Hello, friends! Sorry for the long pause in writing, but I got married in June and then went on a two-week honeymoon to Italy and I am just feeling caught up on sleep enough to sit down and write again.
Some of you requested a post on my wedding and for me to share some wedding photos. So, as you wish, here it is!
For a little over a week leading up to our wedding, the weather gave us whiplash. At first, the weather report predicted rain, then it cleared up and our wedding day was surrounded by days of rain, and then, on the Tuesday before, both Friday (the day of our outdoor rehearsal) and Saturday became total washouts. I thought to myself, this is what I get for praying for a cool day and not a sunny day!
But despite it raining all Friday and forcing us to do our rehearsal standing under umbrellas, somehow the weather miraculously shifted for Saturday. I guess the sky squeezed out all the rain it had the day before because when I woke up Saturday morning, it was a beautiful day. Sunshine. A few clouds. Birds chirping. Not too hot, not too cool. Was I dreaming? No!
We had our wedding at the Sprinside Inn, which is a beautiful old inn located in Auburn, NY that my now-husband (ooh la la!) and I fell in love with at first sight. Our parents and most of my bridal party stayed in the rooms at the inn, so we were all able to hang out the night before and get ready together the day of. Being able to stay there and see everything being set up made the day feel more magical and special. And I loved having everyone together in one place for the entire weekend!
I don’t know if any other brides can relate, but I was actually super nervous about the ceremony.
Reason #1: I don’t like big crowds and being the center of attention in said big crowds. Reason #2: I have POTS (duh, you know this), and I was terrified of passing out during the ceremony or feeling sick during it with no escape. And reason #3: As you can see from the photos, my dress had a lot of fabric going on and I had to walk up several sets of stairs to get to our ceremony space in the back garden area.
Yes, I was beyond excited to be marrying my best friend and most favorite person ever, but all of these reasons to be nervous and fret kept circling through my mind the entire day.
But you wanna know something? Once, the photographer started to take my bridal portraits, I felt this calm come over me. For one of the poses, she had me sitting and gazing out a window. Outside that window, I could see the long entrance to the inn, and I imagined Mike driving down that soon, on his way to marry me.
I felt giddy, peaceful, and emotional all at the same time. (Thank goodness for waterproof mascara!)
And when it came time to walk down the aisle with my dad, I really wasn’t nervous at all. All of those reasons to fret I’d been obsessing over for the months leading up to our wedding were completely nonexistent. I just wanted to get up those stairs, rush down the aisle, and hold Mike’s hands.
(Funny aside: Music was playing inside the ballroom where we were all waiting until it was time for the processional to start. Literally, right as our wedding coordinator came in and said, “It’s time!” the song Chic — Freak Out came on. We roared with laughter, and I think laughing helped me to not feel so nervous either.)
But long story short, I did not trip, I did not faint, and I did not have any POTS symptoms bother me during the wedding. Except for during the dancing part — my heart was thumping the entire time, and I’m sure my pulse was pretty high! (And I wasn’t dancing with excessive energy and effort because my dress wouldn’t allow for it.) For this reason, I did not end up drinking a lot of alcohol. I had champagne for our champagne toast and a few sips of wine, but then I switched to all water.
(For those who don’t know, alcohol is a POTS trigger for many people because it causes dehydration.)
Like most people say, our wedding went by too fast. But it was beautiful, full of allll the emotions, and so much fun. Plus, I got to see my entire extended family together for the first time in 10 years. I couldn’t have dreamed of a more perfect day; it truly was like a fairytale wedding.
Here’s to happy endings and bright beginnings!
I’ll be getting back to writing more content focused on living with POTS and endometriosis, which includes updating and reposting some of my older posts, so keep an eye out for those! I may write a post on my trip to Italy next and share what it was like to travel that far and for that long as someone with POTS. (Yes, you can still travel with POTS!)
Thanks for reading, and until next time!
XO,
Laurie
