Chad and Sarah's Wedding in Charlotte, North Carolina

The story of our wedding

My husband and I got married in a brewery - he's a brewmaster for a pretty big brewery in the area, so we knew we wanted to keep it "in the family." The ceremony and reception were both in the brewery's 7,000-square foot warehouse, and it was beautiful. Everything was very DIY and/or piecemealed together because we wanted to use our own vendors (a lot of venues make you choose someone from their "preferred" vendors list - but we had a personal relationship with a caterer, florist, and rentals company so wanted to make sure we took advantage of whatever discounts they would offer.) We didn't do a flip - we set the reception tables and chairs up so that they would be facing our makeshift altar (which we made out of a bay door with draped ivory chiffon and tons of greenery and candles), so the seats that were assigned for the reception doubled as seats for the ceremony. It made the day exceedingly easy! Our ceremony started at 6:00 and took about 20 minutes. We wrote our own vows and also did not do a first look - those two aspects for us made the ceremony so incredibly special and personal. After the ceremony, we went outside for photos while the caterer quickly set up the cocktail hour appetizers and the bar opened for beer and wine. Pictures took about 45 minutes, then it was time to start the reception. We sat down and managed to eat a small plate of food thanks to our Godsend of a day-of-coordinator. She kept us on schedule for everything from when it was time to leave for the venue in the limo to cake cutting and first dances. Best decision we made! Our decorations were minimal and chic. Lots of medium gray, ivory, and black with tons of candles and greenery like boxwood runners. We handmade two-ounce candles for favors for 115 guests - it was cheap to do and fun to do together. We got really cute monogram stickers to put on top of the jars and no one believed we made them ourselves! There was so much I worried about leading up to the wedding - like when the bakery would drop off the cake and how the bartenders would distribute champagne for the toasts. If I could go back in time and tell myself one thing it would be to stop that - stop the worrying because everything turned out just as it should have, and if there ever was an issue, I want made aware because our coordinator took care of everything. (Her fee was $800, by the way - incredibly reasonable for all that she did and honestly I would have paid triple knowing what I know now.) We ended the night at an after party, where we had the place to ourselves, and that is probably my favorite part of the day (other than exchanging or vows). It's the first chance I had to really sit down and have a beer with my dad and new husband without dozens of well-wishers coming up to us. All in all, it was a magical evening and I'm so glad to be married to the man of my dreams!