Weddings.

I love weddings. I loved my wedding. Honestly, it was such a fun day…none of the stress and drama that sometimes comes with big events like these. We had a pretty long engagement (eight months!), which happened for a variety of reasons. My dream wedding was to get married outdoors at the local college in the very small town where I grew up. There was this spot on campus in front of the main auditorium with big southern trees creating a kind of canopy right over an area perfectly made for a wedding. I had envisioned my wedding right there in that spot for years, and it felt almost magical on the big day that it was actually happening like I had always wanted it to!

Planning our wedding was so.much.fun. I absolutely had a blast putting together all the things we needed and wanted for the day, and while there were of course a few things that didn’t turn out just like we wanted, it never became a stress or frustration for us. It was just…fun! We did a ton of do-it-yourselfs and borrowed a million things from family and friends and people were so very generous in helping us with a variety of things.

As with any outdoor wedding, you are at the mercy of the weather…but we were incredibly excited and blessed to have the perfect spring time day. I remember waking up that morning and immediately going to the window to see what the day was like…it was so good to see the sunshine and realize that it was going to happen like we planned! I knew our wedding would be amazing and magical no matter what happened with the plans and the weather, but to have the kind of day we hoped for was such a gift.

The day went by quickly, of course, but not in the blurry rush that I was worried it would feel like. We set up in the morning for the reception, which was right behind where our ceremony was held on campus. I had a sweet friend who was in charge of the decorating and set up (and who did a phenomenal job!), but I was able to spend an hour or two helping. My bridesmaids and I were getting ready at my house, and the hours spent doing hair and makeup and just being together was so relaxing and fun. In many ways, getting ready for this day felt surreal…as I’m sure most brides experience on the day that most of us look forward to for a lot of our life.

Finally, after a few hours of primping and pampering, it was time to go to my wedding! I remember walking out of my parents house knowing I would never return the same…the next time I came in those doors, I would be a wife. I was so very ready. I always had this small fear in the back of my mind that I would come to my wedding day with at least a little measure of uncertainty or doubt about getting married…thinking that maybe I would have those last minute moments when I just didn’t know if it was right or if I could go through with it. But there was none of that. There were no questions in my heart about the rightness of this day and this ceremony of vowing to be with this man for the rest of my life.

We arrived at the college campus and I quickly hurried into a side building to wait until the ceremony. Ben and I wanted to wait to see each other until I was walking down the aisle to him, although I did catch some peaks at him through the window before that moment (hehe). He was so handsome, and I just wanted to rush out the door and grab his hand and run off with him right then and there.

But finally it was time to start the ceremony, and my bridesmaids and flower girls and I made our way over to the entrance of the aisle (which was a hilarious feat of itself…they were supposed to be shielding me from Ben’s eyes with parasols and were so distracted with looking at the guests and etc. that the parasols kept getting lower and lower until i was practically doubled over trying to walk behind them), and waited behind the gorgeous freestanding doorway entrance that Ben had made (it was one of my favorite pieces of the day!). Ben was talking to the crowd when we made it to the back, giving a welcome and opening to the wedding, and my heart was just racing! The processional song started and at the first notes, it was like everything in me just stilled. I had listened to this song a million times and to this day it still gives me chills when I hear it. We had both agreed immediately on using this song in our wedding, because we felt it conveyed such a beautiful and real picture of what an earthly marriage portrays, and invites us to focus on the grandest wedding day of all between Jesus and His Bride.

It was the one of the most amazing and magical moments of my life when the song reached the bridge and the doors swung open and my dad swept me down the aisle towards my almost-husband.

We had the service – short, simple, and sweet – and then suddenly we were husband and wife, forever and always. And it was off to kiss and celebrate and eat and drink and be merry! Don’t laugh (actually, you can)….but we used this song as our recessional…because it was just too fun and cheerful and, well…different (hehe). Our music selections were some of my funnest and favorite elements of the day!

Our reception was so super fun as well…mingling with our guests and seeing who all came out to celebrate with us. It was such a perfect evening, and there were several times when I made myself just stop and look around…taking it all in. We felt so honored with everyone who came out to be with us on our wedding day, and it’s the most amazing feeling to be so surrounded by all your favorite people on one of your favorite days.

…and then it was time to drive off into the sunset together. And while our life and marriage and relationship isn’t perfect, we have indeed lived happily ever after.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Revival Photography

What about you: what was your favorite part of your wedding day?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!