The Ceremony–Part II– May 5, 2012

Then it was time for the vows! Here are some photos, but the best way to relive some of the vows is by watching the video by Bridefilm here.

We were officially husband and wife!

The mass then moved into the concretion. During the concretion, we had to kneel. As we knelt, I remembered Doug’s shoes. Doug had a little surprise on the bottom of his shoes for the whole church to see. Once we knelt down, the whispering started. In all the whispering I could hear people saying “shoes”.

Doug honored his parents (and me) by putting “April Fools?” on the bottom of his shoes. He fooled his parents on a fake engagement on April fools in 2008 and proposed to me on April fools in 2011. Father Bruno also referenced his April Fools trickery during the homily. Doug actually said to me during the homily, “it is like he is setting up my shoes”. Giggles ensued again.

We then moved into the sign of peace it was time to give the holy mother her flowers (which was very different – we gave her a flower pillow with one lady slipper to match my bouquet and doug’s boutonniere. I wanted to give Mary a little something more than just a white rose.)

After praying with doug and Mary, we headed to give our mothers gifts. We gave them something different also. We wanted to give them something they could keep and use forever instead of a flower. Over a year before the wedding, we purchased both of them a Mignon Faget pelican for a few reasons. The pelican is the Louisiana State Bird, it is the symbol of mothers and represents the Catholic Church. A pelican will pierce it’s heart to feed it’s young if there is no food. It is ultimate sacrifice for it’s children – just like Jesus.

(About 4 months before the wedding I noticed my mom wearing a pelican! I was shocked! I told her what we had planned and she said I could still give it to her, but I decided to get her the Mignon Bunny instead. When we went to give her the gift during mass, I told her it was the bunny, and she acted upset and said she wanted the pelican. I looked at her shocked and she said, “just kidding!” Oh man. Never a dull moment. I am sure there is a picture of my shocked face somewhere. :) You got me Mom!)

Doug and I went back to the alter and Fr. Bruno finished blessing the body and blood. We were the first to get communion and stood to see everyone as they came up for a blessing or communion. It was a great time to see everyone present to see us get married.

Before the final blessing, doug looked up and I am just going to pretend he was thanking God for me:

After the final blessing, it was time for us to process out. We led the procession and did one step back in honor of my dad and I.

Everything was perfect! There was lots of laughing and fun during mass. It was the most fun ceremony I had ever been to. Father Bruno had to immediately leave as his sister-in-law was in labor with his first nephew at that moment. Later that night, she gave birth to healthy baby boy. Thank you Father Bruno for sticking it out for our wedding!

Officially husband and wife!

We lead the procession out of church at which I was informed there was an issue with the second line permit and police. Evidently, there was a time mix up and the police would be back in ten minutes…oh boy…

Next up: The Second Line!

Love and Hugs, Lizzie

Making it legal–the Ceremony

When we arrived at the Immaculate Conception, Doug and I snuck in and took a few photos on the alter and then officially separated.

I went with all the bridesmaids to the restroom, which was a challenge with a 10 pound dress and a hoop skirt. :)

Then it was time to wait. We had arrived right on time to the church and had to wait 20 minutes for the ceremony to start. This was the only time I was nervous. I had too much time to sit in hiding with all the bridesmaids. I was not nervous about marrying doug. I was just sitting still for the first time in hours.

While we were in the back stairway, I noticed I was missing my flowers. I had no idea where they had gone. Before I knew it, Cynthia was on a mission: to find my rogue flowers. She eventually located my flowers just hanging out in a pew in the rear of the church. I think I know what happened, but it all ended fine so no worries.

I was starting to get a blister from my shoes, which was completely unexpected as I had broken them. I sat for the last 15 minutes of waiting in the stairwell. This was the last chance we had to get our makeup touched up by Candice (our awesome makeup girl – she had been with us the whole time.) She touched us all up one more time and she headed back to the hotel.

Finally, it was time: 6 o’clock. I hugged my mom and sent her down the aisle.

As each of my girls left the stairwell, they looked back and gave me a huge smile. It was so sweet of them. Once it was time for Dad and I to go outside, we headed out and lined up outside the big church doors. (It is so odd to be on this side of the doors. You can’t see anything that has been going on. Can’t see all the bridesmaids, moms, groomsmen, groom, etc. This is the only time in a girls life she is the main event so she does not see anything that happens prior.)

As Dad and I stood outside, he asked if we really were going to step back as we processed down the aisle. I said YES! He had been talking “two steps forward, one step back” since I was a little girl. He asked how many times we would do it. I had the idea to do it three times (one each for the Holy Trinity). I said we would do it 1/3rd down the aisle, etc. He agreed. We had one last moment and then I heard the organ start playing our song. The doors opened in front of me and we were off. It was quite a moment.

As we started down the aisle, I got to see doug and his huge smile.

As Dad and I started walking down the aisle, I noticed there were black lines on the floor! I was excited and I told him at which black lines we would step back. The first time we stepped back, only a few people noticed.

By the second time we stepped back, I heard quite a few giggles. By the third time, there was an audible laugh throughout the crowd. I guess they thought I was thinking about running, which made it even funnier. No one knew about our plan to step back and I had not really thought what it would look like. It was fun when the crowd laughed. What a start!

We finally got to the alter and Dad officially “gave” me to doug and then we were off…

The first reading was chosen by Doug. It was is favorite Old Testament wedding reading. Maureen, a good friend of DJ’s (Doug’s mom), read the reading for us. Then Dr. Lynn, the reason I am alive as she introduced my parents, read the second reading. They both did such a fantastic job. We were (and are) honored to have them a part of our big day.

Then Father Bruno read the gospel (my favorite wedding gospel about Jesus at the wedding at Cannan) and launched into one of the best wedding homilies ever heard. (We loved it as much as the Goula wedding – yeah Lesley and Steve!) Fr. Bruno totally called me out about how I always wish people future happiness. I usually say – may you always be as happy as you are today. He made a very valid point that he wants us to grow in happiness and love each day so this is not the culmination of happiness, but just the start. I loved Fr. Bruno’s homily and I received many complements on Fr. Bruno.

 

The Vows are up next! Get pumped!

Love and Hugs, Lizzie

May 5, 2012 – The first look and official wedding pictures…

The 9:45 Express dropped me off right in front of Muriel’s Restaurant. As I fell out of the car (it was a big dress!) I was greeted with many tourists and the like wishing me luck and congratulating me.

The videographer and photographer ran ahead to where Doug was standing and said to give him five minutes to set up. As I stood there, QP (Queen Paula), rode up on her bike! It was awesome to see her as she was just getting home from Jazz Fest and was heading to go get ready for the wedding! We visited until the I was told it was time to go find Doug for the first look!

I walked through the pedestrian area in front of St. Louis Cathedral and entered Jackson Square through the big black gates in front of the Cathedral. I could see Doug there waiting for me. (Ashley was with me and was clearing the path so I would not have any tourists in my photos. There was a point when she actually yelled at people to tell them to keep moving. Ashley was awesome!)



The first look was also in our video. Lot’s of people asked what I said when I got to him. Watch the video and see if you can figure it out. I will tell you after the next few pictures.



Lizzie & The Doug // Same Day Edit! from // BRIDE FILM // on Vimeo.



Here is what was said:
Lizzie: “Hey. Guess What?”
Doug: “What?”
Lizzie: “I am here. Are you ready?”
Doug: “Wow….” :)






After the first look, we took a few pictures just the two of us. Here are some for you to enjoy.


Ashley kept us on task as all of the parents had arrived at Muriel’s. We all went upstairs to the private dining rooms and stood in front of someone else’s wedding cake to take the official family photos! It was pretty funny.

My family…


Plus his family…

Equals our new, bigger family.

Then we headed back to Jackson Square to take the bridal party photos. We were approached by someone who was checking for photo permits and (thank goodness) Ashley or Sarah had packed it and it was with us. We had a little fun:



We really had a blast even though it was pretty hot. One of the best memories I have is of carrying around a battery operated fan (from Cynthia) and when we stood in one place for photos, I placed the fan to keep air flow moving under my dress. It was really entertaining to everyone. It really was so much fun!

When it was time to start heading to the church, we headed back towards Muriel’s where Doug and I found our ride, Leon! Leon packed us up and we headed to Immaculate Conception.
 
From here Doug and I parted ways again. The next time I would see him would be on the altar.

I am really, really glad we did the photos and first look before the wedding. I LOVE the pictures and we would have have been able to do it without seeing each other before the wedding. I am a strong advocate of the first look! If you are thinking about doing it, I say go for it. It made the rest of the night run very smoothly.

Next up: The Ceremony!

Love and Hugs, Lizzie