Goh's Tied the Knot
An update is desperately needed! After our brief stint in Utah (which was amazing and filled with adventure) we finished up the year of 2015 in Memphis, TN. Cliffton ran his first full marathon and I ran my first half marathon for St. Jude! I finished up my time at school and said goodbye for good to my home of 3.5 years at the Southern College of Optometry. Wedding planning started to eat up every weekend and every hour after work. Cliffton and I felt the pressure and although we rarely get upset, found ourselves stressed and frazzled. We were both wound up tight and overwhelmed which is sadly the curse and reality of planning your own wedding with DIY projects.
But as the days until our wedding drew closer, we found ourselves surrounded by loved ones from near and far. And this filled us with so much love. We had friends and family from Atlanta GA, North Carolina, New York, Virginia, Tennessee, Hawaii, Indiana, Minnesota, Washington D.C., Seattle WA, Vancouver BC, Taiwan, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand come to join us on our special day!
On the morning of our wedding a fine mist and gray fog fell over the usually sunshine-y city of Atlanta. I could barely close my eyes the night before. Unfortunately, I laid awake fretting over weather, and arrangements- both were things I could no longer control.
I got a call from Cliffton at noon, a mere hour before our first look, and only three hours before the wedding was to start. I rarely hear Cliffton sound unsure of himself, but at that moment he asked me what to do, "Should we do our wedding ceremony outside?" We were both so close to caving in as we felt pressure from all sides to move the wedding indoors. I looked to my bridesmaids and naturally Chelsea blurted out, "You can get married in the rain!" And she was right. It's exactly what we dreamed of for our wedding rain or shine. So we made the bold decision despite our common sense and better judgment.
As we piled up into the car to head to our venue, Callanwolde, the rain decided to come down in full force. "Don't look!" My bridesmaids advised and they busied themselves with distracting me with selfies and snacks.
When we arrived I was anxious, and worried to say the least. My hair was quickly falling flat, rain water and mud seeping into the hem of my gown as I waited outside the door of the venue, all but poised to go in. But, the moment I step into the venue and found myself walking up the stairs towards Cliffton, all my doubts faded away and it no longer mattered.
The rain seemed to hold off for our pictures, but right before our wedding ceremony a light drizzle threatened to spoil the wedding mood again. Thankfully, the instant my wedding march started and I walked down the aisle the drizzling ceased. We've been told by many that when we started saying our vows the sun decided to peak out from behind the clouds. Of course we were both too overcome with giddiness to notice. The ceremony was truly the highlight of the wedding for us.
Despite all the little mishaps here and there (the rain, late flowers, someone ate our wedding cake before the reception, flower arrangement got knocked over and unplugged the DJ station...etc. etc.) it was a perfect day. It was the best day of our lives and the little things that did not go according to plan made it even more precious and memorable for us. To anyone planning a wedding, our advice is to savor and enjoy the time together before the wedding. Do everything you can in the months leading up to it. But once the festivities commence let all the stress and worries fall away. Your wedding day will be the best day ever if you let it be! Once the dust had settled the next morning after the wedding, we asked ourselves, "Was it worth it?" And the answer is easily: Absolutely. Everytime.
Photography: Hannah Judd Videographer: Jonathan and Kaye Cinema Venue: Callanwolde Fine Arts Center Caterer: Canton House Hair and Makeup: Hye Taningco Cupcakes: Alphina Cakes