Hi friends!

Today I thought I would share some of my favorite moments from my wedding day in celebration of our one year wedding anniversary on Sunday! I married my husband on our 6th dating anniversary so August 19th is technically our 7th anniversary.

I loved waking up at a fancy hotel with my bridesmaids. I slept so well the night before my wedding in a huge king-sized bed with fluffy white pillows and blankets. I woke up before everyone else and just had a moment to look around and let it sink in that it was my wedding day! I sat down and wrote a note for our Anniversary Box. My Uncle made us a wooden box big enough for a bottle of wine and lots of letters. We each wrote each other a letter on our wedding day to place in the box during the ceremony. Each year on our anniversary we will open the box, drink the wine, and read the letters. I loved taking a moment on our wedding day to write a note to my future husband to express how excited I was for our future.

After I got my hair done, I left the hair salon with my friend and the flower girl. Our flower girl, Levi, was 11 months old at the time and needed a nap before we left for the venue. The hair salon was near my parent’s house so I volunteered to take Levi home for a nap while her mom, Hanna, got her hair done. It was so nice to have a quiet moment cuddling with Levi before checking to make sure everything in the “wedding room” had been taken to the venue. It was also really nice because the groomsmen were having lunch in my parent’s backyard so I got to see them for a few minutes which took some of the nerves away. I will always remember the moments where I just got to sit in my childhood bedroom and process the fact that I was getting married. My hair and makeup were done, I was in my getting ready robe, and I felt very little stress.

I drove to the venue by myself, in my robe, with a car full of my stuff. It was so nice to arrive before my mom and the bridesmaids and just have a few moments to settle in. It was one of the best moments for me because I got to take the time to wander around and take pictures before anyone else got there. I got a few moments to just be present in the day and to notice all of the little details that I worked so hard on.

Our wedding venue was extra special for me because it was at a camp that I attended every summer of my childhood with my sister and cousin who were both members of my bridal party. My Grandpa was the landscape architect whose team designed the camp. He’s the one who suggested that we get married there so I know that it meant just as much to me as it did to him. Getting married at a place that held so many happy memories just made everything so much better!

Our first look was something that we debated on until a couple of weeks before the wedding. Brett didn’t want to have one because he wanted to see me for the first time as I walked down the aisle. But I knew I needed to see him before the ceremony to have any hope at all of not sobbing the whole ceremony. The first look was just us and our two photographers. There was no stress of standing in front of hundreds of people so we could just be ourselves. We chatted and laughed and even at one point I got my shoe stuck and Brett had to dig through the layers of my dress to find it. These moments were sweet and silly, just like us, and I will always cherish them.

During the ceremony I made sure to take time to look around at all the people who surrounded us. Our friends, family, co-workers. All of these people had made an impact on our lives in some way or another. I made sure to take it all in. Brett’s sister shared a reading during the ceremony. Her words made me start crying and Brett just smiled at me and the moment felt so right. All of Brett’s friends, who are really my friends too, were facing me. They saw all of my emotions and it was a really special moment for our friendships. We both wrote our own vows and I sobbed the whole time. The ceremony just meant so much to us! My cousin, Lance, officiated our wedding which made it even more special.

After the ceremony, I had a few moments to talk with my Grandparents before group pictures. I decided to wear a cross necklace that my Grandma and Grandpa had bought for me in the 7th grade for my confirmation. My Grandparents didn’t know ahead of time that I was going to wear it. My Grandma’s eyes watered when she saw it and she put her head on my shoulder and whispered how much it meant to her that I had worn it. That moment means the World to me now.

Once we arrived at the reception we sat down and actually enjoyed dinner! I received the advice to make sure that we ate a lot before and after the ceremony. Because of this advice, Brett and I did not make the rounds to greet people during dinner (we greeted everyone in a line after the ceremony instead). We sat and chatted with our wedding party. We drank our fancy champagne and looked around the room that held all of our favorite people. It was a great moment.

After our first dance and the father/daughter and mother/son dance we took a moment to thank our friends and family for all their help. We also surprised my parents by playing the first dance song from their wedding “Forever and Ever Amen by Randy Travis” in celebration of their 25th wedding anniversary. We invited everyone to come dance with us! Please note my sister in the background of the above picture. She was SO excited!

The reception went by in a blur. Brett and I did take a few minutes to go out with the photographers to take some sunset pictures. Other than that, I just enjoyed dancing with all of my favorite people. It was special to dance with Brett’s junior groomsmen, Jordan, who I have known since he was born. He’s a teenager now but it meant the world to be able to dance with him at my wedding. His sister, Riley, was my Junior Bridesmaid. I put my veil on her head and we danced around together. All of my favorite songs were played and I just had the best time.

Overall, our wedding day was more than I expected. It was more special, more emotional, and more memorable than I could have imagined. Your wedding is only one day of your life. It’s not worth stressing over but it is worth enjoying and remembering. There were some not so great moments and many things that I wish that I could go back and change. But at the end of the day, I was married to Brett, my best friend and life partner and that’s all that really matters.

I can’t wait to re-read this blog post in a few years and be able to remember all of these little moments that ended up being the big moments.

Thanks so much for reading!