Deerly Beloved: "can I put my dress on yet?"

Pretty much the moment I arrived at the venue (over 3 hours before the ceremony and an hour before our photographers were set to arrive), I was begging to put my dress on.  Instead, I found myself running around like a chicken without a head.  And its not that I had anything to do- the Old Field Club's maitre'd Mary and my florist took care of just about everything!  But I WANTED something to do until I could put on my dress and get things started!  And so I kept walking around, looking at everything and making sure each detail was just so (yea, I realize I am crazy).

all photos via Ruby Star Photography

Once all the important players had arrived and I actually could put my dress on, there was something that I had to do first. You may remember that Mr Elk and I decided not to write our own vows, but instead wrote letters to one another that we would read the day of the wedding before we saw each other all dolled up.  I loved that I got to read his words before the actual event- it was so sweet and really got me even more excited to get married!  Here I am reading his letter to me, on the verge of tears:
But Mr Elk is a pretty funny dude, and just in the nick of time he had me giving quite the chuckle:
At this moment in time you may be asking yourself  "Mrs Elk, where are the photos of Mr Elk reading his letter?!" And the answer is they do not exist, because Mr Elk made sure that he was perfectly alone when he read my letter. Apparently capturing a few tears on camera was not something he was interested in.... his loss! He was, though, willing to show off his cool new cuff links!


So it was FINALLY time for me to put on my dress, but first we had to ogle it from every angle imaginable:

       I find this shot kind of funny, because you can totally see that my dress had a lot of support in the boobage region (I'm talking THREE sets of cups!)
and whats a pretty dress without some pretty shoes?
ok, NOW it was time for me to put it on! No, really, I swear I put it on now! Once I was dressed and satisfied with my look, I decided to help Mama Elk put on her shoes  (being the helpful daughter that I am).  I find this picture kind of hilarious in its absurdity- I am wearing a wedding dress and putting on someone else's shoes for them!:
And now that everyone was dressed and ready for the event, we gathered round for a quick toast,
and huddled up close for an adorable group shot:
and with that I was all ready to see my groom (for the first time in 5 minutes....since he saw me just moments before I put my dress on- whoops!).

Miss a moment? Catch up Here:
1. The Elks part ways with their pooch, and eat WAY too much rainbow cookie cake
2. Mrs Elk beautifies with her ladies after a less than stellar wake up call