Weddingbee boards

We're having our 'wedding' in May but due to insurance issues we decided to get married last Sunday.  When FI suggested it I was thrilled because I really wanted it to be just us but he wanted the family wedding so this was a great compromise. 

I chose a favorite spot on the harbor in our favorite city, asked my MOH (younger sister) to be our witness and a childhood friend (who will also officiant our wedding in May) was our JOP.  It was a beautiful winter day and I wore a winter white wool coat with a blue scarf (for my something blue) and my FI looked gorgeous (as always).  He surprised me on our way there with a bouquet he made himself.  We actually had a few tense words about it since he forgot I dislike red roses plus I felt extremely patriotic with the red, white, and blue :-)  But I loved it just the same.

The thing that struck me about the ceremony was how hard it was not to smile a huge goofy-ass smile!  My sister has a new camera with a smile gauge and she joked that I blew it off the charts!!  It was funny because earlier in the day I spilled the secret to my best friend and he asked if I'd cry and I said of course I would since I'm such a sap but I couldn't stop smiling!!  My FI teared up which touched me and made me cry.....he's so loving and sentimental.  Since we're having a personalized ceremony in May and writing vows we decided to kick it old school on Sunday so it was all over in a matter of minutes using the traditional vows.  The word cherish stuck in my mind when I heard the JOP say it and later my husband said the same. It's now my new favorite word.

I won't bore you with any more details but it was an amazing day and I highly reccommend eloping ;-) 

I've attached a few pictures where my smile is a little more in control.

Thanks so much! 

Laylabelle....did you notice the orange ribbon on the red roses?!?!  He worked so hard on it.  And he did it twice---first time he just taped it but realized the thorns would poke me so he took it apart, wrapped the stems in plastic and remade it.  Too sweet :-)

My sister joked that I get three wedding anniversaries:  1/17 for when we said our vows, 5/22 for the wedding everyone else knows about, and another date in July when we have our marriage blessed by our priest at our church---add that to our dating anniversary and our engagement anniversary!  

Congrats! You are so lucky, you get the best of both worlds!