Bride at Nineteen

It was on this day, 15 years ago, that my husband and I tied the knot. I am very happy and have never regretted it once, though we were nineteen years old at the time and have grown up alot since then. Fortunately, we grew up together, and stayed close. We spent a good five years getting used to one another before we opted to have children so I think that also worked in our favor.

My wedding was very 'young'. I can definitely see my youth when I look back on the details. The dress was a 400.00 creation that I designed myself. Incidentally, my entire wedding cost 1500.00 Which is why I cringe when I see girls spend three times that on just the dress, these days. Mine was based partly on a dress I saw in a magazine and partly on Princess Buttercup. The fabric was shantung silk, a very simply cut a-line, with long sleeves that pointed over the tops of the hands. And I had my seamstress create this long bell sleeve to go over the top of it, out of chiffon (feel free to roll your eyes). My veil was LONG and the wreath on my head was SUPPOSED to be a thick circle of ivy, like one of the brides in 'Four Weddings and a Funeral', but that didnt work out. It was a puny thing. I carried a single cala lily (single blossoms were kinda the going thing in the mid-nineties) and I went barefoot. With a frog toe ring. Remember the toe-ring craze of the time? I had a ton of frog and turtle toe rings.

My bridesmaids wore dresses made out of the same pattern as mine, only tea length. The sleeves were also shortened and the dresses were of crepe, with satin braiding at the neckline. My two bridesmaids were paler girls so I had them wear deep forest green. My maid of honor had the same dress in ivory and she carried a gigantic bouquet of cala lilies, which was heartily ruined by an overabundance of 'fern' that the florist opted to add w/out asking me. She looked like a bride herself, which was kind of intentional and based loosely on the processional of 'The Sound of Music'. Can you see how strong a part movies play in my life? The bridesmaids wore shoes, by the way. I remember that they scurried around until a rediculous hour trying to find shoes to match their dresses. I think they ended up resorting to Wal Mart.

My sister in law did the flowers. I remember, in addition to the cala lilies, alot of freesia and pastel roses. Yellows and pinks. Speaking of freesia, scents were a huge part of my life as a teen. I still feel nostalgic when I think of the way Bath N Body Works used to be. When the packaging was earthy and simple. And I WORSHIPPED Crabtree And Evelyn. I remember feeling sheer bliss when I walked into that store and explored the different scents. My wedding fragrance was "Summer Hill". I also loved "Southampton Rose" and the 'Nantucket Briar' fragrance reminds me of my sister in law, who wore it religiously at this point.

The groomsmen wore ascot ties and morning tuxes, with gray pinstriping on the pants. They all looked great and now that I think of it, I guess the wedding was pretty tasteful. At least it's not something I will look back on with embarassment.

The family walked down the aisle to the soundtrack of 'The Piano', I remember, and the bridal party walked to 'Fairytale' by Enya. The guys didnt strut. They waited at the end. Like a good man should. :)

The honeymoon was in Disneyworld...the perfect locale for teen newlyweds. And we couldnt even drink.