Chasing Waterfalls

… as Mrs. Amanda Guthrie! I think I’m going to enjoy saying that name for a very very long time.

After nearly two years of wedding planning, Neal and I have emerged as husband and wife. It’s true what they say - the day goes by so very quickly. Many said that I probably wouldn’t remember everything, but I do. There were a good many things I didn’t notice, simply because there was so much to take in, but for those things that did catch my attention, I remember it all.

The wedding went fabulously. I stayed at the hotel on Friday night, which was my husband’s (eee!) great idea. It meant that I could sleep in a relatively peaceful place. Don’t get me wrong - having everyone here at the house all week was wonderful, but given my stress level on Friday night, I think it was for the best that I went and stayed somewhere else. In fact, I did have a minor meltdown on Friday night, complete with tears, and although it was a little embarrassing as it was in front of my parents and Neal’s family, I think that that’s why I didn’t cry the day of the wedding - I had gotten it all out of my system.

I slept reasonably well Friday night; I woke up feeling pretty nervous on Saturday morning, but I got myself under control. I further calmed down while at the day spa where I had my hair and makeup done. I actually managed to eat a fair amount on Saturday, which was amazing!

The “worst” part of the day was when Sherry and I arrived at the church in the limo. We were about 15 minutes early (my mom told me that the piper said that it was the first time he had seen a bride show up so early, heh), and so I had to wait. And wait. And wait some more. I know it wasn’t really all that long, but when you’re all dressed up on the most important day of your life, even mere seconds feel like an eternity.

At last, the limo driver opened the door, and I could come out. My parents both started to cry, and my mom managed to choke out that I was beautiful. Honestly, I felt like a movie star all day!

Then came the surreal part, as I walked down the aisle and saw Neal there at the front of the church, all dressed up in his tux, waiting for me. I smiled at a few people as I walked down, but mostly I kept my eyes on Neal. The ceremony wasn’t long, but I will admit that a few times I thought, “More praying??”, but that was mainly because I couldn’t wait to become Neal’s wife.

I had been a tad concerned after the rehearsal because the minister didn’t go through what would be said in very much detail - what if I didn’t know what to do at a particular moment? The worry was all for naught, though, because everything was smooth. And then, at long last, the minister declared us husband and wife, and introduced us as Mr. and Mrs. Neal and Amanda Guthrie!!

The pictures seemed to go well - I think that Terri typically takes about two weeks to fix the pictures up and whatnot. Luckily though, as this is the age of everyone owning a digital camera, I have seen some pictures. In fact, I’ve looked at Sherry’s pictures of the wedding at least once daily since the wedding!

The reception also went super-well; the food (turkey and all the trimmings) was delicious, and we were able to actually eat our meals because instead of people hitting their glasses to get us to kiss, our guests had to go up to a putting green and get a hole-in-one. If they got it, we would kiss; if they missed, they had to kiss someone at the head table!

All in all, it was an amazing, fabulous day! The next day, my new sister-in-law, Carolyn, asked me if I felt any different. I told her I didn’t, really, because Neal and I had been living together for awhile. But as I thought about it more, I realized that that’s not altogether true. I do feel different, though in a more subtle way than I would have had we lived apart until we got married. We were already committed to one another, but the wedding was that last step, what made it all official. It’s amazing to think of Neal not as my boyfriend or fiancé (a very pretentious-sounding word, if you ask me!), but as my husband.

Everyone was gone from our house on Tuesday morning, and Neal and I spent the rest of the day doing some shopping with some of the gift cards people gave us for the wedding. Neal had to go back to work today - my first day back is tomorrow - so I spent the day cleaning and doing a ridiculous amount of laundry.

So yes, back to the “same old”, but a little different!

And now to share a few of the pictures I’ve seen; some favourites that Sherry took (hope you won’t mind Sherry!):

All ready!

On our way to the church. I was calling Neal’s best man, Brian, to make sure that Neal was there, but Brian had turned his phone off.

“Finally! I get to kiss him!”

Sisters

One of my favourite pictures!

And some pictures taken by the best man, Brian, and his wife Jaime:

Hayley and Steven