It's been a while, but so much going on that eventually I'll get around to blogging again, maybe...
Today, though, I thought it would be fun to put our wedding all down so I could remember it in detail just like Melanie and Holly with the Wedding Linkup today.
{October 15, 2011}
Atchison, Kan. and Tracy, Mo.
As you may of read here Todd and I met on eHarmony in 2009. He proposed on July 16, 2010 (albeit his best attempt to make it happen on my actual birthday, July 12th).
I always wanted a fall wedding because it is my favorite time of year. Todd didn't really care about the timing as long as it didn't interfere with hunting seasons (oh, yah, he said that!). I am Catholic so I knew it was not going to just happen in three months, so we planned for a long engagement of 15 months.
Church:
We scoped out a few churches in our area and talked to the priests about their requirements for marriage and how long we had to be members before we could get married, too. Some churches are down right absurd over this technical issue, in my opinion. At the end of the day, I would say just charge people more money if they want to get married in a specific church. We were told by some that we had to be members for six months, others were over a year. Another church actually asked how many people attending our wedding would be Catholic because that determined if we would have a full mass or not (really?! That matters if the groom and bride are Catholic and want the sacrament of marriage?!).
We scoped out a few churches in our area and talked to the priests about their requirements for marriage and how long we had to be members before we could get married, too. Some churches are down right absurd over this technical issue, in my opinion. At the end of the day, I would say just charge people more money if they want to get married in a specific church. We were told by some that we had to be members for six months, others were over a year. Another church actually asked how many people attending our wedding would be Catholic because that determined if we would have a full mass or not (really?! That matters if the groom and bride are Catholic and want the sacrament of marriage?!).
The last church we checked into was St. Joseph's in Atchison, Kan. My hometown priest was a new priest for the parish so the good news was we knew him. We spoke to the retiring priest as soon as we became engaged about our intentions of an October wedding and to start the paperwork to be approved by the diocese. It took about a month and a half to actually narrow down a wedding day. Thankfully, we had time on our side.
Photography:
One of the biggest decisions I made for my wedding was the photographer. Being that I know a thing or two about photography because of my degree, I wanted pictures that were above and beyond what anything I could or my classmates could do from a photography standpoint. I would NEVER regret spending a lot of money on photography. A lot of people I know have skimped on that aspect and fully regretted it. I contacted Laura right away to say I wanted her to do the photos and to bear with us while we had to get a date set. She has become a great friend and I still look at my pictures almost two years later and think how wonderful she did.
One of the biggest decisions I made for my wedding was the photographer. Being that I know a thing or two about photography because of my degree, I wanted pictures that were above and beyond what anything I could or my classmates could do from a photography standpoint. I would NEVER regret spending a lot of money on photography. A lot of people I know have skimped on that aspect and fully regretted it. I contacted Laura right away to say I wanted her to do the photos and to bear with us while we had to get a date set. She has become a great friend and I still look at my pictures almost two years later and think how wonderful she did.
Dress:
My mom and I went to the large Kansas City bridal show the week after we became engaged to just "look around" at some ideas. I know better than that. We set up an appointment with David's Bridal to check out dresses that day after the bridal show because they gave a nice discount from the show. I wasn't prepared to buy my wedding dress that day. I was afraid I would regret getting it so early. I also had a specific budget in mind for what I was going to pay, but turns out my mom had other intentions. I tried on a few lower budget dresses and my mom was not impressed. The attendant mentioned they had a new Oleg Cassini gown that just came in the night before. It was vintage, kind of country, yet still very ornate and classy. Sold! I also wanted the elegance of a cathedral length veil because we were having a traditional church ceremony. My veil was very ornate with the same lace as my dress. I didn't cry or have that moment trying it on, but I was very happy with my dress. It would take about six months to come in so I figured at that point I wouldn't be able to really change my mind, which was good.
My mom and I went to the large Kansas City bridal show the week after we became engaged to just "look around" at some ideas. I know better than that. We set up an appointment with David's Bridal to check out dresses that day after the bridal show because they gave a nice discount from the show. I wasn't prepared to buy my wedding dress that day. I was afraid I would regret getting it so early. I also had a specific budget in mind for what I was going to pay, but turns out my mom had other intentions. I tried on a few lower budget dresses and my mom was not impressed. The attendant mentioned they had a new Oleg Cassini gown that just came in the night before. It was vintage, kind of country, yet still very ornate and classy. Sold! I also wanted the elegance of a cathedral length veil because we were having a traditional church ceremony. My veil was very ornate with the same lace as my dress. I didn't cry or have that moment trying it on, but I was very happy with my dress. It would take about six months to come in so I figured at that point I wouldn't be able to really change my mind, which was good.
So I got the dress, photographer, and church. Todd decided on his own to become Catholic so we started RCIA classes in September 2010. He attended classes every week until Easter where he was the baptized and confirmed in the church. It was a pretty happy day for me that we would have a full mass, we really could appreciate the meaningfulness together of holy communion at our wedding ceremony and raise our
children in the church.
Throughout the rest of my "planning time" I knew we wanted to do as my on our own as possible and look for the best deals we could find. My mom made all of the flowers for the wedding and we purchased a lot of real mums for decor at the reception site. She did an incredible job on the flowers!
Todd wanted a duck band for his wedding band, so I searched high and low for it for a few months. It was hard to have one made without seeing one in person. We instead had a custom ring done from a jewelry shop in Illinois and I couldn't be happier about his ring. I think it is unique to him and exactly what he wanted.
I was adamant about not seeing Todd before our ceremony because I wanted the "look" on his face to be priceless. Needless to say, he didn't have much of a reaction, but I sure did.
Wedding party:
Our wedding party consisted of our closest friends and family. We both don't come from very large families so we had a few friends stand up with us. Actually, my entire side were my friends. I am happy to stay that every single one of them (even though we have only been married for a little over a year and a half) are my best friends, still. We make it a point to talk and see each other. I knew I picked the right ladies!
Our wedding party consisted of our closest friends and family. We both don't come from very large families so we had a few friends stand up with us. Actually, my entire side were my friends. I am happy to stay that every single one of them (even though we have only been married for a little over a year and a half) are my best friends, still. We make it a point to talk and see each other. I knew I picked the right ladies!
Reception:
We had our reception at the historic Platte County Fairgrounds in Tracy, Mo. I found most of my table decor from a sweet lady in Leavenworth who had a wedding a year before in Weston. My dad made the barnwood boxes that were on each table and the wedding signs out near the drive to the reception. I wanted a very rustic, fall theme so we went with purple, burnt orange and brown as our main colors. I wanted elegant, not country bumpkin even though we are country people. Here are a few photos from our reception:
We had our reception at the historic Platte County Fairgrounds in Tracy, Mo. I found most of my table decor from a sweet lady in Leavenworth who had a wedding a year before in Weston. My dad made the barnwood boxes that were on each table and the wedding signs out near the drive to the reception. I wanted a very rustic, fall theme so we went with purple, burnt orange and brown as our main colors. I wanted elegant, not country bumpkin even though we are country people. Here are a few photos from our reception:
I pretty much planned 100% of everything. I had help from some amazing vendors though. I wouldn't change anything about who we used for our wedding. They all went above and beyond for us. From our DJ, caterer, baker, reception site, etc. I would highly recommend them to anyone.
One of the highlights of our wedding was our photo booth. I was hesitant to do it, but I went with it because a friend owned the service and I wanted to help her. I was afraid no one would use, but it turned out that EVERY single person did. And multiple times! They loved it. We look at our scrapbook and laugh every time because it truly had everyone having a good time.
First Dance:
We danced to an acoustic version of Wade Bowe's "Who I Am". It is a phenomenal song and still makes me tear up thinking of how much I love being with Todd, for his laugh, smile, and making exactly who I am.
We danced to an acoustic version of Wade Bowe's "Who I Am". It is a phenomenal song and still makes me tear up thinking of how much I love being with Todd, for his laugh, smile, and making exactly who I am.
The only thing I would change about my wedding is that my brother could not be there. He is my only sibling, and it was a sad day for us to not have him join in the celebration. Honestly, most of the tears from that day were because he was not there. He was serving our country in Afghanistan so we made sure and include him over the phone and with a photo. He held a special place that day right up front!
All in all, we had the best day. It was the most beautiful, clear blue sky day. Everything was on time, it went off without a hitch, nothing happened that wasn't expected. And we had a great breakfast the next morning with close family and opened our gifts. We then spent a few days in Mexico Beach, Florida, on our honeymoon where we now try to go every year because it is such an awesome place for us.
