It was a 45-minute drive to the church from my house (apparently, it’s 45 minutes to EVERYTHING where I’m from–never noticed that before). We rounded everyone up and left pretty much exactly on time. I’m proud of us! I rode in the Subaru with my mom, sister, and Kayla, and we snapped selfies and Instagrammed them as we drove. I was excited and maybe a teensy bit nervous, so I wrote an email to Erick telling him about how I felt on the morning of our wedding. He texted me, excited that it was our wedding day as well. :)
When we got to the parlor in the church, someone handed me a gift bag from Erick.
It was a journal, engraved with the message “I love you beyond the last page” on the clasp. Inside was a note from Erick, telling me how he wanted to document our journey together on these pages. It was something we had learned about during our preparing for marriage seminar–how a journal is a great tool for keeping the communication open in marriage. Of course, I’d liked the idea, but I was unsure how Erick felt about it. He’s always said, “I’m not a writer.” Every week while we were dating, I wrote him a letter. I was overwhelmed to hear that now, he wanted to write our story WITH me. I cried. Haha.
Then, it was time to get ready for our first look. And yes, I did have a gift for him, too–I tried to have one of the bridesmaids go give it to him, too, but something happened and I actually gave it to him personally after our first look.
I love this moment — my mom and my future mom hugging me right before the big moment!
I walked out the doors of the parlor (in the back of the church), paused for my parents to kiss me on the cheek, and then made my way down the pathway along the church to the front stairs, where we had planned our first look. My groom was waiting for me. :)
(Can I say how much I love those green doors??)
With the biggest smile on my face, ever.
And then some tears of happiness.
Next time, we’ll look at some Wedding Party Photos!
All the Wedding Recaps!
