The day before the wedding

Wow, time flies!! I don’t even know where to start with this post… but I’ll take a stab at it. Please bear with me if my thoughts are all over the place.

I’ll start with the wedding! I can’t believe how quickly the day came and went. I tried so hard to savor every last minute, and I think I did a pretty good job. I had a brief moment the day before the wedding where I was just a mess. My mind was absolutely everywhere. I have never ever thought about so many different things at one time. Thankfully, I was surrounded by my four absolutely closest friends in the whole world: Jessica West, Kate West, Brittany West, and Maribeth Hagen. These four AMAZING women kept me sane in the midst of it all! They are so special to me! In addition to these wonderful women, I had my amazing parents by my side, and they have always kept me grounded.

Some of my favorite memories of “the day before the wedding” include the following:

• Waking up in my childhood home with my family near by.
• Sloane (the flowergirl) coming over bright and early and showering me in hugs and kisses and letting my hold her as much as I wanted.
• Having my Grandma James paint my nails and my bridesmaids’ nails.
• Giving my bridesmaids their first gift, then driving to the mall for some fun “girl time.”
• Coming home and scrambling around trying to finish everything — and that whole whirlwind.
• Getting ready to go to Krippendorf to help set up/ for the rehearsal.
• Getting stuck in a traffic jam in the car with Kate, Brit and Maribeth (Jess rode with my mom and got stuck in a different traffic jam).
• Finally getting to Krippendorf and scrambling to set things up and get things straight.
• Walking through the rehearsal; Loving my Groom during that time for all of his strength, courage, leadership and LOVE.
• Driving to the rehearsal dinner with my Groom; letting the emotions just flow…
• Arriving at the Westin and enjoying the rehearsal dinner! Justin’s parents picked a wonderful location — McCormick and Schmicks in Fountain Square (in downtown Cincinnati), the venue overlooked downtown — so beautiful! And the food was delicious!
• Celebrating this time with our closest family and friends; thanking them for all of their love and support.
• Sitting in the parking lot after the dinner with Justin, gathering my bags and have some quiet time with him and God before the next 24 hours began. THAT was my favorite moment. It truly reminded me how remarkable he is. His love for the Lord is very much reflected in the way that he loves me, and I love him for that.

Those are my memories of “the day before the wedding” to the best of my recollection.

Then there was the wedding! Thankfully, I was so so exhausted on Thursday night that I got a full 8 hours of sleep! I can’t tell you the last time that that had happened leading up to the wedding. It felt amazing!! I was then greeted by Brit and Maribeth — they had made a Starbucks run and we all had Pumpkin Spice Lattes (except Kate; she had something very chocolatey and sugary!)… the Lattes were delicious!

We then went to breakfast; very delicious once again!

Next we all started to get ready. I had kind of planned the whole morning so that I could casually get ready with my bridesmaids and not stress out. That worked for the most part :)

I am pretty sure that the rest of the day can be best described in the photographs that our photographer captured.

If I had to sum up the wedding day in one sentence, it would be this: Our wedding was absolutely perfect; our families gave us a wedding that was more splendid than anything that I ever could have imagined.

The next thing that I would say is this: I thoroughly enjoyed our wedding!!!!! Although it went by too quickly, I loved every single minute of it. It was perfect in every way, shape, and form.

The last thing I would say is this: Our wedding described us so well. In fact, it was a perfect representation of us, our personalities, our character, and our families.

Some people would hesitate using the word ‘perfect’ as much as I have used it, but I can’t help it. I use the term loosely; nothing is ever perfect. But I believe that in God’s eyes… no, I know that in God’s eyes, our wedding was perfect. It was about Him. How two people are united as one. And how those two people can do wonderful, amazing things for His Kingdom. And how me and Justin’s love for each other “can move mountains.”

I think that’s all for today… More blog posts and pictures to come very soon!

-Stephanie Kime :)

P.S. West is always Best, but now it’s Kime Time… :)