Southern Grace: Southern Grace Wedding: The Ceremony

Silly me ... the ceremony is next, not the reception!! I skipped over the most important part! After getting ready we headed over to the church for our Nuptial Mass, which means wedding + Communion. Our guests (a little over 200 when all were counted) received these invitations below with my favorite script, Bickham. They are Vera Wang by William Arthur which we found again at Write On.The little stamp you see is an Alligator (for the RSVP envelopes) and a Flamingo, which you cannot see but is found again on our menus (so you'll see later) was on our main envelopes. I wish I could show you a picture of the beautiful calligraphy we had (but I can't without totally revealing an address!) The paper was ecru with chocolate brown script. The lining of the envelopes were a terracotta/coral - which was the "color" of the wedding.

The guests were told to be at the church for a 3:00 wedding. With a service that lasted an hour and a half, this timing lent perfectly to cocktails starting at five, a first dance danced while the sun was setting over Sarasota Bay, and an evening filled with dinner and dancing under swaying palm trees and a twinkling Florida nighttime sky.

Below are some very important men in my life - the ushers. Front and center, my darling friend MEH - a bit lower, is the ring bearer ASB, next with the beard, the future Dr. BCP and finally my sweet cousin CLS.

Here is a close up of ASB, preparing for his walk down the aisle as ring bearer. He is carrying a silver tray that we found, covered by the handkerchief my grandmother carried in her prayer book during her walk down the aisle to my grandfather. So no ring pillow .. but I loved this mode of transportation instead!

My Dad and I as the doors swung open and everyone looked back!!

Here is a view of the whole church - so neat!

Below is one of my favorite pictures, even though you can't see our faces. We are listening to the homily given by the Rector of my childhood church. He has known me for many years not just in the capacity as our Rector, but as a family friend. Our families used to get together for holidays, birthdays and special occasions. His daughter babysat my sister and I, and his wife was my 5th grade teacher who might even be reading this blog!! It was so special to have him officiate. His homily was beautiful and a true testament to how Mr. SG and I choose to live our marriage daily.