As you read in my Happy New Year! post, some of my biggest news from last year, 2017, is that in mid-August, my then fiance, and I picked a wedding date! We had been seriously talking about it for almost a year prior and with all that life had for us in 2017, we just kept pushing it off. Finally, we just picked a date and started planning! We set the date for October 20, 2017.
That morning, I anxiously awoke excited for our big day. I had my hair and make-up appointment scheduled for mid-morning so I ate a quick breakfast, showered and was on my way to the Spark Salon. I met my maid of honor at the salon and my sister join us later too. I didn’t have a pre-wedding day trial for my hair or make-up so I had a lot of anxiety whether I would like the end results.
My stylist/make-up artist listened to exactly what I wanted as I showed her my Pinterest boards full of what I pictured in my mind. I wanted my face contoured, with false lashes and my hair with an up-do that looked wispy with hair falling out near my face yet romantic and elegant. Luckily, she listened and followed through perfectly with exactly what I asked for. I was so happy with the end results!
After hair and make-up, we headed to Subway to get some lunch before heading back to my house to finish getting ready. By the time we arrive at my home, my groom had already left to get his hair cut. My maid of honor, sister and I finished eating our lunch and began the process of getting ready. My groom arrived back home and headed straight upstairs, ensuring to not see me before our first look photos. My mom and step-father arrived just in time for my mom to help me get ready for the big day.
My mom helped me get into my dress, a satin white A-line gown. It had a sweetheart neckline with rushing and an attached beaded belt which had small beading, crystals, pearls, which giving it the perfect touch of a little bling yet still being very simple and elegant. I had a Pinterest board pinned with different variations of the exact wedding dress for the last several years.
A little over a month before our wedding day, my mom, sister, maid of honor and I went dress shopping on a Sunday afternoon. I tried on about 20 different dresses at a few different shops within the Twin Cities with no luck. As a final resort, we stopped at Bridal Aisle, a wedding boutique and consignment store, not far from my house. The store sells off the rack and consignment, overstocked wedding dresses from local bridal boutiques within the Twin Cites at a discounted rate.
We looked through the racks and the first dress I picked was my dress. It was the only one of its kind at the store, never worn, in my price range and fit like a glove, it felt like destiny! My dress came with a beaded detachable cap sleeve which I loved, except for an awkward fabric center piece that it had. Luckily, my crafty mom was able to cut the awkward fabric off and fix the beading. It looked so seamless and exactly what I had envisioned!
As my mom helped me get ready on the big day, my sister and maid of honor captured the memories. My mom helped me into my dress, zipped it up and put on my jewelry and veil. It was such a precious moment to have her there to help me get ready for the most special day of my life. We had many laughs and I soaked up all the memories I could. My maid of honor and mom helped me to attach the beaded cap sleeve and as the final touch, I slipped on my satin blue peep toe shoes with gems on the toes. I had always pictured having my “something blue” to be blue satin shoes on my wedding day. I gave my mom a hug and was all ready to marry my groom.
My dad arrived at the perfect time, as I had just finished getting ready. My groom finished getting ready as my mom helped him put on his boutonniere, still upstairs ensuring not to see me before photos. My dad gave him a hug and saw him on his way as he headed out to meet the photographer at a park for our first look photos.
After, the ladies had my dad stand outside just down the hill from my house. He anxiously waited to see his baby girl all dolled up in her wedding gown. I walked up and tapped him on the shoulder, he turned around and instantly began to cry. My dad gave me a great big bear hug, as he always does. It was one of the most precious moments I’ve ever had with him. Luckily, my maid of honor captured the whole moment on video as my sister took photos, I’m so happy to be able to cherish it forever.
I gave my mom a big hug goodbye overjoyed with emotion already from the day! I headed off to the park to see my groom. My maid of honor and I arrived at the park and met the photographer in the parking lot. We talked for a bit, then he led me to my groom who was anxiously waiting for his bride.
He was standing in the forest under tall beautiful trees and the sun peaking through. It was a gorgeous 70 degree day in late October, and in Minnesota that is almost unheard of! As I approached my groom, I was so excited to see his face and couldn’t wait to see him! I walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned around and had a huge grin on his face and told me I looked gorgeous. He looked to handsome in his navy blue suit and tie. He gave me a hug and a kiss and we talked for a bit. We were both very nervous in front of the camera since we had never had professional photos taken of us and weren’t sure how to act.
Eventually, we got a little more comfortable in front of the camera which resulted in some pretty amazing photos. The photographer gave us some direction on what to do and where to go and we took photos for the next hour.
Our favorite photo is one of us laying down in the orange and yellow fall leaves. The photographer told us to put our faces right next to each other like we were about to kiss but told us not to. I joked that it reminded me of the time, long before we had started dating, my husband was too afraid to kiss me so we just laid there with our faces about an inch apart but he never made the move. We laughed so hard which made for the perfect candid photo!
When planning the day, I knew I wanted a specific style of photos for our wedding day, candid, fine art photography, with beautiful light while capturing the emotion of the day. I am very particular on what I like, and my husband didn’t have a preference at all. I found our photographer, Geneoh Photography, just by searching Minneapolis wedding photographers and looking at Google images. I found one that caught my eye and was exactly what I had picturing, so I contacted the photographer. Luckily, he was available on our day and within our price range. I was, and am, so happy he was available to capture our day for us. He takes such beautiful photos and is able to capture the emotion of people so amazingly!
After our portrait photos, we headed to the ceremony location. We met all of our guest, our immediate family along with my best friend, my maid of honor. We had plans to do the ceremony after family pictures but decided to have the ceremony first since everyone had arrived early which worked out perfectly with the outdoor lighting.
Everyone stood along the edges of the pier, where we were married forming an aisle down the middle. The pier is surrounded by trees and opens up to an overlook of a small pond. We plaid “Canon in D Major” by Johann Pachelbel as my dad walked me down the aisle with a smile from ear to ear as we approached my high school sweetheart, my rock, my other heal, the man of my dreams, my groom. I just about started to cry but held it back, to make sure not mess up my make-up. My dad gave me away to my groom and gave us each a big hug.
We had a short ceremony which was officiated by my sister-in-law. We read our own vows which we had written together and reflected our relationship perfectly. We were surrounded by those closest to us and those who love and support our marriage, which was absolutely perfect!
Over the years, I had always planned to have a large extravagant wedding with 150+ guest and all that comes with it. My husband preferred the much smaller route, with us just going to the courthouse, which we almost ended up doing. We met in the middle with 28 of our closes loved ones and the day turned out better than we had ever imagined!
After the ceremony my new husband and I took photos with our family. We finished up photos with a few more of just us then headed over to our wedding dinner.
For the dinner, we had reserved our favorite restaurant’s private dining room. It had exposed red brick, rustic brown wide plank wood floors, a private patio filled with fall flowers, twinkle lights and patio furniture, it exactly what we had in mind. I had been eyeing up the room for years, each time we would sit in view of it in the restaurant area.
When we arrived in the room, I gave a speech thanking everyone for coming and acknowledging those who weren’t able to be with us in person but there with us in spirit. After, I presented my grooms gift that I had created to surprise my husband. I had two coffee mugs created on Shutterfly.com. His said “I’m the Bull” on one side and “Hubby” on the other and mine said “He’s the bull” on one side and “Wifey” on the other. It’s a phrase he likes to use when implying he wears the pants in the family, an inside joke we’ve had for years and the perfect gift for him on our special day. We both laughed and he of course enjoyed the quirky gift.
We ate dinner and had drinks then followed dinner with a sideshow of photos I had compiled from our ten-year relationship, since we were seventeen years old, with music that fit each phase of our lives perfectly. We mingled with guests and finished the night with a first dance on the patio, under the stars, to our high school sweetheart song “Strawberry Wine” by Deana Carter.
We packed up our things and my new husband and I, headed back home. When we returned home, we opened a bottle of wine, opened our gifts and cards and stayed up till 3 a.m. simply reminiscing on the day because we didn’t want the day to end! It was the best day of our lives thus far. I can’t wait to see what life has in store for us in this next chapter of our lives together!
What was your wedding story? Did you have a large or small wedding? I’d love to hear your story!
xoxo – Katie
“And so the adventure begins…” – Unknown
LadiMerk 