Guest Blogger: Mr. Owl's Perspective on The Wedding Day, Part I

Happy Friday, everyone! We're trying something new today, so let me introduce our first-ever guest blogger, Mr. Owl. We thought it would be interesting (and fun, too!) to hear what it's like to be a guy on the day of the wedding. So whoo better to ask than the hubs, non? Mr. Owl was gracious enough to write up his perspective in a two-part series. So, I present to you, Our Wedding Day: Mr. Owl's Perspective on What It's Like to be a Dude, Part I. Enjoy!


Getting ready
I feel sorry for you girls. I really do. Mrs. Owl had to get up at 7 a.m. the morning of our wedding to start hair and makeup to make sure she was her gorgeous self for the wedding day. Me? I went down the hall in our hotel to my parent’s room and watched soccer for several hours. Well, okay. My brother and the Dad’s actually took a 45-minute break to get some straight-edge shaves that morning, too. But then it was right back to soccer and chillin’ with my family. I think I spent about 20 minutes getting showered and dressed to look all daper for the big day. Eventually our photographer found her way to our room. She was in Mrs. Owl’s suite for about 45 minutes taking photos of shoes and dresses. She visited me quickly enough to get a few shots of the rings, get a couple of snaps of me fake-tying a tie, putting on my super awesome cufflinks, and asked me the score in the sports game on the TV. For girls, it’s my understanding that getting ready the morning-of is one of the most fun parts about the day. For dudes, it’s pretty uneventful, but relaxing nonetheless.


The first look
Mrs. Owl and I decided to have a first look. Hands down, best decision we ever made. Our coordinator* came to get me and as we took the elevator downstairs she asked me if I was nervous. I replied, “Not one bit, because I have never been as sure of anything as I am of this.” And it was true. I didn’t feel nervous and I can be a pretty nervous guy if the moment is right (or awkward enough). Our first look was really quite amazing. Mrs. Owl was crying before we even saw each other because the coordinator decided to tell her what I had said in the elevator and Mrs. Owl gets pretty choked when it comes to my romantic side. Good thing I had my trusty pocket square - a last-minute purchase right before the wedding - to wipe her tears away. Like most guys, I got a bit nervous about the reaction I would have at the first look. What if I’m not happy enough or don’t smile or forget to tell her she looks amazing after those three hours of hair and makeup? But, I can tell you with all certainty, when you do finally see your future bride, all those nerves go out the window because she will look as amazing as she does every day, just with the glam turned up to 11.


Moments before the ceremony
I don’t want to say that waiting for the ceremony to start was boring – maybe uneventful is the better word choice. It just seemed to take forever to start. We had to wait in a little room with our family and wedding party after our photos were done, and while it was nice to take a deep breath before all the action started and really take the moment in, I had been pretty much taking it in all morning. I was ready to marry Mrs. Owl and seal the deal. I was also getting kind of hungry and it was really hard to walk past our candy buffet and not grab a few treats (I swear, I didn’t touch a thing!). As we started to line up for the ceremony to begin, the nerves never came. Everything just felt right at that moment. Truthfully, I just wanted it to start because after 15 months of planning, I was ready to take that next step and have Mrs. Owl be my wife. Plus, I was also ready to shake my tailfeather with our friends and family … and maybe have a Manhattan or two.


Stay tuned next week for Part II: The ceremony and the vow, the cocktail hour and reception.

*The Owl's had the help of Jeanne at Hudon Valley Ceremonies, and she was truly amazing. Most definitely an Owl-approved vendor for anyone in the Upstate New York area.