Our Wedding Part 3! – The Ceremony

Photographs by Kamirin Couch of Crooked Stream Photography.

The sanctuary was all set for the wedding to begin.  The candles were lit, the guests were seated, and the music was playing.  In the bridal room, my bridesmaids and I prayed before we went out to walk down the aisle.

Putting on my veil…

Then out we all filed of the bridal room, and into the hall behind the sanctuary where the wedding was to start. “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” began playing from inside.

One by one, the bridesmaids and flower girl started down the aisle, till they were all gone and it suddenly hit me.  I’m getting married right now.  I caught a glimpse of the sanctuary seating and it was completely filled.  There wasn’t a seat to be had, and people were standing in the back behind the last pews…

But the music schedule was no respecter of persons, so when the “Trumpet Voluntary” began I took a deep breath and tried to control my fluttering heart for the walk down the red carpet…

The bouquet was much heavier than anticipated, and I was nervous I might trip on my dress since I had no free hands to help it “walk” down the aisle. I tried to kick the skirt forward before each step so that I didn’t catch the hem.  (It worked!  This method can be recommended.)

All around me, I saw glimpses of faces from all different times and places in my life – it was slightly overwhelming in the happiest of ways to realize that so many people who were a part of my life over the last 26 years had all come to the same place to celebrate our wedding.

I’d stitched gold embroidered lace onto the front and back of the neckline, to tie in the “royal wedding Psalm” (Psalm 45) that I always knew I would want to incorporate into my wedding attire:

“All glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven with gold.  In embroidered garments she is led to the king.”   So when selecting the materials, I made sure the embroidered organza skirt overlay and gold lace bodice trim were obvious in the gown design.  (You can read about the sewing process here.)

Walking down the soft red carpet, I tried to focus entirely on the groom at the end of the aisle and not get distracted by the teary eyes all around me.

Once on stage, I handed off my bouquet of peach roses to my matron of honor…  I could hear the rustle of silk behind me and I knew my bridesmaids were straightening out the tiers of lace ruffles on the train.  My soon-to-be-husband and I took hands and beamed at each other, and everyone in the audience seemed to fade away…  This. Was. Our. WEDDING!

The pastor welcomed everyone and asked them to remain standing for the singing of the hymn.  

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father

There is no shadow of turning with Thee!

Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not

As Thou has been, Thou forever will be!

Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me!

Then began the wedding message.  The pastor spoke of the commitment we were making, and I tried to take in everything he was saying…

Not until later would I realize how much this looked like the “royal wedding” I’d always wanted. 🙂

We recited our vows and exchanged rings.

When the vows were completed the British hymn “Jerusalem” (we used the soundtrack from the 2011 Royal Wedding album), began booming through the sanctuary while we walked up the stairs to sign our marriage certificate.  I didn’t realize my hand was shaking until I tried to sign my name and noticed it looked quite sloppier than normal.

Lighting the unity candle…

Then we had a little surprise for our mothers.  Instead of returning back to our places on stage, we walked down to the front rows with two bouquets of roses, one for each mother. <3 

And then my poor bridesmaids had to fix the gown all over again!  Believe me, this was one tricky wedding dress to straighten the train on, due to all those tiers of lace and chiffon ruffles.  I can just see the look on my matron of honor’s face – “Oh my, that train is going to need to be fixed.”

I’m so thankful for my bridal party.  The girls were just absolutely gorgeous in their satin gowns, gloves, and elegant updos.  They looked even more stunning than I’d hoped!

At the close of the ceremony, our pastor prayed for us and for our marriage.

Then I heard the words I’d been waiting to hear all day long, “Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, Mr. & Mrs. Lars Holte!”

The audience burst into applause so loud that we could hardly hear the recessional music.

When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed

Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy

Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them!”

The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy…

Since the von Trapp family’s story has meant so much to me, it was only fitting that our wedding recessional was “The Overture and Preludium” from The Sound of Music.

Down the aisle we strode in sheer happiness, and were followed by our wedding party.

It was marvelous!  I can’t put into words how grand and glorious the occasion was, but I recently posted a wedding video on Youtube which you can watch here! 🙂

Next time I’ll share pictures of our stunning wedding reception in a gorgeous ballroom, but for now I’d like to thank our friends and family, and God for bringing us together.  (Our relationship story is here.)  I’d also like to thank all of you readers who have been such an encouragement to me for the last 5 years.

Happy sewing and much love,

Katrina