wedding wednesday: rings and kisses

You know, there were moments when the actual person who married us spoke. I've kind of missed all that here in the recaps. I can't remember if I mentioned it during the planning, but figuring out who would marry us was oddly easy for two people who didn't have a close personal relationship with a religious figure. When we were dating, we took a one-day marriage prep class. It wasn't taught from a religious perspective or through a church but it turned out that the male half of the couple who led it was actually a minister. We figured who better to perform the ceremony. Turns out, he's married lots of folks. He did a fantastic job with the ceremony and with being flexible enough to allow us our own vows and readings. Plus, he's tall! Makes for good pictures and no need for a stage.

When it was time for the rings, there were no accidents. No one dropped anything or put one on the wrong finger. As I mentioned before, I chose to wear my mother's rings. I don't know about you, but it seems like kids see a lot of their parents' hands. Her rings were always there even after my dad died. It's nice to look at my hand and be reminded of her every time.

The Hubby had a hard time finding a ring he liked. He wanted something that went with mine, was fairly traditional, but was unique. It's white gold like mine and is the same width as my two together. It has a brushed finish and instead of being flat or convex like most men's rings, his is concave. He'll tell you "like a hubcap." I just like how it looks on his finger.

Since we're talking rings, I'll jump ahead and show you a few shots taken at the reception. It's this kind of attention to detail that makes me love today's wedding photography.

So that was pretty much it for the ceremony. We were pronounced husband and wife (which resulted in one of my favorite shots of the day and reason enough to have a second shooter).

We were allowed to kiss (twice actually--first was too short for me) and were on our way.

How cute is our smiley minister up there? As for the recessional? One of the best songs ever from the artist we centered our honeymoon dates around.

This one of me is why you should genuinely like your photographer. She's like just another guest I'm happy to see. You know, the wedding guest who gives you the best photos ever.

I don't know about you, but I think everyone looked MUCH happier on their way back down the aisle. Up next? A few post-ceremony portraits.

(All pics by Monique Montoya.)