Just Keep Loving: We Process!

After a morning and afternoon full of excitement and what seemed liked thousands of photographs, it was finally, finally time to become husband and wife. We had done a great job sticking to our wedding day timeline, and the ceremony was able to start right on time. After hanging out in the Firehouse for a half hour, Emily (our DOC) lined us up, made sure the men were in place, and gave her thumbs up to our DJ, signaling it was go-time.

When the music first started to play, I couldn't hear it. At all. Which meant I couldn't hear the cues in the music, and was absolutely positive I wasn't going to be able to walk out during the "grand crescendo" of the song like I had been planning. I had a bit of an internal freak-out, until I was able to hear the music, right before walking out the doors and walking down the aisle. I'll pause right here and do what so many bees and insert an audio clip of our processional music, so you can imagine what those moments were like. Mr. C and I's "song" since we first started dated was Such Great Heights by The Postal Service, and when we first heard The Section Quartet's cover of it, I knew it would be the song I walked down the aisle to. It isn't traditional by any means, but it felt so right for us to tie that song into our wedding day. We were able to time it so that all of our bridal party made their entrance and walked to the front before the first chorus (what I referred to as the "grand crescendo"). 

Ready? Okay...go!

Matt entered with his groomsmen and our pastor leading the way. I absolutely love his sweet, genuine smile in these photos!

All of my bridesladies made their way down the aisle next, and they looked so gorgeous doing so.

After my beautiful older sister/MOH made her entrance, our flower girl and ring bearer walked hand-in-hand down the aisle before little C decided he'd rather sit with his parents than continue down the aisle. They were too cute!

Before I had time to process what was happening, my dad and I were given the cue to walk out of the Firehouse. I stepped out onto the path, locked eyes with a few high school friends sitting near the back of the row of chairs...and lost it. To see so many people beaming at you, and knowing you're going to be meeting your groom at the end of aisle - so many incredible emotions.

Although Mr. C and I chose to have a first look, that "moment" of us seeing each other was still just as special. It was so very special, in fact, that the first words out of his mouth when he saw me walking down the aisle were "Oh sh**". Romance at it's finest, folks.

After a short walk down the aisle, I joined my groom and it was time to get hitched!

Just Keep Loving: Pre-Ceremony Jitters

After Mr. C and I were done having our couples portraits taken, we retreated to the Firehouse to wait for the ceremony to begin. At this point, a few of our guests had arrived, and more were trickling in. We took these last twenty-or-so minutes to finish getting ready, and tried to relax as much as possible.  Mr. C helped my dad tie his tie (such a sweet moment between my two favorite men!), I slipped on my beaded crop top, and tried to touch up my make-up that had gotten smudged during our emotional first look. My dad slipped me a card, which was such a  sweet, surprising gesture and definitely made me tear up. I am definitely my dad's little girl, and being his only daughter, I know this was an emotional day for him as well.

Hiding in the Firehouse, I was able to look out of the large swinging doors to see who was arriving, and a huge rush of excitement and nerves hit. I saw college friends who I hadn't seen in months, high school friends who I'd been talking about this day with for years, and family members from both sides who drove from all over the east coast to be with us on this day.

I felt so grateful that these lovely people came to celebrate with us, and then subsequently remembered that we have an audience of 100 whose eyes will be completely. on. us. As someone who absolutely loathes public speaking, I was petrified of stuttering through my vows or making a complete fool of myself by tripping down the aisle. Luckily I didn't have much time to dwell on the what-ifs, because before I knew it, we were lining up for the processional!

I look like I'm about to puke. I promise it was excitement!

Up next - we become husband and wife and experience the best 20-ish minutes of our lives!

Just Keep Loving: Outside Ceremony Decor

When I arrived at Landis Valley on the day of our wedding, I had no idea if what I had been envisioning in my head for months and months would actually come to life. Luckily, everything was so perfect, and I have our incredible day-of-coordinator, Emily, to thank for that. She arrived at our venue at noon and made sure that all of our vendors knew where to drop off and set up, and kept everything moving along all day. She was also in charge of decorating the outside ceremony space/inside reception with all of our vintage rentals. Emily understood my vision perfectly, and I could not be happier with her set-up. I didn't have to worry about a thing prior to our ceremony, and it was a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders.

I loved seeing all of our vintage rental pieces set up on the lawn - they were worth every single dollar we spent on them! The guests had so much fun wandering around the venue space, checking out the decor and all the small details. I am so thankful these pictures exist, because I didn't even have time to look at everything! Like I said, I am so thankful Emily was able to create the ceremony space I had dreamed of, and executed it perfectly.

Our coffee bar! One of my favorite elements of our wedding - it was a huge hit with our guests!

There's more decor in store...inside reception decor, up next!

Just Keep Loving: The Details

A post I have been so looking forward to sharing - all of the details! Kristina took most of these photos while we were finishing up at the salon and grabbing lunch, as I wanted to make sure she had plenty of time to get creative and do her thing before the craziness of the day began. The day before our wedding, I took my own wedding-photographer advice and gathered up all of the small details I wanted Kristina to photograph. Having them all together, in one place, made it so much easier and faster for her to grab these shots, as opposed to having to track them all down. The things I included in my "details" bag were: our rings, my veil, hair piece, earrings, copy of our invitation suite and program, our vow books, garter, and my shoes. I also had my dress hanging in the Firehouse for her to photograph (and yes, I did ask her to hang that dress in a tree!), and my bouquet and Mr. C's boutonniere were there as well.

I love these shots so much, and am so happy I have them! Brides-to-be, if you want photos like these, remember to have them easily accessible for your photographer when they arrive for the day. They'll be so thankful and you'll get the prettiest detail shots possible - win!

Images by Kristina Ross Photography

Next, our outside ceremony space decor, filled with all of our vintage rentals!

Just Keeping Loving: Just Us

After all our bridal party photos were done, we dismissed our entourage and let them head back to the Firehouse to hang out and relax until the ceremony. It was pretty hot out that day, so I'm sure they appreciated the air conditioning! In the meantime, it was time for Mr. C and I to take our couple's portraits. I was looking forward to these photos so much, because I knew these would be the photos we'd display in our home and show to our kids and grandkids. The legacy photos.

We ventured around the property, taking shots wherever Kristina found good light or a pretty backdrop. Mr. C and I spent about 45 minutes taking photos of just us, and honestly, I wish we would have had even more time. Landis Valley is such a big, beautiful property, that even 45 minutes wasn't enough time to hit all the spots I originally wanted to. We still ended up with a ton of gorgeous photos that I am so, so grateful to have.

Images by Kristina Ross Photography

Mr. C and I also got some solo shots during this time. I am so much more comfortable being behind the camera than in front of it, but Kristina did an amazing job making me feel beautiful and not as awkward as I felt. 

We also took a few photos of just us after the ceremony, but I figured I'd add them here instead of creating another post of just us. You're welcome. I wanted to get some photos while wearing my sparkly crop top, since I loved it so much and wanted to get as many photos with it as possible. #teamcroptop 

 Up next, I'll be sharing some of our detail photos and some tips for getting the best detail shots!