wedding series # 5 : ceremony

saturday, may 12




wedding invite!  by lauren cunningham of the creative parasol
www.thecreativeparasol.com

  once we arrived at the ceremony site, we piled out of the cars and started into the brides house to get ready.  my sisters, wedding designer lauren cunningham of the creative parasol, and my wedding planner from something planned, were already there and had been setting up all day. also there was my caterer, design II, and my amazing amazing wedding photographer, katie lamb.






someone grabbed me when we got there and walked me around to show me all of the details thus far.  we wanted to use the entire property of the antique rose emporium when we were planning the wedding, so there was a lot to see.  here's how we laid everything out:

1. getting ready:brides house
2. ceremony: outdoor lawn and gazebo
3. lemonade stand: outdoor lawn
4. cocktails, appetizers, and dinner: chapel
5. desserts and dancing: pavillion with fountain
6. exit: road behind the brides house

confused yet?  me too. so i had lauren make out programs into fans with maps on the back.  that way, the guests could fan themselves in the texas heat, but also could see an overview of the property and where they were supposed to be.  the map text corresponded with homemade wooden signs my dad made and gloria painted. 



program fans map, designed by lauren cunningham of the creative parasol, www.thecreativeparasol.com

photo by katie lamb photography, www.katielambphotography.com

as i walked around, i was in AWE of the decor.  lauren and my sisters did such an amazing job of making the visions i had had for almost two years come alive.  katie and her husband jason were already there, shooting detail shots.  i think i must have said "oh my god, i love it!" about 1400 times. amber, one of the groomsmens wives, was also there setting up and putting the finishing touches on her homemade lemonade stand that she and travis built for the wedding.  our other friend chloe was painting the sign on the top of the stand.  to say that this wedding was a labor of love would be the understatement of the century! so many people were involved in carrying out the ideas that we had for the event.

checking out the exit

lemonade stand

styling in progress!

sign in table

after i saw the entire venue laid out with all of the design elements in place, i went back to the bridal house with my girls to start getting our dresses on.  we had one last toast of beer, all chugged, and then it was time to get dressed.  katie was in the house snapping pictures as the girls put me into my dress, and she captured a lot of those moments in the wedding video that she made for us.  then it was time to exchange our gifts.  i had bought oliver a new A/E martin guitar from guitar center and was SO excited to give it to him.  when it was time, annie, my maid of honor, walked it out to the porch swing and handed it to him.  i literally heard him scream from inside of the house.  he was so excited with it!  then the girls brought me bags and boxes all wrapped up.  he had gotten me the entire cowboy collection from wilton armetale!

once we had exchanged gifts, the girls and i went with katie to take pictures on one side of the property and the guys went with her husband and second shooter, jason, to take their pictures.  i still don't know how we managed to not see each other this whole time!  here are a few of my favorites from that part of the day:

all photos by katie lamb photography, www.katielambphotography.com

once we had taken all of our pre-wedding pictures, the girls and i went back into the bridal house for some last minute deep breaths before the ceremony began.  i remember asking everyone for just a little space to zone out right before i walked down the aisle.  i wanted to sit and think about oliver & i's relationship and the enormity of what we were about to do.  i think that was when katie captured this little guy...

photo by katie lamb photography, www.katielambphotography.com

the guest were all seated by ryan and cameron (oliver's cousins) and we were ready to go.  all the girls and i lined up on the porch in order.  i heard the whole crowd chuckling at mason and amelia as they went down the aisle together, and then the little girls paige and avery went down right before me with the burlap "here comes the bride" sign.  finally, finally, it was time!  my dad took my arm and immediately started to tear up when the coordinator signaled it was time for us to walk.  i had to distract him from dissolving into a big ol' bucket of tears.  you'd be surprised at how such a man's man can lose it when his baby girl is about to get married.  ;) 

we turned the corner and i saw oliver's face light up.  i had all eyes on him while we walked down the aisle, and i was trying to keep it together and not have an 'ugly cry'.  oliver had a few tears himself and it made me even more emotional.  i heard, but didn't see, the bridesmaids sniffling to my left as i walked down. 

during the ceremony, my good friend felicia spoke about the sancitity of marriage.  we said our vows, and during one pause, there was a cow in the background. MOO!  the whole audience laughed at the comedic timing of that one. 

it was a very short and sweet ceremony, so before we knew it, we were announced as man and wife!! 

***if you'd like to see more of getting ready and the ceremony, go check out our wedding feature on style me pretty texas.  we were SO excited to get featured!  also, make sure to watch the short video at the bottom of the post! ***

next up, the dinner and reception!

kristin