So, way back when, I was asked to write an article about my wedding. I completely forgot about it until I found it in one of my computer files. So, take a trip with me down memory lane...
(more "Getting Ready" pictures here)
I woke up on June 11, 2011 feeling
like I never felt before. I wasn’t stressed out (which was a nice change,
seeing how I spent the last 6 months/my whole life planning a wedding) and I
felt completely at ease. I had every single detail mapped out and I had so much
help in making sure it was the wedding of my dreams. My fiancé, Brandon, was
with me every step of the way. He included himself in all decisions (without
complaining!) and also helped bring me back to reality when I got too consumed
with all the details.
(more "Portraits" of the bride, groom, wedding party and family here )
After receiving the ring (finally!)
I knew right away that my brother was going to be my “man” of honor and my
bridesmaids were just as easy to pick out. I had four friends that have been
there for me my whole life. I couldn’t imagine my wedding without them there!
Brandon also had his best man and groomsmen chosen. The best group of guys I’ve
ever seen! We were blessed to be surrounded by such amazing families and
friends throughout the wedding planning and the actual wedding day. The love
was definitely felt!
I started my preparation with the
two most important elements (besides the groom!) the perfect dress and
photographer. David’s Bridal was a dream to work with! They took my online
choices, picked out my sizes, gave me a fitting room, and we got to work! I
fell in love with my first choice (same old cliché) but, being the indecisive
person I am, I still tried on the rest of the 10 selections. Nothing compared
to how I felt in dress number one. I was sold! (Plus, GREAT sale!) My mom and
dad were there to compliment and help guide me in the big decision. It was such
a sweet time to share with them; I know I’ll cherish that forever. I took a
risk and ordered the dress one size smaller. I knew I wasn’t at my “ideal”
weight, and fitting into my dress on my wedding day was the motivation I needed
to get into shape! I was so relieved to cross out “dress” on my checklist. After
finding the dress, I decided on a hairstyle and went with a big white flower
instead of a veil. I found the perfect hairpiece on etsy.com. I ordered a pair
of white Toms and decorated them myself to wear for the wedding. Going with the
black, white, yellow theme, I told my bridesmaids to wear whatever black,
strapless, above the knee, dress that they could find. I wanted them to be
different, but still uniform. I ordered amazing necklaces from etsy.com that I
gave to each of them to wear for the wedding. I’m particularly proud of my
bridesmaid’s pomanders. I made them myself after brainstorming ideas with my
Mom. They were the perfect pop of yellow against the black dresses! The men
wore black tuxes with yellow vests and ties from Men’s Warehouse.
Next up, photographer! I spent days
researching, emailing, and calling ANY photographer I could find within our
budget. WeddingChannel.com was SUCH a big help to me. Not only was I able to
search decoration ideas, hair examples, and décor ideas, they had a list of the
top photographers in my area! I finally found a photographer with amazing
quality of work and a reasonable price. Every time we met, emailed, or called
Ashley Daniell, it was such a pleasant experience. My fiancé and I both felt
that she understood our style and personalities. I knew without a doubt she
would be able to capture all the special moments during the wedding (and she
absolutely did!) After finding the dress and photographer, I could have stopped
planning and been happy! But, the wedding planning was too much fun (and
addictive!)
For the wedding invitations, I
found it easier to make my own. Using vistaprint.com, I was able to customize the
invitations to where they were exactly how I imagined. The prices were great
and the process was easy!
As far as the ceremony and
reception decorations went, I wanted to keep things simple. Looking through
bridal magazines, searching online, and using my own imagination, I fell in
love with a “vintage picnic” theme. My fiancé is a youth pastor so we saw it
fitting to have our wedding at our church. My colors were black and white, with
some yellow thrown in different places. This part was the most fun for me. I
spent way too much time (and money) in Michaels, JoAnn Fabrics, and Wal-Mart.
For the ceremony, I had two ladders
on stage with green vines and yellow fabric draped throughout, making an arch
to be the centerpiece. My Grandfather made 4 panels from wood and burlap fabric
to place between trees we brought in. This took up space on stage, and hid the
not-so wedding-like choir chairs! We had a small table under the ladders to
hold our unity sand and a small picture of my Mamaw, who died a month before
the wedding. I knew she had the best seat in the house and was smiling down on
us! Down the aisle, we had black and white rose petals. Along the pews, we had
lanterns hung by big black bows. It looked as though we brought the outside,
in. Perfect for a picnic! My long time family friend did the
beginning of the ceremony so my Dad could walk me down the aisle. Then, my Dad took over
and completed the rest of the ceremony. I couldn’t even tell you exactly what
was said in those thirty minutes. I was completely tuned into my future
husband’s face. Seeing him so emotional and knowing that every tear and every
smile was for me, was perfect.
We dismissed the guests to head
towards the reception and the wedding party and families finished taking
pictures. When the guests walked into the reception area, they saw an old desk with
small vintage items on top (my Mamaw’s gloves, children’s books from the 30’s,
and a large plate with our initial on it.) We opted out of a traditional guest
book and went with a guest vase. I had a basket of river stones and white pens
for each guest to sign. After the wedding, I put all the stones into a large
vase. It’s a beautiful piece I get to display! To keep with the “vintage
picnic” feel, my Aunt made pennants out of my Mamaw’s old scrap pieces of
fabric to hang from each window and across the food tables. Anywhere you
looked, you’d find burlap, mason jars, chalkboards, wild flowers, and baskets. I
loved the whole feel of an inside picnic (without the Florida sun!) On each
table, I had white draping tablecloths with a square of burlap on top. The
centerpieces were simple, a mason jar full of wild yellow daises, a birdhouse,
and a white picket fence. My fiancé and I decided on having an afternoon wedding.
That way, we didn’t have to bring in caterers for a full meal and we were able
to keep things simple (and cheap!) We went with a dessert buffet and an ice
cream bar. Ladies from our church brought in their favorite homemade goodies
(free!) and we set up two kinds of ice cream with all the toppings you could
imagine! I personally don’t like desserts, so we had a platter of Chick-fil-A
nuggets for my fellow non-sweet tooth friends. We ordered our cake from
Wal-Mart. Since we had many desserts, we weren’t too worried about having a
cake big enough to feed all of our guests. It was the perfect size for the
traditional “cake cutting” pictures. A friend of ours built a photo booth for
the reception. I ordered some mustaches, glasses, etc. from etsy.com. It was
definitely a hit! Our reception was short and sweet and after an hour or so of
meeting and greeting, Brandon and I escaped through the bubbles and went off to
finish our pictures with the photographer.
After spending an hour in the state park,
getting the last few shots for our photographer, it finally hit me. I’m
married! I had been told time and time again that your wedding day goes by so
fast, and I never believed them until now! Driving to our honeymoon location
with my husband was the best feeling in the world. It didn’t matter that we
didn’t get our first dance as planned, it didn’t matter that my bouquet came to
me completely wrong, it didn’t even matter that I forgot the bouquet toss, what
mattered was I was married to most amazing man in the world and nothing could
have ruined that! (P.S. The wedding dress fit!)
(more "Couple Shoot" pictures here)
