Promptly after that, we went for her final "show" at the L*ittle G*ym. She was very excited to have Denisa, Matt, and Ashley there to watch her do some of her tricks.
After the medal presentation, we went to lunch. Have you ever known a bride to eat a cheeseburger and fries right before her wedding? Our special bride did!!!
On Thursday, we went to one of our favorite local theatres and saw The Three Bears Go to the Beach. It was lots of fun and Lindy really enjoyed herself. She even started to show signs of getting over her fear of characters by inching on to the stage. Every time they came near, though, she crept back on her mat.
After a week of appointments (not mentioned) and activities, the day before the wedding was FINALLY here. In the afternoon we went to a lovely tea at the home of the maid of honor's. Although it was STRAIGHT up naptime, Lindy behaved like a complete little lady. She had so much fun visiting with all the ladies and feeling like a big girl by hanging out with the bridesmaids.
Not long after the wonderful tea--with sweets galore--we headed to the church for rehearsal. Lately, our very extroverted child, has been going through a more apprehensive, "I'm scared" phase. I anticipated she might clam up and be semi-uncooperative once all the wedding party was there and all eyes were on her. While she did withdraw some at first, she quickly got into the festive mood and was really excited about being on the stage and around the bridal party. It really helped that the maid of honor is a Kindergarten teacher, so we dubbed her as Lindy's special friend.
After a quick and efficient rehearsal, we went off to have some yummy Mexican food for the rehearsal dinner.
It was a late night but exciting one for Lindy and she enjoyed every moment and ate her weight in tortilla chips. It wasn't long before morning arrived and it was time for us to get ready to go to the church. I was pretty nervous. I so wanted her to look beautiful, be calm and feel peace, and do a good job. I had complete faith that she COULD do it but wasn't entirely convinced that she WOULD do it. Because she openly communicated MANY times during the week that she was nervous, I did my best not to dwell too much on the subject but enough to drive home her important role. Earlier in the week I had decided to offer an "incentive" to encourage her good behavior and celebrate her big responsibility. As far as I can recall, this was the first time I've ever done this and she had a hard time grasping the concept. During the week while we were in a boutique, she fell in love with a hot pink flower ring and I asked her if she would like that as her reward. It was at that time her flower girl role became known as "Operation Pink Ring." We got to the church and it seemed like things happened so quickly from there. She loved getting ready right next to Ashley and the bridesmaids and couldn't peel her eyes away from all the beautiful dresses, jewelry, and pretty shoes.
She cooperated like a pro during the pre-Wedding photos and remained calm, neat, and not-sweaty before the ceremony. About five minutes before the ceremony, Don and I left her with the wedding coordinator and the bridal party and wished her well so we could take our seats. I'll be honest. I was a nervous wreck! Moments passed and the ceremony started. One by one each member of the party came in. I didn't know Lindy was actually walking until he beamed at me with pride and said, "She's doing it!" I leaned over to the aisle, saw my beautiful daughter, and LOST it. Something about the anxiety, Pachelbel's Canon in D, the beautiful wedding atmosphere, and then seeing Lindy walking down the aisle sent me over the edge. I got a hold of myself but certainly wasn't at all prepared for the feeling that had come over me. She was so good during the ceremony and proud doesn't really capture all that I felt about how well she did.
I didn't get a lot of pictures of her because the lighting was difficult and I didn't want to compete with the photographer. However, here are some...
The reception was at a beautiful location downtown. It didn't take long for her to chow on some food, get some frosting, and hit the dance floor. That's when she got sweaty!
Lindy was super excited because rumor had it that Matt and Ashley were going to leave via a horse-drawn carriage. Being an avid Cinderella fan, she couldn't wait to see that!
So, she grabbed a handful of rose petals and waited for Matt and Ashley to come down the elevator and waited--not so patiently--to see the horse and carriage.
Within a few minutes they came down and in what seemed a blink of the eye they were off...
...to live happily ever after...
The End!
