Our Perfect Day
Four years ago today, without a doubt in my mind, marks one of the happiest days of my life.
27 years of patiently searching before I could finally embrace my love of a lifetime.
You’re irreplaceable, inspirational, and incredibly all mine.
THE ABSOLUTE BEST WAY TO PRESENT MY
ANNIVERSARY BLOG IS TO SHARE WITH YOU
WHAT I WROTE FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY.
6-30-06
This all became a reality as Scott and I were going through the serving line at our rehearsal dinner. During the past few months we had eaten several celebration dinners but this one was different. This one marked the beginning of an extraordinary journey empowered by love. I sighed, took it all in because…. Tomorrow I was getting married.
ANNIVERSARY BLOG IS TO SHARE WITH YOU
WHAT I WROTE FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY.
6-30-06
This all became a reality as Scott and I were going through the serving line at our rehearsal dinner. During the past few months we had eaten several celebration dinners but this one was different. This one marked the beginning of an extraordinary journey empowered by love. I sighed, took it all in because…. Tomorrow I was getting married.
I really never knew the power of love had until I looked around the room at the rehearsal dinner and saw two separate families intermixed with each other, soon to become one. I loved giving all of those gifts to people. Seeing the smiles, watching them dig through their bags…was just purely joyful.
As the rehearsal dwindled, it was my turn to say goodbye to Scott for the night. We were in the driveway at his parent’s house. I became a bit anxious and teared up. We kissed and he hugged me a hug like I have never felt before. Scott’s entire body surrounded me with power to make it through the night.
The night...more restless than the night before I started middle school. Though we had an amazing room at the Ashman Court with the most amazingly fluffy feather bed I still managed to get zero sleep. I said my prayers and wrapped my blanky around my thumb and rubbed my lip for old times sake and tried so very hard to drift away into the most calming sleep. Instead, I found myself watching the lights flicker over the tridge and wondered what thunderstorms tomorrow would bring. Unable to fall asleep I turned on the weather channel and watched (over and over) the storms that were headed right to Midland Michigan….. at 5 PM. Our ceremony starts at 4:30.
So much for sleeping peacefully that night. I finally went to bed at 2:30 and woke up at 4 AM. I immediately turned on the weather again and began to get very sick, landing me a front row seat in the Ashman Court bathroom!
At 6 AM, I put on my workout clothes and ventured in the darkness to the 1980’s workout room at the hotel where I ran a few miles and lifted squeaky weights from an old rustic bench. I changed into my swimming suit and soaked my feet into the frosted hot tub with a gleaming smile on my face. Today I was getting married.
At 6 AM, I put on my workout clothes and ventured in the darkness to the 1980’s workout room at the hotel where I ran a few miles and lifted squeaky weights from an old rustic bench. I changed into my swimming suit and soaked my feet into the frosted hot tub with a gleaming smile on my face. Today I was getting married.
I ventured up to the hotel room at 7:15 AM and called my mom, we really didn’t talk about much except my fear of the huge storm that was to roll in at 5 PM. Mom said, “Not to worry, I know you, and it will NOT rain on your wedding day, it just won’t.” For some reason I had confidence in my mom. I hung up the phone and called Scott, he was rolling into the backside of the Ashman Court to pick up people for golf.
I waited by the window to see him and then realized I needed to bust a move. I was already running late. I needed to shave my legs, wash my hair with the blue sweet tart smelling shampoo, and look decent enough to get my hair done! Seriously….I have been up all morning and could have had all this done, but instead, waited until the last half hour….
Hair, I think we should omit this paragraph as this was the worst part of the day. This did not go well. In most ordinary cases I would have broke down and cried, but today there was such a positive energy in me that it really didn’t matter what my hair turned out like. What I choose to remember from the hair salon is that my photographer picked me up a dum dum sucker from the check out counter and gave it to me in the car on the way back to the Holiday Inn. That sucker gave me the ability to shut my mouth, not complain, and remember the sweet things about today.
That was…Until….
I get the dreaded phone call from Scott saying the storms are moving in fast and we were to meet at 2 o’clock to take photos, BEOFRE the wedding. Panic. I didn’t want to see him before, and there was no way I could be ready in time.
The next hour was a blur, I saw people, dresses, food, makeup, shoes, etc… I do remember chowing down an entire Jimmy John’s sandwich. But for the most part, this is how it happened. It was really a Cinderella experience, I stood there, my mom waved a wand and I was the most beautiful princess in town. That’s when I posed by the clock and it read 2 PM. I was supposed to be at the Sun Bridge in Dow Gardnes. Guess what, I am late!
I get the dreaded phone call from Scott saying the storms are moving in fast and we were to meet at 2 o’clock to take photos, BEOFRE the wedding. Panic. I didn’t want to see him before, and there was no way I could be ready in time.
The next hour was a blur, I saw people, dresses, food, makeup, shoes, etc… I do remember chowing down an entire Jimmy John’s sandwich. But for the most part, this is how it happened. It was really a Cinderella experience, I stood there, my mom waved a wand and I was the most beautiful princess in town. That’s when I posed by the clock and it read 2 PM. I was supposed to be at the Sun Bridge in Dow Gardnes. Guess what, I am late!
I remember hauling butt along the trail to the Sun Bridge saying to myself, “ You should have paid more attention to where we were going every time you came here instead of looking at the flowers!”
I rounded the last corner and someone told me, “Walk to that tree.” Ok, how hard can it be, walk to the tree. That was it, I lost it. I was about to see my husband for the very first time. Every single emotion that you could ever possibly dream up funneled through me in that 60 second walk. I remembered growing up, I sighed relief that I would never fight with my dad again about boyfriends, I thought about my brother who made this trip for me and how time will bring us even closer, I though about my best friend in the whole world who made the trip here for me, I thought about my mom and how close we would become.
As I begun to dig deeper into thought about what the next chapter of my life would bring, I look up and Scott is standing next to that tree facing the river. I can hardly breathe now and each step I took I was closer to being in the arms of the most incredible man any woman could ever ask for. I finally reach him and really didn’t know what to do so I tapped his shoulder. He turned around and gave me another one of those powerful love-encompassing hugs and said, “You look beautiful.” SNAP, the photo, the one that captured all the emotion I was feeling at that particular moment, was taken. I wiped my tear with my Great Grandma Gina’s hanky.
And so our day beings. “My shoes hurt, my feet feel like ice, the dresses are too hot, does anyone have any water, can I go barefoot, I don’t want Jimmy John’s for lunch, I don’t like my hair, I don’t want to walk on the toole, I want to wear my own makeup”…These are the comments from my beloved bridal party! That positive spirit I had in me told me not to listen to the complaints and wished they could see the meaning in today. None of those things matter, I was about to marry my best friend. I walked off and found myself alone just as my nightmare came true.
The blue sky never changed but there they were, heavy sparkly raindrops. I stood frozen and had no idea what to do, where will the guest go, where will I go, will there be a wedding? Frozen in thought, I hear my photographer yelling at me to get under a tree and hands me the Marriott laundry bag to cover up with. The good news is that my mom was right, it was not going to rain on my wedding day. 90 seconds later the rain stopped and the blue skies never went away. This was good luck.
It is moments before the ceremony and my dad asks, “Are you ready?” |He gives me a thumbs up and I respond with a thumbs up (thanks to my photographer for catching that moment). Just before it is our turn to walk, my best friend starts singing you are my sunshine with a sunflower on a flyswatter!
Here I go, down the isle. The walk I had always dreamed of. It was not as hard as I thought it would be. I began the journey towards my husband.
Here I go, down the isle. The walk I had always dreamed of. It was not as hard as I thought it would be. I began the journey towards my husband.
The service itself was brief and I really hardly remember it, actually I remember more from the rehearsal than I do the real thing except Scott kept squeezing my hand and letting me know everything was ok and I got to finally put on my beautiful ring!
The next thing I know we are marching out as husband and wife. The reception line was incredible with tons of thank yous. All these people here to support the joining of our lives was absolutely amazing.
We signed our Marriage Certificate and I realized I had never practiced signing my new last name. At this moment, I thought about how my Grandma and I would sit at the table in her restaurant and use the place mats to practice signing what my married name would be. Gram, we never tried the name McClintic, that was the one that sounded perfect. I now have the rest of my life to practice.
The reception is mostly a dancing blur. The toasts were incredible as our friends spoke from the heart. I know I pigged out at dinner and had a blast pushing cake into Scott’s face. I remember the DJ did not have all the equipment and left my brother tending the music for a while and Josh shrugged his shoulders and didn’t know what he was doing but he loved me so much to try! I remember seeing how happy my dad was talking with his old friends, and I prayed so hard that my parents would end up living near me again someday.
Before I knew it the party was over and Scott and went to bed at 3 AM.
9AM……..A truck somehow smashed through our hotel room door and ran me over. Every single part of my entire body ached. We packed up and headed home because there was another reception in Nebraska exactly one week later.
9AM……..A truck somehow smashed through our hotel room door and ran me over. Every single part of my entire body ached. We packed up and headed home because there was another reception in Nebraska exactly one week later.
Some things that happened during the week. I decided to climb a tree in my wedding dress, and took some photos in the living room. Mom made the most wonderful barbequed chicken for dinner and is the most outstanding cook in the world. I took this for granted for so many years! Scott and I made a red white and blue cheesecake for desert. We let the evening go down on us and as tired as we were, we went outside and lit off the fireworks first with a punk, then with a lighter and then resorted to the blow torch. I had some fireworks reserved for the wedding but out of excitement, you know, one more, one more…And then they were gone.
The night goes silent and mom and I ran out to find more fireworks. She would do anything for me. Unfortunately, all the stands were shut down. We drove home and called it a night.
The next day we do it all again. Another party with a room full of Lebanese people! These people know how to throw a party! The afternoon starts with the most amazing toast from my dad.
The next day we do it all again. Another party with a room full of Lebanese people! These people know how to throw a party! The afternoon starts with the most amazing toast from my dad.
I believe it was 8 years ago when Josie and I stood in this very hotel, attending a wedding reception. The following morning Jamie, and all of her worldly possessions packed into her tiny Toyota and headed east on the Interstate to Michigan. Packed with her were dreams of a new life. At that point all a parent can do is hope for the best for your daughter... you hope for three wishes... one, that she finds the man of her dreams, two, that she marries him, and three, that she lives happily ever after.
Well Jamie, you have two out of three checked off your list. You found the man of your dreams, you married him, and now all you have to work on is "the happily ever after" part! We are not too concerned about this part, because the man of her dreams, Scott, is full of love and caring for Jamie.
hat night we feasted on the most amazing Lebanese meal, danced on chairs and even went down the waterslide in my wedding dress. The events ended just as I dreamed of, staring off hand in hand watching the fireworks.
This week was the absolute highlight of my life; it was every last bit of everything I dreamt it would ever be. I have a wonderful, patient, kind, funny husband who I will cherish every day with. I am the luckiest girl in the world.
hat night we feasted on the most amazing Lebanese meal, danced on chairs and even went down the waterslide in my wedding dress. The events ended just as I dreamed of, staring off hand in hand watching the fireworks.
This week was the absolute highlight of my life; it was every last bit of everything I dreamt it would ever be. I have a wonderful, patient, kind, funny husband who I will cherish every day with. I am the luckiest girl in the world.
I promise to be honest to you.
I promise to care for you, sniffles and all.
I promise to be loyal and true to you.
I promise to set aside time for you.
I promise to be your best friend.
I promise to consider your feelings.
I promise to keep my legs shaved for you!
I promise to make you laugh.
But most importantly,
I promise to love you, forever.
I promise to care for you, sniffles and all.
I promise to be loyal and true to you.
I promise to set aside time for you.
I promise to be your best friend.
I promise to consider your feelings.
I promise to keep my legs shaved for you!
I promise to make you laugh.
But most importantly,
I promise to love you, forever.
So.....On our anniversary this year what do we do for each other? Scott buys me beautiful sunflowers.
What do I do for him? I finally repay him for the worlds nastiest cup of death he gave me four years ago!
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