Fairy Tales
My mother says that from the time that I could talk, I was planning my wedding. I just simply loved the idea of being married!!! I can remember growing yet older and day dreaming more and more about my perfect moment in time. Finally, and I do mean finally, I met prince charming and all of heaven cheered for they too were waiting for this magical moment in time. Heaven may have been cheering but they could have paused a moment to prepare me for all of the monumental drama that quickly shifted me from my fairy tale world into my reality.

Lonely
When my time to walk down the aisle came, I found myself in a new state away from the majority of my family and friends. To my disappointment, my then bff announced that she could not be happy for me; therefore, I was left without her emotional support. Looking back, I can sympathize with her feelings. We were inseparable for years until Prince Sigh arrived; I am sure that he must have looked like Prince Toad in her eyes! As a result, I rallied people around me that I truly did not know that well and ventured off to plan my fairy tale event. Hiring a wedding planner was the furthest thing from my mind and besides, I was the planner in the family.

Hint, Hint
My first hint that I needed to hire a bridal consultant should have come after my driving from Alabama to Charleston, SC in order to secure the reception venue for my love day only to have someone walk in literally moments beforehand and take my date! I had to choose another date on the spot. Yet another moment in time when heaven should have paused and screamed ANY DAY but THAT DAY!!! Nevertheless, they did not. I remember driving away thinking, there must have been a better way!

Wedding Director
Fast forwarding through a series of drama filled events. Things were finally moving along beautifully. The Thursday before our wedding, Prince Sigh and I arrived at the court house in Columbia, SC just moments before closing in order to apply for our marriage license. Being that we needed 24 hours in SC, just a few moments later could have ended our hopes of saying “I DO” legally. What were we thinking??? Oh, I failed to mention that after all of my planning, I realized that I needed someone to actually direct my wedding… Duh!!! I solicited the expertise of a wonderful friend of mine who lived several states away. She honorably accepted but I wonder even to this day if she would have accepted had she known then what she knows now?

Rain, Rain
Being that my wedding was on a Sunday,( August 29th 2005), that Saturday night after my rehearsal my bridal party scurried to their cars trying to desperately avoid the heavy wind and rain attacking them. My bridesmaids and I had rented a house on the Isle of Palms and were looking forward to relaxing and having a pool party. Needless to say, the rain spoiled all of that! I was delightfully surprised when my friends who had traveled from Massachusetts threw me a surprise lingerie shower! I really enjoyed my time with them in spite of the rain.

Just in time
Around two in the morning, my cousin (who had made my dress) arrived from Maryland and vanished just as quickly. I remember trying on my dress and feeling really excited although I was half asleep. I vaguely remember her mentioning a storm that was headed my way but was too sleepy to take her warning seriously and pranced back to bed. I did not have a clue of what was going on.

Gaston
To my utter amazement on my wedding day, I awoke to a tropical storm just one category from being a hurricane! There was debris EVERYWHERE! No one warned me that the storm was coming…well not aggressively! Still yet, I was not to be deterred by tropical storm Gaston. Although some of the ladies staying at the house were trying to tell me in MANY words that there would be no wedding, I was not trying to hear them.

Rescue Me
I was informed that due to debris and power lines being down everywhere, we were stuck on the iIsles of Palms. What? Knowing that this was my moment, I called the news station because I was definitely a damsel in distress. They laughed at me but how many of you know that I was not laughing back? I decided to take a shower and pack my bags whilst I waited for the ok to leave the island. Once I received the ok, I was out. Once I arrived in town, I was informed that I would not be able to use the gorgeous church and reception site overlooking the Charleston harbor due to the lack of power. Can you say devastating news? I almost lost it but heaven kept my eyes on the prize… Prince Sigh!

Family & Friends
In the meantime, loving family members and friends were at the guests’ hotel advocating on our behalf. By the time that I arrived, they had secured the hotel’s event hall for our ceremony and reception. My wedding director utilized the list that I sent her listing contact information of all of our vendors including: the photographer, Rental Company, bakery, makeup artist, hair stylist, and caterer in a matter of minutes. Our guests who were staying at the hotel pitched in wherever necessary in order to make our day a dream come true.

Drama & Drama
Just when I didn’t think that things could get any worse, whilst two of my bridesmaids were getting dressed, the fire sprinklers went off ruining their dresses. Thankfully a friend was able to salvage their dresses in time and they looked heavenly! Did I mention that my aunt’s dress caught on fire during the ceremony? I’ll just skip that.

The End
All in all, our event turned out fabulous thanks to our family and friends who pulled together in order to make our day special. More importantly, we are grateful for the favor of God. Looking back, we can clearly trace His steps in our planning process as well as the ceremony. Many of our guests are still talking about just how spirit filled our wedding was.