-Jenn

“I knew he was the one…”

“There are a million moments I could attribute to being “the one” when I knew Ben was the one.  A lot of those moments could be when other people said he should be the one, including my sister the Christmas after Ben and I started dating (we had only started dating the spring of that year).  My sister had had a few cocktails and suggested we get married.  Ben and I weren’t phased by her comment…perhaps another sign.

The real moment I had that “feeling” was the next spring, about a year after we’d been together when I called him to see if he wanted to help me move a friend into a new house at 6am one Saturday.  Ben was in law school spending long weeks studying and not super inclined to wake early on a Saturday.  However, he is someone who finds a lot of joy in manual labor so I thought I’d at least ask. He responded with a genuine “I would LOVE to help them,” like that’s the only thing he would want to do that day or any day for that matter.  I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised because of course Ben would want to help – I learned that about him long before this moment.  But I remember thinking that time, “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.  I want to spend it with someone who gets so much joy from helping others.”

I think even when I tell Ben that story, he kind of rolls his eyes like “there has GOT to be some other moment,” but I honestly knew right then.  However, to appease anyone else that rolls his or her eyes as well, I also knew because when he looks at me, from the day I met him and even today, I know I’m special.”

- Shelby

–Jenn

The Four Seasons, Austin, TX

Most of all, I remember… (tm2010)

“Getting ready the day of the wedding. I’m in my bridal suite with my bridal party, the hair stylist, Elizabeth, who is also one of my family’s close friends, and the make-up artist. I had my hair and makeup done already and I was so anxious for my dress to arrive. I kept asking when it was going to get there. Finally, it arrived and I remember feeling so excited and couldn’t wait to put it on. Mom and Elizabeth start helping me get into it. As soon as it was on, my sister, Shawn just started crying, which made me start crying too. Once I regained my composure I  remember looking into the mirror and just staring at me in this dress. I felt the most gorgeous I had ever felt, and that was a good feeling. I felt like a princess. I also started to feel a little nervous but I knew everything was going to be perfect and the nervousness just kind of faded away. One of  the funniest  memories but also one of the sweetest ones is when Elizabeth and my mom helped me sit down in the chair in the bridal suite. They draped my dress, train, and veil over the back of the chair, and I was pretty much stuck there!  One by one some of my cousins and my godmother came to see me. The looks on their faces when they saw me were just looks of pure happiness. My godmother started crying and the look on her face when she first saw me was priceless! It meant so much to me that some of my relatives came to see me. It made the day even more special.

Now on to the reveal. Joey and I hadn’t seen each other all day and I remember feeling so excited that the time had finally come to see him for the first time. I had really missed him and couldn’t wait to see him. I remember walking down the aisle outside in the Four Seasons courtyard to where he was standing. Some of my family and my bridal party had come out to watch. I walked up slowly and tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around. His was floored. I remember us hugging and then he stood  back and just gazed at me up and down. The look on his face was of pure love and joy and happiness. Everybody has said that they can tell how much we love each other by the way we look at each other. It is a pure and true love.

Walking down the aisle is another one of my greatest memories. I remember standing downstairs with my parents on each side of me waiting for my cue. Then Trumpet Voluntary plays. I knew that was my cue to start my walk down the aisle. I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of  happiness and excitement. I took a deep breath and said “here I go.” I walked down the aisle with my parents and looked straight at my handsome husband waiting for me at the end of the aisle. I remember feeling so much love, so much joy and happiness. And the way he looked at me, it was a look of unconditional love and joy. Then he started crying. I just continued to smile. And the look on my parents’ faces. I had never seen them so happy and so proud than they did that night. Taking my husband’s hand and walking up to the Chuppah. That feeling is just indescribable.

One of the memories that sticks out the most about the reception is when I went up and hugged my cousin Jason. Me, Jason and Shawn pretty much grew up together, since we were in diapers really, so the three of us are pretty close. I remember him saying that I was a beautiful bride. He almost started crying. That just made me feel so special and it made the night even more perfect. He and I reconnected on a new level that night. I don’t know how to describe it.

My wedding night was definitely a fairytale. It was everything I dreamt of. I felt so many emotions on so many different levels that night, I don’t know how to put it into words. What mattered most to me that night was that I was surrounded by all my family and friends that I love so very much. The fact that they all came from near and far to share this milestone in my life with me means more to me then anyone will ever know. We all had the time of our life.  And my husband. I don’t even know where to start!  He is perfect for me and the fact that I found him and married him is still amazing to me. We just click and we get along. We complement each other on every level and he is so good to me. The kind of love we have is indescribable and hard to find. We feel so lucky and blessed that we found each other.

When Joey and I were walking up the grand staircase after the night was over, going through all the confetti was awesome! I loved being able to see everybody that had come to our wedding smiling, laughing an cheering for us. Joey and I were so in love and so ecstatic. Once we got up the stairs I remember looking back for one last glance.

It felt like everything, just for one short moment, stopped. I couldn’t believe it was over! It had gone by so fast! I remember feeling all these different emotions at once.”

–Robyn