wedding-something: a phiLOVEdelphia story: We Rehearse!

After a relaxing afternoon, it was time to meet up with everyone and get the rehearsal underway!

Someone told me to "look excited" - sadly, this is what I came up with

There were no professional photos on this day (though I LOVE it when brides hire photographers for the day before), so you'll be seeing all guest photos. Many of these were taken by friend G (Bridesmaid C's fiance) - thanks, G!!

And I'm going to keep it real for you, Hive. To tell the true story of our rehearsal, I've included some pretttttty awkward pics (but you've already seen your fair share of awkward Turkey photos).

We had about 45 minutes planned for rehearsal, so unfortunately there wasn't a ton of time for socializing at the church.

However, several of the bridesmaids and groomsmen had not met, so there were introductions up front. This was to ensure that the ladies felt comfortable with the gentlemen that would be escorting them down the (bumpy, Belgian block-esque) aisle.

Bad posture, mid-sentence, crooked pointer finger...nice. But it got the job done when lining up by height

The priest, Father M, then held "court" with both sides of the bridal party. He gave them instructions on what to do and what NOT to do (I guess it was funny...in a dry sort of way).

The ladies were such attentive students

The guys...not so much.

Then it was down the aisle to "officially" start the rehearsal. The priest gave us some last minute tips, one of which appears to have shocked us all (well, except Turkey Dad).

For the life of me, I cannot remember what warranted this reaction

Dramatic story aside, it was time to walk. First, the lovely bridesmaids...

Who needs a DOC when the priest takes charge of timing? (he did for the wedding too)

...followed by me and Turkey Dad.

Trying to hold back tears - starting this walk was very emotional

You all know how a wedding goes, so I won't walk you through the details. I was a little worried about logistics since we were down 1 groomsman and both of our readers (due to travel timing). However, Father M had clearly done this a few times and told us exactly what to expect. He even offered to speak to the readers before the wedding on Saturday to walk through their "parts". Things went very smoothly.

Father M - running the show

That is, until it was time to do the practice vows. Trying to hold back tears, I swore on the altar. Not one, not two, but THREE times.

I think the groomsmen are laughing at me

It went something like this:

Miss Turkey: "I, Miss Turkey, [tears start welling up]...s**t...sorry...take you Mr. Turkey [tears start trying to break through]...s**t...sorry...to be my [back again]...oh, I'm totally screwed for tomorrow."

I wish the above took some dramatic license, but sadly, that's about how it went. And, funny enough, I don't normally swear! You'll hear about our actual ceremony as I get through recaps, but *spoiler alert* I was much more in control on Saturday.

So, ladies, if you find yourself falling apart (and swearing - in church, no less) on the day of your rehearsal, know that you can (and probably will) pull it together for the real thing.

I think Mr. Turkey's happiness is actually more relief that my near breakdown has ended

We closed the rehearsal with a couple photos. These were not planned and, in hindsight, I would have loved one of the entire bridal party (or at least a groomsmen only photo). Note to future brides - if you want certain pictures at the rehearsal, put someone in charge of that!