Love is Where We Are: The Beginning

Alright, Hive, I think I've kept y'all waiting long enough. Of course, I've blabbed about my wedding plans for months. Then, you patiently read through my all of my last-minute events. Then, you read all about the rehearsal, the rehearsal dinner, and that lovely slideshow full of embarrassing baby pictures. Then, like a total jerk, I skipped the wedding and starting talking about our minimoon...but not before venting about our venue drama. I feel like I've put you through enough at this point. So whatdya say? Shall we finally get started with the Lioness recaps?!

I think yes.

Our wedding ceremony started at 11:00 AM. We were initially told that we could arrive at our venue as early as we wanted to get ready. They'd even throw in a fruit tray and some champagne for some ridiculous price! Well, apparently "as early as you want" means 9:00 AM. I don't know about you ladies, but two hours wasn't reeeeally enough time to get a bride, five bridesmaids, and two mamas ready. So, we decided to meet at my apartment. At 5:45. Wow, they must really love me, huh?

Ashley, my hair stylist, and Kealoha, a friend who just happens to do make-up got to work right away. I got into curlers first.

I should mention a few things about that photo because there are a few stories there. First of all, Papa Lioness brought me that Starbucks. At 5:45. And it was some crazy high-maintenance drink order that he really shouldn't have memorized. What a nice guy! Also, I'm wearing a UCF baseball jersey because Mr. Lion used to play for the Knights in college. I printed and ironed on his (now our) last name and his old number. Note: this DIY project will not be appearing as a blog post because I did a horrible job with it. Seriously, the last few letters were falling off before I even put it on! Nonetheless, Mr. Lion was psyched when he saw these photos after the wedding.

Lioness Bmaid Jessica was up next for hair...

...while Lioness Bmaid Laura, FMIL Lion, and Mama Lioness got to work on some bagels.

Well, they were kinda working. I was just happy to see the three moms together smiling! How cute are they?!

Next, FMIL Lion got her hair did...

...while Lioness Bmaid Emily got her make-up done.

With less than an hour to go, it was my turn to get my make-up done.

Then, we combed out my big curls...

...while Lioness Bmaid Emily pouted because Lion Corgi wasn't allowed to watch her mommy and daddy get married.

All of a sudden, we had about 10 minutes til go time. I still had two girls without make-up. Everyone was talking and having a good time, and I really didn't want to ruin that. I calmly asked everyone to start wrapping things up, but no one was really listening. I asked a little more sternly, but the girls were still pretty distracted. I know it was a little too early to pay attention, but I needed us to leave. I started to panic. What if they weren't ready on time? What if we got to the venue late?

I yelled, "HEY! I'm the bride and no one is listening to me." Silence, then a sigh of relief on my part. I informed everyone that we needed to leave in just a few minutes, and they reminded me that they were still waiting on make-up. At that point, we didn't really have much of a choice; we had run out of time. (Here's the lesson in this: make sure the bride is ready first, and always always always plan for extra time!)

"They'll just have to do their own make-up," Sister Lioness said. I did NOT like this one bit, but what other option did we have? The two remaining girls threw on their own make-up, and we dashed out the door. We were on time, but I couldn't help feeling like our wedding day was off to a bad start.

Did everything work out? Or did the panic continue once we arrived at the venue? Guess you'll have to wait and see!

Did any of you newlyweds have early morning mishaps on your big day?