Our Wedding: Mishaps + Memories

Jul 13, 2018

Wow guys, here it is! What might be the last wedding post I ever right (unless there is something more wedding related you want to see). I have loved doing #WeddingWeek here with you guys and sharing all our amazing pictures, wedding decorations, and more! I think you guys have enjoyed it almost as much as me, if not more!

To wrap up #WeddingWeek I thought it would be fun to share some of the things that went wrong and some of my favorite moment of our wedding day! I have been dying to share this post with Y'all literally since the wedding day happened becuase there were some moments that were just TOO funny.

Wedding Mishaps

1. The fire alarm went off and it was not a drill!

Thank goodness my hair and makeup were already done (pro tip: start your hair and makeup earlier than you actually need to so that you can eat lunch and be saved in case this happens) but my bridesmaids were in the middle of getting ready when the fire alarm in the hotel suddenly started going off! I was anxiously waiting for the photographer to arrive and couldn't believe it when I realized the fire alarm wasn't just going off for the heck of it. Luckily the bridesmaids and I ran into Liza on our way out of the building and she was able to capture some pretty amazing shots of the moments after we exited the hotel. It turns out a water pipe or sprinkler system malfunctioned on the 4th floor, flooding a large portion of that floor of the hotel! I mean this was a good reason to freak out if I do say so myself, but I stayed calm and just took it in. My dad was there, my fiance was there, all of the important people were there. My dad had grabbed the marriage license and our handfasting cord so I knew that if we needed to we could just get married right there.

Justin was already in his uniform and my hair and makeup were done so we called this our "unofficial" first look. We ended up doing a real first look an hour or so later. The only truly bad thing about the fire alarm going off was that we lost 45 minutes or so of getting ready time/time with the photographer but she was amazing and made the most of it! Seriously, if we have a son one day I'm framing this firetruck picture for his room.

2. The one where we almost ruined our first look

SO this is another story that basically boils down to Liza, our photographer, saving the day. And also, a lesson to brides out there to just wait for your photographer to tell you when to move! Anyways, once I was dressed and ready, it was time to meet Justin at Trophy Point for our first look. This was the first part of the day where I really started to get nervous. We made our way from the suite we were in (which was in a literal basement, I felt like I was in a bomb shelter) which involved a lot of different levels and stairs before finally getting to an elevator. I assumed, since I was running a little late, that Justin was already one his way to Trophy Point. Liza went down to the main floor of the hotel ahead of us to scope it out for guests and the groom. The bridesmaids and I followed behind her in the elevator. I was anticipating that Liza might take a picture of us coming out of the elevator so I stood in the middle and as the doors opened I saw Justin come around the corner, Liza's hand fly over his eyes (she kind of smacked him which was hilarious) and two of my bridesmaids jumped in front of me. It was actually hilarious but he surprisingly didn't see a thing.

3. Our photographer will do anything to get the shot, even fall down some stairs

I wasn't kidding when I said that our photographer is a literal gem. While taking the shots on the stone wall overlooking the Hudson River post first look, Liza took quite the tumble down a small set of stairs, freaking all of us out. She was fine though and got probably the most iconic shot from our wedding.

4. Literally, all of the guests saw me before I walked down the aisle

Yeah, you read that right. I should preface this by saying that it was incredibly hot out but there were lots of places that guests could have and should have been staged at before going outside. This was a total mistake on the part of the hotel and wedding coordinator but she had worked I don't even know how many weddings in the four day period since graduation that I tried not to take it too personally. But when Justin and I got back from our first look we walked into the lobby of the hotel and literally all of our guests were standing right there. I think this was my one "bridezilla" moment and I use that term loosely because I was just annoyed more than anything. At one point I think I even said, "Well we might as well not even do the whole walk down the aisle at this point." Instead of moving the guests, the bridal party was moved into another room while all of the guests took their seats. In hindsight, it's not that big of a deal but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still a little annoyed by it. Kind of stole my thunder a bit.

Wedding Memories

1. Praying with my girls

If you've followed me for any amount of time, you know that my faith is something that I've not only struggled with in the past but something that I have been seriously working on in recent years. I knew that I would need a moment of calm before all of the craziness of the wedding started so I asked one of my oldest and dearest friends from high school, Sara, to lead my bridesmaids and me in prayer before we left for the first look. She has been an absolute pillar in my faith journey since day one so it holds a lot of meaning to me that she wrote the most beautiful prayer for my special day. This was the first moment I cried, and I mean CRIED, on our wedding day and I think that's something really special. There's nothing like having the most important people in your life gather around you to pray for you (which is something we also did during the ceremony).

2. Our actual first look

Okay so despite all of the mishaps, Justin and I really did get the first look in at Trophy Point and it was everything. I wasn't really that nervous until I saw that HE was nervous and then I got nervous. My mom helped me walk over to him and I could see that he was bouncing his leg and trying to stay calm. His reaction to seeing me was SO SWEET. The best part was when he asked if he could kiss me because he didn't think he was allowed to!

3. The wedding vows

Justin and I wrote our own vows which made them that much more special. Justin is not a very outspoken person when it comes to writing his feelings so naturally his were short and sweet but they were so important given the events that had transpired the week before during grad week. My vows were long-winded, naturally, but he loved them so that's all that matters (even if someone did interrupt me while I was talking and made everyone think that I had put "route for Navy" in my wedding vows...).

4. My first shot as a married woman

Ah, the infamous bottle of Macallan that Justin's groomsmen bought. Somehow, on the way to take pictures with the bridal party after the ceremony, I ended up with a shot glass in my hand. Being the tried and true WVU girl that I am, there was no way I was passing it up (despite the fact that I really don't like Scotch) and ended up taking the shot. Liza, once again, came in clutch with the camera and I'm definitely framing this picture for Justin's office.

5. That moment you realize you're actually married

I think this is my favorite picture from the entire day. The one of Justin and I flashing our new wedding bands to each other. It's such a simple moment but I've realized in my first month of marriage that it really doesn't hit you all the time. There are little moments where you look at each other and just go, "Dang, that happened, we're married" and I hope to keep doing that for the rest of our lives.

6. The Cowbell

Somewhere along the line, it became a tradition on my mom's side of the family to have a cowbell at every wedding reception. If you've ever wanted it to be perfectly acceptable to scream "MORE COWBELL" at the top of your lungs, come to a Walter wedding. I know have the cowbell in my possession to bring to the next wedding in our family, whenever that is. I think it would be a great idea to compile a photo album with all the pictures from each wedding that includes the cowbell for future generations.