Treely, Madly, Deeply: The Ceremony - Part Two (the vows are in this one!)

After B had finished her reading and returned to her seat, Rev. Fun announced that it was time for our vows. I went first.

I wrote part of my vows while on a bus ride home from work one day early in our engagement and finished them the October before our wedding in May while at work - hey, when inspiration strikes, you have to take advantage. Mr. Palm Tree and I both emailed our vows to DOC/Friend E, so that someone would have a copy of them if we - God forbid - forgot them and also so that someone else would read them and make sure that they were at least a little related, since we weren't sharing them with one another. To say that I am proud of both of our vows is a complete and total understatement: I am head-over-heels, damn-near-obsessed with them.

*all photos courtesy of Limelight-Images

Steph: We met eighteen years ago and you hated me. I just wanted to play kickball and action figures with the boys and you just wanted the annoying crybaby tattletale to go home. Despite this tumultuous beginning, fate stepped in and kept our lives intertwined.

Treely, Madly, Deeply: The Ceremony - Part One

Oh, Hive, I am so excited to share this post with you all.

Our Ceremony is completely and totally handcrafted. Rev. Fun wrote the entire thing on her own and Mr. Palm Tree and I knew nothing about it until it was happening. Mr. Palm Tree and I wrote our own vows (which, surprisingly, was his idea - long ago, I brought up the topic and he was all, "well, of course we're writing our own vows." Easy peasy), which we kept secret from each other. Friend B read I Like You, by Sandol Stoddard Warburg (another Weddingbee find!). It was so unique and freaking perfect. I love every single second of it, which I think is evident in our photographs.

*all photographs courtesy of Limelight-Images

Sidenote #1: I'm using real names in this post because I don't want anything to take away from the authenticity of these words. They are so powerful to me and I hope that can come through as you read, even just a little. 

Rev. Fun:
Friends and family, welcome to the beginning of a day that has been 6,135 days in the making. We are here today not to witness the beginning of what will be, but to honor what already is.

Treely, Madly, Deeply: They Walk Together, I Walk Alone

I last left you all with a sneak peek into our day, thanks to our amazing trailer courtesy of Weddingmix. Hopefully that kept the 'Hive satiated during my mini-furlough - apologies!

After we made sure we were all touched up, it was time to partner up for our walk down the aisle. This is yet another time I was so damn grateful to have DOC/Friend E around - she was such a calm presence. I cannot say enough how glad I am to have had the foresight to ask her to play this role in our day as well as how glad I am to have her as a friend.

I'm going to write a post solely about music, because so much thought went into the song choices, but for the sake of this post: Vitamin String Quartet was used for our ceremony and cocktail hour. I found out about VSQ on Weddingbee and it is one of the many things that has made me indebted to the wonders of the world wide web. I was so excited because, to me, their covers provided us a way to incorporate songs that have very special meanings to us but might not necessarily be "wedding appropriate" into our day (like, the Goo Goo Dolls' Iris - amazing song, of course, and one that has a lot of meaning for one of my girlfriends and I, but it's not lyrically suited for a wedding). 

I chose My Heart Will Go On for the processional. There is not a real way for me to explain the power that this song (and Titanic in general - foreshadowing!) have over our group. It has been karaoke'd countless times, it's been jammed to in countless cars, it's been whispered in serious situations - it's just a very 'us' group song. Again, the lyrics don't necessarily lend themselves to a walk down the aisle, so VSQ's version was perfect. 

First up was Mr. Palm Tree and Rev. Fun:

*all photos courtesy of the a-maz-ing Limelight-Images

MIL Palm Tree with GM J, who grew up with Mr. Palm Tree and myself. His mom is MIL Palm Tree's best friend (and also the one who gifted us our Save-the-Dates!).

Best Man R came next, escorting my aunt. You may recall from this post that my aunt and I have a unique relationship. I say this with my whole heart: I am so glad that I had her take this role in our wedding. I do not regret it for one second. I look at these pictures proudly and with love.

GM L and BM Blackout:

GM J, who had circled around after his trip with MIL Palm Tree, and BM Tiny Dancer:

GM Pythagoras and BM Badonk:

The Y's:

Best Man R, another double-duty escorter, and MOH Mem:

Then came my beautiful flower girls, Pad and Pie. I cannot tell you how many times we practiced this walk over the course of my engagement. It was their favorite thing to do. . . Mama P&P told me that they would watch the wedding episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic repeatedly so that they could "learn".

I am told that Pie (right) had this look almost the entire time. Utter concentration, folks.

The doors closed and then it was my turn.

I briefly touched upon the fact that I would be walking down the aisle alone. I'm hardly the first Bride to do this and definitely not the first 'Bee (check out Mrs. Wizard's post about her decision). Leading up to it, it wasn't something that affected me much. I think that Mr. Palm Tree was more worried about it and my feelings than I was. He had offered and even asked his stepfather, whom I love dearly and am close with, to escort me. He had numerous suggestions, like asking Best Man R or having us walk down together, but I kept saying no. None of those felt right. The more I thought about it, the more I thought about the fact that what would really and truly represent myself and our relationship would be for me to walk alone. It was very symbolic and meaningful (I am a meaning whore, can you tell? ;) ): here I am, finally able to leave my family drama behind me because I am officially starting my own family. 

I was standing with DOC/Friend E, The Fez's coordinator Debby and two of The Fez's staff behind closed doors when VSQ's Can't Help Falling In Love With You started playing. I knew that I would walk into this song from the minute I got engaged, Hive. Years ago, during Mr. Palm Tree's and my break, we were up late chatting on AIM. I had just discovered Ingrid Michaelson and I sent him a link to her version of the song. He responded with (seven years later, I'm paraphrasing), "Today, I was washing my dishes and I was singing this song the entire time. You know me, I don't sing while doing things and I certainly don't have things that stick with me strongly enough to remember them. The fact that you just sent this to me proves something. We were meant to be together, Miss Palm Tree, and I know this in my heart. I think you do, too - so take your time, if that's what you need, but we'll get there." 

Tears immediately filled my eyes when I heard the first notes (who am I kidding, they're filling my eyes now as I type!). Debby asked if I was ready and I shook my head no and asked for one minute. I did a little shake-it-out dance and nodded. They opened the doors and I looked up to see a room full of people, people who were there to love and support Mr. Palm Tree and myself.

DOC E preparing me and me trying not to lose my shit. By the way - how perfectly scattered are those petals? Best Flower Girls ever.

I don't want to make this post any longer than it is so I'll just briefly say: I love every single guest photo and video and am so grateful that so many people took the time to capture them. 

The above picture, Hive, is the only picture I have of my groom waiting for me as I walk down the aisle. Why? Because somehow, the microphone was knocked out of its holder and Mr. PT was trying desperately to help Rev. Fun replace it. If we hadn't had a First Look, I would have been pissed. It would have been the first time he had seen me all day and he would have been distracted - my heart probably would have dropped, as I raised my eyes to meet his and he was otherwise engaged. Thankfully, though, we did have a First Look and had spent the majority of the day together, so I was just laughing as I approached him. We both had wide smiles on our faces, sharing one of those "only us" moments, as our ceremony got started.

Up Next: everyone cries and we talk a lot - our vows!

Treely, Madly, Deeply: Our Wedding Trailer

Just like the fabulous Mrs. Mongoose (my date twin!), we used Weddingmix for our videography purposes. I'll go into specific details in my vendor reviews, but I have to say that I am so beyond impressed with the company. Ariane, the co-founder, messaged me personally (on Weddingbee!) to discuss what Weddingmix could offer for our wedding. She has since been in contact with me herself, discussing our trailer and our overall vision for our wedding video. The customer service is really personal and out of this world. I HIGHLY recommend them.

I was so excited to be able to involve more friends in our big day and they absolutely did not disappoint. I sat down one day and watched every single clip they captured and truthfully, I don't know how I'm going to choose which ones to be featured in our full-length video.

In the meantime, however, here is our Wedding Day trailer. Ariane edited this herself, which is absolutely amazing because I feel like it does a really great job summarizing the 'feel' of our Wedding.

This could definitely be seen as a 'spoiler', but I think it's just a nice teaser for you all to peruse before I get into our ceremony and reception recaps. Enjoy!

Treely, Madly, Deeply: We Arrive!

When we arrived at The Fez (after a very awesome and fun trolley ride, during which we drank and jammed to the awesome playlist BM Tiny Dancer created), our adorable flower girls Pad and Pie were there waiting. Originally, I had expected them to be a part of our photo session in Oakland, however after discussing it with Mama P&P it was just impossible. For two girls who were hyper and excitable on a normal day to get up early, be dressed and fancy-ready, take part in multiple pictures and drive all over the city and STILL have to participate in a ceremony - it would have been overload. We agreed that they'd meet us at The Fez and we'd get some pictures with them at that time.

Props to BM Y for bringing the sunglasses along!

Our first picture of the day with Pad & Pie - how freakin' ADORABLE are their outfits! 

We went inside, where I met up with DOC/Friend E. After she dropped me off at the carousel, she went back to our place to make sure that the trolley arrived on time and that everyone got on it okay. From there, she and BM Blackout's sister (who I had enlisted to help) went to the hotel and dropped off my car as well as Mr. PT's and my overnight bag. They also checked us in so that when we arrived later that evening we wouldn't have to deal with anything at the desk. After the hotel business was attended to, they went to The Fez and pretty much made sure everything was set-up and ready for us. I am so incredibly appreciative of all of the hard work DOC/Friend E put into everything. When I walked in, the ballroom truly took my breath away. I was so excited and so touched - it was exactly as I imagined. Mr. Palm Tree was also really impressed. I remember standing and holding his hand, just looking around and taking in everything.

As Pad and Pie ran around me, I thought to grab Jimmy - who was off taking detail pictures - to get our pictures with them out of the way. 

Me promising Pie that if she would just smile and sit through a few pictures, I wouldn't ask her for any more throughout the evening.

Cuteness. Overload. 

DOC/Friend E took note of when people started to arrive and simultaneously halted them at the door and ushered me upstairs so that nobody would see me. I'm telling you, Hive, DOC/Friend E was amazing.

We sat upstairs in a Bridal Suite of sorts, breathing it all in and giving ourselves last minute touch-ups. 

I had given our DJ a list of Vitamin String Quartet songs to play as people were sitting and during the cocktail hour. When I heard the VSQ version of Christina Perri's "A Thousand Years", I had a moment. It's not captured, but I remember having to blink away the tears. What IS it about that song?! 

Haha, this is me trying to creep out of the window without anyone being able to creep back at me.

Aerosol deodorant = the best ever.

This picture makes me laugh SO hard. I have no idea what was happening. 

Artsy bridal shot.

Haha, I remember semi-fighting with Jimmy over this because I didn't want anyone to see me. 

Zero recollection of this conversation, but we were all very serious, apparently. 

Finally, The Fez's coordinator, Debby, arrived with DOC/Friend E and told us it was time to line up for our entrance. Cue butterflies.