bride-on-purpose: Our Montaintop Wedding

The time was finally here... the day had been a blast so far. We had spent an amazing morning/afternoon with each other, and with our bridal party, but the moment had arrived. Our family had assembled, we could hear the music playing and the chatter of our guests. My girls and I gathered in a small room on the main floor of the lodge where we were met by our Jordy, our make-up and hair guru, for last minute hair curling, dress steaming, and make-up touch-ups! We shared a quick glass of champagne, and my great friend Cindy came in to let us know it was time.

And the one emotion that was overriding all others was CONFIDENCE.

Of course their was a mixture of all the days emotions... anticipation, gratefulness, pride, familiar love, even a bit of feeling torn, but above all else, I was confident in the vows I was about to make, and those that I would receive. I was confident in the man I was marrying. I was confident in our foundation, our hopes and vision, and in our love for each other that would provide the framework for our future.

And so, I nodded to my mom, accepted my dad's arm, and started up the stairs...

I was surrounded by the people I loved the most, and who supported, guided, and protected me. I was confident, with my mom by my side, that this walk was a purposeful one. One that was well thought out. A walk that lead me to the man I was meant to spend the rest of my life with.

I was confident in walking towards my husband... and it was like there was no other place I was meant to be. Inspite of chaos, emotion, trials, tribulations, successes and failures, that inevitably form any bride's foundation, everything seemed to fall away, making space only for this walk as a woman about to become a wife...

And then we stood together. Bride and groom, friends, lovers, confidantes, cheerleaders and critics

And nearly... husband and wife.

I made sure to soak it all up... and especially tried to connect with our friends and families in the 'audience'.

And before we knew it, it was time to say our vows. We chose to include a somewhat typical "do you promise to...", complete with "I Do's", after which we exchanged our personal vows. As it turned out, we both finalized our vows that morning, and it was hilarious (proof in the pudding... check out my laugh) that we had both written our vows in coil notebooks which we proceeded to read them from :) Seriously... it took some of the nerves away, and was soooo US! Dorky, goofy, note takers!

So first up was the hubs... his vows were sweet, direct, and calming. They were him... he's not really a man of words, so they were short and too the point... but they were perfect!

And then it was my turn. I also think mine were "me"... long winded and thoughtful! Yep, sometimes I can ramble. What can I say... this was the reason I was here! I followed the "I love you because..." and "Because I love you..." that I first saw here. I don't know why, but as soon as I saw this style, I knew it was how I wanted to share my love and promises with my man.