The wedding took place in this HUGE, almost cathedral-like church. The pews were slanted, like stadium seating. It was absolutely beautiful; all wood (medium dark color) inside with a really nice piano and pipe organ if I remember correctly. There were light fixtures of some kind illuminating the sanctuary but there was also sunlight coming in through some windows, and perhaps an overhead window as well?
The processionals were odd because the women went in before the men. The women were all lined up at the top/back of the sanctuary (the vestibule, if you will) so I took a moment to survey the bridesmaids because—guess what?—I didn’t choose them. In fact, I had very little to do with the planning of the entire ceremony. I didn’t choose the location, the music, the wedding coordinator…anything!
So, back to the bridesmaids. My cousin Nneka was there :-) and I think a couple of random acquaintances from junior high school were there. I think there were 4 or 5 in all. I don’t remember exactly what their dresses looked like but I remember not totally hating them; I think the cap sleeves were a little too frilly but I liked the material (faded yellow chiffon, maybe?*). I don’t even remember what my dress looked like!!! I remember not being uncomfortable, though; that’s something. The organist started playing the Mendelssohn Wedding March. Um, hello, that’s exit music. That’s when it occurred to me that I hadn’t spoken with anyone about the music. Was this even my wedding?! I started making notes in my head of what music I wanted played, assuming that the organist had typical wedding music and perhaps a hymnal with her. I don’t know when I was going to be able to discuss this with her, but there it is.
Anyway, the bridesmaids walked in one by one, and then the doors were closed in front of me. I got a little excited at that point. Even though I knew that they were going to do that, I still got butterflies in my stomach when it actually happened. I’ve always been on the other side of the doors when they close, playing the music (or, on two occasions, standing in the wedding party).
This is where it starts to get weirder. Once the doors reopened, the wedding planner strongly took hold of my arm and led me down the aisle. The wrong aisle. I was thinking “Shouldn’t we be going down the aisle to the right?” but was too in shock to say anything (I was also thinking “Where is my father???”). I even saw the bridesmaids still walking down that aisle (shouldn’t they have been in place already?). Thankfully someone whispered (loudly) to the wedding planner that we should be in the right aisle. The woman corrected, practically dragging me down the correct aisle. I tried to see my groom but there were so many people in attendance (and all standing) that even with stadium seating I couldn’t really see him. I think I spotted him for a quick second but it might have just been a vision through hopeful eyes.
The bridesmaids, the wedding planner and I all made our way down the aisle and toward…well, I would say the minister but he wasn’t there either. Then we made a beeline for an exit to the right of the choir loft area. Um…? I thought this was odd but I did notice that there was no direct path to the altar from the aisle we were in so I figured we were taking a detour…outside?!?! It better not be hot out there!! I can’t stand sweating and I’m definitely not going to sweat in this dress!!!
This is where it gets a little fuzzy. I remember seeing the men make their entrance so somehow we got back inside. It was the exact opposite of most weddings—I was at the altar with the bridesmaids and the men were processing down the aisle. I looked up and finally saw my groom walking toward me—Robbie Williams? Or maybe Sam Witwer…Jim Parsons?? It was a man I’d never seen before, but his face was kind of a combo of those guys.
I woke up shortly after that sighting, thanks to an unneeded alarm that I forgot to turn off. But I do remember one other thing that happened—at some point after the ceremony began (because it was after the entrance/exit music fiasco) I went over to the organist and asked what kind of music she had with her. I flipped through the wedding music book she had. Then I noticed a hymnal and asked if it was a Baptist one (I grew up in the Baptist church). I flipped it over and the title was something weird…it wasn’t Baptist, that’s for sure. It looked like one of those non-denominational deals. I asked Random Organ Lady if I could choose a few wedding pieces and hymns for her to play for the ceremony and the prelude (even though the prelude had already passed). She said I could, so I went to work. Why did this not happen before now?!?!
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So there you have it. The second ridiculously detailed wedding dream I’ve had in my life (the first one is also on my blog, here: I Almost Got Married! ). I hope you enjoyed it! What's the weirdest dream you've ever had?
*OMG, I think I know what dresses the bridesmaids were wearing! Many moons ago, for my 7th or 8th birthday, my Best Friend Since the First Day of First Grade’s (BFStFDoFG for short) mom made a dress for one of my Barbie dolls. It was beautiful—it was faded yellow and looked like chiffon or something similar. It was a springy dress, maybe mid-calf length. It hung straight, no shaping seams or anything. I believe it had a ruffled hem at the bottom and the cap sleeves were also ruffled. To this day I still frown when I think of that dress because it disappeared before I could ever put it on one of my Barbies. After my party we checked all the trash cans, all the bunches of wrapping and tissue paper, under furniture…but we never found that beautiful dress. That is the dress the bridesmaids were wearing, I’m almost sure of it.
