Just Keep Loving: The Wedding Party

Right after our first look, it was time for photos with our wedding party. I already had a few ideas for where I wanted to take these photos (as I had photographed a wedding at Landis Valley a few months prior), since I had seen where the light was the prettiest and what spots on the property made for the best backdrops. We were able to get these photos done in about 20 minutes, which put us right back where we needed to be according to the wedding day timeline I had drafted. We all had so much fun taking these photos, and I will treasure them forever. Our very favorite people, all together, for the very best day.

All photos by Kristina Ross Photography

After the full wedding party photos was the bridal party. All of my ladies looked so incredibly lovely, and I absolutely love how everything came together. Their navy dresses that they picked looked amazing on them, and the bouquets complimented their looks perfectly. I love these ladies so much, and I am so grateful they were by my side the entire day.

Up next it was the fella's turn for their photos. They had entirely too much fun taking these photos, and kept us laughing from the sideline the entire time. They are all such goofs, so I knew we would end up with some awesome photos with them all together!

Okay, these socks...Mr. C is kind of obsessed with Nike Elite socks (he's a strange cat, I know) so instead of buying his guys different themed socks (superheroes, animals, etc.) he had the brilliant idea to get each guy a different pair of Elites to wear. He of course requested this photo and we were all laughing as the guys tried to pull this off!

Up next, it's Mr. C and I's turn for our couples portraits!

Just Keep Loving: Our First Look

Our first look was one of my absolute favorite moments of our wedding day. Although I have always been #TeamFirstLook from a wedding photographer's perspective, experiencing it myself on my own wedding day solidified this love even more.

In the moments leading up to our first look, I was full of so much excitement with a bit of nerves mixed in. The plan was for Kristina and her husband to place Mr. C in a spot on the clearing so that he was facing away from me while I was walking toward him. I was going to walk toward him from behind the Country Store, grab his hand (the cue the were supposed to look at each other!), and then have that super special and romantic "first look" moment. It actually all went according to plan, except that when I got within ten feet of Mr. C, I started bawling. Like full-out sniffling and tears streaming. Seeing him standing there, waiting for me, was such an emotional moment. As I got closer to him, he could hear me crying, which then really started the waterworks from both of us. I'll spare you the most ugly crying-face photos, cause ya know...the internet is forever.

All photos by the lovely Kristina Ross Photography

When I was close enough, I grabbed his hand, said something along the lines of "Okay, babe! We can look!", and then...magic. Seeing his face light up when he saw me for the first time will forever be such a treasured memory. Too see this man, the one who I'd grown up with, who had carried me through the hardest times, who'd held me at my worst and celebrated with me at my best...standing in front of my as my groom - I had all of the feels. Although the few minutes we spent together felt so, so short, I do remember having quite an audience, and looking over to see our wedding party watching the entire thing unfold. We cried a lot, smiled even more, and were both so full of pure joy - this was our wedding day!

I will forever be a fan of first looks, since this moment was so incredibly special to us. Getting to hug, cry, laugh, and be in each other's presence prior to the ceremony definitely helped calm our nerves and I love that we got to spend more time together before the day got crazy. Before we knew it our first look was over and it was time for wedding party photos!

Just Keep Loving: I Become a Bride!

After finishing up at the salon, we still had about an hour and a half until Matt and I's first look. We stopped for lunch at the local Saladworks, and made our way over to Landis Valley Museum with (what seems like) plenty of time to spare. As soon as we arrived, I could feels the nerves starting to set in. Most of our vendors had arrived, the chairs were set up on the lawn, and I could see our florist setting up our flowers around the venue space. My groom was on his way, with his groomsmen in tow.

Whoa. This was really, seriously happening. TODAY. In a few hours. Cue the panic.

Somehow I managed to eat half of my salad before deciding that I absolutely had to get into my dress thisveryminute or else I would be late to my own first look. What seemed like so much time had seemingly vanished, and suddenly we were 15 minutes behind schedule. Before I knew it, I had put my dress on, my girls were helping me with my finishing touches, and it was almost time to see my groom!

The room where I had put my dress on was very fluorescent, which I knew would not make for good photos of "the finishing touches". I had asked Kristina to pick out a nice, shaded spot for me to finish getting ready, and she did not disappoint! I just had to walk around the side of the Country Store to find this spot, which turned out to be such a great spot for these photos.

All images by Kristina Ross Photography

While I wanted to throw on my shoes and haphazardly put my earrings in, I knew I needed to slowwww down and really take every aspect of this day in. I had heard it so many times before - "Take in every single moment of your wedding day, because it will go so fast!". 'm so glad I took their advice, because it turned out to be such a special moment. I was slowly transforming into a bride, and it was so sweet to see everyone's reactions. As soon as my veil was pinned in, I looked over to see my girl's wiping their eyes, which of course turned me into a puddle of mush. Knowing I was only a few minutes from seeing my groom for the first time put the biggest smile on my face, and I couldn't wait for him to see me as his bride.

We decided to exchange small gifts before seeing each other. I had mentioned to Mr. C several months back that I would love a gold monogram necklace with my new married initials. He must have been listening, because I opened the box to find the most beautiful, dainty necklace. Thanks husband-to-be! See ya in five minutes!

Up next, our super-emotional-ugly-crying-face first look!

Just Keep Loving: The Gals Get Pretty

Hi bees! I am so excited to be back and to start our wedding recaps! The day went so incredibly fast, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to relive the very best day with you all! Since this is the clownfish wedding, I wanted to honor the movie that features the most lovable little clownfish...Finding Nemo, of course. Hopefully you're able to connect our recap title with the movie, wanted to keep it just a little subtle ;) Since I'm a wedding photographer, our recap posts will feature a ton of our wedding photos, taken by the incredibly talented Kristina of Kristina Ross Photography! This was Kristina's first time shooting a "destination" wedding, and she absolutely rocked it. We absolutely love our wedding photos, and are excited to share them with you.

The morning of our wedding, I was surprising calm, cool, and relatively collected. After having a big girls sleepover with all of my bridesmaids the night before, we woke up the next morning with enough time to shower and gather up all our gear for the day. After running through our mental checklists and ensuring that we had everything we needed, we piled into two separate cars and headed toward the first stop of the day, the local Starbucks. Like I had mentioned in my gifts post, I had gotten each girl their own customized re-useable Starbucks cup. They were a huge hit on the day of the wedding, and I've seen them in action several times since.

With our cups of caffeine in tow, we headed toward the salon where we would get our hair and makeup done for the day. Since I had reserved enough time for all of my girls to get their looks done for the wedding, we had the entire salon to ourselves. The music was turned up, mimosas were poured, and we were all full of anxious energy and excitement. While I wasn't as "giddy" as I thought I would be (bouncing off the walls with energy and acting like the excited fool I can sometimes be), I was definitely more laid-back and relaxed. My bridesmaids kept asking me if I was getting more nervous as the hours wore on.

Honestly...I wasn't nervous. The entire time we were all getting ready, I had a sense of calm that overpowered any nerves or stress I might have felt. Maybe it was more of a "What will be will be" vibe, but I was confident in knowing that as long as I married Matt, the day was going to be perfect. My goal was to have as much fun as I could, with the people I loved the most. Nothing else besides marrying my best friend mattered. Starting out the morning with some of my best girl's was the perfect way to start our wedding day, and I'll forever cherish these images of "the calm before the storm"...

Up next, to arrive at Landis Valley Museum, the ladies finish getting ready, and I become a bride!

The Best Day of Our Lives

This past weekend I married the love of my life. It was a day full of so much love and so much pure joy. It sounds incredibly cliche to say, but our wedding day was the very best day of our lives. Getting to see all of our friends and family in one place, to celebrate this new journey in Mr. C and I's life. Everything that we dreamed of and planned went off without a hitch, and we could not be more grateful for everyone that played a part in our day. Our hearts are so full.

We are off to our honeymoon as Mr. AND Mrs. Clownfish! I already cannot wait to relive our wedding day with you, but for now, I'll let some pictures do the talking.

All photos by Kristina Ross Photography unless otherwise noted.

Guest Photo 

Guest Photo

Guest Photo

The Final Countdown

Why hello there, hive! Miss Clownfish here. Totally still alive, totally still planning a wedding, and totally ready to be married already! I apologize for falling off the face of the blogosphere. Real life got a bit too crazy all at once, but I am back and so ready to share the final details I'm pulling together for our wedding that is 12 SHORT DAYS AWAY.

At this point in wedding planning I'm pretty much just ready for it all to be over. Like many bees who have gone before me have said, there's a pretty pivotal moment in planning one's wedding where the "eff it" attitude takes over. Some of the DIYs I was planning on doing were swapped out for things I could purchase from Etsy, because pulling out my debit card was a lot easier than pulling together a mile-long list of items from the local craft store. While the budget-conscious bride in me would be so ashamed, I realized that the few dollars saved by DIY-ing my own cake topper/lace pennant/chair signs/whatever just weren't worth the added stress. So, I DIY'd the small things I could, bought what I couldn't, and gave up on the rest. C'est la vie and all that.

Here's just a tiny little bit of what I've been up to in the last month of planning...

Before all the price stickers were removed, of course!

Gold glitter votives: The easiest DIY of all the wedding DIYs. I contemplated doing some sort of tutorial, but seriously, these were stupid-easy to do. I found these little glass votives from Michaels last summer and purchased 50 of them when they were on sale for $0.50 a piece. I thought they looked a little sad in their natural state, so why not jazz them up with some mod podge and the herpes of the craft world? I'm pretty happy with how these little votives turned out, and I can't wait to see how they look on our guest tables! A little sneak-peak of those is coming soon!

Floral garland: Alright, I know. I said I gave up on almost all of my wedding DIYs. Well, this one was basically thrust upon me when the original plan I had to decorate my wedding arch fell through, and I had less than 2 weeks to figure out an alternative. Our wedding arch is a very simple birchwood structure, exactly what I had always envisioned. Even though it's already pretty in it's natural state, I wanted to add some floral elements since it will be the backdrop in all of our ceremony photos (and possibly family photos as well!). This floral garland is what I came up with after roaming my local Jo-Ann fabrics for over an hour, trying to find something, anything to decorate our arch with. I used a pre-made garland and adhered those pink flowers with floral wire. It's not totally done being "made" yet, the above photo is in it's half-finished state. 

Bridesmaids presents: It took me way to long to decide what I was going to do for my bridesmaid's presents. I originally wanted to get them robes to get ready in, but decided against that when I decided that we'd be getting ready in a salon and not a hotel room. While the robes are totally cute for  a group of ladies getting all done up in a private room, I didn't know how practical they'd be for getting ready in a public salon. Once I scrapped the robe idea, I went back to the drawing board and tried to brainstorm presents that I myself would love receiving if I was a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding. I loved the idea of gifting presents that aren't plastered with "Jenna's Bridesmaid" or "INSERT COUPLE'S LAST NAME HERE", but instead gifts that can be re-used/re-worn after the wedding.

I saw the gold knot bracelet on Pinterest several months back, and loved how simple and elegant it was. The whole symbolism behind it is that my ladies are helping me "tie the knot", hence the knot on the bracelet. Le duh. I went ahead and ordered them, and was so pleasantly surprised when they came in. They're so delicate and pretty, but they have a nice weight to them. I'm asking each lady to wear their bracelet on the wedding day, but they are totally free to wear whatever other jewelry they would like. I also might have ordered an extra one of these for me, totally just to get the group discount...yeah, that's it.

Like every other basic bride before me, I plan on stopping by Starbucks on the morning of my wedding so my bridesmaids and I can fuel up for the busy day ahead of us. While I love the cute photos of the plastic cups that result from these trips, I again wanted to get my girls a gift that can re-use long after the wedding. As soon as I saw these custom re-usable Starbucks coffee cups, I knew I needed to order them. Each lady will get their own cup with their first name on it (not "Bridesmaid"), while mine will still totally say "Bride". I chose sparkly gold for the color of the custom decal, although the shop I ordered them from has tons of different colors to choose from!

Even though I know the bracelet and the coffee cup would have been enough, I wanted to gift my bridesmaids a little something else. The thought of gifting them a cute re-usable tote bag popped into my mind, and I started searching various sites in search of the perfect one. Etsy didn't have anything close to what I was looking for, and other wedding retail sites wanted way too much money for customization. On a random shopping trip into Marshalls one day after work, I happened upon these burlap tote bags. There just so happened to be four bags left, and they were just $5 a piece. While I would have happily spent more on them, I was happy to have found a bag so perfect for such a steal! I can't wait to gift these goodies to all my bridesladies on the night before the wedding!

Although you saw the behind-the-scenes creation of our guestbook poster, it is finally here and it looks lovely! I originally wanted a gold frame for it, but I found this frame at Michaels for $7.99 and could not pass it up - I think the grey wood color complements the florals so well! I am so looking forward to seeing this poster full of well wishes from the people we love most.

I have just a couple more posts before our wedding day, and then it's honeymoon reviews and wedding recaps! I can hardly wait!