Michael and Kassandra's Wedding in Cleveland, Georgia

While the property is unbelievably beautiful, tucked away in the mountains with horses running through fields, guests were forced to really focus on what the day was about. Which is why the cold and torrential downpours ended up being such a blessing. It kept everyone under the same roof and huddled together around heaters and chimeneas, creating bonds between different family members and friend groups who had never met. It forced people to dance to stay warm and to mingle rather than running off to take selfies on the property. When planning, I was inspired by 70s aesthetics. I wanted the whole day to feel vintage-- warm color palette, corduroy suit for Mike, flower crown for me, etc. However... the chimeneas and fire pits combined with the heavy rain ended up creating a complete Game of Thrones vibe (one friend said I looked like a viking princess... I'll take it!). Everyone loved it, feeling like they were swept away to another time for a night.

Our main goal when planning the wedding was making sure the details represented us while bringing smiles to our guests' faces. The last name Starbuck only brings one thing to mind, so we took advantage of that by offering chocolate covered espresso beans as favors. They were sealed with a mock Starbucks logo featuring Mike and I, created by one of my bridesmaids. For our guest book, I wanted something that wouldn't get tucked away and forgotten, gathering dust. We went with guests signing vinyl records that would be framed and hung in our home. Michael and I began collecting records together from the beginning of our relationship and we chose vinyl by the band Starbuck (if you've never heard of them, listen to "Moonlight Feels Right"). Music is part of the foundation of our relationship, so choosing the DJ/Band was important too. We wanted a band but didn't want to drop the $5k-8k it requires. We found an entertainment company who provides a DJ accompanied by live saxophone and bongo musicians. It was the best compromise we made when planning! We received endless compliments on the trio. On the opposite end of the spectrum, our biggest splurge was on the videographer. I had grown tired of all the wedding highlight videos I was seeing. They felt so generic... opening with a slow motion aerial shot of the venue courtesy of a drone with an Ed Sheeran song playing in the background... I wanted something that felt more like a home movie. I found a guy who used super 8 film for an amazing price. Developing the film is costly and takes a while so we had to wait three months unitl the final product. But that was easily the best money we spent!! No words needed after watching the highlight film... trust me. You'll feel the love and happiness that was our wedding day!! https://vimeo.com/384639635

All this to say, the wedding day was such a blur! They say it goes by fast and boy they aren't lying. Mike and I keep wishing we could go back and attend our wedding as guests so we could really take it in again. We do have our favorite moments though. When our videographer and photographer asked us what we were most looking forward to once the wedding day rolled around, we were both eager to DANCE. Our wedding day would mark over a year of being away from friends and family out in the middle of southern Mississippi. There is no better way to celebrate than dancing with your friends!! And the dancing guests did not disappoint. The DJ and live musicians were on point and brought along a tambourine and cowbell for lucky ladies like myself to play with while dancing. It was the best night I've ever had.

Aside from the dancing, one of my favorite moments was my first look with my dad and brother. When my dad turned around and saw me in my flower crown, he cried out "Jennayyyy!!!" and proceeded to point at my brother and say "Look Jenny! Lieutenant Dan got new legs!!!" and then he hugged me and basked in his Forest Gump joke to avoid crying. Mike and I did a first look as well but it was mostly him feeling really nervous and me being upset about the wedding day card he gave me. For months I had bugged him about finding a card online for the wedding day. He put it off til the last minute and ordered a custom one from Etsy that didn't arrive on time. I imagined he would show up to the first look empty handed. Instead, he had some help from a groomsman's wife and gave me the most beautifully crafted and well written card in the world. I had filled mine out that morning and felt at a loss for words, not thinking too much about it because he wouldn't have one to give me in return. Instead he showed me up and I looked unprepared, but I will cherish that card forever.

Lastly, Mike and I really only had one moment alone together that day-- without photographers or videographers or anyone. Immediately following the ceremony we took a horse drawn carriage ride together through the rain. We were beaming the entire ride, so grateful to have that short moment alone together to take it all in. I looked at him and told him it was the happiest I'd been all day (which is saying a lot because spending the day with my bridesmaids was a lot of laughing and happy crying). If I had any advice to couples getting married, it would be to find that moment. Even if it's a few minutes like ours was. It truly was the best day of our lives together, better than we had even imagined. Michael always said how awesome our wedding would be and I was worried he had jinxed it. He didn't.

Side note: Our photographer is not on the Wedding Wire site, but her name is Gabbie Burseth and you can find her at gabbieburseth.com or @gabbieburseth on Instagram!