor! We partied the night away thanks to our fabulous DJ RAY and the great alcohol. And by great, I mean INCREDIBLE. A family friend of ours donated lots of Energy City Beer, which is an incredible Brewery in Batavia IL- and for those non beer drinkers we had margaritas and tequila shots to really keep the party going.
As the night winded down and guests started to leave- we always rushed to say goodbye. This was not an intentional effort that we made but an instinct that was highlighted after the fact. My response to that was- everyone who came to our wedding was important to us. We were overjoyed that they attended, but even more so that they are a part of our lives and support us. Because of this, it was easy. It was easy to socialize during cocktail hour, it was easy to say goodbye, and it was easy to find the words to thank our guests for coming.
It was all genuine; Alexander and I are beyond grateful for the love and support we felt that day. We are grateful for the people who helped along the way, for the friends and family who support us always, and for the amazing 'staff' that we hired. And even more so, we are grateful that we were able to open up and be vulnerable and share our love with all of you that day.
My wedding day was real but my-oh-my does it seem like a fairytale.
Always, Jess
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L E T ' S B E F R I E N D S !
