1 year, 1 week, and 1 day.
That's exactly how long I've been married to the man who is better than the man of my dreams. And it has been the most wonderful 372 days of my life.
As I was trying to decide what to post for our anniversary, I realized that I had never completed my wedding posts here...so the post that follows could also by known as "the post with a ridiculous amount of pictures." I seriously LOVE our wedding pictures ever so much, so it made it very hard to decide which ones to post. So here is take two on our wonderful wedding day ;)
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I can't imagine starting out a wedding day in a better way than being woken up by my most wonderful girl friends and heading off to the church that I'd spent the previous 15 years of my life in, to get ready to marry my best friend.
It was a beautiful day, one of those where you can walk outside in your bare feet in the early morning and just know that it'll be perfect. When your feet hit the cold sidewalk, you can look up and see the sun just peeking up over the horizon and know that it'll start warming the earth soon. The wispy clouds drifting through the skies are not big enough to block the sun's warming rays and the sky's blue color could have been picked right out of a box of Crayolas.
Maybe I should have been nervous that morning, as we got closer and closer to that moment when I would say I do to the man that I will spend the rest of my life with. But there, in my childhood church where I felt so comfortable, surrounded by my childhood friends with whom I could share any secret, there seemed to be no reason to be nervous. The excitement built, "today I get to become Mrs. Joshua Grimm!" but nervousness was not yet in sight.
As I child, I imagined my wedding dress. The white ball gown, the cinderella gloves, the glass slippers. And it was all there, the poofy skirt, the beaded bodice, the slippers with the bows on the toes. Not an exact fit to what it was in my mind as a curly headed 5 year old, but re-envisioned in my 19 year old brain, just perfect for the garment that my groom would see me in for the first time as his wife. As I slipped into it that morning, I felt like I was right where I should be.
The joy was shared by the wonderful people around me as we laughed and talked and shrieked. These girls, the ones I had grown up with, each sharing a different story, each a beautiful childhood friend, now my bridesmaids- some mothers, some soon to be wives, all my 'bosom friends' as dear Anne Shirley would call them.
My mother; there are not enough words in the dictionary to describe what she means to me or how wonderful it was to have her share this day with Josh and I. I cried rivers of tears in the weeks leading up to this day in anticipation of being so far away from her. Her godly example, winsome heart, and her constant love were such wonderful keys that God used to bring me to the point of marrying my Joshua. My heart swells with love as I think of the sacrifices that she made as she raised my brothers, sister, and I, and I know that there is no way to tell her how thankful I am. Having her there with me, as she helped me into my dress, slipped on my shoes, fastened my jewelry, and most of all, shared my joy was one of the greatest blessings I could ask for.
As we giggled and beautified, my husband and his best buds ironed their wrinkled shirts, slipped on their crisp jackets and pants, and tied their shiny shoes in preparation for the fast approaching ceremony.
I knew on that day that I had to send my husband to be a letter before the ceremony. And so I began, as words of love, joy, and excitement flowed from my pen onto the pages of that book that I had been keeping for him since I was just a little girl with dreams of princes and castles in my silly head. I told him how I couldn't believe that I was about to be his wife, that I couldn't wait to kiss him, and all sorts of other things. My fingers trembled as I wrote. It was 1:30 and the ceremony was almost upon us. The jitters began.
And then we prayed. And just like that, as I was surrounded by many of the dearest people in my life, as their hands were reaching out to touch me, their arms around me, I felt the Lord's presence so strongly. And the jitters faded into the background, as I remembered that I was here because of HIM. He brought me on this incredible journey. He had chosen Joshua Andrew Grimm to be my husband before the foundations of the earth and he had picked this day, June 2, 2012 as the day that the two would become one. It was His day, not mine. And it was wonderful.
As the music started, and my daddy, my wonderful daddy, and I stepped into position behind the doors, I peeked through the windows and saw my bridesmaids standing at the front, in a teal colored line, waiting. Waiting for me, I realized. No longer was this a day that I watched my friends get married and walk down the aisle to their husbands. Today, it was my turn, my husband. Today, I was so richly blessed to become a wife. And I couldn't wait.
They tell me I floated down the aisle, whatever that means. But I hardly remember a thing. I don't even think I was breathing. All I can see in my mind's eye is the face of my groom standing there waiting for me at the end of that seemingly endless aisle. This moment that I had dreamed about was finally here and I couldn't be happier that this man standing at the end of the aisle was the one that God picked for me.
The feelings that came upon me as we stood up there together, so close to being husband and wife, are nearly unexplainable. It was as if the whole world was in front of us. Our whole lives. This man, the one who will be the father of my children, my husband until death do us part, declaring his love and faithfulness to me. And as we sang songs to our God, I felt as if my heart was about to burst from thankfulness.
And before we knew it, the words we had been waiting to hear for 9 long months came "I now pronounce you, husband and wife."
and a second later "Joshua, you may now kiss your bride."
And what a sweet thing that was. I had wanted to kiss him since our 3rd date, exactly 42 weeks before. And now, after 294 long days, my lips finally met those of my husband's in a sweet kiss. It was a fairy tale kiss, really...or at least, I think so.
Hey look, more kissing! We had to try it out again, just to make sure we were doing it right ;)
This picture breaks my heart. My sweet, sensitive caring little brother. The brother who wouldn't go to bed at night without reminding me "Ashley, you're the best big sister in the whole wide world...I mean, you're one of the best big sisters in the whole wide world." This child loved Josh...until he found out that he was going to take me away to Charlotte. This child had me sobbing as I lay in his bed two weeks before the wedding and he said "Ashley, you can't get married yet. I'm just not ready, I need more time." This precious little man cried the whole way through the wedding, the whole way home from the wedding, and cried himself to sleep that night. The next morning he told mom that it was the worst day of his life. I have been so blessed by his cheerful attitude and sunny outlook on life and it broke my heart to take that from him, even just for a time. I love him with all my heart and miss him more than anything. He was the cutest junior groomsman I've ever seen and if it weren't for Josh being so handsome, I would have had eyes for him all day long ;)
And then we were wisked away through a cloud of bubbles to our waiting limo. A flurry a pictures, many stolen kisses, and so much laughter...
My very best friend for the first 18 1/2 years of my life. Now he's still only beat out by Joshua.
We were welcomed into our reception with cheers and hershey kisses. A McMichael tradition which I had unfortunately forgotten or else I might have been able to put a stop to it; when the bride and groom kiss, a shower of kisses pelt them until the kiss ends. Needless to say, we had welts by the end of the night but weren't willing to give up the kissing!
Every detail was perfect; the candles were lit, the flowers adding a pop of color to every table, the books displaying our love for reading, the cake with my parents' topper. It was exactly how I wanted it. But the details don't make the wedding a success- the people do. And we were so very blessed to be surrounded by dear friends and family to celebrate with us.
My husband. It still hadn't sunken in. He was mine. Forever.
My biggest fan, my greatest supporter, my wonderful daddy. As we danced there that evening, he whispered things in my ear that made me laugh. And then I cried. And I didn't want that moment to end. I wanted to be a little girl again, dancing on my daddy's feet, having him pick me up and twirl me around. I wanted to go back, all the way back to the days when I would bring him a book after my bath and curl up his his lap and place my wet head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat as he read me a story. I wanted to play catch in the yard with him the back and forth thudding of the ball into our gloves, or to help him til the soil in the garden, the warm dirt squishing between my toes. I wanted to go back to the days of silly crushes when my daddy was always there to give me a hug when something was wrong, even if he didn't know it. I wanted to go back to the very first day that I'd told him about Josh's existence. Anything just to have more time to be his little girl. I realized then, yet again, just how blessed I had been to grow up under his roof, raised to love Jesus, and how wonderful of an example of Godly marriage my parents had set for me. If our marriage was like theirs, we would truly be blessed.
And then we partied. And boy what a party it was! Dancing, laughing, and lots of funny pictures to remember it by!
And as quickly as the day had started, the evening fell, and it was time for this man and wife to leave. And so, as hershey kisses were hurled at us, we drove off to our new life together, filled with so much joy and happiness, with so many memories swirling around in our heads, and so much love in our hearts.
And that's how I became Joshua's Bride.
