As soon as I exited the limo, I joined the rest of the wedding party who were already lined up for the processional. Mr. Tortolito was hanging out with his parents in front of the altar.
I stayed at the church entrance, giddy with excitement as my Mom helped to make some final touches.
Was it really time to go? Looking through these pictures still gives me shivers. I remember how crazy excited and happy I felt seeing everything come together. Our family and best friends were doing their own final touches, standing in line waiting for their cue.
The mariachis began playing the entrance song. Doors opened. My little sister and Mr. Tortolito's little brother led the way, followed by the rest of the wedding party.
As soon as they finished their entrance and made their way to the pews, the doors closed again. The mariachi stopped playing. The church coordinator told me to step forward to the door. She fixed my train and waited for the mariachi to begin playing again. My heart was pounding, I squeezed my Dad's arm. I was so happy to have him there with me, and I knew this moment was just as special for him. The violins began playing Ave Maria, the coordinator opened the doors, and I saw my future husband and all of our loved ones staring back at us as we began to make our way down the aisle.
Let me just say that I'm not a cry baby. It really takes a lot to make me cry, like I can probably list the last few times that I've cried in the past several years because it doesn't happen very often. Basically: if something makes me cry, it's a pretty big deal. Didn't cry when Mr. Tortolito proposed, never shed a single tear during the entire wedding planning process, and I did not cry at our wedding EXCEPT for this one instance. This was the moment that we had been dreaming about and working towards for a year and a half. Mr. Tortolito and I worked so hard to make this happen. We became wedding planners extraordinaire: we saved for so long so that our humble families would not need to help us, slaved over wedding projects together, spent hours calling/interviewing/dealing with vendors who would help our vision come to life, managed all of the logistics...everything. And this moment was the culmination of all our hard work. I was so, so, so happy to see my future husband waiting for me as I made my way to the altar. We made it! The mariachi played so beautifully. The experience was better than I had imagined it to be. Really, the feeling is indescribable. I was overcome with emotion and reduced to tears.
Mr. Tortolito had the happiest look on his face when we managed to make eye contact. He purposely did not stare at me as I walked down the aisle because, according to him, he "didn't want to cry." haha - No fair!
When my Dad and I made it to the altar, we hugged, parents hugged, more tears were shed, and Mr. Tortolito and I stepped up to the altar together to begin the ceremony. He whispered in my ear "you look beautiful," and we squeezed each others hands.
Just so that I don't bore you with details of a 1-hour ceremony, I'll share a few pictures of the traditional elements. We exchanged vows and rings first, followed by exchanging las arras, wearing our lazo, and giving flowers to the Virgin Mary.
The ceremony seemed to fly by. That's probably because we were so excited. Before we knew it, it was time to seal the deal with a kiss!
The priest introduced us as Mr and Mrs! We turned around to make our way back down the aisle- together this time. Any stress or nervousness for the day was officially gone after this point. We were ready to party!
{All fotos by the fabulous Phoebe Joy}
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