Strawberry Blonde Bride: You're My Everything: The Walk

Finally, finally, finally I heard the organ change to Canon in D, and I knew that the rest of the bridal party was now processing toward the altar.

First we had Mr. Snow Cone's sister, BM J, accompanied by GM JS,

followed by Mr. Snow Cone's other sister, BM A, accompanied by GM JZ.

Next up was BM K and her escort, GM D,

followed by BM B and her attendant, GM A.

Next, BM E with GM S.

The last pair was my sister B and Mr. Snow Cone's cousin F.

Finally, MOH H walked down the aisle solo, met halfway by the Best Man.

While our bridal party had been making their way down the aisle, the florist's assistant popped into my hiding area to hand over my bouquet. I think he could tell I was nervous (um, I think anyone could have determined I was nervous), so he took charge of conversation to get my mind off the impending walk down the aisle. He, my dad, and I talked about the most random, off-the-wall topics, including the cost of legal proceedings associated with divorce, regions of the world he thinks are unsafe for traveling, the horrors of plane crashes, and how the future of America is in good hands if all people my age are as nice as the members of my bridal party. Like I said, random.

After all of this completely unexpected chit-chat had come to an end, it was time for me to take my position behind the closed double doors. This was it. This was the moment I had been waiting for for nine years, 16 months, or 25 minutes, depending on what frame of reference you use. My mom said she could see my silhouette creep into position through the stained glass windows, so she knew I was ready. Once in position, I instructed my dad to not start processing immediately after the doors opened, since I wanted to savor the moment. I then instructed the florist and his assistant, who were manning the doors, to wait until the change of music to swing them open for my big reveal. The florist looked at me incredulously, and then proceeded to fabulously let me know that this "wasn't his first rodeo, honey." It was the perfect light-hearted moment to quell my last-second anxiety.

Finally, I heard them - the opening trills of "Trumpet Voluntary," my cue.

Video via YouTube

Despite my best intentions to savor the moment, once the doors opened, I was pretty much jogging down the aisle. I didn't feel it at the time, but apparently my dad was trying his best to pull me back and slow me down. I guess I wasn't really paying attention!

I think the size of my smile in this shot pretty much gives you a hint of how I was feeling at this moment in time.

I was simultaneously less emotional and more emotional than I anticipated. Leading up to the big day, I was pretty sure I'd cry while walking down the aisle. However, in the moments immediately before the walk, I was feeling anxious but not really teary, so I didn't anticipate losing my cool during the walk. Once I really got within view of Mr. Snow Cone, though, I couldn't help but let a few relieved, happy tears fall. My dad, on the other hand, seemed like a steady rock throughout the entire thing. Whether he was actually feeling that way or not may be another story.

The tears ended as quickly as they started. I was just so flippin' excited that the time had finally arrived and I was with my guy.

As we got nearer to the front of the church, I took a few deep breaths to try to calm my butterflies.

Huge smiles, again.

Some of my favorite photos from the processional are those that of Mr. Snow Cone's reaction to me walking down the aisle. My brother captured the exact moment when he saw me, and it's priceless.

Waiting to see me...

aaaaand we have a bride sighting.

Above two photos by my brother P

Apparently Mr. Snow Cone was sporting a tiny little grin to match mine.

In this photo, Best Man M was whispering, "She looks beautiful" to Mr. Snow Cone. Looks like he might be in agreement.

Three above photos by family friend F

This photo makes me weak in the knees because this is the face Mr. Snow Cone makes when he is completely and utterly happy about something. Glad he decided to flash it on this most important of days.

Above photo by my brother P

I couldn't tell from my vantage point, but apparently Mr. Snow Cone, through his big smile, was also crying quite a bit. Even though I always anticipated he would break down at least a little, I was still touched that he actually let his emotions get the best of him. According to a lot of the bridal party, his emotional reaction got the best of them, too.

The walk down the aisle went very quickly, but was kind of in slow-motion at the same time. It wasn't until I got to the front of the church that I realized that I'll never do that walk again. It was kind of bittersweet (1% bitter, 99% sweet, of course). I gave one last bear hug to my dad as Mr. Snow Cone looked on.

Out of a mix of habit and sheer excitement, I went in to give Mr. Snow Cone a kiss. At the last minute, I think we both realized that our first kiss during the ceremony should be the kiss after we officially married, so we both did a last-second change-up and went for a kiss on the cheek instead.