Today I'm going to look back at the moment we'd all been waiting for - the actual ceremony! My Uncle kindly offered to drive us all down to the venue in his car (don't ask me what type, I have no idea, but it was some kind of vintage car I think!) - first he drove Liam and Toby, then my Mum and the bridesmaids, and finally me and my Dad...thank you Uncle Richard!! :)
Before I actually arrived at the venue, everyone else was asked to go into the ceremony room and the shutters were closed to hide my arrival! My Mum stayed outside with the children until the last possible moment...
and my sister, Olivia, was also outside to keep the children under control...
Liam, on the other hand, stood at the front with his brother for over half an hour waiting for me (I wasn't late, but he didn't realise he could sit down until the ceremony time!!!)
We did arrive on time though!
The one part of the day that made me more emotional than the rest was seeing Toby. (Haha, sorry Liam!!!) I'd only ever left him overnight (and for one night only) once before. The night before the wedding he stayed with Liam, which wasn't a problem, but I was a bit worried about leaving him for 5 nights when we went to Barcelona. When we arrived at the venue and he saw me, he started sobbing and clinging on to me! I just wanted a cuddle with him, but everyone was worrying about my dress, being on time etc...poor little guy!!
He was ok once we got inside though, well apart from wanting Isabelle's flowers!
In the end Olivia had to carry him down the aisle, rather than him walking with the ring cushion. We'd kind of suspected that might happen though!
I think Izzy was quite surprised by how many people were in the ceremony room when she entered - I love her face in this photo!
and then Dad and I entered...
If you're interested in the exact order of the service, you can click on the photo of the order of service to zoom in on it, in the wedding photos post about all the details.
My sister, Sarah, did the first reading...
and Liam's mother, Karen, did the other one...
The it was time to say our vows and exchange rings...
You may kiss the bride! (with an obviously pleased Registrar in the background, haha!!)
As Liam's Mum had done a reading and my Dad had walked me down the aisle, would be doing a speech etc, we asked my Mum and Liam's Dad to be our witnesses when we signed the register...
and that was the end of the ceremony...
Before moving on to the posts about the receptions, next Thursday I will show photos of the food and cake so look out for that one!! :-D
Have you been to many weddings before? Were they in a church/registry office/other venue? I'd been to a few church weddings before, but our wedding was the only civil wedding I'd been to so I didn't really know what to expect! There was no rehearsal, but we had met with a (different) registrar a couple of times to discuss details of the ceremony. Then, when I arrived at the venue, these registrars took me into a different room before I walked into the ceremony, just to confirm my details and quickly run through the order. It was a bit daunting though, especially in front of so many people!
Such gorgeous photos as always- your children are just so cute. I have been to a few civil and a few church weddings- and that one in Italy where my friends were married by the major!
ReplyDeleteAww, Izzy's face is freaking adorable in that shot! She does look super-surprised (and pleased!) with all the people. :)
ReplyDeleteSeeing your civil wedding is really interesting to me... as I definitely would NOT have a church wedding myself (much to my parent's chagrin, I'm certain). Most of the weddings I have been to have been church weddings - or if not in a church, still affiliated by a minister of some sort. That just isn't my thing... I would (will? someday) definitely choose your route. In fact, I think I'd like to get married outdoors...
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