Love Under the Moon: First Look

As I left the hotel to go meet my groom I felt like a bundle of nerves. I was so excited to see him, but was still having trouble believing that we were actually getting married! In order to meet Mr. Coyote I had to cross the street to the venue.

I love this photo because if you look *really* closely you can see Mr. Coyote waiting for me under the Franklin Plaza awning. Can you spot him??

Brenda quickly ran into the road and acted not only as photographer, but also crossing guard. (Have I mentioned she is fantastic?) Even though my thoughts were drowning out the noises around me, as I crossed the street I vaguely heard horns honking. As a true and die hard New Yorker, I remember thinking, "Seriously?! Can't you see that I am in heels and a WEDDING DRESS? Calm yo'self!" I almost felt compelled to yell at the culprits until MOH D (who was carrying my train) mentioned how cute it was that people were honking for me (not at me). Whoops.

Slow. Bride Crossing. 

Once I made it safely across the street, MOH D dropped my train and I started tiptoeing to my groom. 

Meanwhile, our other photographer Paul (who had been busy snapping photos of the guys getting ready) was capturing Mr. Coyote as he awaited my arrival. Mr. Coyote later confessed that he felt like he had been standing there foreverrrrr waiting for me. I told him that I was worth the wait. ;)

As I crept closer my brain started to scream with excitement. ThisIsIt. ThisIsIt. ThisIsIt!!! I took a deep breath, tapped him on the shoulder and...

Started to cry.

I warned you that there were a lot of tears this weekend! I couldn't help it. I was so overwhelmed and so gosh darn happy that our time had finally arrived. I remember Mr. Coyote laughing and saying, "Look at you!"

I barely even let him take a glimpse of me before I pulled him for a hug. 

He whispered in my ear and asked me if I was okay (he had heard through the grapevine about my hair and makeup debacle). I choked out a "no", but the truth is, I felt a million times better once I was in his arms.

We took a few more photos and exchanged a few smooches...

But I was starting to feel all eyes on me. Our wedding party and parents were hovering near by and I was feeling very self-conscious. Our photographers sensed my awkwardness and quickly moved us into our bridal portraits.

*All photos are by the fabulous Upstate Photographers, unless otherwise noted.*

Miss a recap?

• I babble about being married and share our wedding video.
• We finish up some last-minute wedding tasks and pre-wedding jitters set in the day before the wedding.
• We practice getting married and then head to our rehearsal dinner where I shed my first tears of the weekend. We later wind down with our families back at the hotel.
• My bridesmaids get pretty and I get a special message from Mr. Coyote.
• I try to cope when things don’t go quite as planned, but thankfully I quickly bounce back and then it was time to become a bride. Meanwhile, Mr. Coyote was calm as a cucumber as he got ready with the dads and groomsmen.
• I finish getting ready and see an unexpected guest on my way to meet Mr. Coyote.