T.G.I...BAM! (Pro, Pic Heavy)

Let's discuss planning. Since this is our second time around, our priority was to keep it small. I wanted to elope to Savannah with just our parents, daughters and us, but his parents did not want to travel. So we kept it here. We extended the invite to our grandparents, and close family and friends. We had about 20 in attendance with a cake and punch reception immediately following. Our "bridal party" consisted of DH, our daughters (Jr. BMs), and myself.

We agreed on a small local park a few minutes from our home. After hurricane Matthew, our planner advised us to find a rain plan location. Well I found a rain plan location and loved it more than our original venue (you all may remember that post when I was considering making the switch). It was indeed the BEST. DECISION. EVER. It turned out so much more than I thought it would be.

I think I remember your flower wall from another post. It's so gorgeous!! I love everything so far!

So...what went right? EVERYTHING. EVERY. SINGLE. THING. Other than a few things my DOC forgot to do (like putting the cake topper on, messing up the music at one point, etc.). The day literally went off without a hitch.

Highlights of the ceremony were definitely the ring warming ceremony and the circle of prayer. The funniest moments of the day were when our officiant dropped the rings in the middle of the ceremony (causing a complete halt) and a funny moment during our cake cut (picture of that later).

Beautiful! Congrats!

What went wrong? Even though our ceremony was perfect, there were a LOT of things that went "not so right" in the days/hours leading up to the ceremony.

First- The night before. DH broke our couch...and I was pissed. Long story short, it literally has no legs on it right now and the thing is so low, you can roll onto it from the floor *sigh*. We made plans to purchase it the new year, but now...we have to buy one immediately.

Next -Since our wedding was small, I DIY'd my own bouquet. Now, I DIY a LOT (and I think I'm pretty good at it), but boy...that turned out way harder than I thought it would. They turned out fine, but took forever for me to do. I was supposed to do DH's boutonniere as well, but I was so frustrated, I quit after mine was done. In hindsight, I would have at "least" gotten mine done by a pro.

I blew our budget. Why? Two words. Dress regret. It is real, y'all! Buying a new dress took us over by about $500. The dress itself wasn't too expensive, but the rush alterations were NO. JOKE. FYI: My second dress was ordered online.

Finally - I didn't account for the fact that our daughters were in fact children, and needed to be dressed and prepped as well. With a normal bridal party of adults, everyone is an adult and can get themselves dressed, do their own hair, etc. Not the case here. I failed to properly plan for the amount of time it would take to get them ready. My mom and I were literally running around like crazy (we ran slightly behind in make up). Me trying to get them ready, she trying to get me ready, with her getting ready herself. I had to call one of my friends last minute to finish up their hair at the venue. Looking back, I would have designated someone NOT in the bridal party to get them ready.

Your venue was gorgeous and your daughters looked so grown up. I love your colours.

My advice:

-As others have said, the day flies by...REALLY IT DOES. Take it all in and enjoy it.

-If your children are in your bridal party, be sure you designate someone to get them ready.

-Turn your phone OFF! I didn't have a lot of guests interrupting me the day of, but DH was driving me crazy! He arrived to the First Look location 30 minutes early (his fault, not mine) and kept texting for an update on how things were going.

-Don't sweat the small stuff. Things will go wrong. You will notice. No one else will.

-Take time alone with your husband. Our first look was the best part of the day.

-Hire great vendors. I can't say enough about how amazing mine were.

...and that's it! Our celebration of marriage is April 22, 2017 where we will celebrate with all of our family and friends (165 guests) and we are now knee deep in planning that event.

On to more pictures!

1. See our couch in the background? *sigh*

2. Oldest daughter and I.

3. Make up

Your venue looks so nice! I love the flower wall

Getting ready!

1. You probably can't see, but while my mom is buttoning my dress, I'm doing my daughter's hair in front of me. I wish our photographer would have gotten this moment from the front.

Waiting for more but everything look so beautiful!!

Your flower wall! So beautiful! And your dress is amazing - congratulations on finding happiness!

One of my favorites. :-)

First look. Definitely one of the best moments of the day!

More from the first look session.

Last of the first look photo session. I am glad we allotted enough time for this. We got a lot of amazing photos.

Beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes!!! I LOVE your story. Meant to be! You look stunning, and your wedding looks beautiful. That flower wall! Your beautiful family! So much joy

Our daughters look like they were going to a funeral, but I PROMISE y'all...they were happy!

YAAAAAAY! Congratulations!