WFW: Let's get married!

I stood behind the doors to the sanctuary with my dad and anxiously awaited the swell of music that would start my walk down the aisle.  Melanie (the church's Educator and wedding coordinator) had recruited two of the boys from the youth group to help by opening the doors for me.  As I stood there with my dad, they looked at me like they'd never seen anything like me in their lives.  Their sweet, goofy, teenaged boy grins will stick with me for a long time!  To be fair, I looked a fair bit different than my normal Sunday attire :)

And then the walk.  

Ah!  This face!

And that one!

So handsome!

I loved seeing all those smiling faces as I walked down the aisle.

If you look closely, you can see the tear in my dad's eye.

The hand off.

It was so nice to see each other after being apart all day!

Ben started off with welcoming everyone and a brief statement on the gift of marriage.  It was touching and funny and personal.  Ben did a really great job incorporating what he'd learned about us during our time together into the ceremony.

After we declared our intent to marry, Ben asked who presented me for marriage.  I didn't want to be "given", but I figured "presneted" was ok.

Mom and dad stood and Dad answered, "Her mother and I do."

Next, Ben asked the whole congregation to stand and affirm that they would support our marriage.

 It was a really cool feeling to have all our friends and family actively take part in the ceremony.

And then, my wonderful friend Ian sang Dodi Li.  It was a nod to Ross' Jewish roots to have this song sung in Hebrew.  The translation of the lyrics was printed in our program.

My beloved is mine and I am his,

The shepherd [grazing his flock] among the lilies.

Who is this, rising up from the desert.

Who is she, rising up?

Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense

Myrrh and frankincense.

My beloved is mine and I am his,

The shepherd [grazing his flock] among the lilies.

You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride.

You have captured my heart, my bride.

My beloved is mine and I am his,

The shepherd [grazing his flock] among the lilies.

Awaken, north wind, and come, south wind.

My beloved is mine and I am his,

The shepherd [grazing his flock] among the lilies.

It was really wonderful and so many people commented to me how lovely his voice is.  He's very talented and we were very happy that he had a special role in our day.

And then it was vow time.

And then ring time.

And then kiss time!

We were so happy!

And Ross just had to give me another kiss.

And another...

He's so silly!  All the congregation were loving our spontaneous extra kisses.  Ross actually turned to Ben and said, "This is a good crowd!"

This is one of my favourite pictures from the ceremony.

One last kiss.

And it was all over!  Time to head back down the aisle.

Mr. and Mrs. Ameringlish!

I loved our ceremony so much.  It was just about 30 minutes, which to me is the perfect length.  Not too long, but not so short that it completely whizzes by.  I do wish that I had it on video, because as I look back I remember the overall feeling more than exactly what was said.  That said, the feeling is pretty damn good, so it'll do.  It'll do.

Did you have a long ceremony or a short one?