We Start Today: Let's get this show on the road!

Before getting into this post I would like to apologize for my extended absence. It's been a busy couple of weeks in the Castle household. First we jetted off to San Francisco to attend our first wedding as a married couple. We had an amazing trip and it was a very beautiful wedding. When we arrived back in New York we jumped right into throwing our good friends an engagement party! It was fantastic, but word to the wise maybe the Saturday before Halloween isn't the best date to try and throw and intimate party... Then, as most of you are aware there was this storm here... We are very lucky and fortunate compared to many others on the east coast. Last week was really surreal. You would think I had all this extra time to blog but my focus was on the news and what was happening in my beloved city that I call home. So please forgive me for my absence and keep sending prayers and good thoughts to all those who were affected by the hurricane. 

I left off showing all our ceremony details. At this point in the day our guests were beginning to arrive. Meanwhile my bridesmaids and I were hiding out in the bridal suite anxiously awaiting for the ceremony to start.

That period of time between coming inside after taking pictures and the start of the ceremony felt like an eternity. I was ready to go and get married but it still wasn't time yet. We has another mini dance party and then decided to take some pictures to try and kill some time.

MOH N with her sons. The best ring bearers ever! They were so patient and well behaved.

I had to get a picture with them too!

I don't remember what I was saying to him in this picture but I absolutely love it. 

Then I had to have a pre-wedding staged moment with my Mother

Singer J and I took some "Model shots"

I posed with my DIY ring bearer sign

Yeah at this point I was getting a little antsy....

Finally I had to get up and walk around a bit. It seemed like time was moving so slowly. I was ready to get this show on the road! 

I decided to re-read my vows and imagine myself saying them aloud. My vows were the only thing I was nervous about. I feared I would only be able to whisper them or they would be unintelligible because I would be sobbing. I also feared they wouldn't sound genuine. I wanted the meaning behind the words I wrote to shine through. I thought with the nerves and excitement I might end up sounding like a robot... I never really said my vows aloud before the ceremony and I was starting to think maybe that was a mistake. 

Finally our DJ/MC Brent from Entertainment Express came in to say we were almost ready to start! He also said he came to get some very important information... Our drink orders! He took the entire bridal party and immediate families drink order before the ceremony so that we could have drinks brought to us while taking pictures during cocktail hour. How cool is that!?

After taking everyone's drink orders it seemed like it was go time. My Dad had now joined us and my Mom had left to get in place for the processional. Brent and one of our coordinators from Padua said, "We're almost ready to go we just have one more question for you. Were we supposed to save a seat for Dads girlfriend?" This was a point where I could have had a huge freak out moment. No my Dad's girlfriend was not supposed to have a reserved seat, she was supposed to sit with my Dad's friends. I then learned that she had plopped herself down in the second row... I can only imagine what my face looked like when they told me that. I started stumbling something like, "No no no she can't sit there..." I looked at my Dad and said, " I'm so sorry Dad but she can't sit there Mom will freak out." My Dad agreed and said, "I have no idea why she is sitting there I told her who to sit with."

Like I said, I could have had a heart attack. Brent and our coordinator from Padua said, "Don't worry about it we'll move her. Not a big deal. That's why we asked." And that was it. They moved her and I could not be more grateful. I plan on writing about this in more detail in a later post but let me say now, if you have any possibility for family drama tell your vendors. If I had not previously told them about my situation with my parents they wouldn't have thought anything of my Dad's girlfriend sitting in the second row. That could have gone really badly but our amazing vendors went above and beyond to make sure everything was OK.

Crisis averted! Then all of the sudden it was time to get married!

All our guests were in their seats ready for the  show ceremony to begin! I was sooo ready to finally see my groom and marry the love of my life! Coming up next our family and bridal party processional!

*All Photos are personal

Anyone else have any stressful situations right before the ceremony was about to start? Did your vendors go above and beyond to make your day stress free?

Miss a recap? Check it out below!

We start at the end with a surprise wedding video!

We rehearse

Our rehearsal luncheon

We start the day with singing, dancing, and an earthquake

I get my hair and makeup done

We arrive at our venue and Mr. Castle asks for some makeup

With the help of my Mom and bridesmaids I get into my dress!

I take some solo shots of me as a bride

My handsome groom and his men 

Some family shots and first look regret

Photos with my Bridesmaids!

I get a three generations photos with my Mother and Grandmother

Ceremony details