Part One deals with the lead up to the Wedding and the ceremony itself. The latter parts will include the reception and the honeymoon.
With all the planning, stress, worry and doubt, the Wedding finally went ahead and now Katie and I are married! The day itself was something of a whirlwind, it flew past at a million miles an hour but we both had probably the best day of our lives.
The Build Up
On the day before the Wedding (a Sunday) the mother’s of both Katie and myself joined us at the church for a blessing service, shortly after I returned back home to pack all the things needed to take over to my parents where I would be staying that night. The realisation that I was getting married still hadn’t quite set in, it seemed too weird that after a whole year of planning, I would be officially be Katie’s husband the very next day.
Arriving at my parents, I quickly set to unpacking all I needed and got the Wedding Suit hung and ready for the morning. I set out all the presents for the Grooms Party (Tiffany Cufflinks), a small thank you for having such good friends who would eventually make the day go so smoothly. My best man came round and I practised my speech (at first by myself in front of the mirror), taking any minor criticisms and amending my speech accordingly. A couple of glasses of champagne would be consumed before retiring to sleep my last sleep as an engaged man.
The Wedding Day
I was awoken at around 6am by a text message from a very excited Katie. Rolling over and trying to sleep again didn’t really work so I headed downstairs and waited the couple of hours before the rest of my Groom’s party and the photographer joined me.
The Wedding itself was scheduled for 1pm, so we had plenty of time to get ready. I was joined around 10am by the guys and we sat around having breakfast and chatting whilst the photographer took pictures, I could only imagine what was happening at that time the other side of Rochford where Katie and her bridal party were rushing to get everything ready.
As soon as most people had donned their suits and sculpted their hair, it was time to jump into the limousine and head for the church. I am subjected to multiple instances of “Are You Nervous?!” on the twenty-five minute journey to the church…..and no, I wasn’t in the slightest bit panicky!
As we arrived at the church, I ventured inside to see if anything needed to be sorted with the vicar. The ushers prepared the buttonholes for the guests, people flapped about and slowly but surely the venue started to fill up. The feelings going through my head at that time were not of nervousness or reluctance to go through with proceedings, I was simply worried that Katie would have been persuaded to leave me at the altar, leaving me ashen faced and heartbroken! (Luckily that wasn’t the case!).
The church grew to about three-quarters full and 1pm ticked by.
Not wanting to see Katie arrive, I kept my eyes forward and joked quietly with Graeme, my Best Man. I remained seated until I heard noises coming from the back of the church, my family and friends subtly letting me know that Katie had arrived. The music began, my heart pounded and the rest of the congregation looked back in amazement at how stunning Katie looked. I waited until Katie had reached the last few pews before I turned to see her, mouthing “You look fantastic” as I took in the emotion of seeing Katie looking so stunning. I tried to walk with her to the altar down the aisle but due to the sheer width of the dress, it was a definite case of ladies first!
In my mind I was buzzing, I couldn’t believe I was marrying someone so beautiful, her radiance further brightened the church on an already bright day! I walked upto the altar where we met the vicar and waited in anticipation as we prepared for the marriage ceremony.
The ceremony itself was something of a blur. We sung three hymns, had two reading and overall the ceremony lasted just over an hour. My brother and Luke, one of my best mates excelled themselves with their readings, the bridesmaids cried into their tissues and Graeme made everyone laugh when he tried to run off with the rings.
We were blessed and we turned to see the congregation and walked back down the aisle to wide smiles and pats on the back……we were officially married…….and best of all, Katie was my wife!
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