Jungle Love: Down the Aisle We Go
After a lot of posing in the sun, we were all pretty hot and tired. We grabbed drinks at the outdoor bar, then my bridesmaids and I went back up to the bridal suite to fix our hair and makeup. Thank goodness my MOH is a makeup artist – I was looking ROUGH. And before I knew it, it was time to go back downstairs and get ready for the ceremony.
Mr. Panther and his best man were already up at the altar with our officiant, my grandpa. The rest of the wedding party and I gathered behind a bunch of bushes, a ways back from the ceremony site, waiting for our turn. First, the parents went down. Mr. Panther’s parents took the lead.
My mom was next, escorted by her boyfriend (who is now her husband!).
We hired a string quartet for our ceremony, and they played all Beatles songs. I know – not the most original thing in the world – but I couldn’t imagine anything else. The prelude was “‘Til There Was You,” “When I’m Sixty-Four” and “She Loves You.” Our families walked down the aisle to “Your Mother Should Know,” and the wedding party processional song was “Here Comes the Sun.” And for me, “All You Need Is Love.” Our string quartet had the sheet music for some of the songs, but they were missing a few of the ones we wanted – so, Mr. Panther dusted off his music school skills and arranged them himself. NBD, y’all.
We elected to have the groomsmen walk the bridesmaids down the aisle, since walking in heels in the grass can be treacherous. For the record, I got Solemates for the girls and myself, and they did not work. At all. It’s OK, though – nobody fell.
Can I just say – our flower girls did such a good job that when I was walking down the aisle, I literally thought to myself, “Oh, the florist scattered flower petals in the aisle! That looks gorgeous!” He did not. My flower girls did it. Pros, I tell you.
At this point, I was nervous, but mostly just because I thought I might trip over my dress. I was not nervous to get married. What are cold feet?!
The tripping fear was valid, though. I had to walk veeeery carefully.
Thank goodness for my uncle. He kept me upright, and looked so handsome doing it.
I am so grateful for this next photo. I have absolutely no regrets about doing a first look, especially because Mr. Panther still looked like this when I walked down the aisle:
Awwwwww.
When we finally made it to our arbor-altar, my mom, aunt and future-MIL stepped in to fix my veil.
The sun had backed off a bit, and it had finally cooled down outside. Everything was perfect. It was time to get married.
How did you choose the music for your processional?
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All photos by Raw Photo Design
dahlias & discoveries 