The Wedding

Aaahhh! Don't we all just love a good wedding? I've found them to be particularly enjoyable lately, as many of my good friends have gotten,' or are gettin,' hitched.
My navy and mint green invitation arrived in Dunedin with an American 37 cent stamp. David and Heather were to be declared "man and wife" on 2 September 2005 at 4:30pm. I was blessed to be involved in the wedding ceremony as Heather's "Maid of International Honor."
Here's a pic of Heather's dress. She looked absolutely gorgeous, but unfortunately, I didn't get many pics in all the hustle and bustle of pre-/post-ceremony happenings.
The wedding was held at Boise's botanical gardens. This is the fountain (though not on for the ceremony) that Dave and Heather stood in front of. This pic is taken from approximately where I stood - to give you perspective. The groomsmen were on the side where the shown couple are. Instead of coming down a middle isle, we walked down either side of the guests.
Beckoned forth from the gazebo at the rear of the guests by the melodic strains of a harp, the four bridal attendants came down the left side of the guests. We were matched in pace by the groomsmen who walked down the right side. And we were all peeking at each other in attempts to reach our destination at approximately the same time. Mandi, behind me, whispered, "Slower, Liz. We don't want to loose the cripple." Joy, Heather's 15 yr old sister had badly sprained, and possibly fractured, her ankle the day before. She hobbled in line on crutches, firmly gripping her bouquet of periwinkle hydrangeas. Blessed child, she was relieved of the distracting pain caused by our gorgeous, but hideously uncomfortable, silver stilettos. There were points in the ceremony that I can only remember trying to shift my feet so as to allow circulation to continue and somehow lesson the pressure. Too much weight on the heel and you might topple over. Oh the fine art of wearing heels. However, I distinctly remember hoping it didn't look like I was peeing my pants as the sweat rolled down my legs; it must have been 97 F/36 C that day.
Friend Aislinn said you couldn't tell how badly our feet hurt - apparently we looked like four Tinkerbells - we floated into the scene, carrying ourselves effortlessly like fairies. And our profuse sweating didn't show, either. But those poor groomsmen in black suits (David wore a cream-coloured suit). When the best man escorted me away and we were walking along the path shown in the picture, I whispered, "I hope it didn't look like I peed myself...and my feet are killing me! I didn't want to look, but I was sure my feet were beet red." We had a good laugh over it all. He told me that, while he was partially shaded for the ceremony, the sun shone so intensely on his left foot that he was concerned for his toes. Dripping and desiring to burn the shoes, I still had to run and deliver the bridal bouquet to Heather, who had forgotten to grab it from me before she and David went off to have more pictures taken after wedding. Hallelujah for jandals!
When Heather entered with her father, I felt a little lump in my throat. I mumbled to Mandi that I thought I was going to cry but she dreamily told me I wasn't (this was our first wedding involvement, except for my 9yr old flowergirl experience and Mandi's own wedding!). Of course, while David and Heather exchanged vows and Heather teared up, I was proud of my composure before hearing sniffles from Mandi.
David's father officiated. He said something that struck me. I knew it was going to happen, but I'm glad he verbalized it so clearly.

"From now on, when we come to Heather, there's going to be a little less of her for friends because it's now for David."

And the same was said of David. Part of me was really sad, I'll admit. Heather and I spent so much time together last year, it was precious. We'll always have those memories and there are more to make, but now, instead of David being in the shadow of the memories, he'll be forefront. It's just going to be different.
...back to the ceremony: there's weren't any major wedding blunders. A small breeze sent David's dad's notes flying out of his Bible a couple times, but it wasn't a big deal. I actually think he was more nervous than Heather and David. After a short message and the awesome vows that ended with, "In the power of Christ I will do these things," the declaration came.

Mr. and Mrs.!

And what a kiss. I had a pretty good view.
The reception was fantastic. The catering was amazing, Hawaiian. All sorts of cheesecake and punch, though I guzzled the bottled water. Thankfully the asymetric, one-shouldered mint green dresses we wore were lightweight numbers that let us cope well with the heat. I was glad I had pulled my hair up.
During the reception there were heaps of people that I wanted to talk to. I found out a friend had gotten married (surprise.), another friend has been playing professional baseball (even has his own baseball card!), and another currently has the number one non-official website in the world for the new Chronicles of Narnia movie!
The only truly sad part about this whole story is that I didn't get to say goodbye to Heather. We had a quick farewell over the phone as I was checking in for my flight to LAX on Sunday. But I definitely can't wait to spend some time with her when I get back...