To the chapel

Calvin and I arrived at the church a bit behind schedule.

(The original plan was to be at the church by 1:30, but we didn't get there until just before 2. The ceremony was to begin at 3.)

And then it was time for the family photos. Neither of us are big on the posed pictures, so this only took about 15 minutes for the 5 different shots that that we wanted.

Calvin's immediately family.

Calvin's extended family.

My immediate family- note that I'm 6' in heels, and I'm still among the shortest in my family.

My extended family. (Minus my two uncles and an aunt, who missed the message. I didn't really care.)

All of our extended family.

Amazingly, by the end of the posed pictures, we were actually right on schedule- it was only 2:15. (You can take care of all the posed family pictures in 15 minutes!)

Tip: Know exactly what posed pictures you want, and make sure everyone knows what time they will be taken.

At this point, the ladies all headed down to the "bride's dressing room", also known as a ridiculously huge women's restroom.

It was a bit nostalgic for me, since it was in this room that I would get ready for various plays/pageants/Christmas tableaus I was in when I was a kid and teen.

A little touch-up

A little pizza. The flower girl very politely asked me if she could have some pizza, and I said it was no problem, so long as she was willing to wear some sort of bib over her white dress.

(Note that in the background, I am sitting down and my red shoes are off.)

Pizza.

The ring-bearer wanted in on the pizza as well.

Meanwhile, the guys were in the minister's office.

Until they heard from someone* that there was pizza downstairs

They wanted in on the action

Brother and sister

A little pep talk

Getting ready to go

Final prep, and then it's showtime!

Previously on the Dahlia wedding recap:
The beginning
Getting ready
First Glance

*pizza tip and all pictures courtesy of Ken Blaze.

The first glance

The beginning
Getting ready

The plan was that Calvin would come up to the bridal suite at 12:45, where we would have 15 minutes or so to be alone together (and check each other out in our wedding finest.)

Truth be told, I was running a little bit late. About 2 minutes late, which isn't too bad for a bride on her wedding day.

Calvin, on the other hand, was running much further behind.

On the phone, trying to figure out what was going on.

Tip: If you're planning on having the guys wear self-tie bow-ties, it's a really good idea to have some pre-tied ones for backup, even if the groom can perfectly tie a bow-tie on a normal day at home.

Once Calvin assured me that he would be there in 5-10 minutes, I double-checked that everything was in order.

Turns out my youngest brother was in one of the bathrooms finishing getting dressed.

I told him that he looked absolutely fabulous

and then sent him on his way.

Not long after, there was a knock on the door.

Calvin was extraordinarily relieved to see me. (I'd never seen him so stressed out in my life. I thought I was supposed to be the one who was crazed, but that day, I was as cool as a cucumber.) Our time together went something like this:

Kiss.

Shut the door.

Kiss.

Begin exchanging gifts.

Calvin loved the scrapbook I made.

Kiss.

The only time I cried the whole day was reading the letter Calvin wrote me.

Time to go!

Kiss.

Wait for the valet.

One last kiss.

To the church! (in our '02 VW Passat Wagon.)

All pictures copyright of the amazing Ken Blaze.

Getting ready

After the hair and makeup, we were slightly behind schedule upon return to the hotel. My fabulous youngest brother had gotten myself and the other ladies sandwiches, and my mom and a dear friend (from Germany!) were waiting for us in the bridal suite. My original thought had been to eat lunch together, but people grabbed their lunch to go, and my mom went to make sure that my she and my dad would also have something to eat.

So I got a chance to eat, and Ken took some pictures.

Yes, that is me, eating a sandwich.

Tip: Hanging your dress in the window is often the only place in the room that will enable you to keep the train from dragging. It's why everyone has the dress in the window shot.

The goods: my purse, the shoes, jewelry and the perfume Calvin gave me at Christmas.

And then it was time to get dressed:

The hardest part was trying to figure out how to get the dress off the hanger.

Tip: Spanx rock. Hard. And if you are planning on having this part of the day documented on film, I recommend being totally comfortable walking around in your undergarments.

Ken had told me that sometimes it takes brides all of 2 minutes to get dress, and other times it takes an hour.

Me? I was of the 2 minute variety.

Step...

Pull up...

Zip...

Tape... (yes, I did use fashion tape to make sure my dress wouldn't fall down)

And I'm dressed

My mom helped with my great-great-aunt's necklace. (Note the hair beginning to fall out. This is MY fault, in that I couldn't wait until after the wedding to chop my hair, and was insistent that I get a french twist.)

Putting in the matching earrings that we got converted to work for pierced ears.

Putting on the shoes. My mom helped me get in and out of my shoes for every dress fitting.

All set and ready to go, with a little bit of time to chat.

Saying good-bye to my mom

Checking myself out one last time before meeting Calvin...

All pictures are copyright of Ken Blaze.