Our Wedding Ceremony

The song above is what the grandparents / parents, bridal party walked to. It is “The Mission / How Great Thou Art” by The Piano Guys

The very short car ride to the ceremony site I found myself silently praying.
Thank you Jesus, thank you for this day, for this man, for these family and friends, and help me to not trip.
We all gathered in the reception area before making the walk down the aisle; Eddie was blindfolded and I was ushered into a small corner of the building so that we would be able to see when it was our cue to walk to the end of the aisle.
The building emptied out and it was just my uncle and I waiting, not so patiently, for the moment to walk down the aisle.
My uncle was taking selfies and a video and I was a complete spazz, as always, and was ready to go marry my man!

The doors opened and my uncle and I started walking towards the end of the bushes so I could step down off of this ledge and make my way to the middle of the aisle.
My mind wandered for a moment to my parents.
I thought of what they would be wearing, what words of wisdom would they have whispered to me, what their smiles and laughter would look and sound like. I tried to remember their touch and the warmth of their hands and the sound of their voices.
For a brief moment I was overcome with sadness that two of the most important people in my life were not able to be physically present when I joined my life with my mate. Then as my hand slipped into my uncles I remembered that they are always with me, burrowed deep within my heart and the heart of my family. Their love completely enveloped me and all of that sadness was washed over with gratitude and joy.
One of the things that I knew would be the toughest for me would be walking down the aisle.
When my father died when I was 13 one of the first things I remember thinking is who will walk me down the aisle at my wedding.

The song above is what I walked down the aisle to. It definitely isn’t traditional, but it was everything I wanted to hear walking to my Husband. “Your Love Is Extravagant” by The Almost

Planning our wedding day I knew that I wanted it to be representative of our love for the Lord, each other, and surrounded by love.
I ended up planning a 3-part entrance. I was escorted by my Uncle Tim, my Grandfather, and my Brother.
My uncle Tim has always been a second father to me. Growing up I was always at my Aunt & Uncles home before/after school (even during because I attended elementary school at the place they both taught!). They helped watch over me and my brother while my mother was sick, as did all of my family, and they have always been a constant in my life.
My uncle Tim has always been that bright spot in a dark day – super corny and full of dad jokes, but has a heart of Gold.
He walked me down the aisle first, gave me a kiss and handed my off.

My Grandfather was next.
He is my mom’s dad and really is the backbone of my family. As far as I can think back grandaddy is within so many memories and stories. He has the sweetest laughter, the wisest words, kindest heart, most hardworking spirit, and always knows how to put things back into perspective.
I am truly, truly blessed that he was present for my wedding (my bitter single heart always joked that he would be dancing in heaven with me instead of physically there) and not only present but able to walk my down the aisle to the love of my life.

Then there is the broseph.
This kid man holds such a special place in my heart. Having another piece – like whole piece – of my parents with me was just this most precious moment. Grabbing his arm and walking towards Eddie it was as if all three of us were together again. I felt the presence of my parents so much with my brother helping me keep pace. I really don’t have adequate words to share how special my brother is to me, how much I love him, how thankful I am for him, and how much I will cherish this moment for the rest of my life.

Ok, so the moment.
THAT MOMENT when I saw Eddie…it really was tunnel vision.
Yup, total heart-eyes, blurred edges, and hallelujah chorus completely enveloped me.
We actually had Eddie with his back to me until the music for my entrance started (because I didn’t want him to see me climbing over a ledge and making my way to the center – I wanted our moment of locking eyes to be THAT moment) which confused a lot of people, but I am so glad we did it that way!
I knew, yes, I knew, that Eddie would cry.
It was a beautiful moment – and I was just grinning ear to ear and I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest.

When we got up to Pastor Rod and he asked ‘Who gives this woman to be this man’s wife’ and my brother responded “Her family and I” it was then that it settled in – this is real, this is happening, we are getting married. I interlaced my hands with Eddies and tried my best to listen to our ceremony. I’ll be honest; my blood was pulsing so loudly through my ears the first few minutes were a complete blur. I am actually really happy we have a copy of our ceremony in print as it helps me to look back and see the message we worked hard to put out there. Pastor Rod presented the Gospel of Jesus Christ, prayed for us, and then we worshiped.
As I’ve said time and time again, when we were planning our wedding we really, really, wanted the love of God to not only be heard but felt. We wanted to worship together, we wanted to praise and give thanks for finding each other and for starting a new journey as husband and wife.
My sweet sweet friend Christina (who was also a bridesmaid) and her husband Matt led us in worship to “Ever Be”.

“Ever Be” – by Bethel. I will say I am totally biased and loved my friend’s rendition more. <3 

Then it was time for us to exchanged vows and rings.
I will be dedicating a post completely on our vows but we chose to do personal vows as well as traditional vows.
(I’ll link it here when it’s live)
If I’m being honest, I could hardly look at Eddie.
I was so nervous but also so not nervous. It totally didn’t make sense.
I think I was afraid that if I looked him in the eyes too long I would bust out in tears of joy and not be able to stop. Eddie on the other hand couldn’t stop staring at me – which made me blush and even more giddy and nervous and fidgety. It was also quite chilly on our wedding day and I did not have my mom’s fur on during the ceremony so I was shivering just a smidge. The wind was out of control, apparently my veil was going every which way and Maria kept having to grab at it; just goes to show you I was completely oblivious to anything other than Eddie and our vows.

We just kind of stared at each other.
The moment after the rings and before the marriage lesson I found myself forgetting we were even in front of people.
I lost myself in Eddie.
I had just married my best friend.
The love of my life.
The most amazing, courageous, hilarious, intelligent, compassionate, trustworthy, loyal, kind human being I’ve ever encountered. I had just married my better half and my help-mate for the rest of our lives. It was as if every moment before that was dusty breath; I was finally drinking a water that quenched the soul. He was my cool glass of sweet tea on a hot summers day, and he will be for the rest of my life.

The words Rod spoke for our marriage lesson still ring deep within my spirit.
“Individually, put God first in your life and HE will be the glue that holds you together in good times and bad.
Never forget to consult each other before making a decision that affects your lives as a couple.
Choose to enhance the other’s life by fulfilling the command of Christ by “loving each other as you love yourself!”
Let love be your first language and use it to season your speech to one another. As the Word of God teaches us, “Speak truth in love.”
Be true and loyal to your friendship. Do not let another – be it family or friend – come between you from this day forth!
If you, Eddie and Amy, make this effort as individuals, you WILL become ONE just as Christ commanded!
What God has made to be one let it so be! 

And then we kissed.
HA! Yes, I can put it that simply, you don’t need to hear that his lips were amazing, as always, and that I loved kissing my husband.
😉
And we walked down our merry way to start getting our pictures taken and start the celebration with all of our family and friends.
To say our wedding ceremony was everything I wanted it to be and more is an understatement.
In the moment it was a blur.
It went so quickly and also lasted a lifetime.