10.28.2010

An Autumn Affair: We Do


After our Pastor finished his message, Mr. Beagle's cousin serenaded everyone with a song, "The Prayer".


Yet another reason I wish I had a recording of our ceremony.  Charlotte Church is great, but cousin Beagle was better.

All right everyone, I have a confession.  I've delayed posting more recaps because, *gulp* I don't remember our vows.  Apparently my husband doesn't either, so I don't feel as bad as I did originally.  But really, I feel very, very sad about this. 

We think they were very similar to this:

Miss Beagle/Mr. Beagle, I take you to be my wife/husband, and these things I promise you:
I will be faithful to you and honest with you; I will respect, trust, help and care for you;


I will share my life with you; I will forgive you as we have been forgiven;


and I will try with you better to understand ourselves, the world, and God; through the best and the worst of what is to come as long as we live.

And then it was time for the rings.

Prior to handing Mr. Beagle my ring, our Pastor decided to interject a quick description of it, saying that it looked beautiful and that everyone should ask me to see it.

Miss Beagle, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all
that I have, I honor you.


Again, our Pastor included a brief description of Mr. Beagle's ring before handing it to me.  He said it was nice, but didn't look quite as valuable as my ring.  But everyone should still ask him to see his ring too.

Hehe.


Mr. Beagle, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all
that I have, I honor you.


Husband. Wife. 

There was one last part left of our ceremony, before we were declared officially official.

*A|LCollective were the ladies snapping away during our ceremony.

Here's how we arrived at this point:
  • We rehearsed.
  • My hair was done, my face got painted, and I arrived at the church.
  • The guys got pinned and had their picture taken.
  • I transformed into a bride.
  • Our ceremony procession began and I found my dad.
  • I walked down the aisle and Mr. Beagle finally saw my dress.
  • We listened to some readings and a message.

10.21.2010

An Autumn Affair: The Ceremony

Our church's assistant Pastor read a few scriptures.  It was a great way to include her in our ceremony, which we really wanted to do!   


I fell in love with this verse after Mrs. Cheese posted about it:

Ruth 1:16
Entreat me not to leave you, or to return from following after you.  For where you go, I will go, and where you stay I will stay.  Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.  And where you die, I will die and there I will be buried.  May the Lord do with me and more if anything but death parts you from me.


We had a really hard time finding additional readings after we got the first one squared away.  (I went through pages and pages of the interwebs- weddingbee included- in search of them). This one came from a list of readings recommended by our Pastor.

Colossians 3:12-17
As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.  Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so that you also must forgive. 


Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body.  And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymn, and spiritual songs to God. 


And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

 
Then our bridal party sat down, while our Pastor presented us with a really beautiful message.


 
Looking back, I really wish I had bit the bullet and hired a videographer (or even enlisted someone in the audience with a Flip) for our ceremony.  While I remember feeling very touched by his words, and very, very happy about our choice of officiant, I cannot remember exactly what our Pastor said.  Our ceremony was, by far, the best part- my favorite part- of the day and I'm sad that I don't have a recording of it.


 
Our Pastor ended his message with this reading (also one of my favorites):

Blessing For a Marriage | James Dillet Freeman
May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring, and may life grant you also patience, tolerance, and understanding.

May you always need one another-not so much to  fill your emptiness as to help you to know your fullness.  A mountain needs a valley to be complete; the valley does not make the mountain less, but more; and the valley is more a valley because it has a mountain towering over it.  So let it be with you and you.


May you need one another, but not out of weakness.
May you want one another, but not out of lack.
May you entice one another, but not compel one another.
May you embrace one another, but not encircle one another.
May you always succeed in all important ways with one another, and not fail in the little graces.
May you look for things to praise, often say, "I love you!" and take no notice of small faults.


If you have quarrels that push you apart, may both of you hope to have good sense enough to take the first step back.

May you enter into the mystery which is the awareness of one another's presence- no more physical than spiritual, warm and near when you are side by side, and warm and near when you are in separate rooms or even distance cities.
May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another happy.
May you have love, and may you find it loving another.

And with that, we were almost husband and wife.


*Ashley and Laura are the artists behind the cameras :)

Previously in the Beagle Recaps:
  • We rehearsed.
  • My hair was done, my face got painted, and I arrived at the church.
  • The guys got pinned and had their picture taken.
  • I transformed into a bride.
  • Our ceremony procession began and I found my dad.
  • I walked down the aisle and Mr. Beagle finally saw my dress.

10.18.2010

An Autumn Affair: Down the Aisle

Thankfully (for me), the walk down the aisle was very, very short.

Pam gave my dress one last fluff to make sure the train was lying perfectly.


Funny story.  Pam had given me a tic-tac about ten minutes before I got to this point.   I was trying to calm my n, so I took a really deep breath.  The photo below shows me almost choking on the tic-tac.  


There were so many thoughts running racing through my head right as we started to walk down the aisle.  Remember to look at everyone.  Remember to hold the bouquet low.  Remember to smile.  Remember to breath.  Remember to walk slow.  Remember to look at the groom.  It was more overwhelming than I anticipated.

The very beginnings of an ugly cry face.  


A few seconds later (after the realization that lots of people were watching this and that many cameras were capturing it), I remembered to smile.  (and I think my dad is winking, presumably at Mr. Beagle :D ).


The waiting groom.


We made it!


Pastor:  "Who presents Ms. Beagle to Mr. Beagle?"
Papa Beagle:  "I do, on behalf of her mother and I."


And our ceremony began.


*ALCollective captured all our wedding day moments.

Can't get enough?
  • My hair was done, my face got painted, and I arrived at the church.
  • The guys got pinned and had their picture taken.
  • I transformed into a bride.
  • Our ceremony procession began and I found my dad.

10.14.2010

An Autumn Affair: The Countdown Begins

While I was holed up in my room getting ready, I kept wondering where the heck my father was.  (Cue more nerves).  And before I knew it, the time had come to line up outside.


There, I found my dad waiting for me.




My church has a wall in it's entryway that is covered in crosses that church members have donated.  This is one of my favorite pictures of my dad and me.  Now, if only I was actually looking at the camera.


Meanwhile, in the sanctuary of our church, the ceremony procession had started.

My dad's parents and my mom's dad (escorted by her sister).


Mr. Beagle's Parents.



In memory of my mom, my cousin escorted this orchid down the aisle.  During the planning process, my mother and I were at odds on the "no fresh flowers" route I was going and requested to wear an orchid corsage (instead of a fabric/dried flower one) as a sort of compromise.  Coincidentally, this orchid was actually gifted to me at a shower by my aunt a few weeks prior to the wedding.  The pianist played the wedding song she loved, "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", while my inlaws and the orchid made their way down the aisle.

Originally, I was going to put together some containers of potted mums to be placed around the alter for decoration.  As the weeks prior to the wedding began closing in, I decided to scrap this idea and do nothing.  However, my papa took matters into his own hands (Thanks, Dad!).
Laying below the orchid, are a few of the flowers my father picked out and had delivered for the ceremony.  They turned out so very beautiful.

The men lined up.

And the ladies did the same.

I was up next.

I love my pictures, I hope you do too!  Thanks ALCollective!

Miss Something?

10.13.2010

An Autumn Affair: Dress Time

Finally, it was time to transform into a bride!


Old and borrowed.  The bracelet and necklace my mom wore on her wedding day.


New earrings that I loved. (from etsy shop Favor)


Blue.  I didn't have something blue, but I think my day turned out pretty perfect nonetheless. 

Sister Beagle helped me into my dress.


Yay!  My dress still fit!
Earrings? Check.


Shoes? Check.

Veil?  Check.


Bouquet?  Check!


It was almost "Go Time".

*ALCollective is responsible for all the lovely images in this post.

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