That Kiss

We had a very big wedding, and there were a mind-numbing number of details.  I spent the better part of six months making sure it would all go off flawlessly.  I was stressed-out and jumpy, and I was a control freak to such a degree that it's remarkable Hubs still married me.

On my list of Wedding Details That Needed To Be Managed was "the kiss".  The you-may-kiss-the-bride kiss.  I suggested to Hubs that we should rehearse it.  We had plenty of kissing experience, goodness knows, but that was a very important kiss.  What if we clocked each other in the nose in front of 400+ people?  What if, out of nervousness, the kiss was passionless and dull?  What if I started laughing?

Hubs had the nerve to say no.  We wouldn't rehearse.  We'd kiss plenty, and every now and then I'd say, "so, will it be like that?"  But he would just smile and shrug, much to my dismay, and my pleas fell on deaf ears.  I started to worry he had some lovey-dovey mischief up his sleeve, and I reminded him that my dad would be sitting in the second row. 

Still, he just grinned.  "It'll be a good kiss," he promised.  Even then, that man knew how to mess with me. 

On our wedding day, things were perfect.  Despite my preoccupation with the details, I managed to stay quite focused during the ceremony.  I wasn't nervous at all.  Until our pastor said, "I now pronounce you husband and wife.  You may kiss the bride."

I had exactly .7 seconds to think half a nervous thought.

Because then he kissed me.

That kiss, my friends, was The Kiss To End All Kisses.  While the specific details of it are meant for my memories only, I'll tell you that I didn't just feel that kiss on my lips.  I felt it inside my brain, the very brain that had tried (unsuccessfully) to talk me out of falling in love with this man so quickly.  I felt it inside the belly that would someday carry our four as-yet-unknown-and-unplanned-for babies.  It traveled all the way down to my feet, the feet that would happily follow this man from the small town to the big city and everywhere in between.

It was a good kiss.

And thankfully, Hubs didn't pack that kiss away with the box of wedding keepsakes that sit in my attic.  Every now and then, it reappears.  He'll walk in the door from work, usually on a day when my hair is greasy and the kids are fighting and dinner is burned and he'll plant that same kiss right back on me.  My knees go just as weak as they did 13 years ago.

It's still a good kiss.

Comments

[Melanie]

Shannon, This is just precious. We DID practice our kiss. :>) We were both afraid that one of us would pull away from the other and look like we were uninterested. Even with all the practice, ahem, it was a kiss I will always remember. The technique may have been planned but certainly not the emotion.

Great writing! (sounds like a chicken soup to me :>))

[Ann G]

That's soooo romantic!!! Thanks for sharing....

[Goslyn]

That's awesome, Shannon. We had an awkward wedding kiss. IN a Catholic ceremony, the priest does not instruct you to "kiss the bride," he only pauses expectantly. SuperHubby and I were both so distracted we didn't realize what we were supposed to do. And everyone waited. And then I leaned in for a smackeroo, and SuperHubby leaned away. And everyone - including us - laughed. We finally got that kiss, but it was glowing with humor, and not at all spine-tingling like the one you describe on your big day.

What a great post! (Sorry for the long comment.)

[boomama]

I LOVE THIS!

[Ashleigh]

Ah, swooning, over here. Because I know just such a kiss... we have it documented in our wedding pictures, my beloved's arm pulling my close to him at that moment and just as you said, it reappears every so often, at just the right moments, completely taking me by surprise and my breath away.

[Kathryn]

I didn't get too crazy planning things for my wedding. I wasn't too into having a big wedding. It didn't even cross my mind to practice the kiss. We had about 100 friends and family join us to celebrate that day, but in the moment of that kiss I forgot that anyone was there. It felt a little like the room swirled around us, like how the cameras circle the couple in a movie kiss, and I'm sure when we turned back to the room full of people I blushed being a little surprised by their presence.

Ahhh. Sweet memory. Great post.

[Big Mama]

What Boomama said, which was my exact thought as I read it.

[Simply Sandy]

I am very thankful that it never occurred to me to practice "The Kiss"! But we were well-rehearsed regardless :-)

Great story!

[Tammy]

Sweet story!!

I know some people who don't have their first kiss until that one or even starnger they don't kiss at the wedding-have their first kiss in private.

By the way I was one of those people who did get nervous and laughed during the wedding.

[JP's MOM]

I don't blame ya for wanting to rehearse the kiss...it is nerve racking to be in front of several hundred people and then be expected to kiss.

Sweet story...you've got a keeper. :)

[Fiddledeedee (It Coulda Been Worse)]

Now, THAT, is romantic.

Beautiful story, Shannon.

[Striving\Tessa]

Okay maybe it is baby hormones, but that brought tears to my eyes. It is either baby hormones, or jealousy, hee, hee.

[Dawn]

That totally made my morning! Thanks...

And, I am going to a wedding tomorrow!

[warillever]

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[mimi2six]

I was there.....the mother-of-the-bride. I saw the kiss! An elderly lady in our church commented after the wedding, "That was the tightest knot I've ever seen tied." Such a romantic kiss and wedding!

[Beth F.]

I love it! Great story!

[Jeni]

That is so sweet! I don't remember much about our ceremony at all, only that the ivy caught fire afterwards...

[Cris]

What a beautiful way to start my Friday. THANKS! for sharing.

Rehearse the kiss...that's one I've never heard before! LOL!

So, does he have any brothers ;) Just kidding. ;)

TGIF!

[Aunt Murry]

Awww. I makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

[Tracy]

Ahhh... I know JUST what you mean. Wonderful, isn't it?

[Christy]

Awwwwww, that is so...um, sweet, romantic, awesome.... I loved it. Very well written--I could feel the wedding stress, teasing, and intimacy.

[Teresa]

Oh, that is beautiful!

[Blogversary]

You said 13 is not lucky?

[Jenny]

I'm such a sap I'm all teary....and it's not baby hormones! I was an evil Bridezilla control freak too!

[Princess Leia]

That kiss _was_ our first kiss. And I was a little nervous about that because what if he wasn't any good at it? But at the same time, neither of us wanted to mess things up again and cold turkey was the best way for that for us.

But it was PERFECT (as was the entire rest of the day, especially God's wedding gift of 2' of snow). And our friends made sure we got _lots_ of practice at the reception, and we've had _LOTS_ of practice since then (the beautiful son we got as an early anniversary present is living proof!)...but nothing can describe that first time...on our wedding day...with all the beautiful music and our friends and family...

It was PERFECT!

:)

[Just Beachy]

Very Very Sweet

[Megan (FriedOkra)]

Sssssssssiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh. That was beauteeful. And I totally get the rehearsing it thing. I wouldn't want it at my current age, but was right there with you in my 20s. Must. Be. Perfect. By. MY. Definition!!! Life educates, does it not?

[Tamara]

That's beautiful Shannon.

[seized by hope]

An unrehearsed, spectacular, knee buckling, heart stopping, feel it everywhere, still shows up 13 years later Kiss? This is a dream come true. What a great reminder to any woman who given in to the invitation to live out of mediocrity in her marriage.

[MyStarbucks]

Wow! I've had kisses like that too. I can't say I even remember my wedding kiss. I was absolutely shaking up on the stage. I was more worried about everyone behind me seeing me shake than the kiss. But now, they are even better than ever after 18 years.

Great story!

[Ornery's Wife]

That was very sweet. Even sweeter is the longevity of the remembrance and recurrence of the memory trigger! I loved the comment your mom left about tying a tight knot! Twenty-eight years later, I'm still in a pretty tight knot myself!
TM

[Katrina (Callapidder Days)]

Oh, what a sweet, romantic post. It gave me a smile. :)

[Sarah W.]

How precious!!
My husband and I's first kiss ever together was THAT kiss. I was SO nervous because not only could we not rehearse, but we had not ever even kissed before! I just tried not to think about it! But it turned out great!

[Melene]

That is so sweet. Great kisses are one of the best parts of marriage, in my opinion!

My husband is a foot taller than me and at our wedding, he gently leaned over and kissed me after the minister said, " you may now kiss the bride...." But then, my husband spread his legs so he could get on my level and he REALLY kissed me-one I've never forgotten and neither have most of the people at the wedding! My sister, who was my maid of honor, thought he was never going to stop!

And here's the best part-he's been deployed for almost 4 months and will be home in 2 weeks! Then the kissing will begin again!

[Cindee]

WOW!!

[Liz C]

We eloped (with my parents as witnesses, so does that really count as eloping?) and I don't have any pictures of the ceremony beyond the lovely images in my memory, but I do have a particularly adorable snapshot of my 6'2" husband dipping my 6'1" father and planting a smooch on his bald, bald forehead, taken on the courthouse steps afterward.

:)

Those "WOW this is REAL" kisses from DH are just the best!

[Rhen (yestheyareallmine)]

Wow! That just makes me want to kiss my sweetie pie right now. I can't wait for hubby to get home so I can kiss him!

[Beth/Mom2TwoVikings]

DaHubby can still lay one on me like that - and my knees want to give out completely! *giggle*

[Karen]

Three cheers for Mr. Forever Right!!!!

[Stacey]

Awwwwwwww,that gave me warm fuzzies! Lovely story.

[Terry]

What a sweet post--We too shared a kiss just like that, I remember it like yesterday and it was almost 30 years ago! As a matter of fact it still happens when I least expect it!

[Shalee]

Sigh... Loved this memory of yours, Shannon. I also love hearing about how other wives go weak in the knees with their husbands. It makes me praise God all the more for the blessing of my great love with Mr. Right.

You really did get "a kiss to build a dream on", didn't you?

[Melissa]

Thanks for sharing your story, I love hearing good memories like this. I was the one who leaned back over for a second kiss from my new DH and got asked by our minister (and good friend) if I was done. That sure got a laugh from everyone. :-0

[Andrea]

Shannon, I GET this. I loved reading it and am so right there with you - ahhhh, THE kiss. The days it shows back up are GOOD days, yes? Thank you for writing about it - and writing about it so well. Oh, and thanks Shannon's Mom for chiming in. So fun to hear from you! :)

[Elaine]

Aw! Can't we have a flashback picture to help us visualize this one?! So sweet! Speaks volumes about you both.

[Amber]

Swoon.

I have to say that is one detail of my own wedding that I did not practice. We just sorta agreed on how it would work... and I felt it to my toes... though I am pretty sure I was smiling like a loon through the whole thing.

I did however, have to instruct my Dad on how the giving away was going to work. He wanted a big bear hug... at the alter... Egads. It took my mom and I several days to talk him out of it, and instruct him that it would be a simple peck on the cheek :) He did just fine :)

[Laura]

Awwww... you took me right back ten years to our wedding. I have to tell you a little funny thing - it was a small, small wedding, we were very young and very much in love... my brothers walked me up the aisle, and gave me away to my hubby... who then promptly, before the ceremony even began, leaned over and gave me the sweetest gentlest kiss on my lips... to which the preacher had to say, "Hey, hey, now... none of that! That's AFTER the ceremony!" Talk about a blushing bride!

[Not the Queen]

Sigh!

That's the total opposite of our wedding kiss. Ours was so quick (my husband had a phobia of PDF) that the cameraman couldn't even catch it on film!

It's gotten better since then.

[Kendra]

This is how I remember our kiss, even though the day is kind of a blur.

It is certainly how I feel about my husband though. Beautiful!

[pinkmommy]

Between you and PW I am falling in love with love all over again!

[Susanne]

Made me smile! How romantic!

[Thea]

Oh, I love it! That's so gorgeous. We didn't practice at all and it was fabulous - in our wedding photos, it looks almost like I've tackled him, which always makes us laugh. That is such a fun moment in any wedding, whether the sparks fly like mad or what.

[Jen]

Beautiful post. Keep that feeling alive! God meant for love to last a lifetime and when the 'feelings' of love numb out after the wedding day; that's when 'choosing' to love steps in! Marriage is truly a blessing!

[Julia]

I am a first timer on ur blog and just want to say - as a newlywed - just married in June of this year.. it is so encouraging to know that I am not the only one that PLANNED that kiss. (constantly reminding him that my dad would be watching... my dad was the minister - he had the front row shot!) however, I also remember very specifically that kiss over the many other wonderful kisses... I look forward to still feeling that way about his kisses years from now!! thanks for posting!

[jenn]

These kind of stories continue to shout out loud and clear, amid all of the brokenness, "LIFE-LASTING-LOVE DOES EXIST!" Blessings on your marriage.

[GiBee]

Oh, Shannon ... that was just lovely!!!

[Karen @ Simply A Musing Blog]

That was so beautiful...straight from the heart and it speaks so much about your husband and how you feel about him. I loved it! Thanks for sharing with us. :)

[Mom of a Munchkin]

*sigh* beautiful! What's with all the romance in the blogosphere today? When my husband comes home he's going to think I watched chick flicks all day I'll be so star-y eyed!

[Ann'Re]

Wow...how romantic! Thanks for sharing such a sweet story. :D Now I must go find Hubby...

[Lori]

That's such a great story. We had 400+ people at our wedding as well and, despite having a degree in theatre, I was nervous about having such a life changing ceremony in front of so many. So my husband and I DID practice our kiss. We discussed length and appropriate levels of intimacy and, etc. It went off smashingly well but still cracks me up that we rehearsed.

[Amy]

Ah, but we DID rehearse OUR kiss! ; )

[Maggie]

Dh and I were just discussing our first kiss the other day, and yes it was on our wedding day. Absolutely no practicing invloved, and it was indescribable.
Both your first kiss and your wedding kiss are beyond memorable, to have them interwoven is glorious indeed.

[Kelley - O2BNAZ]

What an adorable post! Thanks for sharing such a special memory. I could almost feel "that kiss" all the way in Atlanta.

[Liz]

I know our wedding kiss was only 4 months ago, but the way he just took my face in his hands - and LAID IT ON ME - wowzers. I can still feel it.

[Liberty]

Awwww! That is so sweet!

[Michelle at Scribbit]

Did you tell him, "Yea, but think how good it would have been if you'd practiced?"

Kidding. That's really sweet.

[Nic]

Oh how romantic!

[Veronica]

Wow.

[Kiy]

Awwwww, sniffle! Thank you for sharing that with us. Wow. You just gave me my smile for the morning. :)

Kiy

[Flutterby]

oh that seriously brought tears to my eyes...I have much to say but it seems more important to keep this short and then go snuggle with my hubby on the couch!

[Rebecca]

I loved that kiss! It was gorgeous, just perfect, such a wonderful expression of what I mean to him.... Awww!

[Adena (aka. cre82learn)]

That is sooooo sweet!! I know after being married for awhile (19 years for us) and after kids, it's easy to just grab a peck here and there. Every once and awhile we need to remember that the fire is still there! It helps keep a marriage strong to be taken back to the honeymoon phase.

[Sarah @ Real Life]

Oh, reading this stunning description of your day brings back memories of the day my husband and I first kissed each other... on the alter at our wedding! We couldn't practice because we wanted to wait, and I just about fainted right there!

[Jen]

Ahhhhh, what a sweet story! My wedding day kiss was like that too...I'll always remember it! Thanks for the reminder! :-)