From the bride… Our wedding was the most memorable, exciting, love-filled day of my life. I know it’s not unusual, but I was truly surprised and utterly disappointed when it was all over so quickly! My husband and I have commented that although we had an amazing honeymoon, we would have given it up in a second to be able to repeat our wedding day. There was something so surreal about having all our loved ones in one room celebrating the joy of our marriage.
My family and I are very, very close and always have been. Due to the recent passing of a few close family members within a short time, it has brought us even closer. When it came time to plan for the wedding, we did it together as a unit every step of the way. The wedding was a perfect reflection of the traits of my family – loving, emotional, stylish and fun. From the beginning, I knew I wanted to have a wedding close to my childhood home so I could have photos getting ready there. The only other requirement was ensuring the wedding didn’t feel stuffy, even if it was in a “traditional” ballroom, I wanted a loose, organic theme.
We chose to have the wedding during the fall, our favorite season. The weather is (usually) perfect, and the fall foliage only adds to the romance of the season. As I learned very quickly, not all things go according to plan and we were forced to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew causing our ceremony to be moved indoors at the eleventh hour. Despite the change, the ceremony was filled with dozens and dozens of candles and flowers, creating the most intimate makeshift chapel I had ever seen. It was breathtaking! Florals were integral to my vision of the reception and when I finally saw the ballroom, I had to have a moment to collect myself because it was better than my dreams could ever have imagined!
Our immediate family and our bridal party sat in tables framing the dance floor, allowing us to enjoy the company of our closest loved ones from every angle. The band, Pete Saunders Band of Hank Lane Music, was absolutely incredible and had our guests raving for weeks after the day. I am not exaggerating when I say they sang covers just as well if not better than the original artists. My husband and I spent a long time finding the perfect first dance song for us that closely describes our relationship. After pouring over the lyrics of too many songs to count, we chose “Stay with You” by John Legend. We met in 2009 during the tumultuous high school/college years. No one, much less the two of us, would believe we would end up together when we first started dating. But after going through so much together in a short period time, we quickly realized there was no one else for the other.
One of the highlights of the night came at the end of the reception when guests were ushered to the front of the clubhouse to find a fully loaded Shake Shack truck. After a night of tearing up the dance floor, there is nothing more satisfying than digging into a Shake Shack burger and fries. It was a very unconventional party favor, but so uniquely us!
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