reception

Remembering your wedding day, part 2

Hello, brides-to-be! As you plan your wedding, a crucial question to ask is: What do I want to look back at & remember about my day? Is it the killer DJ you hired & all the great dance moves your dad broke out? Or maybe the catering by the yummiest local restaurant where you had your first date.

Two weeks ago, I shared about tips for remembering your special day. Being able to look back through beautiful images of your wedding is such a sweet way to hold on to heart-jerking memories & funny moments that took place. Today I'd like to share Part 2 of Remembering your wedding day: Behind the Scenes. (P.S. All images were taken by The Pinwheel Collective!)

Dean

Brides-to-be, here's the thing: you will spend months (maybe longer!!) planning out every intricate detail of your wedding - color patterns, appetizers, programs, flower girl outfits, ceremony music and more! And on the day of your wedding, there is bound to be a few things you don't even get to see or experience!

Why is that, you may be thinking. Because here's the deal: you can only be in one place at a time. I know, crazy, right? As much as we'd like to be Super Bride & fly from room to rooom during everything that happens on your wedding day, it's really not possible.

Meaning while you're getting your family photos taken, your cocktail hour (or cider hour, like we did) is taking place & there are conversations, laughter & stories between old friends & college roommates that you won't be there for. And while you're getting ready to walk down the aisle, you probably won't get to see the seating of your parents & grandparents. Or see your ring bears, as we like to call them, carry your handmade sign down the aisle toward your soon-to-be-hubby. And so much more!

And that's more than OK. You are at your wedding to get married & celebrate with your closest friends & family. That doesn't mean you can or should taste every passed hors d'oeuvre or dance to every song at the reception or see the reception set up before the guests do. And if you somehow do, rock on!

But that's why having photographers there to capture those snapshots is huge! So without further ado, here are some behind-the-scenes shots from our wedding. Or as I like to call it: There Was a Dance Train & Grandma Was On It?!

Getting Ready: Not only did Dean not know what my dress looked like before our First Look (duh) but he didn't see how our bridesmaids' suite was decorated or any of the funniness going on with Casey opening champagne. And I didn't see any of the cute/sad faces my adorable nephew made while the guys were getting ready or them exchanging gifts or Dean's somewhat nervousness before we saw each other for the first time.

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Before the Ceremony: After our First Look and Bridal Party photos, the bridesmaids went into the barn while the guys hung out on the bottom level of the barn til it was time to start the ceremony. In the time, Dean had the She's Mine stickers on the soles of his dress shoes & the girls had a huddle party at the heater while our wedding planner's husband fixed our musical dilemma (read: iPod not working). And our guests started to arrive!

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The Ceremony: Because I was stashed in the barn during the processional, I didn't see any of it. So grateful for these beautiful images that depict what took place throughout!

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Flower girl, out!!!

Cider hour/Reception: We decided to have hot apple cider, soft pretzels, Cincinnati specialty cookies & spiced donut holes in lieu of a traditional cocktail hour, which I never saw! We were taking family photos & although I did manage to snag a few cookies before the ceremony, we didn't get to mingle with our guests until the reception. Our wedding planner Sami & her team did a BEAUTIFUL job on setting everything up. From the napkins & drink stirrers to allll the bottles & flowers in Cloverdale Barn, we loved it!

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And one of my favorite photos from the day - my Southern belle Grandma Betty hopping on the dance train!!

Remembering your wedding day

Before we got married, I had many people share with me: "The whole [wedding] day is a blur. It's hard to remember specific moments." After shooting several weddings with a fast day-of timeline, I understand how that can happen.

For Dean & I, it was a quick day. We got married at noon & started getting ready on the early early side (around 6 am). But by the time the reception was wrapping up, we were like, "Really?? It's ending already?"

That's why it's amazing to have images like the one above, shot by our incredible photographers The Pinwheel Collective. Photos that capture what you were doing, where you were looking, who you were with, that help bring you back to that special day.

Joy. That's what I was feeling in the image above. It was taken right after our paper airplane send-off as were headed toward our getaway car.

Don't move or the eyeliner will smudge.

Also: my sister rocks & I'm so grateful she's here to help!

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Yay it fits!!! Regardless of how many fittings, there is still a slight thought in your mind that your dress will not zip/button/close all the way. I've never seen this be the case buuut it can creep into your head.

Let's do this thing! I was soo ready to get married. Also, we were somewhat behind schedule - & our pastor had back-to-back weddings to officiate that day!!! (It all worked out in the end. We somehow made up some time!)

Beyond excited to see my soon-to-be hubby!!! This was taken during our first look. It was free-zing cold outside to me (bare arms!) & it was so great to see his handsome face.

Love. With a huge capital L! And loved :) Having the time together, just the two of us, before the ceremony was thebomb.com.

Fancy. We were asked to give serious expressions, which makes me think of aristocraticness. And still. really. cold.

I want to eat this cookie now!! And someone grab me another! For reals, when your friends, family & even photographer encourages you to eat throughout the morning/afternoon leading up to your wedding, do it. These were made my super talented mother-in-law. She even used our wedding colors (mint + fuschia!).

A little jittery & so blessed to have those incredible women beside me! We huddled up for a group prayer right before the ceremony began.

Somebody get her a tourniquet!!! What you can't see in this photo is Chelsea's big ole' scraped up knee. As were walking down the stairs of the barn trap door (yep, super old school!), Chels was carrying my train. When I came to the bottom & stepped onto the ground, she lost her footing and fell, scraping her knee in the process.

Praise be to God! Our incredible wedding planner Sami was just a few feet away & ran over to help stop the bleeding. Chels was such a trooper about it the whole time!

This is it. I'm getting MARRIED to DEAN!!!

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So happy I could cry.

So happy I can't stop smiling.

Why is it so windy right now?! We had decided to include 3 cords as part of our ceremony. Braiding when it's not windy - no problem! Braiding while the wind is trying to blow the cords away - mucho difficult!

We're MARRIED!!!!

Sister SANDWICH!!! It's one of our fave things to do with Chels :)

I love dancing with my husband :)

Yay! Small Group ladies!!!

No you DIDN'T! Eating our first piece of cake got a little messy ... then we accidentally dropped the rest of that piece on the ground :(

Here we go!!!

Whether your wedding day includes a short ceremony or a long dance-the-night-away reception, having beautiful images allows you to look back and remember the small snippets that took place during the day. The stories within your wedding story that you can cherish now & share in the years to come.