Skippy Says: Where It All Began, Part II (Skippy Gets Married)

Read our big announcement about a little package we're expecting here, and where it all began, part I here!

I spent the night before the wedding with my 3 best girlfriends (and bridesmaids) in the same room Ryan and I later stayed in on our wedding night. I'll just go ahead and say that if you ever have the chance to stay at the Mandarin Oriental in San Francisco, you should jump at the opportunity. The view alone is worth it. We had the hair and make-up artists meet us in our room in the morning because seriously, what's better than being pampered while staring at the city you love most from a gorgeous room with a 42nd floor view?

Taking a break from the beautifying process to share a moment with my BFF/maid of honor:

The back of this dress is seriously a large part of the reason why I bought it:

Oh, and what have we here? I'll tell you what. This right here is what happens when you learn that your limo company thinks your wedding is on August 31st rather than August 1st, and you have about half an hour to somehow get yourself across the city to your ceremony site. Cue hysterical laughing because really, what else are you going to do?

Except hail a cab. Classy.

Somehow we made it to the ceremony only a few minutes late. You see that tall girl, second from the right? That's my overly emotional best friend Marina. Here she is already crying when I just started walking down the aisle. God bless her heart. As you can see, I did not have my bridesmaids all wear identical dresses. Instead, I told them to pick out a purple dress of their choice in a similar material. Their material of choice? "Something kinda shiny." I dug it.

Ryan and I had a Jewish wedding ceremony, where one of the traditions is for the bride to circle the groom seven times. Unfortunately, I was a little nervous and lost count. See hilarity of evidence below. On our wedding video, you can actually see Ryan holding up his fingers to show me how many times I've already circled, and how many I have left to go. Atta boy, what a helper.

This right here is our rabbi holding up our Ketubah, the Jewish wedding contract. We chose to write our own, comprised of our vows to one another.

Oh, and look at me getting my wedding band- I think I like it! Per Jewish tradition, Ryan first put the ring on my index finger and then I moved it over to my ring finger. The reason for this is twofold. First, in Jewish mysticism it is believed that there is an artery running straight from the index finger to the heart. And second, by me moving the ring to my wedding finger rather than Ryan placing it on there, I am indicating that I am willingly entering into this marriage. Do I look willing or what?

At one point during the wedding, the rabbi said he wanted to wish us the best of luck. And I stopped the ceremony in order to thank him. What? It seemed rude not to. Below is Ryan making fun of me. I think. Either that, or this is the part of the ceremony where the rabbi described the time Ryan tricked me into being locked in our dog's crate.

At the end of Jewish wedding ceremony, the groom smashes a piece of glass. As Ryan said, he destroyed it.

After the ceremony, we took a few family photos before heading to the reception. Ryan and his mama:

Me and my papa:

And a few of the two of us:

 Ok, maybe this isn't the most attractive photo of me, but it's very typically us:

Stay tuned for part III, the wedding reception, tomorrow!