The date was set. March 25th, 2017. When I would finally become the Mrs. to his Mr. So much to do before the big day! Our colors were red and turquoise. I had my tea-length white wedding dress and my red shoes, and George had his gray suit and turquoise tie. Our unity symbol was a sand pouring during the ceremony with our colors. Going with the 50’s theme, I was on the hunt for vintage suitcases, records, and decor. We got burlap banners and white paint to write on them. We got penny candy as a sweet treat for our guests. So many details to think of and lots of DIY crafting to be done. Thank God for talented friends who helped us make it all happen and go smoothly! We had a small ceremony at Life Church in Manchester and had the reception at Mary Ann’s Diner in Derry for brunch.
My friends threw me the best wedding showers. In fact, I had two. The first one had to be rescheduled once due to snow. We registered at Target for our gifts, including Nacho Cheese Doritos. I believe I put like 2 bags as the desired amount and ended up with about 10 Dorito bags!!! My friends delivered! The shower took place at Noella’s house. My friend Jill did my hair and makeup, and I wore a 50’s style dress with a petticoat. We had milkshakes, finger sandwiches, fruit, desserts, and delicious cupcakes. Everything was decorated in our colors and the 50’s theme. My family and friends were there to celebrate with me. We got a lot of great gifts and had a lot of great memories that day.
The second shower was a small get-together at Peggy Ann’s house with a Disney theme. That’s where we were going on our honeymoon. There were delicious snacks and it was beautifully decorated. There were even Mickey Mouse Oreos! They weren’t messing around! We got our Mickey and Minnie ears that day to wear on our honeymoon. My friends made me feel like a Disney princess that day. It was such a treasured time!
As the time was getting closer, we went to City Hall to get our marriage license. I had my makeup and hair trial done. We got George’s ring, mine was already bought. We were checking things off the to do list as time became closer. We had rehearsal at the church. We had chosen an instrumental version of K-Ci & JoJo’s song All My Life for me to walk down the aisle to. George and I as well as our friends Sam and Matt decorated the church a couple of nights prior to the ceremony. Matt made a big heart with records on the wall. It may have been the best surprise of the night, as we hadn’t even planned it, but it was awesome. We stacked some of the suitcases, set up my typewriter for people to type us a message, set up the penny candy station, put a small table for our sand pouring. We also set up a couple other tables for our wooden “B,” our version of a guest book and other decor. I got my nails done the day before and got my flowers for my bouquet. Everything was coming together. We were so excited yet nervous for the day to come.
My Mom came down from Maine the day before the wedding. We went to the church to add all the finishing touches and then got dinner together. My Mom and I stayed the night at Noella’s while George stayed at our apartment. I didn’t sleep the greatest that night. I was too excited, or maybe too nervous. Whatever the case may have been, I remember it being one of the longest nights of my life! Jill came in the morning to do my hair and makeup. She gave me the best glory roll and curls along with perfect cat eyes. My Mom helped me get in my wedding dress and we took some pictures. When it was time we were off to the church. I saw my sisters when I got there. Vicki started crying the minute she saw me which made me cry. We had to do emergency makeup touch-ups as well as emergency deodorant because I was so nervous!
We had a small wedding. We had invited less than 50 people to keep it simple. Our family and closest friends were there. We went Live on Facebook so the rest of our friends could see it. Just as I always wanted it, my Mom walked me down the aisle and I carried my Gerbera (I call them Gerber) daisy bouquet. I was so happy to be marrying the love of my life that day who was waiting for me at the end of that aisle. Our friends Pastor Joe and Pastor Abi did our ceremony. It was perfect. Their words were elegant and so true to us and our story. Our vows even made them cry! We had written our own vows. I had to hold back tears when George was saying his. His words were so beautiful. I knew my turn was after his and so I held back the tears. I had to get my vows out, and I did, phew. We exchanged our rings, and said I do. I couldn’t wait for the time to come to hear the words I had been waiting so long to hear. “Alright Andrea this is the part you asked for, George you may kiss your bride.” Oh man! With a leg pop, we kissed, and I messed my lipstick and I didn’t even care! We were MARRIED! Best. Day. Ever. I was married to my soulmate, my love, my forever home!
Oh goodness, I need to get the tissues just thinking about it all. The day was so beautiful. I felt like the most beautiful bride and happiest girl in the world on my wedding day! Not to mention my husband, yeah I was excited to finally be able to call him that… he was so handsome! As you may have read in my last blog “Our Love Story” you may know that we had only been together for a short period of time before we got married. Like less than 6 months but as I like to say, when you know, you know. I knew from that first date we had that I would be spending the rest of my life with this man!
On the day of our wedding, there was a small chance of rain. It ended up snowing, a lot! We headed to Mary Ann’s for brunch after the ceremony. We had the small side room in the restaurant for us and our guests. We had beautiful cake pops made in our colors by my friend Sandra. We got to eat some delicious food and spend time with our guests and take some pictures. What a day! We were exhausted by the end of it. Well worth every minute of it though. After we said goodbye to all our family and friends we headed home married. We had to finish packing and getting ready for our honeymoon. Our flight was early the next morning. We were so excited to head to Disney! We had the time of our lives there! Don’t worry, the honeymoon blog will be coming soon, so stay tuned!
