It's wedding season (and almost my 1 year anniversary!) so today I felt inspired to share 10 things you didn't know about my wedding day. For any future brides-to-be out there, sometimes the not-so-perfect things play into that perfect day.Here's what you didn't see in our breathtaking wedding photos. The weather forecast projecting RAIN, the pounds of double-sided tape holding up my dress, a bloated belly, a very sore you-know-what from my Brazilian wax experience, and my personal favorite - a COLD SORE flare up on my upper lip the morning of the wedding. Yep, this totally happened to me on my big day. You're next assumption might be, "DANG. That's bad luck." Truthfully, I'm surprised that I was the calmest I've ever been in my entire life on that day. My wedding was perfect. I learned in church several years ago that when great blessings are about to happen in your life, there will always be distractions trying to steal the moment. I remembered this, so even when things started to flare up (literally), rain or shine, I wasn't going to let the devil rob my joy that day. Steve was my biggest prize waiting for me at the end of that altar! I have chills all over again. You'll learn a lot from your wedding day so come prepared to not be prepared. LOL Find comfort in some of the things we experienced below. Some might surprise you. ;)1. A Rainy Forecast - This is what you pay for to have an outside wedding! We didn’t have a plan B…no tent, nothing. I mean since when does it rain in CALIFORNIA??? All we could do was pray for the best. It was gloomy all morning and I remember Steve's mom praying in the car ride over to our 5pm wedding ceremony for the sun to come out and 10 minutes later the sun came shining out. It was one of my top 5 unreal God moments of all time. ha!2. Chick-Fil-A WHAT- On the day of my wedding, counting calories was not on the itinerary. My mind, body and soul was shouting for some Chick-Fil-A nuggets with a large fry and coke! Oh and all the dipping sauces. LOL I still laugh about it especially when people ask me, "What was your secret on your wedding day?" My answer: Chick-fil-A. ;)3. Put that phone down! - I don't think I looked at my phone all day. That was a first. ha! It was so nice not texting people back, posting Instagrams, or checking emails (God forbid!) on my wedding day. I gave my phone to my sister to handle for me. It was nice! I just wanted to take in every single moment from start to the finish. The day goes by SOOOOO fast that you need to cherish every moment that you can hold on to.
4. The Original Wedding Date was May 9th, Say what? - Stevie and I planned our wedding in 5 weeks as many of you know. When we learned just 1 week before our original Saturday May 9th ceremony that they accidentally double-booked another wedding on the same day of our wedding. I'm surprised we didn't cancel the whole thing after having to tell all of our guests, the caterer etc. Once again, God showed up. We didn't want to wait so we felt it was a sign that May 8th was going to be our Lucky Friday. ;) It also didn't hurt that we ended up getting a HUGE discount from the vender for giving us such short notice.
5. Flowers? Who Cares? - I let my florist handle all of the floral arrangements and details on my wedding day. When he asked me what I wanted I simply said, "I just want it to look PRETTY! :)" He ran with it and all I had to do was give him the vibe I wanted. He killed it! He managed to make it all work in the little and big details. I was mesmerized by our oceanfront wedding location that I knew we could do no wrong with having flowers or no flowers.
6. Have a drink, maybe two. I know that alcohol affects everyone differently. I’m a pretty small girl, so it can affect me quickly. I've never been a heavy drinker but I appreciate a glass of wine or champagne to calm the nerves. I wanted to remember every single little detail about the day, so Stevie and I didn't get "trashed" or wasted. We never overdo it with the drinks and for your wedding day I highly recommend trying this. You can drink any day of the year, but you only have one day that's your wedding day. :)7. I only had about 40 guests - There's something so special about walking down an aisle and not seeing everyone and their mom there. As I was walking down the aisle, I loved almost being able to touch everyone who was there. The people who have been so pivotal in mine and Stevie's relationship. Fun fact: We had a small ceremony and party with about 40 people and then in the summer we threw a big reception party in Austin at Steve's parent's house. It was so nice to have the intimate ceremony first and then the big party later.8. We didn't have a DJ - The private residence where we had our wedding had a crazy sound system. It was like that Disney movie, Smart House. ha! We didn't feel the need to have a DJ when we could have an awesome playlist that we put together playing throughout the night. The music sets the vibe for the whole day- from getting ready, to the ceremony, to the reception. It’s pretty important so keep the playlist organized! You and your significant other know yourselves- so if you decide on a DJ or a band, or if you want to make the playlist yourself - just have fun with it. Stevie is pretty amazing with his music taste, so I let him take the reigns. We played this same playlist at our party reception in Austin. It was honestly perfect…maybe one day I’ll release it on my blog. ;)
9. We Found Our Caterer the Week Before Our Wedding - We went back and forth on this and finally a week before my wedding Steve's mom found an awesome Kurdish restaurant not too far from our wedding location. We were only feeding about 40 people so we thought LET'S DO THISSS. The restaurant is called Nîroj Cuisine in case you're in the LA area and want to try my heritage food :) Both Stevie and I were so pumped because we loooove Kurdish food (Stevie loves the dolma especially!) It was a nice special touch!
10. My Parent's Didn't Attend My Wedding Ceremony - I've never publicly shared this until now but many of you know that my parent's didn't want to accept that I was marrying Steve, a man outside of my culture. Interracial marriages can be tough when parents' choose not to accept it and in my case it broke my heart. Weeks before, I was worried that people were going to feel sorry for me or that I would feel sorry for my parents for missing this incredible moment in my life. I kept thinking, how am I going to feel when I see that they didn't show up? The only thing that filled my heart was seeing how Jesus showed up. I witnessed God blessing me with so many incredible people that day that I will never be able to describe it into words. I was so calm, happy and relaxed all day. There was never a moment when I got sad or felt bad. Part of me was missing but I still felt whole. My focus was on Steve and the decision we made to be free, breaking all the cultural barriers. In case you're wondering - My 18 year old brother walked me down the aisle and it was the most precious thing. However, God still knew how badly I wanted Steve to be accepted in my family. Two months after our wedding, I'm happy to say that Stevie was welcomed into my family with a post-wedding celebration we had in San Diego. He was welcomed with open arms, kisses, and lots of dolma from Grandma! I'm convinced now that my mom loves him more than me. haha!! :)So you see, things don't always have to be perfect on your wedding day. When you're marrying the man of your dreams - it will be the best day of your life no matter what! ;) Before I go, I just want to thank each of you, my dear readers, who have been so amazing to me over the years. Thank you for letting me share things that I never imagined I could do. You make me more courageous. Thank you :)
