Our Wedding Story By Song
Thursday, June 20th, 2019
The sound was my alarm:
I woke up at Jess, my Maid of Honor's house. I stayed over because we had a big day ahead of us. The work was done. Twenty two months of planning everything from big decisions to tiny details, and now all we had to do was go. Our alarms went off at the same time in different rooms. We met in the hallway and immediately broke into a silent dance party. It was game time.
The song was Truth Hurts by Lizzo:
We picked Ryan up from the airport bright and early and began our trip out west. Jess knew all the words to this song, which is rare, so naturally we had to play it on repeat. Our first stop was in Westborough for my hair trial. While I did that, Jess and Ryan walked across the parking lot for a solo lunch at a Chinese food buffet...Ryan's favorite. I sat and wondered what they were talking about as Andrea worked her magic on my hair, taking one photo from Pinterest and making it a reality. That was easy.
Next stop - Deerfield! We continued the drive, still singing Lizzo all the way. When we arrived at the venue, we were immediately taken back by the stunning job that our friends Deb and Rose did decorating. Our reception hall was massive and I gave them the difficult task of making it feel a bit more intimate. They hung tulle and twinkle lights from the 50+ foot ceilings and the room was transformed. The lights continued into the entry area, where our seating chart stood. My sisters built the seating chart by hand and it was perfect.
That night Ryan, Jess, Neil & I had dinner at our favorite spot in Amherst - Judie's. I ordered my favorite meal & a margarita. I had said I wasn't drinking that night, but Jess insisted that it was time to start the celebrations. Fine, twist my arm...
As Ryan and I laid in bed that night, I remember telling him that I was sort of sad for the weekend to be starting because that meant it would soon be over. We agreed to enjoy every minute.
Friday, June 21, 2019
The song was Beer Never Broke My Heart by Luke Combs:
I couldn't sleep anymore, too excited! I bumped this song through my headphones and set out for a run around the UMass campus. I had to get rid of some of the nervous energy! About 45 seconds into my run, the skies opened up and it began to downpour. Well, better today than tomorrow, I told myself. By the time I sprinted back to the hotel I was drenched and out of breath...workout, check.
The bridesmaids started to arrive around 11am and we headed off to our mani/pedi appointment. This is when it started to feel real. Two coats of funny bunny and one coat of bubble bath left me with the perfect pinkish white on my nails while the others chose some beautiful neutrals to go with their champagne colored dresses. The boys grabbed lunch at The Hangar, Amherst's go to spot for wings and beer. Of course, we had them bring some back to the hotel for us. Isn't this what everyone eats the day before their wedding...?
The song was Bennie And The Jets by Elton John & P!nk:
I couldn't wait to step into the amazingly comfortable white lace jumpsuit I rented from StylistLA for the rehearsal. The girls piled into Reana's Jeep and drove back to Deerfield. When we arrived, I felt for the first time like I had no idea what I was doing. Luckily, our venue coordinator walked us through it (except Noah, our two year old ring-bearer who ran through it), and we were off to dinner.
We chose to invite the bridal party and their plus ones, all immediate family, and all aunts and uncles to our rehearsal dinner. We held it on the top floor of Hotel UMass, which has the best sunset views of campus. Ryan gave an amazing speech about the location's significance to us and we chatted for hours with family, some of whom we hadn't seen in years.
The song was The Middle by Zedd & Maren Morris:
Some of our friends and cousins had made their way to Amherst by now, so we headed to Stacker's Pub to meet them. I specifically remember this song playing as I looked around, in awe of everything that was going on. People from all different parts of our lives were here in this one bar - some catching up with old friends, others making new ones. "Tequila shots are only $1, are you sure we shouldn't?" Jess asked me, which was my cue that it was time for us to go to bed.
I didn't expect to sleep, but as soon as we got back to Jess's room I was calm. Our bags were packed and ready for the morning. I laid down, and before I knew it, my alarm went off. A full night's sleep, woah.
Saturday, June 22, 2019
The song was That's My Girl by Fifth Harmony:
The girls arrived at Deerfield Academy at 6:30am, sleepy but excited. We walked into the old colonial house where we were set to get ready, and saw that the venue had set up an amazing spread of bagels, pastries, coffee & juice for us. Life changing. The bridesmaids got organized while I walked in circles. Hair and makeup began and pretty soon everyone looked like supermodels. Maria used airbrush makeup for a more natural look which was exactly what I wanted, and Andrea managed even the thickest heads of hair with ease. The champagne started going around, and soon it was time to make our bouquets. I wanted the girls to make their own so that they had their own style, and also to keep them busy during the long day of getting ready. My mom handled picking out all of the flowers under my very little direction of "I want white and lots of greens". She nailed it. I wrapped my grandmother's bracelet around my bouquet. It had the most beautiful blue stones on it. Something blue - check. The bridesmaids helped me into my dress, and I put on my jewelry. A beautiful new diamond bracelet from my LA girls, and the earrings that Meg wore when she married Ryan's brother. Something borrowed - check.
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The sound was the beat of my own heart:
Ryan stood tall with his back to me as I approached him for our first look. We each read letters from each other and then he turned to see me. "Wow, it's perfect" were his words and we couldn't stop hugging and smiling. Someone get me to the altar, I can't wait any longer to marry this man! We ran through hundreds of photos with our amazing photographer Stephanie who, when it started to thunder, looked me in the eye and said "it's not going to rain". I believed her, and she was right. With hail storms going on in all directions around us, we had blue skies and 72 degrees. If we had forgotten about our guardian angels looking down on us that day, this was our reminder.
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The song was Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes:
The groomsmen & Ryan filed into the ceremony. The rest of us were lined up in the house we got ready in, and I stood on my toes in my four inch gold heels trying to get a peek at what was going on. Everything was officially in motion.
The song was Never Be The Same by Camilla Cabello:
The rest of the procession began - grandparents, followed by parents, followed by bridesmaids, and finally Noah. In his bow tie and suspenders, he stole the show as we knew he would.
The song was Yellow by Coldplay:
It's one of my favorite songs and one that I always envisioned for this moment. As my dad and I made the long walk from the doorway, across the street, and down the aisle, I was overwhelmed by all of the smiling faces that showed up for us. The ceremony was short, sweet, and personal - just like we wanted. My grandmother and Ryan's Uncle Tim spoke beautifully, and our friend Jon performed the ceremony with professionalism and ease. Jess stepped up (of course) when my cathedral veil began to blow in the wind, threatening to rip every last strand of hair out of my head.
The song was Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay:
The DJ lined up the moment for our kiss perfectly (what, not everyone plans at this level of detail?) and massive smiles took over our faces as we high fived and made our way back down the aisle as Mr. & Mrs. Collins. Finally.
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The song was Castle On The Hill by Thomas Rhett:
Our cocktail hour was casual and fun, with plenty of food and a country music playlist. Ryan and I were adamant about the food being our style as opposed to typical wedding food. The cocktail hour was just the beginning - fried mac & cheese balls, flatbread pizza, scallops wrapped in bacon...we had it all. Ryan and I made our way around the courtyard to give lots of hugs, and for me - lots of twirls in my dress. Our family and friends played cornhole and jenga, took photos, and enjoyed our signature cocktails - a skinny margarita (mine) and a whiskey ginger (Ryan's).
The song was a remix to Good Life by Kanye West:
Our parents and bridal party made their entrance into the reception, walking together as the supportive armies we know them to be.
The song was Party & BS In The USA by Biggie & Miley Cyrus:
Ryan and I entered the room. Holy moly was it beautiful. My mom had done an unbelievable job with the greenery and candles, the lights were perfect, and all 23 tables were full. Rather than number the tables, we named them after important places in our life. Every detail, even ones I forgot about, was there. Admittedly, while I carefully planned everything, I didn't have much of a plan as to who was going to set up what. To this day, I don't even know how it all got done but it did. "Is this real life?" I was asking myself as we reached the center of the dance floor.
The song was Always Remember Us This Way by Lady Gaga:
Our first dance as husband and wife. We talked, we laughed, I twirled some more. Our bridal party and family lined the dance floor for a moment I wish I could have on repeat forever.
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The song was Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd:
After my dad, Jess, & Ryan's brother Sean gave amazing speeches, Ryan danced with his mom as the crowd sang along. She looked unbelievably beautiful and happy. I couldn't stop smiling.
The song was What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong:
Ryan danced with his grandmother and everyone died at the cuteness of it all. We were so lucky to have her with us for that moment.
The song was You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban:
I danced with my dad to a song we have been singing together for years. I thought I would be a crying mess, but he made me laugh as he told me he almost projected my elementary school chorus performance of the song on the reception wall while we danced. He decided against it because he thought I would kill him. He was right.
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The song was A Million Dreams by P!nk:
Dinner was officially under way. Our buffet featured a mac & cheese station, a pasta station, a taco station, a mashed potato station, and a carving station. I remember thinking "omg, I don't have to worry about fitting into my wedding dress anymore!" as I piled a little bit of everything on my plate. Everyone told Ryan and I to make sure we take time to eat...we knew this was never going to be an issue for us.
The song was We Found Love by Rihanna:
The dance floor kicked off and stayed bumpin' the entire night. We really wanted our music to be fun and modern, so I had a carefully curated playlist and the DJ kept the people going. It got pretty wild towards the end of the night, exactly like we wanted. I changed into a romper and some bedazzled white Nike's that Lauren got me, and would have never stopped dancing if the DJ didn't tell me it was time for our final song.
The song was Drops of Jupiter by Boyce Avenue:
Ryan and I encouraged everyone to join us for the last dance of the night. For the hundredth time that weekend, I wished I could stop time.
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If you ask any married couple, they will tell you how quickly the day flies by. We heard this so many times that while it definitely still held true, we were sure to take moments to slow down. To listen to the music. To look at each other and know that we would never forget this day. These memories, and hundreds more, will be dear to our hearts as we take on life's adventures as husband & wife, and the best of friends.
