The Best Day Ever!

“So these things continue forever: faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is LOVE.”

1 Corinthians 13:13

On December 22, 2018, I married the man of my dreams. The day was absolutely perfect. I wish there were more times you got to have all your closest friends and family in one place at one time. Why is this such a rare thing? Ah, this makes me sad. However, having all our nearest and dearest friends and family all together for this day was exactly what made our day so very special.

In this post, I will share the details of the day, our dream team and what made this day so special. In a later post I will share what I learned from planning a wedding, what you can expect and how you can get the most out of your wedding planning experience. I will share tips and advice that will hopefully help others have their best day ever, too!

I hope you enjoy reliving this day with me and maybe gain some inspiration for your wedding day!

If I can inspire you to do anything on or in preparation of you your wedding day, I hope I can inspire you to live it to your fullest, make the planning process a celebration in itself, save and treasure all the memories of this unique and special time in your life, honor and cherish your bridal party, close friends and family for all their love, help and support and create a day that celebrates who you and your husband-to-be are to the core. Don’t dwell on silly details or things that go wrong, and soak up every bit of this once in a lifetime experience.

I had an interesting year leading up to my wedding. My biggest wedding planning goal ended up becoming a goal to get myself to a point of health, mindfulness and whole-hearted living so that I could be truly present on one of the most important days of my life. I certainly reached my goal and soaked up every bit of this wonderful, once in a lifetime experience.

Our Wedding Day: December 22, 2018

Getting Ready and The Details:

Contrary to popular belief, we didn’t just wake up like this.

On Friday evening the bridesmaids stayed over the at the gorgeous farmhouse on the property of our wedding venue- Historic Acres of Hershey.

Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early to start the wedding day. Soon enough the farmhouse was filled with our hairstylists, make-up artist, photographers, videographers, parents, and of course my husband-to-be and his groomsmen in the basement of the farmhouse, with the exception of one groomsman, Nick who really enjoyed hanging out with the girls while we got our make-up and hair done!

This time spent getting ready was so much fun with the whole day ahead of us to look forward to and anticipate.

The First Look:

Tom and I did a “first look” and we are so thankful we did. This extended our wedding day by allowing us to get our bride and groom photos and wedding party photos done before cocktail hour. The bridal party and even Tom and I got to enjoy our cocktail hour and start celebrating with guests early. The best part of this first look was that Tom and I got to share our own time together before we got to share time with family and friends. It allowed us to have less nerves during the ceremony and be fully present in the moment. I am super traditional, however, I highly recommend a first look. It added so many special memories to our day that we wouldn’t have had without it.

The Bridal Party:

Taking pictures was a very cold experience but of course filled with lots of laughter, dance moves and good vibes. We are so blessed to have such supportive, loving and fun people in our lives that we got to have by our sides on this special day. I seriously couldn’t ask for better friends.

The Ceremony:

This couldn’t have been more special, meaningful and real. Tom’s brother and my now brother-in-law officiated the ceremony.

Before the ceremony, my dad and I waited in the farmhouse (it was December so it was chilly) for our cue to head down to the ceremony site for our walk down the aisle. We were up there for a little because the bus we had arranged that was coming from the hotel with our guests, had gotten stuck in the mud so our ceremony was a little delayed, lol. This time at the farmhouse with my poppa was so special. We had a special little father/daughter moment and we definitely both cried and laughed and probably made some obnoxious jokes too. It’s moments like these that the photographers and videographers didn’t capture that will be some of my most treasured memories from this day.

The Reception:

Of course, I choreographed the bridal party entrance complete with an explosion ending. This entrance was inspired by the office lip dub, cold opening and featured roller skaters, a red carpet and maid of honor flower girls.

Our First Dance: Florence and the Machine- Stand by Me

Father Daughter Dance: James Taylor- How sweet it is.

My poppa and I took dance lessons- some of my favorite memories and learned a choreographed ballroom dance. Isn’t he just the sweetest!?

Mother/Son Dance: Chicago- Colour My World

Tom and his Momma danced to one of their favorites together. What a sweet moment.

Naturally, during the bouquet toss, I tossed it into this billion dollar chandelier. But no worries, Jackson, our groomsman was able to get it out with a stick or broom of some sort for take 2!