Falling For You: Set Me As a Seal Upon Your Heart (Ceremony, part 1)

After we took our places, Father C addressed the congregation. I have chosen to transcribe the ceremony in its entirety in hopes that it will be useful for any bees planning catholic weddings. If you recall, we also had a bilingual ceremony incorporating my Cuban heritage; I've chosen to transcribe the Spanish parts with their translation, in case any bilingual bees are looking for some examples of bilingual ceremonies. If that's not your cup of tea, feel free to skip the text and just look at all the pretty pictures ;)

 "Dear Miss Waterfall and Mr. Waterfall, I want to to welcome you here in the name of this parish. Your family, your friends and myself accept you in joy today. For we are here to celebrate a blessed love and we thank you for your testimony of love in your lives. Let us now celebrate that love together. Really, you are welcome here. Miss Waterfall and Mr. Waterfall, nuestra celebracion no es solo un acto de la sociedad, es ante todo la union de dos personas que se aman, como ustedes se aman, y quieren en la presencia de Cristo, de sus familiares, de sus amigos, y de toda la comunidad, comprometerse para vivir el uno para el otro con un amor fiel para siempre. Sean bienvenidos, sinceramente, me siento orgulloso de bendecir su matrimonio. (Miss Waterfall and Mr. Waterfall, our celebration is not only an act of society, it is above all else the union of two people who love eachother like you do, and want to commit to love each other  faithfully and forever in the presence of Christ, their families, their friends, and the entire community. Welcome, I feel sincerely proud to bless your marriage)." 

Let us pray: "Father, you have made the bond of marriage a holy mystery, a symbol of Christ's love for our community. Hear our prayers for Miss Waterfall and Mr. Waterfall. With faith in you and in each other they pledge their love today. May their lives always bear witness to the reality of that love. We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ, May you be seated, please."

After the welcome prayer, it was time for BM Green Eyes to deliver the first reading from the Song of Songs. A lot of people complain about the lack of romantic readings in the bible, but we just love the Song of Songs, because it's basically a love poem! As Green Eyes walked up to the podium, she smiled at me and whispered "I love you", and I just lost it. Here was my best childhood friend, reading at my wedding, it was beyond surreal. The girls and I had a bit of a bet going as to who would be the first to cry, but I never would have guessed that it would BM Green Eyes! Apparently, after she saw Mr. Waterfall tear up during my walk down the aisle, she started crying (and continued to do so during the remainder of the ceremony). BM Green Eyes can be a bit shy, so when I first asked her to do one of the readings, she wasn't too sure, but I can't imagine having anybody else. She did a beautiful job, and managed not to sob throughout the whole thing.

"The voice of my beloved!Look, he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look, there he stands behind our wall, gazing in at the windows, looking through the lattice. O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet and your face is lovely. My beloved is mine and I am his.My beloved speaks and says to me: "Arise my love, my fair one, and come away";Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. The Word of the Lord"
[Song of Solomon 2. 8-10, 16a; 8. 6-7a] 

The reading was followed by Psalm 145, I Will Praise Your Name Forever, My King and My God. Many people came up to us after the ceremony raving about "the beautiful opera singer with a voice like an angel", but I can't take credit for her since the church supplied the organist and the soloist as part of our package. She was truly amazing though! You can see the reading and the psalm in this little video, which I love, because there is so much emotion in it, as you can see, there wasn't a dry eye in the house!

The Song of Songs from Mrs.Waterfall on Vimeo. Video by Cinemomento

After the Psalm, Friend M walked up to the podium for the second reading, Corinthians 1:12. We almost didn't use this reading, simply because it's used so often, but then we realized how silly it would be to deprive ourselves of such a lovely reading, simply for the sake of being "unique".

"Strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends." The Word of the Lord. [1 Corinthians 12:31-13:18]

After the second reading, our soloist sang the Alleluia and Father C read from the Gospel according to Matthew:

"Jesus said to his disciples: "Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock." This is the Gospel of the Lord. [Matthew 7:21, 24-29]

My dear friends, Miss Waterfall and Mr. Waterfall, Today is for you both one of the greatest days in your life. A special day that you will remember forever; a special day because God blesses you, God blesses your house, and everything you have. God is with you every day so everything is possible with love, trust, and faith. So whatever happens, your life is built on the rock; on the rock of yourselves, on the rock of your faith, on the rock of your marriage. 

Absolutely, both of your families will support you. Everybody, your family, your friends and myself, we are here because of you, because of your love. They wish the best for you. Please, don't be afraid, because God will support you, and your family and friends will support you. And now I invite you to come up here, and before your family and friends, and before God, state your intentions... 

Next up, we exchange vows, rings, and other goodies!

What readings are you using in your ceremony?

All photos courtesy of the amazing Bachmann Photography unless otherwise specified

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Miss a recap?

• We get it started with our wedding trailer
• We had a really intense wedding week
• We handle some last minute drama and get our nails did
• We practice getting married
• We eat all the French food
• We stuff our faces with chocolate
• The girls get pretty, oh so pretty
• The men suit up
• I put on my wedding dress
• I put on my veil and my entourage loses their sh*t
• I show you all my somethings
• We ride a vintage limo to the church
• The bridal party walks the walk
• We have a tearful "first look" on our walk down the aisle

Falling For You: And I Saw Him Standing There

There has been a lot of buzz on the Bee about first looks. Some bees prefer them as a way to calm their nerves, while others are firmly against them. Since we had a rather late ceremony start, our photographers suggested early on that we have a first-look beforehand, to allow more time for pictures. We didn't even need to discuss it; the answer was a resounding "no". I'm not knocking the concept of first looks in general because they can produce some gorgeous photos and they certainly have a lot of logistical advantages; it just wasn't right for us. 

For as long as I can remember, I've been dreaming of that moment when I would walk down the aisle toward my future husband, on my dad's arm. I even shared some of my concerns with the hive! And while many bees swear that having a first look didn't take away from that moment, I'm not convinced it would have been the case for Mr. W and me. 

One by one, the members of the bridal party processed to the front of the church, until there was nobody left in the vestibule but the coordinator (Angelique), Papi Waterfall, and myself. Angelique fanned out my beautiful train, smoothed out my veil, and asked if I was ready. I took a deep breath and nodded yes. The music changed from Canon D to Wagner's Bridal Chorus. (Again, some of you might be rolling your eyes at my super-traditional music choices, but I had always envisioned walking down the aisle to this song, so that's what we went with. Feel free to listen along anyway for the full effect!)


The doors started to open, and my dad squeezed my hand. I took another deep breath. It was time!

The doors finally opened, and I saw him standing there, at the end of the aisle, looking more handsome than ever: Mr. Waterfall, my best friend, my rock, my everything. My heart started to beat out of my chest...

These black and white photos are some of my favourites from the day, so timeless and elegant!

As we got closer, I got a better look at his face. He was crying! Mr. Waterfall and I spent the night apart and had zero contact after our cutesy good night texts, which really built up the anticipation. I especially recommend this if you're already living with your S.O.! I will never, ever forget this moment, for as long as I live. And now that it's all said and done, I wouldn't change a thing, even if it did mean sacrificing some extra photo time.

The best reaction I could have ever hoped for!

I always thought that I would be the one to cry as soon as I saw Mr. W. (I'm a huge cry baby, and I have all the feelings), but I just had the biggest smile on my face!

See those pomanders? I made all twenty of them myself. It took me months of painstakingly gluing on every little flower, occasionally burning myself in the process... and I didn't even notice them on my way down the aisle! I was too busy checking out my soon-to-be husband! ;) To tell you guys the truth though, I really wish I had been able to lock eyes with Mr. W. and focus only on him, but I was distracted by friends and family waving hello and taking a million pictures as I walked by. 

The aisle was incredibly narrow and my dad was super concerned with not stepping on my dress, which was quite likely considering it took up about 2/3 of the aisle. It's also really hard to walk in a ball gown! When I tried walking around in it during my fittings, the fabric kept bunching up between my legs, almost making me trip. My solution? To kick the dress away from me with each step. I'm sure it sounds ridiculous, but my dress was so poofy that you couldn't really tell what I was doing under there! (Ball gown ladies, kick!)

Despite all of this, the walk down the aisle is definitely one of my favourite wedding-day memories! As cliché as it sounds, it was as if time stood still. I felt like I was floating! It was a total out-of body experience! We eventually made it to the front of the church and Papi W lifted my veil, gave me a peck on the cheek, and shook Mr. Waterfall's hand before placing my hand in his.

After my dad gave me away, Mr. Waterfall and I walked the last few steps together, hand in hand, a beautiful metaphor for our relationship.

 I handed my bouquet off to MOH Long Legs and we took our places for the ceremony.

Notice BM Green Eyes wiping away the tears, awwww!

To see it all in action, scroll to minute 2:30 of our wedding trailer!

Victoria&Mathieu trailer from elio castello on Vimeo.

Married bees, how was your walk down the aisle? Was your S.O.'s reaction everything you had hoped it would be?

All photos courtesy of the amazing Bachmann Photography unless otherwise specified

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Miss a recap?

• We get it started with our wedding trailer
• We had a really intense wedding week
• We handle some last minute drama and get our nails did
• We practice getting married
• We eat all the French food
• We stuff our faces with chocolate
• The girls get pretty, oh so pretty
• The men suit up
• I put on my wedding dress
• I put on my veil and my entourage loses their sh*t
• I show you all my somethings
• We ride a vintage limo to the church
• The bridal party walks the walk

Falling For You: A Walk to Remember

When we left off, we had just arrived at the church.

Not wasting any time, our coordinator quickly organized everyone for the processional as we crowded around the chapel's tiny vestibule. I realize that the order of our processional was a bit jumbled compared to how people normally do it. In hindsight, I see that our church did things a little bit differently. The priest told Mr. Waterfall to wait at the front of the church, so the guys stood at their pews, next to him. Since Mr. W didn't process, it also made more sense to have the moms wait at their pews as well. Because of this, our processional was fairly short, but we didn't mind, since we had a full catholic mass ahead.

I hugged my adorable flower girls who stared up at me like I was a magical fairy princess right out of a Disney movie.

Soon enough, our processional song, Canon in D, started playing. Granted, it's not the most original song choice by any means, but honestly, by the time we got around to picking our ceremony music, I was very sick, and music was not a high concern at that point, so I sort of just let the organist do his thang, and it turned out lovely. Besides, there are only so many songs you can play on an organ.

If you want to listen along, feel free!


Right as the Flower Girls were about to walk out, I noticed that they were carrying these tacky red baskets that I'd never seen before. I remember whisper-screaming to MOH Long Legs "Lose the baskets! Lose the baskets!" and she quickly grabbed them before the flower girls walked out. Phew, crisis averted, I thought, until I looked over at my dad, who was visibly upset. As it turns out, my dad knew how much I had wanted petals and had talked our priest into making an exception for me given everything that I'd been through. On such short notice, the only baskets they had found were the red Dollar Store baskets. Oops! I felt so bad for spoiling the surprise, but at this point, I was over all of it, and just wanted to see my groom and GET MARRIED ALREADY!

But back to the processional... are these not the cutest Flower Girls of all time?

I asked my florist to clean up and de-thorn two white roses for our rose ceremony, and she tied a bow around them in the same ribbon as my bouquet. It also matched the silvery grey of my DIY ring pillow!

After the Flower Girls, it was my little cousin A's turn, isn't he such a handsome little man? He's only three, but he carried those rings like a big boy! BM Tiny followed closely behind, just in case...I also love how the DIY ring pillow ended up being the perfect size for his tiny hands and the grey matched the ribbon from my bouquet and the flower girl's roses.

Next, my bridesmaids walked out one by one, looking oh-so-lovely in their cobalt blue Bill Levkoff dresses. I distinctly remember telling each one of them to point their hydrangea bouquets toward their hoo-ha for optimal photo placement (it works!).

First up, BM Tiny:

I love that she's looking at Mr. W!

Then, BM Green Eyes:

See her huge grin? She's staring at her boyfriend (now fiance!). Foreshadowing! ;)

Followed by the gorgeous MOH Long Legs:

Can you tell that she's about to cry?

And finally, the third flower girl walked out, carrying my DIY "Here Comes the Bride" banner.

It was finally my turn to walk down the aisle, but you'll have to wait for next time for that! ;)

All photos courtesy of the amazing Bachmann Photography unless otherwise specified

Pin This Image

Miss a recap?

• We get it started with our wedding trailer
• We had a really intense wedding week
• We handle some last minute drama and get our nails did
• We practice getting married
• We eat all the French food
• We stuff our faces with chocolate
• The girls get pretty, oh so pretty
• The men suit up
• I put on my wedding dress
• I put on my veil and my entourage loses their sh*t
• I show you all my somethings
• We ride a vintage limo to the church