Well, it's official! I'm a married "woman". :D The wedding is over, the guests (and Robby!) are all napping, and I have just a few minutes to relate the whole thing to all of you. If I can focus, that is...I'm on cloud nine! :)
We did have the lovely outside wedding that we'd planned. The weather was sunny and the grass was still lush and green. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get married under the rose bush like I'd hoped. The petals were starting to wither a bit, for one thing. But more importantly, it was just a little too hot in the sun. None of us wanted to melt. ;)
About 15 minutes before everything was supposed to begin, our guests took their seats. Isabella and Tiana had kindly offered to watch Baby Emmaline and Baby Abigail since Eugene and Rapunzel were standing up with us in the ceremony. The babies loved being outside and cooed and babbled happily with their babysitters.
Cordelia came as well, and much to my surprise, Ben also attended. I wasn't sure if he would after our history. Rapunzel and I were still getting ready when everyone was taking their seats, so Tiana filled us in on all of the details later. She said that Ben very pointedly took the farthest seat away from Isabella that he could. Tiana said that Isabella looked sad about this, but didn't say anything. Ben can be such a stinker!
Of course, things didn't turn out so well for him when Marguerite, completely oblivious to his past feelings for her, settled herself comfortably beside him.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked pleasantly. I could just picture her sweet voice, thick with her French accent, when Tiana told me. "Raoul has to perform the ceremony, so I'm all alone."
Tiana said it took Ben a while to respond. His face was turned away from her, so Tiana couldn't catch his expression, but I could imagine the stunned, pained look pretty well on my own.
"No, not at all," he finally managed.
Apparently, Marguerite chatted happily away the entire time they were waiting for the ceremony to begin. I felt a twinge of pity for poor Ben at this. That had to have been hard.
Eugene filled Rapunzel in later (and of course, she shared it with us!). He had a better vantage point from his spot up front. I guess Marguerite kept right on visiting, even when Raoul, Robby and Eugene stood up front to wait for me to come out. Eugene said that Ben never took his eyes off of her, and that he had the most mournful expression on his face that Eugene had ever seen. Meanwhile, Marguerite laughed and talked as if they were the best of friends, utterly blind to the pain she was causing. And how could she know? Ben had never shared his feelings with her. He'd never had a chance, really. Before he could say anything,
Raoul had arrived at the house, and then it was obvious that Marguerite's affections already lay elsewhere.
When the music began, Marguerite finally stopped visiting with Ben, and all of the audience sat attentively, waiting for Rapunzel and I to make our entrance. (Beast'sbelle had kindly plugged her CD player in and put it on the front porch so that we could have some music for the ceremony. :D ) I had selected "Meditation" by Thais as the music I would walk into. I'd heard it on Beast'sbelle's "Never Grow Up" blog and thought it was absolutely beautiful. I love violins!!
Once the music started, Rapunzel and I took our places behind the rose bush and waited for a few minutes. We were going to let the music play a while and let everyone get in the right mood before I made my appearance. ;)
I was able to sneak a peak through the branches at my beloved. He looked so nervous! He was staring down at the ground as if he couldn't bear to look. Or maybe he wasn't nervous...maybe he was just ready and couldn't wait another second.
Suddenly, I felt the same way. "Let's go," I whispered to Rapunzel, who was going to walk in with me.
"Are you sure?" she whispered back. "You were going to wait 3 more measures."
Three measures of music felt like a lifetime. "I'm sure," I said confidently.
Rapunzel grinned and took my arm. "Then let's go," she said sweetly.
We came out from behind the rosebush and headed over for the tree where I'd spent so many hours with my beloved Robby.
My heart was pounding, but I couldn't stop smiling. It all felt so surreal!
And then I caught a glimpse of him. I'll never forget the look of pure adoration he had on his face as he gazed at me, or the way he took a deep breath as I approached. Never had I felt so absolutely cherished. And that's saying a lot, because Robby has given me plenty of caring looks in the past! :) This one was more wonderful than all the rest, though. I wanted to rush into his arms right that minute, but I restrained myself...barely. ;)
As we approached the tree, Rapunzel left my side and took her place beside Raoul, who was going to officiate the ceremony since Percy was no longer with us. I could feel happiness welling up inside of me so intensely that I thought I might burst. The combination of the beautiful music, the face of my betrothed, and the excitement of the day had all combined into one huge wave of giddiness. I felt as if I could fly if someone only asked me to.
And then, almost before I knew it, I was standing there among the rose petals, facing Robby, ready to commit to him for the rest of my days.
"You look beautiful," Robby whispered warmly as we came together.
I blushed. "Thanks," I whispered back. "You look amazing in that tux."
He made a face. "I wanted to stick with my usual clothes, but Beast'sbelle insisted. Glad you approve."
He gave me a little wink, and I stifled a giggle.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Rapunzel and Eugene exchanging a tender glance, no doubt remembering their own special day over a year ago. And they both loved us so much that this was most likely just as exciting for them as it was for us. They'd both been hoping this day would come for months, even before I was convinced. ;)
I focused my attention back on myself and Robby, waiting for Raoul to begin the ceremony. But Robby had an unexpected surprise up his sleeve.
Looking deeply into my eyes, he started to sing. It took me a while in my surprised state to recognize the song he was singing. It was "You Were Meant for Me" from "Singin' In the Rain". We'd watched it a few weeks ago, and I'd mentioned how much I liked that song. Apparently, he'd been paying attention!
[Side Note #1: I've included a link to the original song HERE for those of you who aren't familiar with it. Of course, Robby's version was a bit different. He sang it a cappella, and we also didn't break into a dance number in the middle of it (good thing, too, since I can't dance to save my life!). ;) Still, it'll give you an idea of how special it was.]
Now, Robby's not a huge fan of musicals or romantic movies, but he puts up with them because I like them. So that shows you just how much he loves me. He took the time to learn a song from a movie that wasn't even one of his favorites, just because he knew it would be significant for me.
It was the most beautiful, moving thing anyone had ever done for me. Instantly, I was brought back to the
day we'd gone outside, when I'd first discovered his singing ability. I only wished I could sing well enough to join him. I clamped my jaw closed, just in case my joy overtook my good sense.
Once Robby's song was over, the ceremony officially began. I know Raoul said a lot of nice things, but honestly, I don't remember most of them. It's all kind of a blur. :} I did pay enough attention to repeat my vows along with Robby:
"I Belle take you Robby, to be my wedded husband. To have and to hold, to love and to cherish, in brokenness and mint condition, with rich humans or poor, for better or for worse, till dumpster or landfill do us part."
Before I knew it, the time had come to exchange our bracelets.
We'd brought the "Je Taime" box that Robby had used to give me my engagement bracelet. It held the bracelets safely until it was time.
Rapunzel scooped down and got both bracelets out, then waited to hand them to us as Raoul started talking about them.
[Side note #2: You might notice that we didn't do the same glove ceremony as Eugene and Rapunzel. I really wanted to, but my gloves weren't in the best of shape, and I also wanted to keep the wedding as simple and short as possible. I hadn't planned on going over our traditions again in this post since I went into such detail for Eugene and Rapunzel's wedding post. If you're interested in a refresher course, you can view their wedding HERE.] ;)
When Raoul had finished, Robby placed my bracelet on my left wrist...
...and I placed his on his left wrist.
Raoul pronounced us husband and wife, and Robby bent down to kiss his bride.
And with that, I was officially married. It seemed so strange. Months of anticipation and planning and dreaming had all come down to a simple 15 minute ceremony, over in the blink of an eye. But now, the real adventure began. ;)
Our guests all cheered and applauded, full of joy for us on our special day. I looked out at each one of them, so thankful that they had come to witness this important moment in our lives.
We didn't do a receiving line because everyone was planning on sticking around afterwards, and Beast'sbelle really wanted to get some photos of us.
The Happy Couple
Rapunzel and I
Eugene and Robby
We also got a group shot of everyone who was able to attend. :)
And of course, Beast'sbelle went crazy with the camera and took a TON of wedding photos. She had advised us to wait to do pictures until after the wedding so that the first time Robby saw me in my dress would be when I was walking towards him during the ceremony. It was a little tiring to have to do all of the pictures afterwards, but I'm so glad we did it that way. I wouldn't exchange the look my almost-husband gave me when he first saw me for anything! :)
Anyway, here are some of our very favorites:
After a while, my veil really started to bother me, so I took it off and posed for the rest of the pictures without it. ;)
In keeping with tradition, I selected the wedding guest who would have the honor of receiving my wedding bouquet. After Tiana's story last weekend, I knew without a doubt that she would be the right choice.
I hoped that somehow, someway, she would be able to be reunited with her special Naveen doll. And I hoped that if the Naveen on his way was the wrong one, I could perhaps convince Beast'sbelle to send him back and search for the right one.
After all, Tiana deserved to have a day just as happy as this one for herself.
Once we had finished our pictures (we thought!), we headed over to cut our...Reese's. You'll all remember how important the cake was to Robby. :} Well, Beast'sbelle kind of ran out of time to get a cake for us, but she happened to have a heart-shaped Reese's peanut butter cup available. It was just the right size, and the heart shape was very appropriate. Robby decided that would be an okay substitute, so we went ahead and used it. :)
It looked delicious! I was sure our guests wouldn't mind the substitution. ;)
Beast'sbelle cut if for us since she didn't want any of us using sharp knives. She's really big on having mint condition dolls without any lacerations. ;)
We took turns feeding each other and decided to be NICE (no smashing Reese's in each other's faces or anything!). I'm a little embarrassed by this picture, though. My arm locked in place at this weird angle for a minute, and before I could fix it, Robby bent down and took his bite, and Beast'sbelle snapped a picture. How embarrassing! :{
Robby's picture looks much more sophisticated. ;)
Apparently no one minded the Reese's, because it was gone within minutes!
Like I mentioned earlier, we figured we were all done with pictures, but then Beast'sbelle mentioned that the sun had shifted, so it might be nice to take some pictures by the roses. Part of me wanted to just skip it, but Beast'sbelle reminded us that we'd never be able to capture this moment again, so it was always better to err on the side of too many pictures than not enough. We figured she was probably right, so we agreed, even though we were getting tired of posing! They turned out really nicely, though, so I guess I shouldn't complain. ;)
At last the pictures were finished, and the guests had returned to the house. Robby and I flopped back in the grass and stole a few minutes to ourselves.
"Can you believe we're actually married now?" I asked him incredulously. "I feel like it's all just a dream, and tomorrow, I'll wake up to things the way they used to be."
Robby smiled gently as we sat up. "It's not a dream, Belle." I loved the way his voice caressed my name as he said it. "You really are mine. No more waiting and pining."
He leaned in closer and gave me a tender look. "I'm afraid you're stuck with me for good, m'dear."
I pretended to think about this for a moment. "I suppose I could live with that," I teased him.
I had only a moment to see the grin that spread across his features before he stooped down and kissed me.
I don't know how frequently I'll be posting in the next few days. I'd like to just focus on Robby and spending time with him. I'll be in touch in the weeks to come, though. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to share our special day with us! We love hearing from all of you and are humbled that you're so interested in our little plastic lives. ;) Oh, and Robby said to be sure and say hello to everyone for him, too. :)
