Monumental Love: I Sphinx I Love You

Add the Pyramids to the list of couples who strongly recommend a first look!  In a practical sense, the key driver was to get pictures out of the way, but it also allowed us to spend a special moment together without anyone else around (well, except our paparazzi).  Several family members and friends have looked at our pictures and said "Wait - so you saw each other before?"  From their point of view at the ceremony, nothing was missing.  Not like I shuffled up the aisle, gave Sphinx the 'sup nod, and he said "Oh, hey, it's you again."  That moment was still special in it's own way (and when we get there, you'll see even more why I'm glad we did the first look!).

If you're anti-first look, I'm not trying to sway you otherwise.  However, if you like the idea of a first look but are worrying about missing out on "the aisle moment" - trust me, you won't.

Can you spot the bride creeping up in the mirror?/All photos by Eau Claire Photographics

Monumental Love: It's the Little Things

Raise your hand if you love detail posts! Really?  Me too!  

It's fun wrapping up how some of my buys, crafts, and ideas turned out, and I hope it's enjoyable for you too.  Today we'll be talking about a lot of my accessories - basically anything that was in the hotel room with me the morning of (I've got another post lined up later for details featured at the reception).  It's been a while since I've been able to obsess over teensy little details, so excuse me for the extended explanations on some of these photos!   

Starting off with this gorgeousness.  All photos by Eau Claire Photographics

Monumental Love: Becoming a Bride

Today, my dears, I have a ton of pictures for you, so I'll let the pictures do most of the talking here.  It was hard to narrow down which ones to share, because these really are some of my favorites of the day.  For one, there's beautiful light streaming through the windows and all the ladies are dressed up, but the best part is just how happy we all look.  No stress, no worries, just so much love and laughter.

All photos by Eau Claire Photographics

As each girl arrived, we hung their dresses up in the living room window.  Really, it was just because that was the only place for six dresses, but it also sped things up when the photo and video teams arrived!  They said sometimes it takes a while to get all those dresses together.

The cute hangers were covered a little, but still did their job. 

Ghost dress!

One more shot of Dino's pretty purple robe as the girls get dressed.

Getting by with a little help from my friends. 

BM Taco was clearly ready to get the party started.

To start, Momma P goes to take the dress down.

And then she might have not been able to reach the hanger so MOH Curls took over.

Excuse me for a second of big sister bragging: this girl is gorgeous. 

And she's helpful. 

This was the best way we could figure to get me into my dress without messing up the hair: I put on the Spanx + petticoat first, then I stepped into the dress and the girls stuffed the fluff from the slip into the dress.  Good enough, and the realization of how ridiculous this was caused me to get very giggly.

Oh the things we do for weddings.

 These next few pics give me a glimpse of what it would have looked like if I'd gone with a strapless dress.  I don't regret the sleeves for a second, but I do still love these shots.

My mom stepped in to zip and fasten the little pieces of lace that would cover the zipper.

I don't think I can do a recap post without saying a picture is my favorite of the group - this would be the one for today.  That train!

You can see the little ruffle along the top of the dress here, which was a sweet detail to capture.

I'm pretty sure in this picture I was telling BM Duffy that she'd be the one doing this in a month, and this was her reaction.  I told you we got silly.

If you read my post on finding my dress, you'll remember that the bolero was a completely separate piece.  So once the dress itself was on and secure, I slipped on the bolero and my mom and sister started doing up the tiny, delicate buttons in the back.

It was kind of weird just standing there waiting, so I kept smoothing down my dress while they told me to stop moving.

And here the silly keeps on going - when we realized that they had skipped a button and had to start over.

My exact reaction - "Why did we let two lefties do this job?"

And then I couldn't stop laughing as they were trying to undo their work. 

Successfully buttoned up!  Way to go, lefties!

Y'all like how my mom and I were kind of twins?  That was totally unplanned, but when we went to pick up my dress at the salon, she found this gold one and lit up when she put it on.  She had been going back and forth on what to wear and hadn't fallen in love with anything, but she was absolutely strutting in this dress.  I made a joke about how she was copying me, and she swore up and down that she wouldn't buy it and would find something else if it bothered me - and of course I told her she was nuts.  This dress made her look amazing and feel fabulous, and that's all that mattered to me.

Then BM Perk gave me some garter assistance.

Total disclosure: those came off like an hour later because they were slipping down my leg and we just stuck them back on before the toss at the reception. 

One final step to Bridedom: the veil!

I was so honored to wear the veil my mom wore at my parents' wedding 30 years earlier.

Nanny's face here is so cute.  "You ready for this?"

We took the veil off of its original cap and had the seamstress put the pieces on two combs, so that I could wear them separately.

Oh hello, bride, there you are!

One of my favorites of my Nanny and me.

This picture captures what I was doing all morning - deep breaths, deep breaths, deep breaths!  

And finally...I got the last of my nerves and jitters out by flexing my "Disney Point"  - I don't remember why and the video doesn't even explain what was happening here, but it looks fun.

Please keep your hands, arm, feet, and legs inside the hotel - and let's go get that groom!

Previously on the Pyramid Wedding:

• Kickoff and teaser trailer
• Thursday night Rehearsal
• Rehearsal Dinner
• Bridesmaid Fun Day complete with bridal meltdown
• Welcome Party at Rock N Bowl
• Starting off the wedding day
• Hair and Makeup Time
• Groomsmen Gather
• Swapping Love Letters

Monumental Love: Send My Love to You

Sending presents and letters to each other the morning of the wedding isn't exactly a new idea - but I wanted to make sure to do it a certain way.  Through all of my browsing while investigating vendors and looking for ideas, I learned that I love wedding videos where the personalized vows are played over other images of the day: the bride getting ready, the groom waiting with his back turned for the first look, and the couple dancing at their reception in front of all of their guests.  Something about showing the happiness of the couple mixed with the emotional words of their promises beautifully pulls everything together.

Since we were married in the Catholic Church, our vows were not personalized, so we used the letters to fill in the gap.  I've seen it done both ways, but I wanted to have the writer read out loud, so that it would make more sense when used in the video (you can hear some of my letter in the teaser trailer).  

It was a nice moment to step away from all the activity to remember why we were doing all this./All photos by Eau Claire Photographics

Monumental Love: Groom's Team...Assemble!

As you saw, girl getting ready time all took place in my hotel suite, with hair and makeup coming to us.  The guys operated a little bit differently, obviously, so I'll rely on Sphinx to tell the story of their morning (but not without some commentary from yours truly, of course). 

The day began like every other, the birds woke me up with their merry songs. I got out of bed with a good stretch, then walked to the mailbox and waved “Hey” to the neighbor. 

No, seriously I was up later than intended writing my letter to Miss Pyramid after drinking more than intended when several groomsmen came over to the house after our Rock n Bowl party. So the first step was to pound a Red Bull and get the pulled pork going in the crock pot for sandwiches. 

GM Lil Bro, Daddy P, Sphinx, and BM Skittles all acting real cool and casual./Unless stated, all photos by Eau Claire Photographics

Monumental Love: Girls Get Glam

So everyone says the wedding day is the best day of your life, right?  Well, if I had any doubts about that, they were cleared up when our makeup artist Amanda walked into our suite and handed me two pouches full of false eyelashes and said "Here, look through these and pick out your favorites."  I can get used to that.

We set Amanda up by the window in the bedroom, and the girls took turns getting all painted up.  

All photos by Eau Claire Photographics

I frequently stopped by the makeup chair to see the progress and helped the girls decide on their lip colors.  

Monumental Love: Rise, But Hold the Shine

When I awoke on Saturday morning, I was first conscious of two things: my throat felt scratchy and there was rain tapping on the window of the hotel room.  

Oh well, no turning back now, right?

View from the bedroom window./Photo by Eau Claire Photographics

Dino and Taco both spent the night in the suite with me, but I woke up on my own and had some quiet time.  First a shower, then I sat down to write a quick post for you guys, my dad brought me a yummy coffee which helped to soothe my throat, and finally I put together my letter for Sphinx.  In the end, I liked leaving it to last minute, because my emotions were more sincere and sappy that way.  As I was finishing up the letter, the activity level in the room started to pick up.

Monumental Love: Ready to Rock & Bowl

So after a crazy morning, we finally made it down to the Windsor Court hotel, where several of us would be staying for the weekend.  We hit the quarter really quickly, so that some of our tourists could purchase some "souvenirs." 

This picture cracks me up - BM Duffy was so excited for her fiance to try the drinks she'd had at Mardi Gras!

Once those important stops were out of the way, we all got changed for the welcome party at Rock 'n' Bowl.  In the lobby, a piano player and singer were entertaining folks in the lounge, and while we were waiting for our car, they started to play "What a Wonderful World."  Daddy P had picked that as our father-daughter dance song, so we got in a little practice in the lobby. 

Monumental Love: Panicking and Primping

To accurately express what went down that Friday morning, I should first explain how things were supposed to go.  First, I was going to treat my bridesmaids to mani-pedis and brunch.  After that, we would go check into the hotel downtown and have a fun-filled day in the French Quarter and meet up with some other friends in from out of town.  In a moment of extremely wishful thinking the week before, I even bought a lovely strapless maxi dress for that day to avoid tan lines because it was sure to be sunny and perfect!  

Let's all say it together now: "Things did not go as planned."  

As soon as I woke up, I knew things were off.  I felt like crud.  Not really a hangover, but just one of those times when some Advil, Gatorade, and a half hour more of sleep would have worked wonders. There was no time for that, though, since we had a schedule to keep.  I powered through the basic tasks of getting ready kind of slowly, but sometime after getting out of the shower, and before the rest of the girls arrived, I learned what an anxiety attack feels like.

Monumental Love: A Dinner of Love & Laughter

We all left the church and headed down to Superior Seafood. The room that Sphinx Mom and Dad reserved was a long, closed in patio that looked out on the St. Charles streetcar line.  

The first thing our guests saw when entering was an adorable spread of pictures put together by Sphinx Mom - including engagement pictures, a framed invitation, and some cute (aka embarrassing) baby pictures of Sphinx and I.  The invitation is in the middle of the table - teal, a chandelier and the phrase "Love and Laughter Before the Happily Ever After."  She couldn't have nailed it any better, amiright?

Apparently middle school team pictures are our downfall: his basketball and my dance team.

Monumental Love: Packing Up and Practicing

The week leading up to our wedding wasn't really eventful - or maybe it was and I've just blocked that part out of my memory.  I've already mentioned that some tasks took some last minute effort, and others got scratched from the list, and I spent a significant chunk of my time checking the weather. The Monday before the wedding was Memorial Day, so we had an extra day off of work to take care of those last minute items.  We had done most of the hard work a few weeks before, which involved packing up all that glassware, labeling the boxes, and loading them into my parents' giant van, but there were still a million things on the to-do list.

The madness, and the result.  

But you don't want to hear about the week-of crazies, no more than I want to relive them.  The biggest item to get done was on Wednesday: Sphinx, his parents, my mom, and some other awesome helpers delivered all that decor to the Board of Trade, and they stored it in a back room.  This was so helpful, because we didn't have to worry about transporting all that glassware to the guy who would set it up, and we got it out of our hair a few days in advance.

Besides that it was just a lot of confirming and finalizing, buying gifts, and trying to get packed.  Oh, and I got my engagement ring back!  It had been at the jewelers getting cleaned and replated (for free!) for about a week, and I was freaking out every 2.2 seconds thinking I'd lost it since it wasn't on my hand.  Not a fun feeling on top of all the wedding-related stress!

Our rehearsal was on Thursday evening, because the church performs weddings on Friday nights.  I worked up through Thursday afternoon - just leaving a few hours early - because my vacation days were already stretched pretty thin for the year.  I got ready back at the house with BM Perk and Sphinx, and we all headed to the church together.

Once everyone had arrived, Maureen, the church coordinator, gave us all the details of how we would process.

And then we all did just that.  

Sphinx walking his mom down, with lots of glowy eyes watching on.

We took advantage of an aisle in the middle of the church by having the groomsmen wait there for the bridesmaids.  So the girls walked halfway up on their own, and then met their gentleman.

GM Lil Bro waiting for BM Perk in the middle aisle.

And then Daddy P and I let out some nerves by doing a little dance/skip number up the aisle.

"Well, we won't be able to do this Saturday, so I guess we should get it out of our systems now!"

Then Maureen explained what we'd need to do throughout the mass, and we listened attentively. 

MOH Curls and BM Skittles were up at the altar with us.

 My ears especially perked up when she explained how we would walk over to the statue of the Virgin Mary to place a flower.  Her tip was for me to walk over with Sphinx, but let him climb the two little steps to put the flower up, so I wouldn't fall down them.  Great, now that image is in my head. 

"That's it. I'm going to be the bride that falls on her butt during the ceremony, you just watch."

And before we knew it, it was time to head back down the aisle and pretend like we'd just been married.  

After all the official stuff was done, Sphinx's cousin (let's call her Cousin Who, because she's a big Doctor Who fan), practiced her solo from the balcony.  She's a music major, and a great singer, so we wanted to include her in our mass. I gave her some options to choose from based on the list from the organist, and she picked "Panis Angelicus."  And it was appropriately angelic.  

Tears.  There were tears at this point and it was only the rehearsal.  

And then we just made sure to take some pictures before heading out to dinner. Apparently none of just Sphinx and I, but we got some good group ones.

The Pyramid family looking sharp. 

Pyramid parents and godparents. I owe these guys so much for making that weekend spectacular, you don't even know.

And a photo of the bridesmaids, sans BM Duffy, whose flight wouldn't get in til later that night.  The others filled her in easily on how it would all go down.

BM Dino, BM Taco, me, MOH Curls, and BM Perk.

Then it was time to head out to the rehearsal dinner!  I was feeling good, since the hard part of the night was over, and we could just enjoy ourselves.

Until GM Jaws (who works at St. Francis Church - he's the main reason we looked at it), came up to me.  "So...it's a little hot in here, and I thought it was just because the A.C. was off all day - but looks like it's broken.  I'm not sure of the repair guy's availability."

Terror. Panic. Sweat. All of these things started showing on my face.

"Don't worry, I will fix it, I will do everything I can to have this fixed for Saturday."

Behind the freak out, there was a (very small) part of me laughing at this news.  I couldn't sail into the weekend without a few more reasons to stress, right?  I trusted GM Jaws and - spoiler! - he had it working by the next day.  Because he rocks.

Previously on the Pyramid Wedding:
Kickoff and teaser trailer