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My wedding this summer in Rhode Island was full of wonderful moments I keep replaying in my head (wedding withdrawal is real, man), but something that really stands out is our vows…
Leading up to the big day, the ceremony was what made me most anxious. Not only would we be standing up there in front of over 100 guests, I was nervous about what would be said — or wouldn’t. We decided early on to have my husband’s 91-year-old grandfather marry us, since he and Mac have always had a special connection. But as we got more into planning, we realized this was a lot for a person his age, even such a sharp one. He wasn’t going to be that friend officiant who could re-tell our first date or sit down with us to learn all the weird things we love about each other (e.g., Mac is a human encyclopedia!).
So, a few weeks before the wedding, Mac and I decided that instead of reciting shorter vows, we would stand up and tell our own love story. We agreed upon a three-part format we would each follow — an intro about our relationship, four promises to one another, and our thoughts about the future. Taking things into our own hands made me feel more confident about our ceremony, but certainly didn’t calm my nerves. I worked on my part for weeks, and we were both still putting final touches (read: he wrote the whole thing) the morning of the wedding.
Mac went first, and as he spoke his heartfelt words, his eyes locked on mine, I had to laugh. Although we hadn’t talked about exactly what we would say, we had basically written the same thing, mentioning how much we love to travel but also cherish time at home on our couch — with a few shoutouts to our cat included.
We also both opened with a joke, to set a lighthearted mood before getting to the gushy stuff. I’ve been known to appreciate a man with a beard (I mean, we do live in Brooklyn), so I said: “Mac, when I first met you, I knew right away you had all the qualities I was looking for in a man… you had a beard.” Serendipitously, Mac also described when we first met, mentioning how beautiful he thought I was even though I was dressed as Karl Lagerfeld. (Halloween parties are a goldmine of potential romances.)
Our four promises to each other were more serious, though Mac did swear to not get upset when I shared my sandwich with our cat or left the five dresses I had vetoed before going out scattered across our apartment. The last section — when we spoke about our families melding and our future children — was earnest emotion. I buzzed with energy; my jitters had completely faded.
After our vows, our guests broke into an unexpected applause and I looked out into all the teary-eyed faces. It felt like everyone truly understood our love, and I finally got why people put themselves through this unnerving process. (Mac’s grandpa did wonderfully too, FYI.)
Here are a few more moments from our wedding…
I was unsure about doing a first look. I wanted the surprise of Mac seeing me for the first time walking down the aisle, but I also wanted to spend as much time with my guests post-ceremony as possible. In the end, I am so happy we decided to do a first look, for the calming factor alone. Getting hugs from Mac put me at ease and even allowed me to soak in the time with my bridesmaids and my family right before we walked down the aisle instead of just being a ball of nerves.
I’ve always loved the idea of floral bridesmaids dresses, but finding mismatched ones that complemented each other and were to everyone’s taste was much more challenging than I thought. But those hours searching “floral dress” on the internet were worth it; I loved how it turned out.
By the time I walked down the aisle (to George Harrison’s “If Not For You”), my dad was the nervous one, so I gave him a little encouraging squeeze.
Though it was the end of July and the day before had been blazing, I woke up the morning of the wedding to a cold wind. The chilly temps persisted all through hair and makeup. I tried not to let it get to me, even though I kept hearing that the chuppuh might fly away and the tent had to be reinforced. Then, miraculously, as the guests arrived, so did the sun. It was like day broke at four o’clock with blue skies, white clouds and the long grass gently blowing in the now much calmer wind.
One of my favorite moments was after walking back down the aisle (to Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel”) the entire wedding party did an impromptu huddle where we cheered about the amazing ceremony that just went down.
My five nieces were all flower girls and walked down the aisle together dropping rose petals. Throughout the wedding process I kept half-joking that the most important photo was my Kate Moss moment with all my little ladies dressed in white surrounding me. Check!
We got married at a farmhouse with chickens who like to roam among the guests and steal scraps of food from the caterer’s tent. With so many nieces and friends with children, we wanted to have a family-friendly wedding. Everywhere I looked during our cocktail hour, I spotted a kid running around with a chicken in hand. Later they all took over the dance floor (the kids, not the chickens).
I loved being announced to the crowd when everyone was sitting down after the cocktail hour. We blasted Prince’s “1999” and everyone cheered when the DJ introduced “the bride and groom, Megan and Mac.” (Not Mr. and Mrs. Glovinsky, because after much consideration I decided to keep my last name.)
One of the things that surprised us most about preparing for our wedding, was how much fun it was to take ballroom dance lessons together for our first dance (to “Beyond the Sea”). We were going to just take one, but ended up doing four (we had a lot more to learn than we’d thought). It felt so great to do something new and physical together, and, I think we nailed it!
How would you do your vows? Would/did you write them? If you’re married, what other little moments did you love about your wedding?
P.S. One hard part of weddings and 15 wedding dos and don’ts. And who will (or did) officiate your wedding?
(Photos by Go Addo. Dress by Kelima K. Hair and makeup by Lizzy Weinberg.)
