Presenting…Mrs. Morris! Yep, the big day has successfully
passed and I am now a married woman - weird!
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A little lot about my special day(s):
It rained and rained and rained the five days prior to
Saturday, June 1st and I didn’t want to admit it but I was in a
slight panic. It wasn’t that the wedding would have had to be called off if it
was a torrential downpour, but I so wanted pictures outside on a sunny day with
the mountains and the trees and the grass..etc, etc. We had a Plan B for an
indoor ceremony at the same venue, but I still secretly crossed my fingers before
looking at the forecast each time. I told myself to only look at the proposed
weather for Saturday once a day once the 10 day forecast was televised. The first
time I peeked, it was supposed to be 82 with thunderstorms. The 82 part sounded
great, but I was a bit worried about the thunderstorm aspect. The next day I
snuck a glimpse and it said 62 and cloudy. Talk about a variation! A bit perturbed
with the 20 degree shift, I now began to think it’d be too chilly. The forecast
given for Saturday eventually began to even out and it looked like it’d be
about 70 and partly cloudy. I decided I could deal with that.
On Thursday, the wedding festivities began at the venue. I
had the good fortune of Garrett’s mom, Angela, wanting to play a part in the
decorating aspect for the event. We took a trip to a neighboring town to check
out a rental shop and quickly discovered that we had the same vision for the
wedding décor! I was so grateful for her interest and willingness to help
because I genuinely wasn’t going to put much work into decorating – simply because
I found it expensive, hard to tackle with just me and my bridesmaids, and
pretty overwhelming. We rented furniture, chandeliers, trinkets, signs, and so
much more – all so beautiful. I was excited to see what vision Angela had for
everything and was completely blown away. Family on Angela’s side began to
arrive during the week and dropped everything to help turn the barn into a
scene from a fairy tale. It was rustic with a fancy country French theme,
lights strung from every possible corner and chandeliers casting sparkling
spotlights everywhere you looked. From high-backed upholstered chairs to
mounted chipmunk heads, from heirloom lace to hand-made banners, and everything
imaginable in between, my mind was completely blown. I could’ve just stared in
awe for hours. The amount of time that family put in was incredible. All day Thursday
and Friday, early Saturday morning, then again on Sunday to take it all down.
You couldn’t have hired a better crew!
The venue was a fairly obvious choice for me from the
beginning because my parents are property managers and have rented this
particular spot out for weddings for years now. It never occurred to me to look
into different venues – not because this one was free (because it wasn’t), but
because I once stumbled upon some wedding photos from a prior ceremony and they
took my breath away. I decided I wanted those mountains behind me as I said “I
do”. The spot came with a beautiful outdoor area for the ceremony and a
two-story barn for the reception. The capacity of the barn is slightly over 200
folks which we originally thought was manageable, but we slowly discovered that
it wasn’t realistic. Garrett’s dad’s family has farmed in the valley for about
six generations now, which naturally means they are known by almost everyone.
My situation was slightly different having lived in the area for a bit more
than a decade. After working on our guest list we came up with a grand total of
almost 400 people. 400! My parents couldn’t believe it and broke the news that
it sadly wouldn’t work at the venue due to lack of space and a general hazard
to the facility. I felt horrible having to tell Garrett to cut off people that
he’s known for his whole life, but it turned out to not be so hard after all.
We got the list down to about 275 and decided we just couldn’t cut it down
anymore. We hoped that it would just work out. As a sort of saving grace, we
learned that the Pastor that married Garrett’s mom and step-dad was willing to
lend us his giant canopy he uses for the traveling church he operates. We
couldn’t believe it and jumped on the opportunity because it allowed us the
extra space we desperately needed. Although I was a smidge against the idea,
feeling like it might take away from the simplicity of the barn and homestead
idea, I quickly realized how beneficial it’d be. And it totally was. The
wedding would not have been the same without it! Garrett’s groomsmen and usher
took the canopy project on like a bunch of super heroes and I am so thankful
for their hard work. Even the Pastor admitted it was the fastest he’d seen the
monster go up! It was incredible.
Friday was for decorating and I can’t even explain how happy
I was that I didn’t have to direct people: put this here, that there, hang that
over this, blah! That was the part I was not looking forward to. But,
fortunately, Angela didn’t require that sort of direction and led Team Décor with
ease. Lights went up, chandeliers were hung, furniture positioned, stuff
hauled, mirrors and picture frames placed, …etc, etc. It was amazing to watch.
Each time I stepped into a room, my socks were knocked off. The best part was
that I couldn’t have envisioned it better myself. It was beautiful.
Garrett’s dad and step-mom hosted the Rehearsal Dinner that
night and it was equal parts fun and delicious. We hung out on the screened
porch of the main house and enjoyed the slightly warmer weather, though we
still looked apprehensively at the storm clouds swimming around in the sky. My
fingers remained crossed despite the positive forecast for the next day. My
bridesmaids helped with clean up, the groomsmen played yard volleyball in their
nice clothes, grandparents chatted, Team Décor worked a bit more, parents
relaxed…it was a great evening. We walked through the ceremony a couple times
and it all started to get a bit more real. I was nervous standing in front of
everyone, practicing vows. Nervous butterflies began to come alive in my
stomach. My bridesmaids and I stayed in the main house that night while the
groom and his guys stayed in a neighboring house down the road. They came over
and we played card games and chatted for a few hours, relishing the last time
we’d all be in the same place for quite some time. My sister/Maid of Honor
notified us that the Northern Lights were dancing outside and we all excitedly
went to the screened porch to watch. It was incredible! I’ve never seen them
before, especially in Montana, and couldn’t help but see it as some sort of
sign for the next day’s events. They lit up the sky for hours and my sister
took some stunning photos. It was so cool!
After getting to bed late due to festivities and a prank by
the neighboring groomsmen (trying to scare us…those punks), we ladies finally
got some beauty sleep. There was some unnecessary drama in the morning
concerning some missing breakfast food and I had a brief Bridezilla moment, but
luckily I think that was the only one. The guys may or may not have thought it
was a free-for-all the night before and might have eaten/taken some stuff, but
it all worked out. Then it was off to get our hair and nails done at one of my
bridesmaid’s mom’s salon in town. It was so fun having us all in one place –
some helping another paint fingernails, another pinning up curls. I was so
happy with how my hair, fingernails, and toes turned out! We did a few practice
rounds on a wedding style and mastered it the day it actually mattered. Each
girl looked beautiful and unique because I didn’t specify a particular style
for hair or nails. It worked out perfectly!
…to be continued
