processional

Highway to Happiness: Shall We Process?

Wedding Recaps

Yes, we shall. Timelines be damned, we were just going to roll with it!

All images courtesy of Pink Shutterbug Photography

All images courtesy of Pink Shutterbug Photography

But before we do, let’s take a look at the aisle and ceremony decor. We kept it simple but, I think, effective. For the aisle markers I needed something free-standing (the earlier idea to use shepherd’s hooks or similar was, of course, nixed when we chose a non-grassy space for the ceremony) but also something that was easy to set out since we would be handing them off to the venue to arrange and you never know who’s going to end up with that job. I drew up the plans for an open crate with a tall lattice back panel, just deep enough to fit a trio of wine bottles, which Roadie was kind enough to build for me. Painted a dark brown and then sponged with a metallic glaze, they were deemed complete with the addition of some moss-coated wire, faux grape clusters, and the aforementioned bottles.

As I mentioned in our planning posts, in lieu of a bridal party, we opted to formally seat our families at the beginning of the ceremony (instead of just the mothers, as is traditional). Starting with Roadie’s family, his father escorted his sister to her seat and Roadie escorted his Mom. Roadie likes Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (as do I), so we settled on the Largo from Winter for their music.

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For my family we went with Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring as played by the Canadian Brass (a subtle nod to Mom dealing with 7 years of her schlepping me around to practices and performances–I played baritone in middle and high school and still do in a community marching band). Brother Scooter escorted Dr. Aunt to her seat, followed by our youngest brother & sister-in-law as Scooter circled back to escort Mama Leadfoot.

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 Now, I’d chosen relative brief songs for both of these selections while simultaneously making sure we had enough music in case we had to use the church (which has a longer aisle). I saw no reason not to let the music play and give everyone time to get settled and just take in the peace and calm of the moment. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the one pressing the play button (or stop, as it were) and the DoC felt differently, fading out the music early and moving onto the next. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I felt rushed, but there was just no way to communicate with her not to keep doing that, so we rolled with it.

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Oooh, the anticipation!

I remember feeling not so much nervous as giddy in that moment. I may have gripped Roadie’s hand a bit tighter than usual and I was feeling rather giggly. There were no butterflies–I don’t even think I felt self-conscious at this point (which is saying something considering the two dozen pairs of eyes trained on us at the moment). I was just happy, and then our music started (Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Christmas Cannon Rock, edited to remove the singing and some of the extra repeats).

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Why do people (myself included) appear to be laughing in those last two photos? Because, in true form, I got up the altar and immediately realized the rings were off to one side of the altar instead of in the center and reached behind Friend-ficiant L to rearrange them. It’s wonderful to be surrounded by people who know you, your quirks, and love you because of them (or in spite of, take your pick). At any rate, it was a nice ice-breaker, if a wedding ceremony could be said to need one.

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But enough of that, it was time to get serious!

roadtripwedding

The Road Trip Wedding Recaps:

Crafting the Ceremony: Walk Right In

Third Time Wife, Wedding Planning

You may have noticed that there’s been little talk of bridesmaids or groomsman in the Road Trip world. That’s because we’re not having any. This is one of a handful of “traditions” we’re opting out of for our wedding.

It’s not that we’re morally opposed to having our closest friends stand up with us, it’s mostly that with only 40 or so people at the wedding at all, having 8 or so people up front would feel like half the audience! The other part of our reasoning is that our friends are each wrapped up in their own day-to-day lives and aren’t really into the whole wedding entourage thing, so why force it? I’d even considered asking said closest friends to act as our House Party (an honorary title for Helper Monkeys who don’t have to wear certain things or stand up with us, but still help out) but with a DoC it didn’t seem necessary.

On the one hand, it greatly simplifies how many metaphorical cats we have to heard on the wedding day. On the other hand, it means there’s not much processing going on–especially when you consider how brief our aisle will be!

Admitting that I was a touch of pomp and circumstance to properly kick off the ceremony, we’ve decided it would be nice to not just have the ceremonial seating of the mothers, but also the rest of the immediate family that will be there, since we’re not all that many to begin with.

I figure FFIL Road Trip can escort FSIL Golf to their seats, followed by Mr. Road Trip seating FMIL Road Trip. Then, on my side, Brother Speedy can seat Doctor Aunt, Brother Truck escorts his wife to their seats as Brother Speedy circles back to escort Mama Leadfoot. We might also ask if Friend-ficiant L wants to process similarly or if she’d rather just position herself up front before hand.

The Dad Thing

Like fellow Honeymoon Bees Bicycle and Rucksack, my father isn’t available for that traditional walk down the aisle.

Well, he might be available in the grand scheme of things, if I were to find out where he was and ask him, but 8-year-old me ratting him out to the authorities and sending him away for 5 years and then opting not to see him ever again tends to put the kibosh on those sorts of requests.

(Yes, I’m making light of what was a very difficult time in my young life–more in deference to not bringing the mood down or triggering others with tales of woe. Laughter is the best medicine and all that jazz. Moving on!)

At my first wedding I processed alone. At the time it was the right choice for me to make but I distinctly remember the nerves and pressure of all those sets of eyes on me with no one to lean on–physically or emotionally. Not wanting to go through that again, I proposed that we Road Trips walk down the aisle together.

After all, I don’t view our wedding as the beginning of our life together as much as I do the next step in our overall relationship, and it’s a step we’re taking together. Escorting each other down the aisle makes the most sense, preserves our personal independence, and keeps me from either a) making that walk alone, again, or b) asking someone else to fill-in, which would feel rather disingenuous.

And what will we be processing to, you might ask? I’ve always loved Pachelbel’s Canon in D–it’s the band geek in me coming out–and I’ve heard so many versions of it that it’s almost hard to choose. For a while the Canadian Brass was the front-runner for favorite (low brass represent!) and then we heard the Trans-Siberian Orchestra version and it was pretty much all over from there.

(Direct link for the feed readers: TSO Christmas Canon Rock)

Of course I’ll have to edit out vocals from the center but their mix of strings and electric guitar is just the sort of traditional with a twist that appeals to us. And the fact that it might make some of our older guests’ eyes widen in surprise is merely a nice side-effect.