This Will Be Our Year: This Is Not Good-Bye

When people get frustrated with you and your crazy planning ways, they'll condescendingly tell you that "it's just a party" and you shouldn't get all caught up in it (not that this happened to me, oh no... actually, I'm really not being sarcastic; I just hear it happens to a lot of brides ;), you can tell them: Mrs. Spaniel says you're wrong. Actually, don't tell them that, because then they'll really think you're crazy. Who is Mrs. Spaniel? In any event, I know now that a wedding is not just a party, and I know that because it's the part of the wedding about which I have the least to write.

I can honestly say, in hindsight, the most important part was the ceremony—it was the whole point. The most rewarding parts were the speeches our friends and family made—we had a wedding because we wanted to share this momentous occasion with our community, and feeling their love coming back at us made it worth it. The party? It was fun.


In fact, it was a lot of fun.

(I think Mr. S was singing Jai Ho here, which is a few kinds of awesome.)

But then it wound down, and then it was over. Eighteen months of planning, three days of activities, and eight hours of event... done. So fast!

It was a wonderful day and I'm so grateful that we got to have it, to share it with our friends and family, and that I was able to share it with all of you. I'm ready to say good-bye to our wedding, but not to Weddingbee... I still have a few nuggets of wedding wisdom I want to share before I sign off as Mrs. Spaniel for good. So, for the moment, I'll let Grandma Spaniel say good-bye instead.

(Guest photo)
All photos by the terrific Meg Perotti unless otherwise noted.

Miss anything?
The Spaniels Are Married!
Watching Paint Dry
Vendor FAIL
Putting Our Faces On
Something New
Boutonnieres and Tuxedos
Sneaky Spaniel: The First Look
Something Borrowed, Something Blue
Hey Laaadies! (The Wedding Party)
Signing Our Lives Away
Marriage Is a Process...ion
We've Only Just Begun (The Ceremony)
Organized Chaos
All Kinds of Pretty and One Big Fat Ugly
(This Will Be Our) Budget Recap Post
Wedding Rituals