Joshua and Krystal's Wedding in Mesa, Arizona

The story of our wedding

My husband and I did things EXTREMELY backwards. I knew he was the one for me the first time we reconnected high school. A few months after officially dating, I went and bought my wedding dress in May of 2018, (I had been eyeing it since high school so I didn’t want it to be discontinued by the time it was time to buy it). Then when he came home on leave in July of 2018, we booked our venue and put down the down payment. I knew then that I wanted our theme to be ‘Country Chic’ (BUT NO BURLAP ALLOWED lol). I made little jars for each of my bridesmaids, (which included my sisters, sister-in-laws, cousins, & friend), to ask them to be apart of our big day, which they loved! It included face masks, bath bombs, hair ties, nail polish the color of our theme (mauve & pink), a ring pop, as well as a few other goodies. He was due to deploy in September of 2018, so he finally proposed the month before in August. That is when he asked his groomsmen, (which includes his brother, cousins, & friends), by “icing” them with a Smirnoff ice and a note that said “I got down on one knee, now it’s your turn.” (I also ‘iced’ him at the wedding as he was going to get my garter). Since he was about to deploy, that left me to plan the whole wedding on my own, (which was perfect because I’m a bit of a control freak). He was due to come home sometime in April, so we set the date for May 17, 2019, but since his leave block got changed, we had to move our date up to May 10, 2019 only a few months before the wedding, (typical military struggle haha). Luckily invitations had not been sent out yet, so it did not effect our guest outcome. Going through the whole wedding planning process alone while my husband was 11.5 hours ahead and unable to give me any of his opinions when I needed them was RIDICULOUSLY stressful, but our venue included a good majority of what we needed, so it made it a little easier on me. Throughout the 9-10 months before the wedding I would have appointments specific to certain aspects of the wedding. For example, linens & lighting, food, music/DJ, etc. I had a friend be our photographer, we hired a videographer, I ordered the invites/invite inserts from vista print, my Nana & Aunt made the favors (Jordan almonds with a boot bottle opener attached and also dog treats for those who had doggos), my other aunt made the cake/cupcakes, and my friend, I made all the bouquets/, and on the wedding day, we helped each other with hair/makeup. However, the stress, blood, sweat, tears, and occasional panic was 100% worth it when the day actually came! Seeing all of our friends and family let loose and have a blast was the most beautiful and rewarding thing I have ever experienced! Of course we had an open bar all night, good food, as well as a photo booth, and the ‘shoe game,’ so there were plenty of things for everyone to do other than dance. Oh yeah, & when he went to get my garter, I ‘iced’ him, so that was fun for everyone to watch haha. We also had a table to honor all of those who we both have lost with candles as well, which a lot of the family appreciated. Everyone who came told us it was the best wedding they had ever been to, which made me feel extremely accomplished. Planning a wedding alone was not easy, but let me tell you I would absolutely do it all over again if it meant I got to relive that day! (Sorry if I uploaded the same pictures a few times, it’s hard to tell on mobile) If y’all are curious, here is our wedding video! https://youtu.be/wzgzIYedQMo