Miller Time: Saying I Do

As Your Hand In Mine (Explosions in the Sky) started to play, my heart jumped into my throat and all of I sudden I wanted everything to slow down. How could this all be happening so fast?

Out walked Neill.

I love how big our parents are smiling in these two pictures.






Neill was followed by his two best men, James and Tom.

 

The men were followed by my very best friends in the whole wide world, Cathy and Grace. I didn't want to let them go.

And suddenly it was time for me to walk out, on my own.  I didn't expect to want someone there by my side. After all, I had chosen to walk out alone. But, in the end I wanted someone to squeeze my hand. Lucky for me, that someone was waiting for me just a few steps away.

So I went to get my man.

Miller Time: T-Minus 30 Minutes

A month or so before the wedding we made a mix to play through an ipod and the house speakers for the thirty minutes prior to the ceremony. I am SO GLAD we did this! Not only did we get a ton of compliments on the music, but it was wonderful to hear all of the lovey dovey songs we picked out. Plus, now Neill and I can listen to this mix whenever we want. We played:
We’re going to be friends – The White Stripes
Way Tight – Ani Difranco
Forever – Ben Harper
First Day Of My Life – Bright Eyes
Keep It loose, Keep It Tight – Amos Lee
Say Yes – Elliot Smith
1234 - Plain White Ts
Red Right Ankle – The Decembrists
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea – Neutral Milk Hotel
Lucky -- Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat 
You Remind Me of Home – Ben Gibbard

This is the real pre-ceremony. The last thirty minutes. My heart was pounding and my adrenaline was up. The passage of time was marked by the change in music. Each time a song ended, I asked Neill how many more there were to go. Listening to these songs still gets my heart racing.

Guests did this:

And we did this this:

And after what seemed like a long while, You Remind Me of Home finished and We're Going to Be Friends started up again (which was okay since only a few people were there a full thirty minuets early to hear that song and really, I had bigger things on my mind besides worrying about a song playing twice) and it was time to get hitched!

Miller Time: Pre-Ceremony!

I'm sorry to have left you all hanging about what came next, but for some reason I just COULDN'T keep going with the updates. But, I hate leaving projects unfinished so I'm going to persevere :)

Now . . . where was I? Ah. Yes. We just finished up our bridal party pictures and were heading off to Volo for the ceremony.

Hmm. Now this is where I start to block. What to say about this? I mean, we were going to the place where we'd be married! I was nervous, excited, amazed, freaked, happy, and sad - all at the same time. I really can't put it in to words. Thankfully, I have some pictures to help me tell the story :)

Here is what we saw when we arrived.

 

Looking back, I want to pat myself on the shoulder for how beautiful the space turned out! But, at the time, I was so hyped up I barely noticed any of these things. Instead, we headed down into the wine cellar to hang out. Anyone who knows me can tell you that I hate rushing and I like to be places fifteen minutes early. So, of course I built in lots of added time into my wedding day time-line. It was really nice to have time to just relax. Plus, it gave us a chance to show off our custom wedding day converse! 

But, soon enough it was time to scurry back downstairs. The guests were going to start arriving any minute! I promise to come back soon and tell you all about my walk down the aisle!

[All photos by Alix Klingenberg]

Miller Time: Family Photos

Want to catch up? . I ran errands, we rehearsed, we ate pizza, the girls got beautiful, the boys looked sharp, somehow I managed to actually get into my dress, we had our first look, and got our model on.


When I left off, we had just finished our photos at Promontory Point and I needed to make a decision about where to head next. On one hand, I could choose to be late to family photos and go to our second photo location. On the other hand, I could just suck it up and go make the most of family photos. Like the good daughter I am, I chose to go back to the hotel for family photos.

Yippeee!

So back to the hotel we went! There isn't much to say about the family photos, except that it was quick and dirty.

Even though I remember it being somewhat of a wash, I was surprised to see that we did get a couple family portraits that I love. Here is my favorite one: it is me, my mom, my grandfather, and my mom's sister. These are my VIPs so I was excited we had a chance to snap a picture together before the whole group showed up.

Here is a shot of everyone.

Since family photos took WAY less time than I originally planned for, we made the decision to go to a second photo location on our way to Volo. A few months ago, I spotted this cute little fire station just a few blocks from the hotel and squirreled it away in my mind as a possible photo location.

These last three are my favorites.The firemen were so kind to us and even rolled down the red door for us to use as a backdrop. I'm so glad we had a chance to take these pictures! I just love them.

Next - we get to Volo and finally get some time to chill.

Miller Time: Bridal Party Photos

Hmm. Okay. Where were we? Ah yes. I ran errands, we rehearsed, we ate pizza, the girls got beautiful, the boys looked sharp, somehow I managed to actually get into my dress, and then we had our first look!

So now it was time for us all to load into a limo and take pictures! Group photos were on the schedule from 2 to 4 in the afternoon and the plan was to try and hit up two locations. If the weather was pleasant, we planned to go to Promontory Point and the Canal Street Bridge. If you remember, way back when we checked out Promontory Point (click to see my blog post about it) as a possible wedding venue. The area is so beautiful and we really fell in love with the spot. SO we were very excited to still be able to take advantage of how beautiful it is!  If the weather was rainy or just excruciatingly hot, the plan was to go to Union Station and the rooftop bar at theWitt hotel.

Deciding on these photo locations was probably the single most stressful decision I had to make in the weeks leading up to the wedding. I couldn't just make a decision and be done with it. No. I had to labor over each and every option. Weigh the pros and cons. Stress out. Looking back, I really wish I hadn't wasted all those hours freaking myself out. On the day of, I was so excited to be with Neill that nothing else really seemed to matter. I just sort of stopped caring about the pictures I had put so much planning into. I guess that's how it should be, though. That's why we hire photographers. Who wants to stress out over photos on their wedding day? Not me.

Anyways, the last thing I'll say before I just show you the goodies is that THE WEATHER WAS PERFECT. THE RAINY, 95 DEGREE , 80% HUMIDITY WEATHER THAT WAS PREDICTED FOR WEEKS NEVER SHOWED UP.  I truly count this as my  WEDDING DAY MIRACLE. It was our personal wedding gift from the weather gods. I really just can't say enough what a blessing it was. Stepping outside and feeling the fresh, cool air - I felt SO lucky. Disaster diverted.

Anyways. I know if any of you out there hate the hot humid weather as much as me, you understand the utter wave of relief I felt. Those of you sickos who actually like being a sweaty mess just won't get it.

See the pictures after the jump!

Miller Time: The First Look

Have you fallen behind on the recap train? Read all about what happened before our first look:  I ran errands, we rehearsed, we ate pizza, the girls got beautiful, the boys looked sharp, and somehow I managed to actually get into my dress.  

Once I was finally dressed, I grabbed my bouquet and hightailed it to the room Neill was waiting for me in. I'm pretty sure I was all shaky and giddy walking over to him. I've gotta admit - it was pretty awesome :) Once I saw him, it was like nothing else that day mattered. I hate myself for sounding so corny, but its true. I sort of just stopped caring about whether or not we were going to have awesome pictures or if our families would have fun at the reception or if the cake was going to taste good or if it was going to rain. We were together and that was what mattered. Thinking about it now gets me all happy inside.(And if you know me, you know that's hard to do with my heart of coal and what not)

Neill waiting patiently for me

Here I come! Look at Neill' super happy goofy grin :)

together!

so happy!

After our first look, we took just a few pictures together around the hotel. I love how deliriously happy we both look in this picture. These are real smiles :)

loverz for life

We even got some artsy fartsy shots

Then, it was time to grab the bridal party and head for the hills! Check back to see what shenanigans we got ourselves into.

[photos by Alix Klingenberg]

Miller Time: Putting On The Dress

A little behind on what happened? Catch up! I ran errands, we rehearsed, we ate pizza, the girls got beautiful, and the boys looked sharp.   


So there I am. Just tra-la-la-ing along. Having a good time. Not concerned about the time one bit because I knew these ladies are looking out for me and really - how long could it take to get into a wedding dress anyways? That is - until someone mentions that it is almost 1:45.

Say what?!?

1:45 is when Neill and I scheduled our first look! And I just SPRINTED. I went into attack mode. My mission was to go get my man and I was full throttle ahead.  And it wasn't until that moment that I realized that I didn't just have to easy peasy slip my dress on. I had to put my underthings on, I had to get my earring in, my bracelet on, my dress on, the sash tied, my shoes, and spritz on the magic. oh geez.

Did I mention my dress had buttons? Lots of tight buttons. Hmm. This might be more difficult than I originally thought. It was of course at this exact moment that I realized my bridesmaids weren't dressed either. On that note - where were my bridesmaids? I later found out that had gone down to check out of the hotel, but at the time I felt a little . . . stressed. Here it was crunch time and where had they gone? Thankfully, they soon reappeared.

This was probably the most stressful point of the day. I really don't like rushing. But, because I was so excited I think the stress just felt like more adrenaline.

Anyways, if it hadn't been for those blasted buttons I probably would have been right on time. But, I had three people trying to button me up and it still took forever! At least it made for some beautiful "getting into the dress" shots!

Finally, I slipped on my earrings and I was ready to go.

I don't even think I took a minute to check out the final package. All I wanted to do was go see Neill!