Part 1 of our wedding series is here (Getting Ready and First Look).
One of the most magical parts of the day was the ceremony. I have to say I didn’t give our ceremony a ton of thought leading up. I’m not sure if it was because we were reading vows that have been said thousands of times before (which I love the sacred feeling of them) or because I was confident in our priest/church coordinator but it just isn’t something you ‘plan’ much for. BUT the entire experience of doing a traditional mass, plus feeling the support of ALL our friends and family around us blew both Zack and I away. And the walk down the aisle with my Dad plus the vows with Zack to seal it all definitely give me chills just thinking about. I am still obsessed with this cathedral that I talk about in my post here. Timeline wise (got a few questions on this) we did the first look around 1 pm (Zack got there at 12:45) and the ceremony started at 2 pm.
This moment was everything. UGH. So good. My Dad is my hero! I could tell he was nervous and gripped my arm SO hard. I also have to give a shoutout to my Mom for helping me so much to put things in perspective during wedding planning…she is my hero as well.
Hiding out in the chapel with my best friends while guests were coming into the church. I talked about my bridal party in Part One!
The most special moment with my Dad. I still remember the words he shared with me at this exact moment that I’ll never forget. Mostly that he was really proud of me and the love he sees in Zack and I. Yes, this day is about Zack and I but the love I have for my parents and family shines through as well.
We did a full mass (got a couple questions about this) and loved having both our godparents read the church readings, my younger cousins bring up the gifts and my aunt sing (she is amazing). It was so fun sitting there with Zack and feeling all the love during the ceremony. I held it together during our vows (but my voice did break and I teared up on the last sentence and many friends said they cried because of it!). We still had 3 hours before cocktail hour (our ceremony ended at 3 pm and cocktail hour at 6 pm) so took pictures around the church, in the infamous “Carnegie Mellon” pillars, downtown on a rooftop garage, and in a local park and then took some videos with our videographer before we headed to the conservatory and botanical garden. It was fun to hang out on the bus with the bridal party, pop champagne and get the party started.
We hit up those 3 locations (would highly recommend only 2-3 locations max for photos!) and then headed to the reception for cocktails, appetizers, and to get the fun part started. Stay tuned for Part 3!
All our photography was done by the highly talented Steven Dray.
