December 23, 2014
By Erika Lynde McDonough
I started this whole blogging adventure wondering how I would adapt to the new name of Erika McDonough. Let me just say that changing my name and marital status on Facebook was just one of the perks to this whole wedding extravaganza!
I’m sure all you brides-to-be out there are curious about how my wedding day went and what kind of advice I may have for your upcoming nuptials.
A few days before the big day I must have checked my weather app every five minutes, hoping that New England would be its normal self and that the forecast would change drastically in the blink of an eye. Why? The forecast was calling for rain. Rain on my wedding day with paper flowers seemed like an instant tragedy. What was I to do except tell myself that if rain was the worst thing that was going to happen on my wedding day, I should simply embrace it with open arms because there was nothing I could do about it.
The day finally came and I woke up bright and early…with a 101 fever. Then things started to get a bit comical and it seemed like everything that could go wrong, did. My grandmother’s perfect pearl earring broke early that morning. My ankle was still in a brace because, a week before my wedding I (of course) sprained it. Oh, and we forgot all the guys’ boutonnieres at home. We had guests cancel last minute and, remember, I’m sick as a dog. Downing every packet of vitamin C I could find and hoarding Dayquil packets in my purse, at some point I realized I had misplace my vows. Yes. I forgot the one thing actually needed to make this huge commitment to my future husband even possible. I started to laugh and cry and slowly melt into an emotional ball of bride and crawled into my comfy hotel bed. I don’t think I would have made it to the night without the help and support of my wedding day team. I am so grateful to my family and friends (you know who you are!), they’re the people who really spent the day making everything work out. I jumped into the shower and let my mom and grandmother take over so I could clear my head and get a fresh start.
Around 3:30 p.m. my over-the-counter meds started to kick in and my mind started to clear just in time to sit down and rewrite my vows. (Not to toot my own horn, but they came out even better than the first time.) I’m so lucky because my handwriting isn’t really that legible and my baby brother offered to sit down and write them out on index cards for me to read. Next, my benevolent friend Vanessa took turns with all my maids, making their hair more glamorous than I could ever imagine. I hopped into her chair feeling good about my vows, and I was blown away by the results: I looked like a Roman goddess! My ego might be making my head a little big right now but, man, her nimble fingers created a masterpiece with my hair and flower crown. As the night drew closer and my checklist got completed, things were starting to get better and better. I popped into the bathroom to powder my nose and step into my dress while my cousin Amanda set up all my relatives for the revealing of the dress photo shoot. She shot picture after picture capturing every possible moment with my family and friends. Things were getting so real and I completely forgot I was even sick. I hopped into my soon-to-be in-law’s Mercedes and made my way to the venue. I swear could hear the excitement of the guests inside and it was starting to make my legs shake. ‘It’s all happening,’ I kept thinking.
All this emotion came over me as I listened to the music of the procession walk down the aisle to “Silent Night” by Pentatonix. Wow! When they tell you that all the stress leading up to that moment you see your partner standing up there smiling (and in my case crying), flies out the window with out a notion of doubt, they weren’t kidding. Nothing else mattered, but that walk up to my soul mate as I give him my hands and read the expression on his face. I felt so stressed from all the wedding day mishaps until I saw Liam. It was better than I imagined.
The best wedding advice I got was to just be in the moment and take it all in, and doing that made everything perfect. I was a blubbering mess and none of that mattered. That day may have been hell, but the night of the actual wedding was a dream come true! It was pure bliss inside CAV with candles hanging all above our heads and strung white lights creating the most romantic atmosphere. Each and every table was decorated to its finest — and the cake — yes!! The cake not only looked phenomenal, it was delicious. We made our kids a part of the cake “smooshing” experience. Instead of feeding each other the first bite we fed our babies. The night went off without a hitch, and no one even noticed the missing boutonnieres or the fact that I was sick. Liam and I were beaming with joy and that’s the only memory everyone will take away from that day.
Twirling around in my vintage gown and seeing Liam enjoy a shot with his friends and family, life was good. We ended the night on the dance floor thanks to one of the biggest saviors of the day: our DJ, Matt Andrews. He was, by far, the best thing of the night, beside the food. It’s like he crawled into our heads and knew exactly what to play next. It’s not every wedding you jam out to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air with your oldest relatives, but ours wouldn’t have been the same without it. As a now newlywed my only advice for all of you engaged couples is:
- All this stress is normal. Don’t second guess yourself or stress yourself by thinking that what you feel isn’t natural (like I did, and got myself sick!).
- Take a moment with your main squeeze after you tie the knot for reflection.
- Get a really good DJ and make sure he/she knows who you are as people so they can truly make your night magical by creating an ambience everyone can enjoy.
- Videotape your ceremony!!!! I can’t stress this enough. Without this video I feel like I would have lost all those moments.
- Lastly, remember that no matter how many things go wrong, you will forget them all the second you find yourself looking into the eyes of your true love. I promise.
Thank you all for tagging along on this wild ride. I am now Erika McDonough, and I really like how that sounds.
