Page 78 - South Mississippi Living - February, 2017

ROMANCE & WEDDING honest advice Remembering the day:
a personal wedding diary
story by Kelsey Sunderman-Foster photos by Teddy Lewis
It was finally here: the day I’d spent my whole life dreaming about. After months of planning and untold hours spent on Pinterest (let’s be honest, my board was slammed with ideas before I was even en- gaged), everything had finally come together.
If you’re like me, chances are you’ll be incredibly excited that today is the day you’ll marry the love of
your life. You may also be pretty nervous, which is totally okay, but go ahead and brace yourself for the fact that absolutely everyone you see is going to ask
you if you’re nervous. Even
if you aren’t, being asked
that question enough times might just push you over the edge.
There are two
things that really
helped me get through
my nerves on my wedding day.
The first being my amazing friends and family. My bridesmaids were wonderful, taking wacky pictures before the wedding and being generally wonderful leading up to
it. I can never thank my parents, Mary and Michael, enough not only for giving me the wedding of my dreams, but for putting up with me in the months leading up to it. If you’re reading this, I know I was a lot to handle, and I’m really sorry about that!
The second thing that pulled me through all the emotions I was feeling was the vision in my mind of my fiance, Aubrey, standing at the end
of the aisle waiting for me. Though
I was petrified of walking down the aisle with so many people watching, I knew that he would be there smiling to let me know that everything was going to be okay, just like he has always done for me.
I tripped walking down the aisle (to and from the altar, in the same spot), I couldn’t get the ring on his finger, and we totally forgot to do our unity ceremony, but guess what? None of that mattered. I had my dad by my side to get me there, and my new husband to walk me back out. Things may not go perfectly like you’d imagined, but on your wedding
day all you really have to do is get married, and thankfully
that’s the easiest part. My biggest piece
of advice for anyone getting
married is to take time to appreciate
the little things. I know there’s going
to be a lot going on, but some of the best things
come in the small moments. For me, that moment came right after our ceremony. We were taking wedding photos with the bridal party, and I recall wishing my grandparents had been there to see it. Right at that moment, a hummingbird, one of the things that reminded me most of my grandmother, landed in my bouquet. I was so thankful to have the reassurance of her presence with me, and also that our photographer was able to capture that moment for us.
As it turns out, the perfect day isn’t about everything going smoothly, it’s about celebrating the next chapter
of your life with the ones who have been a part of it.
78 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • February 2017
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