our wedding day

{part four}

i hate that all good things must come to an end. who decided that anyways?

after feeling like celebrities during our photos, we were dropped off at the venue for our reception to start. who am i kidding, the party had already started long before we got there, so our guests were rowdy and ready to eat, laugh, and have more to drink.

our wedding party never officially decided on our “grand entrance” which usually would have worried me, but with this crew, i knew something spontaneous would be the best way to go. ‘you make my dreams come true’ by “hall & oates” blared over the speakers and i howled as our wedding party made their way through the tent, linked arm and arm with their mustache and lip props. the crowd got louder and i can remember hearing our mc’s announce us as husband and wife, i can remember how exciting it was to hear those words. almost running to the tent, i was so happy to be with everyone i love, and celebrate such a happy day.

it wasn’t long after we took our seats that our mc tag team {lindsay and chris} were on the mike. i was a good mix of anxious, excited, nervous and scared to hear what they came up with, but was prepared for everything they were going to throw at us. after prayers and introductions were done, our wedding party started the speeches. i loved how we jumped right into them, and said them during the meal as each course was brought out. this not only was a relief to whoever was speaking, but helped give our guests some entertainment throughout their dinner—it’s hard enough to speak in front a tent full of people you may not know!

speaking of entertainment, our mc’s were fanfuckingtastic. i swear they could start a comedy act in vegas and make a KILLING. because paul and i are pretty well total opposites when it comes to our personalities, we were easy targets. never will i forget my giant teddy bear of a brother in law, mocking me, dressed in a wig and white sheet as a dress, flaunting his huge ass diamond ring around, while referring to himself as “demanda”. all while Lindsay, who perfectly portrayed paulie, stood there in awkward stiff silence wearing a dress shirt, suspenders and bowtie, only allowed to say “yes amanda”.

it was perfect.

the speeches were just as incredible as i knew they would be. my maid of honour jules went first and made sure i cried right out the gate. our beautiful bridesmaids made up the sweetest poem that they took turns reciting, and each groomsmen said a little something too-making sure to embarrass at least one of us, or both, but not forgetting their sentimental side too. having words like that said to you, by the people you care about, love and respect the most: moments i will never forget. my parents wrapped things up with even more tears, and then it was time for paulie and i to speak.

i had finished up my speech 2 nights before the wedding, sitting in my parents basement click clackin’ away until the wee hours of the morning, i wrote it out, re-wrote it, printed it, re-wrote it again, and then i was happy. even at 10pt font, single spaced WITH the margins increased, that bad boy printed out on 4 pages, and i was ok with that, and still am, because i was the bride (i told you i pulled that shit out twice). i had things to say, stories to tell, thank yous to give and didn’t want to forget a single thing. so when i looked at paulie and asked if he wanted to speak first, you can imagine my surprise when he said no. i fully expected him to want to get it over with and let me wrap things up, but i am happy to say that he caught me off guard on the best day of our lives, and i can’t tell you how much i love that.

these are my favourite lines of the 4 pages i wrote:
“I guess the reason I became so impatient is because I had known you were “the boy” from day one. I would have married you in the first year we dated and then again every year after. The anticipation of starting our lives together only grew stronger and stronger until I couldn’t pretend I was happy with being just your girlfriend anymore. I was ready to be your wife, and I am even more ready today.

Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice, but falling in love with you, I had no control over. You were a super cute, shy boy in your DM cardigan, shaggy haircut and adorable smile, and I was loving every minute of you. I was always excited to see you and giddy when we were together, and not much has changed over the years, except the haircut.

What I know of you now only makes me more anxious to see what you become. I love that when you love something, you love it with your whole heart-baseball, India, family...me. I love that you always know who you are and never change for anyone or anything. I love that you’re genuine and unassuming, and have never let me down. I love that I can see the glory in you, even when you don’t.

You saved me long before I knew I needed to be saved, and haven’t stopped since. It’s always been you, it will always be you, and I am so in love with you”.

choking on my words i let him know every emotion i have ever felt about him during our relationship, and more than that, how i felt about him that day. even now, only a month later, i feel even more for him. it’s like love is made up of levels or stages, and the more you are together, and the more you experience with each other, the higher up in levels you reach. by the time you hit your 50th wedding anniversary, you are standing in front of bowser, dressed as mario and luigi, asking yourselves how the hell you got there.

then he said his speech.

it wasn’t 4 sheets typed out or even in point form on a cue card. but it was sincere. it was kind. it was thankful, sweet, nervous and surprisingly funny. he told stories and made sure to get his fill of embarrassing me too. it was the best speech he could have said, and meant everything to me.

and how do you top all that? with the most serious dance party i could have asked for. our band started up and i didn’t leave the dance floor once (maybe just to pee. thanks jules). we had the girls dancing, the boys dancing, my aunts and uncles and cousins busting moves like no one’s business. a few of my guests even made their way up on the “stage” and played some air guitar and sang along. after looking at the photos our guests took, i can’t help but smile; we had boys with ties on their heads for heavens sakes. the night carried on this way until 1am when paul and i looked at each other, sweaty with bloodshot eyes and nothing how we looked the first moment we saw each other that day, and decided it was time to call it a day.

our wedding day was a long time in the making. it was everything we wanted it to be from the moment we woke up, to the moment we fell asleep. if i could do it all over again, i don’t know that i would. i am happy that i wouldn’t want to change a thing or do anything differently.

that day i soaked it all up, took it all in, and i am holding on to it for dear life.