We wanted our day to look like a big, casual, garden party. When filling out the Southern Weddings wedding planner, we discovered that the most important things to us were the venues, flowers, music, and plenty of drinks to keep the party going! I don’t know about everyone else, but I know we and our families had a blast!

The day started picking lavender from my mom’s lavender patch so we could put a couple of sprigs on each place setting. I felt calm throughout most of the day, and only started to feel really emotional and nervous as we were pulling up to the church in the limo. My sister-in-law, Mary, started to pray for me and David, and that’s when it really felt real. David and I did a first look, and that was really magical as well. The lighting was perfect, and it was so wonderful to have that small moment together before we said our vows. I think those are my favorite pictures from the day. You can see how excited we were! The dance with my dad was kind of a disaster (we practiced two-stepping only once, the night before!!), but it’s another one of my favorite memories. We were giggling the whole time because we knew we looked like huge dweebs! Another favorite moment was dancing to Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own” with my girlfriends. There are some hilarious pictures of us during that song. My mom kept threatening me that she would start a “flash mob” at some part during the wedding (her lifelong dream). The night before, a bunch of my cousins and two of my bridesmaids spent the night at my parents’ house, and they all started practicing their dance. I was a little embarrassed thinking about them doing it, but when the DJ played the song and all my cousins and a bunch of random guests got up to join my mom, I was filled with joy! Truly a dream come true for her, and so fun to watch.

We had so many of our friends/family help us to make it the perfect day; we really couldn’t have done it without them! David’s sister and her husband played when we walked down the aisle (to the song I had always imagined! Balmoreah – Baleen Morning. I still can’t listen to it…too emotional!!). My best friend from work set up our Smilebooth, and his wife did my makeup. My bridesmaid Becca did my hair. My friend Brendan was our awesome DJ. Our friend Tommy put together an AMAZING band to play the first couple hours of the reception. Many of my cousins helped set up different aspects of the reception. My cousin Allana drew us the beautiful oak tree “guest book.” Lisa followed me around for pictures and fluffed my dress and made sure my hair/makeup was in place! My mom’s best friend was our wedding coordinator and helped us out for SO MUCH of the wedding and leading up to it. We’re very blessed to have such wonderful families & friends!

Photographer: Bonnie and Lauren | Ceremony Venue: St. Mary’s of the Nativity | Reception Venue: Pine Lake Ranch | Ceremony Musicians: Brian and Jenny Johnson | Band: Tom Lynch and friends | Photo booth: Smilebooth | DJ: Brendan Posterick | Guest book: Allana Williams | Flowers: Cake & Confetti | Bride’s dress: “Reagan” by BHLDN | Groom’s suit: Topshop | Groom’s tie: QP Collections via ScoutMob | | Invitations: Paperless Post | Catering: Rudy’s BBQ | Alcohol: Bourbon and Lace Events | Hair styling: Rebecca Allen | Makeup: Adrian Slimp | Coordination: Kim Kliemann