Jason's friend, Craig was running late and he ran in just ahead of us. My sponsor, Leisa, was also late, so I got to give her a hug before we went in. My friend Christina Flack came in just as we were about to begin and she took one look at me and burst into tears. It's these little memoreis about that day that I never want to forget.
As we entered the church, I saw so many faces that meant so much to me. I could see Taneisha, Shay, Dee Dee and Amanda who have been through it all with me. I could see my cousins who I have loved my whole life. I could see a row of professors who had loved and supported me for the three years leading up to this moment. I saw Saul, who had been my dear friend since college. As the music began to play and the bridesmaids slowly marched off in front of me, I felt myself getting dizzy. I was somewhere between crying and laughing and I felt like everyone could see my heart beating through my dress. As Helen walked away, I looked up to my dad one more time, and then looked to the end of the aisle.
And there he was.
He literally took my breathe away, and I heard myself take a small gasp that I couldn't seem to control.
He was stunning. He stood with his hands folded in fron of him with the biggest grin on his face. I couldn't take my eyes off him. As we began to walk to wards him, he made a little gesture with his hands we had talked about days before. He was mimicking my nephew, Luke, who always shook his hands ferociously when he was really, really excited about something. Jason made just that movement, and I burst out laughing. Then it hit me. No one else was laughing. Then something else hit me: absolutely no one was looking at him.
When we got to altar, my dad raised my vail and I could feel Isabel step in behind me to adjust it. As my dad put my hand in Jason's, he whispered only these words: "You guys are meant for each other." I saw him fighting tears as he walked back to his pew.
And there we were, just Jason and I, about to become man and wife, standing in front of every single person we knew and cared about. It was a perfect moment.
As the ceremony progressed, I tried hard to soak it all in. I made sure to look out to the crowd who was gathered there, to remember their faces and their expressions. I didn't want to forget a single moment. When we exchanged vows, I couldn't hold back the tears. Here was this man, who had been through so much with me, wanting to take me as his wife for all eternity. My love for him was so epic, so overwhelming, I could hardly speak. I will forever remember that moment where I slipped his ring on his finger and forever made him mine in the eyes of God and man.
Lettice's voice was simply stunning as expected. Her rendition of Ave Maria was breathtaking, and I was glad to have my back to the crowd for that portion so I could let the tears flow freely.
Towards the end of the ceremony, my Uncle Richard approached us and whispered, "I forgot a few parts, so don't forget to kiss your mothers on the way back down the aisle." I hadn't even noticed, but he had completely forgotten the Sign of Peace and the Prayers of the Faithful. Somehow, this imperfection made it even more perfect and added a uniqueness to the ceremony.
And then it was time. He turned us towards the audience and said the magic words: "May I present to you Mr. & Mrs. Jason Clausen". I giggled a smidge, and then leaned up to kiss my husband for the most perfect, most memorable kiss of my life. When we turned around, the bridesmaids were holding up score cards that rated our kiss a '10' and '9.5'. It was hilarious. I wish there was a picture of it.
As we headed back down the aisle, we did as instructed and kissed our mothers. And then hand-in-hand walked past all our friends and family as husband & wife.
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