The Wedding Day: The Ceremony

After recapping The Bridal Brunch, Rehearsal, Getting Ready, some Formals and a Special Moment (whew!), it is finally time to share the Ceremony!

The time had finally arrived...it was time to walk down the aisle to my (almost) husband! The ceremony started, the organ blasting full force- such a beautiful sound. The candles are lit by the best candle lighters, family makes their way down the aisle, the bridesmaids and groomsmen arm in arm make there way to the front, then the flower girls and ring bearers, all to the beautiful Canon in D.

^^^poor Lylah, all those people are scary. Being a flower girl is not always fun :)^^^

As I was waiting my nerves were out of control! It was such an exciting nervous feeling. It finally hits you- this is it! I am about to walk down the aisle to my groom and say yes to forever. The best feeling in the world. So I take a deep breath, grab my brother's arm and the Bridal Chorus starts. The guests rise, the doors open and there he is...the man I will spend the rest of my life with, the man I am so madly in love with. And all the nerves go away. You think I am joking? But it is so true! As soon as I saw him, the nerves settled and nothing but joy filled inside of me. We start walking down the aisle...Rob just smiling away up at the front and me, grinning from ear to ear. It is here. I glance at my mama, who is shedding happy tears on the front row and then I reach my groom.

Our pastor, Brother Danny, starts the ceremony and then my brother hands my hand over to Robert's, he leads me up the stairs and we exchange exciting, can't believe it is really happening looks at each other! Our wonderful friends then read 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 and Colossians 3:12-17. Then it was time for prayer and the exchanging of vows and rings.

 Robert and I said the traditional vows along with personal ones. I think we both were a little nervous to do so (more so me) in front of lots of people, but we both are SO glad we did! It was such a special moment. Neither of us were nervous at all while saying them and it was so special expressing our love to one another, to God and the commitment being made in our own words from the heart. There were laughs, lots of smiles and almost tears...but I held it together! Robert's vows...something I will never forget. So memorable, so sweet and so special.

Then our good friends (and bridesmaid and groomsman) sang Divine Romance during the lighting of the unity candle. They sounded amazing. Rob and I were able to light the candle and say a prayer together while this beautiful sound filled the room.

And now you may kiss your bride!!!

Man I love remembering these wonderful times! After the ceremony the wedding party walked back down the aisle and hung out in a hallway (a crowded but so fun experience) and shared lots of hugs squeals:) We then reentered the sanctuary for family pictures!

Since we wanted to hurry so we could get to the reception we made a list for our photographer, Betsy, of the "sets" we wanted. And it went pretty smooth! We had to find some missing people but it didn't end up crazy:)

 The amazing Lamberson side!

 My wonderful daddy, i love you SO much!

 The Lewandowski side! 

 The Arens side!

The Phillips side!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I carried my Poppy's handkerchief with me on the wedding day. It was so special to have with me throughout. I thought it would be to dry tears (which it did) but it was mainly used to wipe sweat from Rob's face :) I had to once during the ceremony (a good comical moment) and many times while taking pictures, man it was HOT!

A BIG family! Please take a moment to look at Brock's face...priceless. 

SO much love for all these people. We are so incredibly grateful for every single one of you. Thank you for helping make our wedding day so special. Thank you for all your love, encouragement and support you give daily. We LOVE YOU!

 So... my flower girls are sitting on their mamas laps, my bridesmaids! I am holding a picture from my mom's wedding day many years ago. In that picture is my mom with her two flowers girls...which are now my two bridesmaids (and cousins) in this picture with me. So my flowers girls (their daughters) are wearing the same dresses their mamas wore in my mom's wedding! Does that make sense? It was so fun and special! I thought the dresses were beautiful and they were the perfect sizes! Also those precious headbands were made by Shea (to the left of me), she makes all kinds and they are ALL adorable! She also made my beautiful garter. If you want her contact info let me know!

Oh and can't forget! A little look at our programs and little details...

 I made our programs on Zazzle, a budget friendly option and I was pretty pleased with them!

My great grandmother Cundiff's clutch, isn't it beautiful?! And our wonderful invitations by the wonderful Curry Invitations. I absolutely adored them! On the RSVP card we also asked guests to add a song they would like to dance to at the reception. It was a fun way to get guests involved and on the dance floor! The boutineer (and all the beautiful flowers) were done by Market Street Flowers!

Such wonderful memories, ones that I will never, ever forget. And so glad I can document it all here so I can remember every detail!  Very grateful for all of you that get through all these wedding posts...I'll come over with brownies. You deserve a treat! I truly appreciate you!

Next up...it is time to PARTAYY!