My wedding was everything I never knew I wanted and I’m so proud, here’s how I did it
I knew being outside and surrounded by nature made me happy so I started there. We looked at a few venues in the mountains of southwest PA where my husband grew up and immediately fell in love with one. There was only one catch, nothing came with the venue, literally nothing. I would have to plan and coordinate every aspect of the wedding. It was a magical place so we decided to take the plunge. Was I crazy? Probably. We didn’t know it at the time but that set us up to have the wedding of our dreams.
Photography by my incredible wedding photographers Tyler and Chrissy Norman of Tyler Norman Photography.
Aligning with your partner, the groom matters too
When my husband and I talked about our wedding we always said we wanted it to be one big party for everyone to let loose and have a blast. We knew we wanted it to feel uniquely ours, something that reflected who we were as a couple. Every choice from there on out mapped back to those two goals. Since we were on the same page from the beginning it made communication along the way so much easier.
Photography by my incredible wedding photographers Tyler and Chrissy Norman of Tyler Norman Photography.
Make it about who you are as a couple
We incorporated tradition but everything had a twist that made it feel personal. We wove that into every aspect of our wedding. We thought about the things we both loved. We love hip hop so during dinner we played hip hop instrumentals, we even made One Dance by Drake our first dance.
The possibilities are endless when you truly stick to the things you love, no idea is too small. It’s those little touches that don’t go unnoticed.
Photography by my incredible wedding photographers Tyler and Chrissy Norman of Tyler Norman Photography.
The ceremony is just as important as the reception
I always thought the party was where it was at. And don’t get me wrong that part is so much fun but when I look back at our wedding the ceremony is what I loved the most. We incorporated little things throughout to celebrate us in some shape or form. Here are just a few examples.
I walked down the aisle to Here Comes My Girl because my husband sings that to me all the time
Our vows were a series of promises to each other, some silly, some serious
We love doing shots of whiskey so instead of hand tying or pouring unity sand we cheered with a shot of whisky and used my husband’s grandfather’s glasses to make it extra special
We both believe in fate so we had a reading from the Phantom Tollbooth (a childhood favorite of both of ours) about fate
Let it all go on the day of
You made it. It’s the day of your wedding. Everything you could possibly do has been done. The day will go on no matter what so enjoy it to the fullest.
Let yourself be stressed out the few days before, because trust me it will happen. Get it all out then. You don’t want to look back and remember stressing out about where things were set up or if people could find the photo booth. If you give people enough information they can figure it out themselves.
It’s your day and that’s the only thing you should be focused on. If you start to feel stress about whatever detail comes up just take a deep breath and remember why you are here, why everyone is here. You are getting married to the love of your life and nothing is more important than being present in that moment.
Photography by my incredible wedding photographers Tyler and Chrissy Norman of Tyler Norman Photography.
To this day guests of our wedding, young and old, friends and family, have all told us that it was one of the best weddings they have ever been to. We hear time and time again that it was so much fun and so incredibly heartfelt. I’m so proud of our wedding, we put our heart and soul into it. It was a lot of work but the effort was so worth it. I truly believe everyone should get to feel that way about their special day.
It all started with a vibe and grew from there. I was able to keep things cohesive by using a vision board to stay aligned. Check out how vision boards can help you realize you bring your ideas to life.