Jody and Michelle 's Wedding in East Setauket, New York

We jumped right into planning the weekend after our engagement. Lucky for both of us, we had a very similar vision for our special day which made the planning process easy and dare we say, fun! We knew we wanted a warm weather wedding with an intimate guest list and a laid back but still luxurious and whimsical vibe. I did a lot of the heavy lifting & research (I am a project manager by day, so planning all these details were right up my alley) but I checked in with Jody every step of the way. Some favorite planning moments were choosing our wedding rings, our menu tasting, checking out our wedding band at some of their gigs and our cake tasting which my grandparents joined for a 'sweet' afternoon.

The best part of the day for the two of us was seeing each other all dressed up for the first time at our first look. We had breakfast together on the morning of our wedding and then Jody went to the spa for a massage & I started hair & makeup. A few hours later, we were both shaking in our shoes with excitement to see each other. I will never forget the look on Jody's face when he first saw me all dressed up. It was so special! We spent the rest of the afternoon taking photos with our families at a park, photos at a small beach across the street from the venue and unexpectedly taking photos with a classic Cadillac, a surprise from my parents for our wedding day! Those photos are my favorite - they are timeless!

The ceremony is the most meaningful and important part of a wedding day and we wanted to make sure it felt that way. We opted out of a traditional bridal party, instead having just our sisters and immediate families involved in the ceremony. Jody's best friend was officiated to marry us and the three of us wrote the entire ceremony together including custom vows. Another friend held onto our wedding rings and some of my family members read readings and blessings during the ceremony. During our first kiss as Mr & Mrs, guests waved DIY ribbon wands made by us and our families. It was a really special time that was all about the two of us and very customized to our love and relationship.

We kicked off the reception with our first dance to 'Marry Me' by Train. Immediately following our first dance, our band invited all of our friends and family members to join us on the dance floor for a slow dance. It's one of my favorite memories of the night. In that moment, we were literally surrounded by so much love, support and happiness. It was such a special dance and it was amazing to look around the room to see all of our loved ones celebrating with us.

It was really important for us to have lots of personalized touches around the ballroom during the reception. We created custom napkins that included fun facts about us that were used at cocktail hour (our first vacation as a couple was to Disney World!) We both love sweets so we served s'mores & ice cream sundaes for dessert along with the traditional wedding cake. Instead of a traditional guest book, we asked our guests to leave their special dates on our calendar & lastly, we both had outfit changes! During the reception, we both changed into more fun, casual outfits to dance in!

The single best thing we booked for our wedding reception was our band, Ready in 10. From song number 1 until the lights were turned on at the end of the night, the dance floor was packed with people dancing and singing along to their favorite songs with the band. We had worked closely with the band to handpick every song that was played during the night. The set list included everything from Love Shack to Perfect by Ed Sheeran to songs from the movie Grease!. Months later, people are still raving about the music and the band. We credit them for how fun the night was!

While we did a lot of the planning, our wedding weekend would not have been what it was without our parents. Both sets of parents provided so much love, support and assistance with the planning leading up to and on the day of the wedding. It meant so much to us that our immediate families played such a large role in our day. We kept the guest list for our wedding small and it truly was a family affair. We are so grateful to the family and friends who came from near and far to celebrate with us. We also have to thank their vendors - I learned early on in the planning process how important good vendors and wedding professionals are. We can't thank each one of them enough for bringing our visions to life and making our day so special.