In celebration of our one year anniversary this weekend, I thought today might be a good day to post a few of our wedding day images. đ I never really got around to doing it last year, and I really donât have the time today, but Iâm making it happen! So many friends and clients have asked, so here you go! Planning a wedding is really exhausting! Iâm sure a lot of my couples can relate. You devote so much time, effort and love into just one really important day. Not to mention a lot of money. We definitely blew the budget â doesnât everyone? We really wanted something intimate with our families, in a place we both love. Napa Valley. We had the cutest little Catholic Church with a palm tree on each side, located smack dab in their own vineyard. Then we moved the celebration to a romantic reception in the cask room at Merryvale Vineyards. It was truly a magical setting and ten times better than I imagined it would be. We drank some amazing wine and had the best.dinner.ever catered by Girl & the Fig. LOVE them!
Looking back I have to laugh at all the silly and wonderful things that happened before + during the celebration. There have been a few weddings where Iâve had to calm + comfort my brides when things donât go as planned. But you know what â it doesnât really matter â itâs all about the love and the importance of the day. So donât sweat the small stuff!
Here is my top 10 list that made my day both unforgettable + perfect:
1. My mom and I created and fabricated the wedding invitations ourselves. I think they were pretty spectacular, except that we spelled âkindly replyâ wrong. My husband is normally an excellent proof-reader, but he missed this one! Should have sent it to my mother-in-law, as she is the best in the business!
2. One month before the wedding my BFF, Maria, told me she was pregnant. I was giddy with delight, knowing it wasnât an easy road. Then she mentioned that the original mauve dress we got was not going to fit. Ha! So we quickly found a dress at Forever 21 (in ode to where I met Susan, who introduced me to Ryan!) that would hide the little baby secret. Welcome Baby Olivia. Auntie Heather loves you!
3. Our wonderful priest, Msgr. Sudekum, from our parish in St. Louis was planning on making the long trip! We love him and really wanted him to be the one to marry us. Unfortunately, he had to have emergency surgery and was unable to attend our event. Sooooo, we got Father Bob from Yountville, CA. His cell phone went off 3 times during our ceremony. The 3rd time he actually made reference to the Pope calling. Enough said.
4. My other BFF, Tara, sang at our wedding. Totally made our day. She was sick the week before, nearly losing her voice. Luckily, she was able to sing two beautiful songs at our ceremony with a wonderful string quartet, Eloquence (who also played Coldplayâs Viva La Vida for our wedding recessional!). One beautiful song Tara sang was Gravity by Sara Bareilles. It still brings tears to our eyes when we watch the video. If I can ever figure out YouTube, Iâll post her amazing performances!
5. 18 people joined us for our BIG day. It would have been nice to celebrate with everyone we hold near and dear to our hearts, but I still wouldnât change a thing.
6. My sweet, sweet Mom and Dad drove all the way from Kansas City with a car load of spray painted pumpkins, details + props! They even picked up all the flowers in Santa Barbara. Mom and I made all the fun little details. I was going with a vintage French theme, inspired from our Paris engagement. We used old French paper from a book to make our paper flower pom poms and boutonnieres. Mom also made all the bouquets. I really wanted anemones! Thank you so much Mom! I know I drove you crazy. đ
7. My Mother-in-Law made these fabulous chocolate suckers. She made birds & bicycles. Yet another theme we wanted to tie into the wedding! đ When we got engaged, she made chocolate Eiffel Tower suckers, so I had to have her do something like this for our wedding. It was all so perfect! đ
8. My dress. I went shopping by myself one day to get an idea of what I was getting myself into. I just couldnât find a thing! One day, I was flipping through my Southern Weddings Magazine and spotted the best dress that had ME written all over it. It was a Nicole Miller dress. Long story short, I called the magazine to find out how.to.get.that.dress. The dress was no longer being made. They sent the sample that the model wore to a consignment shop in Florida. So then I called Two Times A Lady in Florida. She was literally holding the dress at the time we spoke. Keeping my fingers crossed it would fit, as there would be no returns. It came stuffed in one big ball in a priority mail box â I cried the moment it arrived. It was perfect â so meant to be. I just had to pay to get it cleaned⊠twice. đ
9. I cannot forget the wonderful Dawn Shields. She is my mentor, friend and our wedding photographer. She made the trip from Springfield, MO to be a part of our BIG day! These photos are all of hers! (Except the invitation.) đ Thank you Dawn Shields, we love you!
10. I married the love of my life. Happy ONE year anniversary.
xox
HSR
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