prepare for a novel - part one

   Presenting…Mrs. Morris! Yep, the big day has successfully passed and I am now a married woman - weird!

all photos property of Spotlight Photo and are not to be duplicated

A little lot about my special day(s):

   It rained and rained and rained the five days prior to Saturday, June 1^st 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