Seven Years

As of July 1st, 2007, Matthew and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. We actually went out on the Friday before our anniversary. We had a sitter and we went out to The Melting Pot. It was such a wonderful quiet night out. We enjoyed just chatting quietly and eating some of our favorite foods. Then on our actual anniversary, my parents watched our babies and we went to the movies! We hadn't done that in ages. It was wonderful. We laughed and laughed andjust thouroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We thought about the past 7 years. Our wedding was an amazing event. We had it at First Baptist Church in Ashland, Virginia. The church held 285 people comfortably. We had 279 people respond, but it turns out, that many people forgot to reply, and we ended up with over 300 people and at the last moment the ushers and groomsmen were putting folding chairs down the side aisles of the church. At 7pm music was still playing and people were still being seated. I was watching from the parlor windows, all the last minute stragglers rushing to get into the church. I was not nervous in the least. I was so excited. I hadn't seen Matt since 11:30 the night before and all I could think about was getting down the aisle to the love of my life.

All my best girl friends were around me, and I was loving every second of it. I could tell my father was a little nervous, he was cutting silly jokes with my friends. And FINALLY we got the signal from one of my co-directors that it was "GO TIME!" We had to walk outside to get to the main part of the church... the weather was gorgeous. If you know ANYTHING about the south, you know July is HOT, HAZY and HUMID... well, not on July 1, 2000. It was 80 degrees, no humidty and absolutely beautiful. The sun was just beginning to slide down in the sky, so that the light came through the church windows and the sunlight lit the stained glass window above the baptismal pool.

As we got into the sanctuary, Daddy and I stayed back off to one side, while all my girls walked down the aisle. The music changed, and I squeezed Daddy's arm as we got into place. I held his arm in the traditional ettiquette fashion (I held his right arm, so he was on my left, NOT between Matthew and I, which most people think is the proper way, but isn't and it makes the father have to step around the train and I didn't want to do that)... I love the picture that my photographer snapped right as they opened the doors for us to walk in... I'm smiling a HUGE smile and the look on Daddy's face is PRICELESS, he has a lopsided grin and it looks as though he could either laugh or cry at any second.

The church was packed and the aisle seemed SO long. I just focused forward and saw my Chewie standing there waiting for me. He looked so handsome in his tuxedo, and it was all I could do not to RUN down the aisle to him. I took my time, because I knew this was my Dad's moment. I was his baby girl, his youngest child, and his first one getting married. He was a proud Papa, and I wasn't going to rob him of his moment. (He's an actor, so he lives for an audience.) When we finally made it to the front of the church, I smiled at Matt and then I knew I'd better focus or I'd mess it all up!

When Pastor Mark asked who gives this bride, Daddy replied in a shaky tear filled voice, "Her mother, brother, sister and I." It was so sweet, and it nearly brought me to tears. At that point I handed off my flowers to my sister and I turned to my sweetheart. We said our vows and I did mess up which made us laugh. Then we walked up the stairs onto the platform and Mark stayed down at the base of the stairs, we faced our friends and family and did the rest of our ceremony. I sang and giggled through the Lord's Prayer (song), and it is on video and my sister never lets me live it down.

After the kiss, we turned to back to our friends and family and I got my flowers and two separate roses. Matthew and I presented our mother's in law a rose, and then proceeded back down the aisle. At that point, I was whisked away to a side room to wait for pictures. Matthew surprised his mother, by going back in to get her. She was SHOCKED, and it was so sweet. Waiting for pictures seemed to take forever, and after the photographs were over, Matthew and I were treated to a horse drawn surry ride through Ashland to our reception at an atnebellum building in the heart of Ashland.

When we got to our reception, the sky was just beginning to darken and our guests seemed happy and relaxed. We walked in and danced to "It Had to Be You" performed by Liz Marks and the Sophisticats (Liz and her husband, bassist, Billy, are my 2 of my father's agents). They were amazing. My reception hall was filled with seashells and candlelight. My aunt, who owns Kalico Kitchen, made my gorgeous cake, which was covered in hand made sugar seashells. We danced the entire night, and my 86 year old Grandfather (POPPY) had written and recorded a song several decades prior to my wedding, and we surprised him by playing his song... to which he grabbed a microphone and sang along to the song "Ring The Wedding Bells" while Matthew and I danced. Someone snapped a picture during this, and it is one of my favorite pictures in my album, I'm dancing with Matthew and over my shoulder, you can see Poppy singing to us. Poppy died just 5 months later.

At some point during our reception, I realized we never got a family picture with my siblings! I grabbed my siblings and my photographer and we did an impromtu photograph of the three of us. When it was time for the last dance, my sister, brother, Matthew, my friends Holly and Kirsten, my cousin (bridesmaid) Jeni and Matt's uncle Steve and friend Patrick all squeezed into a tight circle and danced linked arm and arm together. Then we broke it up and everyone ran outside to say goodbye to us. As we were about to go out the door, we were handed a picnic basket and then my cousin Liz handed us another basket to take with us.

Our father's were standing on either side of the porch as we made our exit. Everyone was blowing bubbles, which looked so beautiful in the photographs. Matthew and I were beaming and we walked to the end of the sidewalk, turned and waved to everyone, and then we made our exit... not in a vehicle of any sort, but rather on foot. We walked down S. Center St. flanked by railroad tracks on one side and quaint shops and restaurants on the other. We had to walk a quarter of a mile to the Henry Clay Inn, where my parents has booked us the corporate suite. This is the room the girls used during the day to get ready for the day's events.

As we were heading towards our destination, a train came by, and then fireworks went off. Our videographer got all of this on the video. It was so special and romantic. Strolling hand in hand down this historic road in the middle of the night, and capping the night off with fireworks. I couldn't have envisioned a more wonderful wedding day. If anything went wrong that day, I was never made aware of it. I was never stressed out or nervous, I was just happy to be marrying the man of my dreams. The best husband a girl could ever ask for. AND NOW you know why I call him Mr. Perfect. I don't know how I landed him, but I THANK GOD for him! I am blessed beyond measure.

We are considering renewing our vows on the beach in 2010.