Before we could get married, we had to practice getting married! Our families arrived at the church on Friday evening after spending the afternoon at our venue setting up tables, chairs, linens, the bar and other little details in the muggy, stifling heat.
At the beginning of the rehearsal, the church coordinator got us all lined up at the front of the church. We were to begin part-way through the ceremony, work out the logistics* of our ceremony, then exit the church and practice the processional.
*To the best of my knowledge, ours was the first wedding to take place at our church since we moved into this new building about a year and a half ago. We needed to figure out the best way to have people stand, walk and serve communion without everyone tripping over each other.
H-Dad and I practiced walking, and he practiced his only line, "Her mother and I," in response to "Who gives this woman?" The first time he said it, he accidentally said "The mother and I," and Mom Hyena got a good laugh.
We went over our vows.
We recessed...
MIL Hyena made me my beautiful rehearsal bouquet!
...then it was back to the lobby to practice the processional.
After our rehearsal, it was time to get some grub! We had our rehearsal dinner at John Crompton Park Pavilion, and had C&J's Barbecue catered. Mr. Hyena and I used to go there for lunch every Sunday after church, so it was kind of fitting! Mmm mmm mmm!
It. Was. So. Humid. The forecast had been predicting thunderstorms for several days, and the air was so heavy, but we didn't let that stop the party! It didn't start pouring rain until our rehearsal dinner was over.
After everyone had had their fill of delicious sausage and brisket, baked beans and potato salad, FIL Hyena kicked off the toasts.
He thanked everyone for being there, and said it's obvious how happy Mr. Hyena is now that he's found me, and that we are perfect together. He welcomed me to their family, and passed the mic to H-Dad.
H-Dad also welcomed Mr. Hyena to our family, and promised he would be serious at our wedding. He is kind of a ham, but he said he would be on his best behavior until afterwards. He kept that promise!
Next up was MOH Sis. She and Best Man J had been Facebook messaging each other a few months earlier, and had joked about using haikus as their speeches, so MOH Sis read us the one she had written:
Aggies and Sooners
A house almost divided
Rivals to the end
She talked about the first time she had met Mr. Hyena (he had a white van in high school, and he was sitting in the back with the hatch open, and he offered her candy ... winner story, right?). She was glad that her first impression of him was wrong, because she was really happy that she was getting such a nice guy as a brother-in-law.
Best Man J refused to read us his haiku, but spoke about how he and Mr. Hyena had been friends for a very long time, and how J had never seen Mr. Hyena as happy as he was when he was with me.
Bridesmaid J stood up to say a few words as well. She has known me since we were in fifth grade and was my college roommate, and she saw first-hand our relationship as it grew. She talked about how happy I was to see Mr. Hyena throughout college, and how sad I would get every time he would leave to go back home to Texas, and how we are great together.
Then GM S stood up to speak, as he had been Mr. Hyena's college roommate. He said what a great guy Mr. Hyena is, and that he had also been there for a lot of our relationship, and had gotten to know me over the past years. He had helped me sneak into the dorm to surprise Mr. Hyena for his birthday one weekend, and thought I was awesome. :)
With the toasts done, Mr. Hyena stood up to thank everyone for coming out to celebrate with us. He was very touched that everyone was there, and we both felt so loved.
With all the formal festivities complete, the girls headed back to my apartment to finish fixing our
last-minute bridesmaid dress issues, then we all headed out to O'Bannon's Tap House on Northgate to meet the guys and a few other out-of-town friends for a beer. Then at the end of the night, Mr. Hyena walked me out to my car in the pouring rain, we kissed goodnight, and I wouldn't get to see him again until the moment I walked down the aisle...
Are you going out to celebrate the night before your wedding? Any awkward stories about your significant other meeting your family members?
