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"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing...kissing a lot. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls."
Audrey Hepburn


Thursday, May 20, 2010

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.

16 comments:

Mick said...

Congrats on 15 happy years!

Angie said...

Your wedding sounds beautiful. And Congratulations! I know you will have many more wonderful years with your family to come =)

Andrea said...

Happy Anniversary!

Your wedding sounds like it was very much influenced by the styles of the time - a lot of trends I remember from the mid-nineties myself :-)

In The Heyday said...

Sounds gorgeous and I love the pic. Happy Anniversary!

FordQueen said...

That sounds like a great wedding! it hurts me as well when i think of how much money these girls spend on their weddings. I made my own dress for 12 dollars plus 8 dollars for the pattern. i think we had rented a chapel for 450 , and the reception was a nice dinner at a resturant for 20 people. im glad to see that i am not one of a very small croud that can do a beautiful wedding for less than a million dollars. :) you look almost the same as when you were nineteen. Have a happy anniversary! COngrats on 15 years together!

Victoria / Justice Pirate said...

aww I have all of Enya's albums hehe. I got married at 20, myself. . .engaged right out of high school (but pre-engaged while in high school). It is really really nice to find other ladies who married young and who are mamas too. I know you have a child (maybe more?). i have two little ones (aged 3 and 16 mos.).
I love love love hearing about your wedding!!! That is great that you designed your own dress too! I had a very long veil too that dragged a lot behind me but was my mama's.

I thought my wedding was cheap at almost $7000, but you definitely beat me on that. `I agree with you on the ridiculousness of how much people spend on weddings. I went to a wedding a couple years ago that was $30,000. . .I could buy something much more useful for that money.

Congratulations on your anniversary!!! You look younger than you are, by the way!

isn't it wonderful to grow up a bit with your husband?? It saves a lot of hearache, that's for sure.

Laryssa Herbert said...

Happy anniversary! I was married at 18, my husband and I will celebrate 13 happy years together this October.

Lucky Dame said...

Princess Buttercup = Win!

Happy Anniversary.....sounds like a wonderful wedding. Here's to many more years!!

Anonymous said...

Happy anniversary!!!! You should be soo proud to be together still being that you married at such an early age!!! good for you. That's what marraige is, through better or WORSE.

congrats ~ becca

Go Green Girl said...

Happy anniversary ....i can beat that i was a 14 year old bride
no i wasn't pregnant ...am we are not still together
(no kidding right)

A said...

Congrats! Happy Anniversary!

Unknown said...

Congratulations on your anniversary!

I was wondering if you could post pics of your dress, it sounds so pretty.

~Miss Hannah

Amanda Awesome said...

I'm still with my high school sweet heart. We've been together for 7 years...we just got engaged earlier this year. He's in the Marine Corps, and he is deployed, so hopefully we will tie the knot when he gets home.
Congrats on 15 years! I wish you happiness in the next 15 years!

Eese said...

Happy Anniversary A & J! Congratulations. I'm proud of you!

Classic Retro Glamour said...

Wow.. You look lovely! I both admire and are fascinated by people who have the mindset to get married at a young age. I really enjoyed reading your story here! Made me wanna... get married..? *giggle* Loved it anyway ;) Happy anniversary to you and your husband! I hope you'll continue to be happy together, and that your love will only grow in the future.. :) <3

Unknown said...

Happy Belated Anniversary!

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