It seems funny to me that at 19 years old, I had looked
forward to this day ever since I could remember. At 16, I thought I was
ready for marriage and could hardly wait! Now the time to get a wedding
together was here, and I had absolutely no clue what to do! I had 7 weeks,
and so much to do, I wasn't sure if I could pull it off! I asked the Lord
to help me make it beautiful, yet as inexpensive as possible! I remember people at my work telling me that I was getting married way too fast, and my engagement was not long enough. They all said to me, "It will NEVER last!" What they did not know and could not understand was, God had brought the two of us together. As you will read, God so wonderfully worked out EVERY single detail!
The first thing I did was to purchase material for my
dress. Since Mark and I were to pay for our wedding all on our own, I had
to be very careful. Our wedding budget was $200, and I was hoping it could all be kept right close to that figure. Those of you that know the expense of planning even a simple wedding, know that $200 is next to impossible! When I looked through the pattern books at the exchange,
the wedding dress patterns were extremely limited, and they all looked
so gaudy. I decided I would modify a Gunne Sax pattern. It was a long sundress,
with 7 yards of material in the skirt. I bought a white shiny type material,
not silk or satin, but something a bit easier to sew on. I cannot remember
what the fiber was. I paid $1 a yard for it, and I also purchased
8 yards of lace to overlay the skirt. The lace was only a a $1.50 a yard. I ended up paying about $35 to make
that dress! The Lord was very good to me, as the owner of that fabric store
sold it to me at that price in order to have a part in the wedding! I bought
an inexpensive Singer machine as well. I would go to Mark's room to cut
out that dress, as he had more floor space in his room since he had a private
room, whereas I did not. It took me quite awhile to cut out that dress,
as it seemed to have about 1000 pieces! hehe I never let Mark see
me in the dress until the day of the wedding. I wanted a veil, but could
not figure out how to make one. I finally asked my mom if she could help
me make one, she said no problem as she would be coming out about a week
before the wedding to help me with the little things!
I do not remember the exact day, but my mother called
to let me know my father was flying out to Guam the next week! He said
he was considering moving back to Guam and wanted to check on the job prospects.
If you remember, we lived there for 4 years when I was a little girl, and
my moving back had made him want to come back. It wasn't until a few years
later that my mother confessed to me that he was not looking at jobs at
all, he was checking out his future son in law! hehe I never really
thought about that, because that summer after the wedding, they did move
back to Guam for two years! Very sneaky dad! hehe The one thing my mom
said was that Mark was the only guy he had ever really approved of! That
really made me feel good, as it is important if you have Christian parents,
that they approve of your choice for a life mate! My dad stayed a few days
with the old family friends, and then went back home to await the trip
back for the wedding.
What to do about a cake? Well, I had no idea where to
look! The little Filipino man who cooked in the chow hall heard I was getting
married, and asked me if I had someone to make the cake, I said no, as
I could not afford what a bakery would charge. He offered to do the cake
for me for $50.00! That was so cheap for a 4 tier cake! He promised it
would be beautiful, and I was grateful for the offer and price, so I picked
out my cake top, and gave it to him and then left it in his hands! The
Lord works in such mysterious and wonderful ways!
What to do about flowers? I am one of those kind
of girls who loves flowers, but can't stand to see them die! I chose to
have all silk flowers, so for the next 5 weeks, I would go into the department
stores on the island and look for sale flowers! hehe I had gotten quite
a few at half price and closeout! The Lord was really blessing my wedding,
and our upcoming marriage! I was getting excited, but very nervous! My
mom said she would help me make arrangements and bouquets out of all those
flowers, so that was another thing I did not have to worry about! I was
blessed to have a loving and talented mother! I look forward to the day
when I can help my daughters with their weddings!
The flower girl was named Kim. She was a cute little Guamanian
girl. She was the daughter of one of my father's students, when we lived
on Guam many years ago. Her mother made her dress, and fixed up what she
needed from the flowers I gave her. That was a big help to me, not to have
to worry about that area as well! My youngest brother would be the ring
bearer, he was about 6 I believe at the time. What a cutie! hehe
The Matron of honor, was my closest friend from the Dental
clinic. Since we had so little money, I told her just to choose a blue
dress, nothing fancy. I left the style up to her. We also asked her husband
to be the best man, and let him make the choice of what suit to wear. He
had his own tuxedo, so he wore that to the wedding. We still laugh at it
today, because of funds, Mark could not afford a tuxedo, so he wore his
best blue suit. Some people joked that the best man was dressed up more
than the groom! hehe When you are in love and on a budget, that made no
difference at all! I do look back at the shoes he wore, and wish I had
thought about having him buy some dress shoes, or to wear his Navy shoes,
but it is what made our wedding special and unique! hehe
The invitations were ordered from the base exchange. They
were pretty and inexpensive, and we ordered napkins with our names on them.
I also ordered a cake server and knife with our names and wedding date
engraved on them. We did not need a whole lot of invitations, as our friends
from the US would not be able to attend. We gave invitations to our parents
friends, and our co-workers.
The pictures would be taken by one of Mark's friends from work. He would not charge us and said it would be his gift. We would have his pictures, plus the ones my dad would take, and others at the wedding! We did not have the money to hire a professional photographer, so we were very thankful for the volunteers!
The wedding would be performed by the Pastor of the church
we attended when I was a little girl. I tried to get the base chapel, but
they would not allow an outside preacher to do the service, and I would
have to use a military chaplain. I began looking for a church to hold the
ceremony. About three weeks before the ceremony, I got a call from the
base chaplain, and said it was approved for me to use the chapel with my
own preacher! I was so excited! God was so good! It was also to be the
very first wedding to be held in the brand new Chapel! People try to tell
me God does not exist! I will be the first one to say they are wrong, look
at how God made everything come together!
One week before the wedding, my family arrived. My father,
mother, three brothers and my grandmother! Surprise! My mother had bought
a very beautiful veil that went so well with my dress. I was also having
some problems with the dress as I wanted a train, but couldn't get it out
of the pattern I had made, plus it was so plain on the top, and was a sundress.
Mom came up with the idea to match the lace, and make a lace cape that
covered the shoulders, and would fall in a nice train behind. We took the
lace edging and cut it off, and sewed it all around this unique cape. When
it was all together, it looked so pretty! I was getting so excited! Mom
also snuck out and bought me a silk bouquet so I would have something different
than all the flowers I had bought. I tell you, it was a busy week getting
ready! My grandmother had paid for all the plane tickets so my family could
be there! She passed away March 1999, but I will never forget all the love
she bestowed on me for that day! She even paid for the wedding cake! It
is wonderful that God often uses people to help his plan come together! Please note: WE DID IT! With the help of friends and family, we spent only $200 on our wedding!
The night before the wedding, we had the rehearsal! I was so nervous that I couldn't quit laughing. I was so worried that at the wedding, I would be giggling too much. I just couldn't seem to help myself! We went out for the rehearsal dinner (which my grandmother paid for) at a restaurant I used to love as a child! It was a restaurant out in the sticks! hehe But they had the best batter fried chicken and shrimp you have ever tasted! The big day is tomorrow!
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