Post wedding stories...

We have returned to the land of Arkansas after a wonderful week and a half of preparation and celebration. We had such a wonderful time visiting and reconnecting with family and friends. I was so concerned about not getting the chance to be able to actually visit with folks who had traveled miles and miles and not get the chance to spend some time reconnecting. Friends I have not seen in so many years, family members who flew in to share our special day, friends who drove in to be present with us.
It was truly overwhelming. Many memorable traditions...At one moment, our dear friend and officiant, Anthony began the ceremony by telling us about the love that we should feel and how everyone present was our family. It was at this point that he gets everybody together for a family selfie.

cool moment#1

We had our rings passed around the attendees for them to be able to bless them, place their best wishes on prior to the actual ceremony. I stole this from our dear friends, Steve and Kelly Holley's wedding. I was so honored that Steve was able to make it in from Denver to be there for our day! And then our ring security, who were our godsons, Blaine Garrett and Cash Henry were to bring up the rings for the vows. Cash got shy and Blaine was left to his own and did terrific!

cool moment #2

We found an idea of having memory chairs at the wedding site off of the Pinterest site and were able to implement that. My grandparents and my uncle were memorialized and we could feel their presence there surrounding us. 

And then we ended the ceremony with everyone gathering around us and connecting to us. My dad lead us in the final prayer and we all said the Lord's prayer and it was so moving. The energy and the hush of the day, you could hear the rolling of the lake, and the whispers of prayer. It was beautiful and moving and a moment I will NEVER forget.

goose bump moment...

We did not want to have a guest book. I called my dear friend, Megan, to ask her about her marriage to her wife, Sarah, and what stood out for her as memorable. She and Sarah had a wedding certificate that included portions of their vows, and spoke of their commitment, and all of the guest were able to sign it as witnesses to this love. I created a certificate and we implemented this wonderful tradition. Megan and Sarah have theirs framed and under glass and hung at the entrance to their home. This is our plan to do so as well...

It was a memorable day, filled with lots of tradition and fond memories were created. We are so grateful for all of the love we felt, for all of the support we had from friends and family, helping us prep for the day, and the day was beautiful.

One moment was scary...we did have a tornado watch/warning right before dinner was to be served. We quickly had our guests help move tables inside and tear the tent down before the rain came. We were able to do so and dinner was served. My dear friend, Shari, was able to capture one of the most memorable photos for our event.  The weather passed and we were able to share some pretty spectacular rainbows.

Goose bumps abound!