As promised, today’s post is all about The Big Day. It was kind of surreal when I woke up early that morning. I had spent the night at my parent’s house in the room that used to be mine. I threw on my Bride t-shirt and leggings and my sister and I headed over to Starbucks because I heard you get a free coffee on your wedding day. Unfortunately the store we went to either just doesn’t participate in that little deal or the staff didn’t know about it. Oh well, I still got my coffee and they did write Bride on it.
The hair and make-up teams arrived as I was getting out of the shower and our family friend Sherry set up a breakfast spread for everyone, mimosas included! All the girls started arriving and the day just starting flowing with people in and out of hair and make-up chairs, snacking, drinking and chatting. It wasn’t at all stressful for me, I just kind of floated around. And I got to snuggle my friend’s 6 week old little girl while sipping my coffee.
Once the guys and the photographer and videographer started showing up, the pace of the day really picked up. I was last to get my hair and make-up done so there was some filming and still shots of that and my dress and accessories were set up. As soon as I was ready from the neck up it was time to get my dress on. It just zipped up the back so I got it on and part of the way zipped and then came downstairs to get pictures of my mom finishing the job and she and my girls helping me into my shoes and jewelry. When I was completely ready from head to toe they brought in my dad and I immediately noticed his tie had my face all over it. I had no idea but he had his tie specially made from photos of me and it was just the funniest but cutest thing ever. My reaction was pretty priceless.
Then it was time for the first look between Chris and I. We decided to see each other before the ceremony, partly for logistical reasons and partly because we wanted to spend more of the day together. I was positioned with my dress just so, train flared out around me, on the side of my parents’ house waiting for Chris to come around from the back deck. Most people think it’s supposed to be this big moment when the groom sees the bride and he’s all “OMG my bride is so gorgeous” and maybe there’s a tear or two or a little choke in his voice. Well, that’s not at all the way I saw our moment going or the way it actually went down. We just aren’t that kind of couple. What did happen was Chris walked up and stood next to me, exactly the way he was told to, except he stood facing the camera crew and looked like he was posing for them! We all laughed and it broke the ice immediately. Chris is terribly uncomfortable in front of people with cameras. When he did finally turn to me it took him a minute to say anything with his mouth but he said everything to me with his eyes. That’s just the way we roll.
Next up were our baby boys! Chris brought them out with their adorable bow ties on that my mom made them from our gingham fabric. They were probably the most excited out of anyone there but had no idea why, they just were very aware something big was happening. I was impressed that they stayed pretty well behaved and we got some great pictures with them. I would have loved to find a way to bring them to the wedding but it just wouldn’t have been the best situation for them so after a very fun morning, they went back inside to take naps. The wedding party boarded the party bus and off we went to Chris’s aunt and uncle’s farm. It wouldn’t have been complete without a stop at the gas station for more beer. I even got off the bus and went inside just so my friend Stephanie could take a picture.
We spent the next couple hours at the farm taking pictures and were lucky it was a beautiful, dry day and not too hot. Before I knew it we were back on the bus and on our way to the Syndicate, where the ceremony and reception would take place. We arrived ahead of schedule and were able to just hang out for a little while in our private room and take some pictures at the adjoining bar. I am so glad that our photographer had built the extra time into our schedule so were weren’t rushing and did get that time before the ceremony started to just relax a little bit.
6:30PM came and we were lined up for the start of the ceremony. The wedding party walked down the aisle to “I Cross My Heart” by George Strait and then my dad and I made our grand entrance to “Me & You” by Kenny Chesney. I swore I would be nervous walking down the aisle with everyone’s attention on me, but the nerves never came. When my dad handed me over to Chris I didn’t even worry that I’d fall up the few steps to the stage. It didn’t matter at that point, I was just happy. Poor Chris was really nervous though and, especially standing under the bright lights, it was hard for him to stand still. I couldn’t help it, I giggled at him every so often. But the ceremony went pretty quickly and the next thing I knew we were being introduced as Mr. & Mrs. and heading back down the aisle to “I’m a Believer” by Smashmouth. My dad even jumped in for a selfie as we made our way down the steps of the stage!
The longest part of the day by far was waiting to go into the reception. It took a little longer than we thought for the room to be set up for us (we had a HUGE wedding party table set up on the stage after the ceremony). Finally the wedding party strutted their stuff as they were introduced back into the room to “Riverbank” by Brad Paisley, of course wearing gear like they were ready for a day on the water. Then Chris and I really showed off the little kids inside us when we came in to Florida George Line’s “Cruise” with him driving a Cadillac power wheels pulling me behind him in a red wagon (with my beer!). I gave a thank you speech and then our best men Chris’s brother and best friend and maids of honor my sister and best friend gave speeches too. After the champagne toasts we jumped the food line and loaded up on cheese fries, pasta, salad and sliders. On full bellies Chris and I danced to Lee Brice’s “I Don’t Dance” and my dad and I danced to a song he used to sing to me every night as a little girl, “On and On” by Stephen Bishop. We had cake pops instead of a traditional cake but there was a tiny cake for us to cut and the smash was epic. I got Chris twice! And then the dancing, drinking and cornhole playing went into full swing as we partied the night away.
You would think we would have been too tired to continue the night after the reception ended, but not us. We headed out, in our wedding clothes, to a bar nearby with Kristina and her man. I will mention that it was a little chilly so I threw on Chris’s flannel over my dress but I remained barefoot! No one knew because my dress covered my feet but I imagine many of you will think I’m a total hillbilly for walking around barefoot in my wedding dress. Haters can hate, I was a happy camper. We ended our wedding night eating at Waffle House before crashing at our hotel. The whole day was so amazing and fun and I would do it all over again the same way.
I will be doing a separate post about our vendors and other wedding plans but I want to thank our parents, families and friends for helping us to have the best wedding day we could imagined. We love you all!!!
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