I call our wedding day our "Christmas Miracle", and it truly was. Our wedding was supposed to take place on Saturday, December 19, 2009. Unfortunately we woke that morning to 24 inches of snow, a water main break at the church we were originally supposed to get married at, and three bridesmaids, 1 groomsmen and 3 flower girls stuck in the snow. It was not a good day. We had already had to cancel our reception the night before due to most of our guests canceling in lieu of the awful impending weather, and now, it looked like we were going to have to cancel our ceremony as well. Heartbroken does not even begin to describe the sinking feeling in my heart.
Our Lady was my childhood church but we decided against having the ceremony there. They are notorious for being the least flexible parish in the diocese, and we wanted to be wed by a priest on a more personal level, so we went with St Ann's Catholic Church in Arlington, where I work as the Music Director. I knew the priests there, they were my bosses, and I had a much better connection with the parish, plus the church is gorgeous. Father Paul, the priest we'd worked with for the last 6 months before the wedding, called Saturday morning explaining that in the night a water main had broken and there was no way we would be able to have the ceremony there, if we could even get out to the church (which we couldn't). Within minutes my fearless, tireless mother was on the phone with OLGC (they are a block away from our house), with inquiries into an impromptu, much shorter ceremony. It was really a Christmas miracle that Father Fiorelli called back immediately and delightfully agreed to perform the ceremony at 2:30 p.m. in the beautiful new chapel. He said that he would get all the ceremony information from Father Paul at St. Ann's, got all the readings and service prayers we'd chosen and the marriage license.
So, in less than 3 hours, we went from abandoning all hope of anything wedding related, with the snow still pouring down, to getting married. I was still woefully upset- all that meticulous planning, for over a year, having almost no guests at our ceremony, having to go on my honeymoon and then coming back for a makeshift reception.....it was lame and terribly sad and at that point I was totally apathetic to the whole ordeal. I put on a gameface and said 'get through it'. The worst thought was, being a classical musician and singing for countless other weddings at my church, having no music at my ceremony...walking down the aisle- the moment every girl dreams of- to no music, after I'd agonized over countless hours for just the right song, the one that would always capture and remind me of that moment.
Enter: Christmas miracle.
My whole family had come up a few days before for the wedding and were staying at my house (about 15 people). My husbands family lived about 15 minutes away, but to go anywhere was taking hours sometimes. With my uncle's SUV, our dear family friend and neighbor's SUV and my brother's SUV, they made countless trips to pick up close friends and relatives who were adamant about making it to our ceremony. My mother's sister drove from Silver Spring, on the beltway, to make it there. It took them 4 hours. And my cousin drove with my flower girls and ring bearer (her kids), one of Alex's groomsmen, and their families, all the way from Gainesville, VA, to be there. My roommate from my Italian semester abroad, who changed all her and her boyfriend's travel plans to make it in early, so they wouldn't miss it, WALKED from her hotel to my house. She is from Minnesota, but I still couldn't believe her incredible selflessness. It was unbelievable. I was downstairs getting ready, putting on my own dress, doing my own hair and makeup, feeling sorry for myself, and all these people were risking life and limb to make it to our special day. My uncle shoveled a walkway for me from the garage to the SUV, I wore my UGGs under my dress, and way physically carried into the church, so I wouldn't ruin my dress entirely (my youngest brother's idea of chivalry :), I met my mother in law and my two new sisters in the bridal dressing room, my mother in her beautiful dress we went into every store to find, and my cousins who were also my bridesmaids and realized how loved and dedicated these people were to me.
I walked down the aisle to the song I had chosen, with my dad crying on my arm. Our very dear family friend is a cantor and musician at his synagogue and almost begged to play some music for me. Like I would say no! My cousin, a photography major in college with several publications out, was our photographer. The chapel was even more beautiful than St. Ann's and was magical with the snow falling outside and the stained glass windows. My groom at the end of the aisle glowing at me, not looking at all like he had just spend 3 hours on the phone with me consoling me and deciding what we should do. All his groomsmen were there in their tuxes. I was missing my man of honor and two bridesmaids, but it didn't matter. Here were the people most meaningful and dedicated to us had made it their priority to be here and share this day with us.
Looking around while we were on the altar filled my heart with incredibly grateful love and shock that we were truly blessed. All these people, pulling together their collective resources and talents to help us in our time of need made me regret ever feeling sorry for myself or resentful or bitter....how many other girls had their weddings today and weren't able to celebrate them? We came back to our house after the ceremony for a potluck reception and used all the beer and liquor we had bought for the reception. My brothers had walked to the local Giant to buy us a cake so we could cut it. We had pizza delivered and cold cut platters. At the end of the night my new husbands groomsmen kidnapped us in their Honda Pilot and drove us to McLean Hilton, where my parents surprised us with a penthouse honeymoon suite reservation. The next day we left for our amazing, romantic honeymoon to Paris for 10 days, with no travel problems or flight delays. We came back on the 30th, celebrated New Years, and had our reception the day after. Our reception venue didn't have January 2nd booked and offered the date to us, kept everything the exact same, our beautiful cake was delivered. Our original DJ backed out, but we ended up getting Chris Laich- the #10 DJ in the country (!!!!) who felt so bad about our ordeal that he gave us a HUGE discount for his services. We didn't lose any guests at the reception and our catering manager at the Gardens said it was the best party he'd ever thrown since he's worked there.
Everything was absolutely perfect. We couldn't understand why this happened to us, while it was happening, but we see it now. It was so enjoyable, so memorable, so unique and special...and it would never have been so, if it weren't for nature's impediments! Maybe we placed too much emphasis and spent too much time on insignificant factors, instead of each other. Maybe I was focusing too much on our day, and not enough on my soon to be husband. Maybe it was just horrible timing. I tend to think it was God's way of bringing me back to reality, and to allow me to focus on what was really important- my husband, my family and friends, and our new life together. And it did. I would never want another ceremony and I wouldn't redo the one I had for anything. It was perfect the way it was- the way it was always meant to be. It was an event that we will never, ever forget and truly, when you look at all the elements, our own Christmas Miracle.
