Southern Weddings

Surprise!  I’m married!!

Okay, so maybe it’s not a total surprise, seeing as how we blogged about most of the details in advance, but hearing myself referred to as a “Mrs.” certainly is something that’s going to take some getting used to.

It’s hard to believe that it’s almost been an entire week since Kyle and I said “I do” at our alma mater, but sure enough, we’re six days into marital bliss (and how blissful it is!).  While our professional photos from the amazingly talented team at A Bryan Photo won’t be ready for awhile, Emily insisted it was time to share a sneak peek from our big day.  The iPhone and point-and-shoot quality doesn’t quite do the surroundings justice, but I think our happiness still comes through, right?  First, the portraits and ceremony:

The overview?  It was sunny and 75 (yes, really!) in Cambridge last Saturday, and I’d venture to say I’ve never seen the Harvard campus look so beautiful.  (A troupe of nine of my best friends clad in black gowns and carrying white bouquets definitely didn’t hurt.)  And while wedding days, like marriages, don’t ever go off without a hitch, I don’t see how I’ll ever be happier than I was standing at the altar before our family and friends with my brand new husband.

Oh, you’d like a peek at the reception, too?

A few highlights:

1.  Emily was a beyond-amazing bridesmaid.  Seriously.  Em not only looked stunning in the dress she herself inspired, but girlfriend could be a professional attendant.  She’s just that lovely, especially in the clutch.  As a matter of fact, all my bridesmaids were a dream-come-true that day.  I think they were referring to my girls when they said “for better or worse,” because all nine were total troopers.  Looking beautiful was just a plus.

2.  Lara rocked it out with the flowers, courtesy of Fifty Flowers.  Don’t you just love the bridesmaids’ all-white blooms and my own rose bouquet?  I sure did!

3.  My maid of honor, Molly, offered the most perfect version of the “Ave Maria” I’ve ever heard.  I’m pretty sure everyone forgot about the bride and groom when she was singing.

4.  Our ceremony was everything I hoped it would be – and more.  In addition to reciting traditional vows, we also wrote personal promises to one another.  That was the single best decision we made… after agreeing to get married, of course.

5.  My father surprised us with a vintage Rolls Royce for our getaway immediately after the wedding.  Kyle still is undecided as to whether it was the bride or the car that was the real show-stopper.

6.  And most importantly… when someone tells you your wedding will not go according to plan and, like your marriage, won’t be perfect, she’s right.  There will be unforeseen bumps and hold-ups, but they won’t ruin your day and won’t detract from your happiness in the least.  I didn’t really understand this until my own wedding, but I sure do get it now!  Case in point: I may or may not have gotten sick in the middle of family portraits with the new in-laws.  Awkward?  Yes.  A little nerve-wracking?  Absolutely.  But a bottle of water and some expert handling from three of my maids had me back in action and snapping photos with Bryan in under ten minutes flat – looking none the worse for wear, I might add.  (Thanks, Scoobie!)  The one take-away I’d offer all our brides-to-be out there?  Plan for the best, prepare for the worst and be happy!  We’ve been together for five years now, but Kyle and I have never been so happy as we were when we promised to love one another forever.  And I’ll take that over a perfect, sick-free wedding day, any day.

xo,
Katharine

P.S. [From Emily] Katharine covered the basics admirably above, but I have to add two things of my own. 1) She was freaking GORGEOUS, y’all.  Seriously.  It was almost unfair.  The dress, the hair, the makeup, the beaming smile… almost too much.  And 2) While the toasts across the board were absolutely terrific, Katharine’s left practically everyone in the room bawling.  True story. xo, Emily

P.P.S. OK I [Lara] have to jump in here, too!  Katharine was, as Emily said, beyond-words beautiful and the wedding was most certainly the best celebration of marriage I have ever witnessed. Not just because I know the bride. A complete stranger could have witnessed the love in those two families and the unmistakable bond between Katharine and Kyle and felt like nothing else in the world mattered. They were the embodiment of real love. Not the romantic, fleeting kind – the kind that people spend a lifetime trying to cultivate. I was blessed to witness it.  Someone asked me yesterday what my favorite memory with Southern Weddings is.  Hands down it was being out on the dance floor with Katharine, Emily, Whitney, our wonderful men and a flood of happy people, all celebrating the very thing we work so hard for every day – authentic love.  Thinking back on the day Katharine and Emily first started with me and the risks I took on them, the risks they took on me, all that we have been through together that lead us all to be there at that very moment singing our hearts out in the Harvard Club, was a profound gift.  I cried more at Katharine’s wedding – happy tears – than I have at any other event!

P.P.P.S. We’ll be back with more just as soon as we have more to share!