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During the course of last week's With This Ring posts, I received several emails asking about various details of our wedding... where was it, when was it, what kind of flowers did you use, where did you get your dress... that sort of thing.At the time I thought a little post about my wedding details would be kind of fun, but then promptly got sidetracked breathing fresh air and eating apple pie.
So, now that I'm back in the heat and smog, eating chicken breast with a side of boring, I will take the opportunity to share...
Doug and I met via e-Harmony.com. You can read more about our meeting here.
I bought my dress straight off the rack at a little boutique in the Virginia-Highlands area of Atlanta. It was on sale and needed no alterations. I also got my shoes and veil there. The experience of shopping for my dress, especially at this little boutique, was much more fun than I thought it would be. Every dress I tried on fit so I could get a pretty accurate feel for how it would look, even with minor alterations. Because the dress I chose was being discontinued, the shop owner named it "Jill". I spent a total of 1 hour from start to finish choosing everything. I wore the pearls my mom got as a wedding gift from my dad. I bought the crown for my veil on e-bay for $20.
We got married on New Year's Eve 2003. The whole world celebrates our anniversary with us. :o) The church was nice enough to keep their Christmas decorations up for our wedding ceremony. The sanctuary was adorned with two Christmas trees and beautiful evergreen wreathes with big red bows. Antique lanterns sat in each of the stained glass windows. They provided the candlelight for our late afternoon ceremony.
We got married at Sardis United Methodist Church in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. This is a cute little country-like church plopped down in the middle of the city. A Sardis church has been on the same plot of land since 1812. The current church building was built in 1927.
Instead of lighting a unity candle as a couple, we lit a family candle with Kendra and Bayley. We brought little step stools from home so they could reach!
Our soloist was Jenna Avery, whose brother is the lead guitarist for the Christian band Third Day. She sang Amazing Grace as the ceremony started and The Other Side of Me by Michael W. Smith at the family candle lighting.
After the wedding, as I was gathering up the extra programs, a lady bug landed on one of them. A little sign of good luck!
Our reception was at our house. We had way too much food and way too much fun.
So, with that, I can't resist asking y'all to leave comments about the special things in your own weddings.
I'm sure I will read 'em and weep.
23 comments:
Sounds perfect! I got married when I was 20, didn't have a clue what I was doing, looking back would have done most of it differently, but am still married to the wonderful groom 15 years later, and life could not be better.
Dom and I got married 5 weeks after our first date. We were married in Elkton, MD by a JP named E. Day Moore. We got a speeding ticket driving there from Pennsylvania. Before our wedding, the person who called us in (couples were lined up in the hallway) couldn't pronounce Dom's Italian last name. When we were in front of Mr. Moore and he got to the part - does anyone object? - I started laughing - we were the only ones in the room (no witnesses required) - who was going to object? Then Dom dropped my ring. Then we went home and had "dinner" at a honky-tonk type bar where you drink beer and throw your peanut shells on the floor.
Not a lovely wedding like yours, Jill, but unique. We've been married for over 37 years, so I guess it took!
What a neat story! I am familiar with the church in Buckhead that you were married in. My father lives in Woodstock (he is on staff at First Baptist Woodstock) and we visit Atlanta often.
I have been married for 8 years. We got married at an old victorian home in Abingdon Virginia - we live in NE Tennessee. It was June 26th and hotter than blue blazes. We got married outside the house in a huge gazebo. I walked down the aisle (really a cobblestone walk) to Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee. The limo driver was late to pick us up and take us to the airport, but other than that....it was perfect.
Oh what a wonderful, lovely read. I love the church!!!! and that you could pick out such beautiful things so quickly....we hear now of brides who take a year to put together a wedding and spend their husbands (or fathers if they are fortunate!!!) money.
I am so encouraged you meet on e-h*r*o*m*o*n*y because my single dad son just signed up there. Of course mother (ME) has been busy praying for months for a Proverbs 31 woman for him!!!!
Thanks for your sweet comments about my Show & Tell. Jill, when you've lived as many years as I have you have a LOT to SHOW & TELL!!! S&T is one of my favorite things because it has helped me focus on so many great memories I do have.
Isn't blogging wonderful!!!!
Susan
Ok, now I won't be able to stop watching Lifetime until I see you and Doug! LOL! I think it's pretty cool that you met that way and he wasn't a stalker or anything! LOL! I'm happy it worked out the way it did because y'all look red-hot smokin' together!
No fanciness to mention with us. We were married at the courthouse in regular clothes, mostly becuase we were in a big fight and I was ready for him to committ or get out! LOL! Thank God he stayed because it's been the best 10 years of my life so far!
How sweet - I loved the posts last week too!
I was married at 20 - and it was like the other many weddings we had that summer in 1996 - I wish I could go back and change something to make it different from the others...they all blend together. But, they are all still my friends and I was happy we all married at the same time.
I did enjoy having our niece and nephew, they were both 3, in our wedding! Can't believe they are now 14!!!
The funniest thing I remember is that just a week or two before our wedding, T got his finger pinched at work. The only way to relieve the pressure was to drill a hole in it. Of course it was his left hand - so when they took a picture of our hands with our rings - I put my hand over his making sure to cover that ugly fingernail! hee hee - I can't imagine that brought tears to your eyes - well, maybe tears of laughter!! :D
Hi Jill, thanks for visiting me today!
Just the fact that every year or marriage gets better and better is enough celebration for me! I always tell my husband he gets more handsome as the years go by.
Loved reading about your "day."
Sandy
My DH and I married on my parents 39th wedding anniversary. We each brought a daughter to the union and they were the ones to stand up for us and even had their own vows to say. My precious niece served as both flower girl and ring bearer. I wrote the entire ceremony myself and I do believe it touched everyone. The special parts to me came at our reception. After our first dance (DH had never danced before) we had a 1st dance for my parents. They did not have one at the wedding reception. We are from the south and they are true beach music fans so the shag it was for their first dance. Also, after cutting the cake, we had a cake cutting for them on the cake I had made to replicate their cake. Everyone had a blast, alcohol free, dancing the night away and no one complained about the kids because they had their own area and had such a great time themselves.
Well, we shared a good laugh during ours when our Unity Candle REFUSED to light...it was another one of those laugh or cry moments.
We had a beautiful wedding at the beach...then all our families spent the week 'honeymooning' with us.
I posted a picture... look in July archives.
I loved reading about your wedding.
I'm thinking about entering in the Best Husband In The World contest that Candace is doing (http://candacesalima.blogspot.com/2007/09/nominations-are-now-open.html) so I'll tell our story if I enter the contest. You might want to enter too.
Hugs!
Kat
The most memorable part of my wedding was when the doors flew open and "hear comes the bride" started playing ... my daddy looked into my eyes and said, "It's not to late if your not sure." I didn't know if I should laugh or cry, but there is a picture the photographer took at precisely that moment and the love in my daddy's eyes is so beautiful to me.
Hi Jill, A wonderful post about you and Doug... Second marriages do work.I have been married to my husband # 2 for 39 years.When we got married he had his two kids and I had one.. then we became a family of 5..After two years we had one daughter. We have raised 4 kids , all grown and married, plus the bonus of 13 grands and a new one on the way in February.Our youngest daughter lives in Marietta, Ga.My husband is waiting on me to go out and eat breakfast.I will visit again. Baba
Loved reading about your beautiful wedding!
And I had forgotten that you had met through eHarmony...I love this!
I didn't have much money and neither did my honey...or my mom. But I had my heart set on a wedding, so it was done on a shoestring budget.
We just had two bridal attendants and two groomsmen, but had a flower girl and ring bearer.
I went down the isle by myself (my dad had passed away), but now wish I would have let my mom walk me down. It would have meant a lot to her and besides, I was petrified trying to walk down that isle by myself!
I'd change a several things here and there now if I could...but one thing that I wouldn't is my dress. I wanted my dress to be the one I always dreamed of- and it was! And the one item I splurged on.
Now...I'm going to go back and read the story of how you met! :)
OK, I'm back...
What a great story, Jill!
My 3rd grade friend who found me and I met up with in Seattle said she tried this dating service...I think she may have gotten paired up with that first one you mention, though! LOL
How wonderful that God used this, though, to bring you two together!
You might remember my husband and I met through an ad in the paper!
And I'll have to keep an eye out for your commercial while I'm watching those Lifetime movies! ;)
Hi Jill,
Since I just posted about my 17th wedding anniversary I'll tell you something I didn't post. Our preacher reached over to help us with the unity candle that wouldn't light and caught the edge of his robe on fire! Talk about scrambling! My hubby to be reached over and started patting it and eventually the minister dropped and half rolled to get it to go out. The unity candle finally took the flame and the ceremony proceeded without incident. We had a good laugh afterwards!
Just want you to know how much I enjoy your blog. Next time I'm up visiting my sister in law in Northern Atl. we'll have to get together for a cup of coffee!
Have a great weekend.
Blessings,
Sandy :)
Wish we could have been there! Our best wishes and thoughts were and are with you across the miles froj Texas
I enjoyed your post. My story would be to long in detail but I'll tell you we got tickled at something the minister said and we could not stop laughing. He starting laughing and so did everyone else.
Thanks for giving us all a moment of fun to reflect.
Blessings
Jill,
Thanks for sharing these details--I enjoyed reading more about your wedding!
I walked down the aisle to "The Other Side of Me"--what a beautiful song.
My sister met her husband on eharmony, so I'll have to send her the link to your story!
You wedding sounds lovely!!!
Our unity candle wouldn't light - so the pastor said it was one of many difficulities to overcome as a married couple. He later brought it down to the reception and we lit it there.
I'll bet it was a beautiful service!! And way to go eHarmony!! I wonder if I've seen your commercial!! How fun!! And I bet the kids getting on the step stools to light the candles was such a blessing for everyone!
My husband and I were friends for 5 years throughout college. We even called each other brother and sister until I realized I was in love with him. I waited over 2 years for him to realize the same thing about me. I wrote about "Our Love Story" (the tag it's under) on Scamp's Place if you ever get a chance to read it (it's kinda long though).
He proposed to me in Colorado underneath a beautiful sunset. Then, we got married 8 months after we started dating. It was in a good ole' Southern Baptist church in my hometown.
What a lovely wedding. I have to say ours was pretty close to perfect. The weather, the friends, the fun. I knew of others who spent the whole time greeting people. We did a quick sweep of the room and I spent the rest of the night on the dance floor with friends and family. I never even at. I have wonderful memories of that day.
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