Austin Rabbitt and Jessica Battles's Wedding in De Soto, Missouri

The story of our wedding

Two months have passed and here are a few pics from my husband's cousin who we hired as our photographer. He has a huge family so it really was a group effort. We originally wanted to get married at home on our 5 acres but after realizing everything that would go into hosting a wedding for 200+ guests, we decided on La Chance Vineyards in De Soto. They were so professional and their 3 room bridal suite was gorgeous. I decided on burgundy for my dress because I felt i should get to wear the dramatic color. White and ivory just wasnt working on me. I'm not the type to get hung up on details so the majority of the planning actually fell on Austin, my husband. He did awesome, about 75% of our budget went towards dinner, wine, beer, and entertainment. I handled the flowers which are my thing. I b ought wholesale from Walter knoll and the day before we had a bouquet and centerpiece making party at my mom's house. All my flowers are real and cost less than $900. Luckily this was the third wedding I've played florist for. Saturday was so fun from the start. Aus had already seen my dress so we had an open bridal suite and it was really just a big party all afternoon. Pics were done before the ceremony and that really took some pressure off. Right before the ceremony I added my overskirt which was a surprise to everyone besides my mom. I loved my dress but she thought I needed something added to make it more bridal. The vineyard was beautiful. I hated the idea of ripping apart roses for the girls to throw petals so they passed out the long stem roses to the ladies on the aisle as they went down. Aus and I grew up together watching disney movies so he chose instrumental beauty and the beast for me to walk down to. It started to rain mid way through the ceremony but Harold, the winery owner, had umbrellas at the ready. The reception was in a large heated tent were the guest had dinner and a live band played. Aus' grade school friend, nick gusman was lead singer and his original songs as well as his covers were a hit. The whole thing flew by just like everyone said it would. We wouldn't change a thing.