“All you really need is one good picture.”

We chose not to hire a professional photographer. The decision was mostly financially based, but I had also once heard that “Your wedding is not a photoshoot. All you really need is one good photo.” True to form, and perhaps ahead of their time, my parents took this advice and on their wedding day in Ouray, Colorado back in 1982 where they did indeed take just one picture. We decided to recreate that picture the day after our own wedding.

*quote from esb

We have just joined the "it was so worth it" club.

My Dad called me the week before the wedding to tell me that he had completed the Father of the Bride speech. However, instead of the traditional speech he was going to talk mostly about my mom and what an important role she played in our lives. With this simple idea, I believe he set the bar for every other Father of the Bride speech to follow.

 The speech was planned in an area by the river, but it began to pour! Not to be deterred, we all gathered under an overhang outside of our rooms. Despite the weather and the close quarters, or maybe because of it, everyone stood spellbound during my dad’s speech and let me tell you, there was not a dry eye in sight at the end.

The toast came as a complete surprise to my mom and demonstrated to everyone what it really means to be married.

 We toasted with mead that my Father made for my wedding day when I was 11!

My mom took our very first photo of the two of us 6 years ago on July 21, 2005. She wore this picture all night.

 The wine glasses were given as a present by Justin's Mother and Step-Father, Dale. They knew we were searching for the perfect item to bring home that would represent the wedding. This was a perfect souvenir.

  

Our wedding guest book was simply a favorite coffee table book titled, The Spirit of the San Juans. Guests were asked to sign in the margins. Justin also had the San Juan mountains engraved on his ring.

We didn’t register for gifts.
We told our guests that just being a part of the wedding was enough- because it is.
If there is one piece of advice I can give is, do not register for gifts. The gift -and the party- and the drinks- and the formalities overshadow what is really happening. Entire families are coming together, because they want to celebrate your marriage.  That is what it is all about.

  Some people will still brings gifts. They will bring gifts and these gifts will be some of the best you have ever received, because they honestly wanted you to have it. The best example of this is, the recipe box I received from my Aunt. She had taken photos of my late Grandfather, a wonderful chef, and copied his own hand written recipes on the back.  I cried when I opened it.

Another thing I loved- not once was I asked by our photographers or anyone else to stop what I was doing to take a posed photo, cut the cake or start the dancing. Nothing directed the day, but instead it flowed from scene to scene. This allowed for wonderful conversations and unplanned moments to occur. While this would not work for every wedding, it worked for ours. I honestly don't know how to thank the photographers and the people we worked with to create this wedding, for just letting me be present. If you are reading this. Thank you.  

This gave room for the opportunity to hear impromptu stories....

.... heartfelt toasts...

....good discussions...

 

...and great dancing.

 In the end we were married.
With our grandparents signing off as witnesses.
We can honestly say this was one of the best days of our lives.
We have just joined the "it was so worth it" club.

"My favorite moment had to be when the bagpiper took his first note."

This was it and it was more than I ever could imagine.

 Each person there traveled so far and played such an important part in the wedding. I honestly was overwhelmed at the love and support that surrounded us. When it came down to it there was not a moment’s hesitation THIS was our wedding. Every piece of it had a story and a person behind it. Each part of the wedding came together, not as an event, but more as a definition. It was a definition of family, friends, commitment and love. I look back on our wedding and I know this is what marriage means.

A good family friend of ours and her daughter offered to take photos of our wedding. While they are very talented, they do not do this as a living and the moments that they caught were so unscripted and raw that I could not help but falling in love with every photo.

We always knew we were grounded by our family, but we also re-discovered those old friends who cross so seamlessly into our lives forever. My mom said it best, “I didn’t realize that weddings are also really a tribute to old friends.” There they are, setting up chairs in a mountain meadow, arranging flowers at midnight, blowing up hundreds of balloons.

In our wedding we chose this passage,” Marriage is perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure of human relationships. No ceremony can create your marriage; only you can do that – through love and patience; through dedication and perseverance; through talking and listening, helping and supporting and believing in each other; through tenderness and laughter; through learning to forgive, learning to appreciate your differences, and by learning to make the important things matter, and to let go of the rest.”

“By learning to make the important things matter, and to let go of the rest.” I hope to live by these words for the rest of my marriage.

 Our bagpiper Shawn was able to create a haunting and peaceful sound that seemed to reverberate off the mountains. We asked the guest to parade down to their seats and then my Dad and I followed to the song Amazing Grace.

 Our friends and family played a huge role in the wedding, but in the end I knew it was a commitment between the two of us. We chose to stand and say our vows alone, together. This was our first step forward as a family and our commitment to each other. Looking back it was the perfect decision for us.

Reception photos next.

It was awe-inspiring.

It was more than I ever could imagine.

I know this is right. I have always known.

We are getting married next week!!!  I just wanted to share with everyone who has been following since the beginning. This is it. July 30th 2011.
I wrote Justin a note that i plan to give to him on the day of our wedding. It says simply,

I know this is right. I have always known. We are going on this adventure together and all I can think is that I can't wait to be writing you 50 years from now saying the same thing.

I know this is right. I have always known.

Love always,
Laurel

This is us. See you on the other side.

How was your Bachelorette trip? ... it went a little something like this...

ER nurse came prepared for a night of drinking.

And that is how Vegas is done.