January 26, 2012

The Mental Snapshot of a Lifetime...

The snapshot I'm sharing with you is not something you can see.  It's something I can see in my mind's eye.  I suppose once my photographer sends me the images from my reception, you will be able to see... but even then, what you'd see would not, could not compare to what I see in my memory.  Let me paint for you one of the dearest, fondest memories I have from our wedding day:

The night was winding down.  I had danced myself silly, hardly eating or drinking anything, because in typical Amanda fashion, I didn't want to miss a thing.  I had done "The Hustle."  I had done "The Cupid Shuffle."  I had twisted and shouted.  I had shimmied while wearing oversized sunglasses as my husband wore a cowboy hat and even bigger glasses.  And now... it was time for our last dance.

We chose "Animal," a favorite of ours that I wanted to be "our song," except his friend already claimed it as "their song."  Weird.  Anyway, we danced gleefully, as all our dearest friends and family members gathered spontaneously around us, creating a giant circle.  We spun and laughed and sung and danced, as all around us, our friends laughed and sang.  I remember the feeling of pure bliss, the moments just before we said goodbye to our parents and left for our hotel.

It is forever etched in my memory-- a snapshot that will last for a lifetime, even if fire destroys the actual pictures.

While I'm at it, I'll give you a few more mental snapshots:
1.  Waking up to Bestie's soft harp alarm on my wedding day.  And then getting ready with good music, laughter, and hairspray-- nervous excitement.
2.  Feeling so beautiful as I slipped on my wedding dress, with my hair and makeup all done.
3.  Seeing TBH (HTB at the time) for the first time.  I hugged him from behind and choked out, "You can turn around now."  And then I promptly started crying.  The day had finally come, and I was overwhelmed.
4.  Eating a Starbucks birthday cake pop in the car on the way to the church after pictures, with my girls in the pickup truck with me.  My best friends were all in the same car. :)
5.  Standing at the doorway of the sanctuary with Dad, and hearing the beautiful harp music that began "Pas de Deux."  We walked slowly, and I let the memory sink in.  It was dark, save for the warm candlelight.  I saw no one but TBH at the end of the aisle.  My big smile wobbled as emotion took over, all the way down.  And the entire time, Dad tried to calm my nerves by telling me a story of when I was in tumbling as a little girl and I showed my instructor a nice booger.  He told me not to show a booger to the pastor.  I felt confused at that point.  Hahahahaha.
6.  TBH and I read our vows to each other.  Neither had dry eyes.  We meant those words and said them before God and promised them to each other.  It was intense.
7.  I remember the relief of walking back up that aisle, even though we had to do it twice for the photographer.  A weight had been lifted.

So there you go... before the actual snapshots show up on this site, there are a few from my memory, that I'll always cherish.

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