Happily After All

The Church Details
Heading To The Church
Slipping Into My Dress

Getting Pretty
A Crazy Lady The Morning Of
Decorating the Reception Hall
Honoring Our Family
The Rehearsal

Happily After All: Bride and Groom Portraits

2011-01-31T23:16:00.001-06:00

Okay...remember me?! Pathetic excuses aside, here are some fantastic pictures so hopefully you'll forgive me. This post will be short on words and heavy on pictures...some of my favorite pictures from the day!

After we finally finished up with family pictures and bridal party pictures in the church, all the guests had headed back into town, it was time to do some pictures of just me and my new hubby! Our bridal party all hopped on the bus and went to try and find a liquor store/gas station to stock up on some drinks for the ride back in and some more pictures at the golf course.
While they were gone, Mr. T and I went frolicking into the woods across from the church and took some great pictures.

And that was that! By the time we were finishing up, the gang had gotten back and were ready to head into town to get the party started.
But first we had to make a little pit-stop at my house along the way for an "appointment" with my hairdresser for style number two of the day. I met with the girl who did my hair in between the church and the reception so she could re-curl my hair and pin it up and off my shoulders. Let me just say...best decision ever!

Next up: Bride and groom portraits...but good ones!

Unless otherwise stated, all pictures are by Brandy Swartz of Photography by Brandy.

In case you've missed anything...

Bridal Party Portraits
Family Portraits, part two

Family Portraits, part one

The Church Details
Heading To The Church
Slipping Into My Dress

Getting Pretty
A Crazy Lady The Morning Of
Decorating the Reception Hall
Honoring Our Family
The Rehearsal

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T12:22:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

I promise I'll be back sometime soon to finish up my recaps =] Hope you all have a great holiday season and enjoy time spent with family and friends.

Ornament Swap 2010

2010-11-11T09:25:00.000-06:00

Okay guys, I promise I'm still around and reading the blogs...I just haven't had a chance to finish my recaps lately! My fun little part time job, has turned into a full time, 45 hours a week job and I'm loving it..but not so much the lack of free time. Pair that with packing (more on that later) and I'm just running out of time!
I'll be back soon, promise! But for now, I have a fun little something to share with you all.

On of my favorite bloggers from the beginning, Laura over at The Luckiest In Love (some of you might know her from her first wedding blog, Lucky in Love) is hosting an Ornament Swap this year. Basically, if you head over to her blog and sign up quickly, she'll pair everyone with a partner and you mail each other a cute Christmas ornament. She has set a $10 limit, but there are definitely some gorgeous ornaments out there for less. You can either buy it or make it. Then mail it out to your partner before December 4th, and wait for your own package to arrive as well.
I think it's a fun way to celebrate the holidays, and who doesn't love getting fun packages in the mail?!

So head on over now and get signed up!

$35 CSN Stores Giveaway Winner

2010-09-01T22:07:00.000-05:00

Most of you are aware that I was hosting a giveaway for a $35 gift certificate to CSN Stores. This was probably my largest giveaway turnout to date. There are 30 new guys floating around out there now. That's just amazing! I hope you'll like what I have to say. I'm trying to plug along and get my wedding recaps done, and then it's time to get into some real life stuff! Haven't decided yet what that will be, but I've got a couple ideas up my sleeve.

But enough rambling...I'm sure you'd all like to know who the winner is. There were 63 entries this time around, and thanks to the help of random.org

The lucky winner is number 35....kenziesmum!

Congratulations! It looks like she's planning on buying some stuff for her kitchen =] I've already sent your email to my contact, so she should be getting in touch with you shortly about how to use your gift certificate.

Thanks to everyone who entered. Make sure to stick around, I think I have another giveaway up my sleeves in the near future.

Happily After All: Bridal Party Portraits

2010-08-29T06:00:00.002-05:00

Okay, this should be the last boring post. These are going to be the formal pictures we took of the bridal party and a few of Mr. T and I. You may or may not agree with me that they're boring, but I'm not a huge fan of posed, forced pictures. I promise there will be more fun ones of us all a little later on.

We attempted to take a few pictures with the flower girl and ring bearer. But at this point, they were hot, tired and ready to go home. Ella was being a little crabby so Mr. T took it upon himself to cheer her up a little.

After she hung upside for awhile and got a smile back on her face, we took some pictures with the two of them. We didn't get one of them actually looking at the camera, but they're still cute all the same.

We only took a couple with the entire wedding party, instead of doing individuals here. Those come in a later post, and are much cuter than they could have been standing in this church.

We added in the ushers for this second picture.

Then we did a few pictures of Mr. T and I and called it a day. For this part anyways.
First up, my handsome husband.

And a couple of me.

And then us, husband and wife!

And that's that! All of the church portraits are finished. Hope you made it out okay. The pictures to follow are some of my favorites so make sure you stick around for those.

Next up: Bride and groom portraits...but good ones!

Unless otherwise stated, all pictures are by Brandy Swartz of Photography by Brandy.

In case you've missed anything...

Family Portraits, part two

Family Portraits, part one

The Church Details
Heading To The Church
Slipping Into My Dress

Getting Pretty
A Crazy Lady The Morning Of
Decorating the Reception Hall
Honoring Our Family
The Rehearsal

Happily After All: The Family Portraits, Part Two

2010-08-28T06:00:00.001-05:00

Sorry if I bored you all yesterday with part one of the family pictures. I know it can be kind of boring to look at a bunch of pictures of people you don't know. But part of the reason I write this blog is for myself and to be able to look back at our wedding, and this is an important part of it.
So you'll only have to put up with two more boring family picture post today and then we'll get into some more fun stuff!

Today we're going to focus on our immediate family pictures, and turn the bridal party portraits and some formals of Mr. T and I tomorrow.

We'll start with some pictures of my family. First we did pictures with just me and my family, and then we brought in Mr. T.

First me and my mommy:

And my dad:

With both of my parents:

And then with my sis:

My mom and her girls:

And my dad and the two of us:

And the four of us:

We hadn't taken a family picture in ages, so it was nice to have this one.

And of course we had to get Mr. T into the family picture, since he was now technically a member.

Then it was time for Mr. T and his family. I haven't seen a recent picture of them all together that wasn't at least 5 years old, so I'm sure his mom will be very glad to have these around.

Mr. T and his mom:

And his dad:

With both of his parents:

Then a picture of the boys:

His mom and her sons:

His dad and his boys:

And the whole gang:

And then I jumped in, as the daughter they never had.

We also took a couple of Mr. T and I with both of our parents. They're so cute, they get together all the time without us now that they're back in IL without us.

Next up: Bridal party portraits

Unless otherwise stated, all pictures are by Brandy Swartz of Photography by Brandy.

In case you've missed anything...

Family Portraits, part one

The Church Details
Heading To The Church
Slipping Into My Dress

Getting Pretty
A Crazy Lady The Morning Of
Decorating the Reception Hall
Honoring Our Family
The Rehearsal

Happily After All: The Family Portraits, Part One

2010-08-27T06:00:00.002-05:00

After our grand exit, we made an announcement for all immediate family and the bridal party to join us back in the church for pictures. Everyone else hung around for a little while and then made their way back into town. To this day, I'm still not really sure what everyone did in between since I left so much time before the reception. I'm sure some of them went back to their hotels to freshen up, and I think my parents actually left our garage open with some drinks and chairs if anyone wanted to stop there for awhile since it was on the way.

If you remember, I put an insert into the back of our program that outlined a plan for our pictures.

And while we kind of followed that order, it actually was a little more spur of the moment. First we started with our officiants, and then we moved on to the families. It actually went pretty quickly, and without a hitch. I got all of the pictures that we wanted too, which surprised me. I went about it in a pretty methodical method. I started with my mom's side of the family and called out each individual family to come up and take a picture with us. I made my way through all of my aunts and uncles and then at the end of them all, I called them all back up for a large group photo. Then I went on to my dad's side. After that, I called up my godparents to get pictures with them. Then we proceeded through Mr. T's sides in the same manner.
It ended up working really well, even though I was shouting orders throughout the whole ordeal, everyone said it was nice and organized and was the best way to approach the situation.

Oh, and just a warning...I have the most awkard forced smile which will make an appearance in some of the pictures.

First the officiants:

My dad's side of the family:

My dad's parents.

My dad's sister and her husband.

With her two sons and their grandson, our ring bearer.

My dad's brother, his wife, and their son. Their oldest son couldn't get away from school. He's in the middle of his PhD in physics or something ridiculous. It seems like he's been in school forever!

This is my Grandma's sister, my dad's aunt. It was so nice that she was able to make it, we don't see her very often.

The whole group on my dad's side. We make a pretty small family!

My mom's side of the family:

My mom's mom. My grandpa passed away when I was in 8th grade.

Her oldest sister, her husband, and their three daughters. The one on the left just got married a year ago and their son was almost a month old then. On the right in the orange is with her fiance. They got married a month later =]

Her younger sister and her husband. They live in Vegas and we hardly ever get to see them.

Her third sister, her two kids, and her boyfriend.

And the baby of the family, her younger brother.

And the whole group. You'd think with her having four siblings, we'd be a little bigger. But not all of them had children, so now we're filling in with husbands and grandkids =]

My godparents:

My dad's brother, and my mom's sister.

Mr. T's dad's side of the family: (the relations will all be to his dad)

His parents.

His brother and three kids. The oldest daughter wasn't able to make it.

His sister, her husband, and their two boys.

His other sister and her two girls. Her husband wasn't able to make it.

His oldest sister, and her boyfriend.

The whole gang. They're all located within 40 minutes of us here, so it's nice to have people to visit when I'm feeling homesick.

Mr. T's mom's side of the family: (all relations will be to her)

Her parents weren't able to make the trip.

See if you can follow along on this one. This is her husband, his wife, and their three children. On the right is their oldest daugher, her husband and their two kids. On the left is each twin son with their respective girl. The blond son has a girlfriend, and the other has a fiance. They're getting married in October!

Her other brother and his wife.

Her sister. She has two sons. One lives in Ohio and wasn't able to make it. The other lives in Arizona with his wife and daughter. They're expecting a son around December. They couldn't make it either, unfortunately.

Her other sister, husband, and son. They also have two daughters. One is married and they had just left for the Peace Corps in Fiji. The other is married but was almost popping with their first son so they couldn't make it either.

The whole group. Even with so many people missing, it's one big family! They're also all within 40 minutes of us, so we have some great get togethers from time to time.

Mr. T's godparents:

His godparents are his two aunts on his dad's side.

And that's probably enough pictures and confusing family connections for one day. Tomorrow we'll do our immediate families with parents and siblings, and then also the few we got of the bridal party.

Next up: Family portraits, part two.

Unless otherwise stated, all pictures are by Brandy Swartz of Photography by Brandy.

In case you've missed anything...

We Walk Down the Aisle Again

The Church Details
Heading To The Church
Slipping Into My Dress

Getting Pretty
A Crazy Lady The Morning Of
Decorating the Reception Hall
Honoring Our Family
The Rehearsal

Happily After All: We Walk Down the Aisle Again!

2010-08-26T13:15:00.000-05:00

After we said our vows and walked down the aisle, the rest of the bridal party followed us out. At that point we asked that everyone remain seated, and then Mr. T and I actually went back in to walk down the aisle again. We decided early on that we didn't want to do a receiving line. While I like the idea of it, I find it extremely awkward for the bridal party to be hugging and saying hello to all these people that they don't necessarily know. But at the same point, we wanted to greet everyone that was at the ceremony. So we started at the front of the church and dismissed the guests row by row so that we had a chance to speak with each and every one of them. It took quite a bit of time, and I was a little worried about everyone in the way back of the church, but I asked a few of them afterwards, and none of them really seemed to mind waiting.
After we said hi to each of them, they headed outside and started the tunnel that we would eventually walk through after getting to everyone.

Our bridal party started the line-up and everyone else fell into place and started visiting with each other while they waited for us to come out.

After what seemed like forever, we finally made it to the back of the church. And even though it did take quite awhile, I'm really glad we took the time to do it since we didn't make it around to everyone at the reception (but more on that later!). I would definitely recommend it to anyone over a receiving line. It was more personal that way, and people could remain seated and relaxed until it was their turn.
And then it was time for our grand exit! I love the way these pictures turned out with the bubbles and all of our smiling family and friends.

It also made for a couple funny pictures where we're both trying to avoid bubbles in the mouth or eyes.

In the beginning I had a couple different ideas of doing ribbon wands, or fun little pom poms to toss, but I'm glad I went the easy route and did the bubbles. To me, it's just a simple classic look, and there wasn't any clean up involved.

After we made it to the end of the tunnel, we stuck around for a little bit talking with people, and then it was time to head back into the church one more time for formal family portraits.

(personal photo)

Next up: Family portraits!

Unless otherwise stated, all pictures are by Brandy Swartz of Photography by Brandy.

In case you've missed anything...

The Church Details
Heading To The Church
Slipping Into My Dress

Getting Pretty
A Crazy Lady The Morning Of
Decorating the Reception Hall
Honoring Our Family
The Rehearsal

$35 CSN Stores Giveaway!!

2010-08-25T09:45:00.002-05:00

I know some of you might be familiar with CSN stores, as I've offered a pretty great giveaway from them in the past. For those of you that aren't, you're about to me! They offer just about anything and everything you could possibly want at amazing prices. And with Labor Day weekend right around the corner, are any of you planning some fun outdoor picnics and family get-togethers? If so you might need to stock up on supplies. How about some Corelle dinnerware? It would be perfect for the outdoor setting since they never break! I actually bought my parents a set for their camper so they never have to worry about breaking dishes again and they don't have to use the cheapo ugly plastic dishes.

Head on over there and take a look at what they have to offer. You could literally spend hours there getting lost.

How would you like to have $35 to try out their line of stores? Well, that is exactly what I am offering one of you guys!. So here is what you can do to enter.

Make sure you leave a way for me to contact you! Preferably your email address.

1. Follow my blog...nice and simple! (1 Entry)

2. Tell me if you have purchased from the CSN Store before? What was it? If you haven't, what would you like to buy from there? (1 Entry)

3. Post about this giveaway on blog and leave me the link to it. (2 Entries)

4. Tweet this giveaway. (1 Entry)

Check out this #giveaway from @happilyafterall and CSN Stores! http://tinyurl.com/2foaf7t

I'll give you guys a week for this one, so the giveaway will end on September 1st at midnight. There will be a post announcing the winner on the 2nd. The winner will be chosen at random using random.org. I will send the winners email to my CSN contact and she will contact you directly with the coupon code. This giveaway is open to US and Canada.

Good luck guys!

Happily After All: The I Do's

2010-08-23T22:44:00.000-05:00

Our ceremony probably lasted 30 minutes in total, and the majority of it was spent during the readings, solo, and message. It seemed like once we got to the "I do's" the rest of the ceremony just flew by.
We said our vows, which by the way were just the standard vows taken from the wedding ceremony program the pastor had. Neither one of us was very interested in writing our own, or even writing the ceremony for that matter. We were happy to pick out the readings and solo, and then leave the rest to the pastor to follow the traditional layout. I can't speak for Mr. T, but for me the decision was based solely on the fact that any time I think of a wedding ceremony, I revert back to all the traditional vows and proceedings that I heard growing up. When it comes to things like this, I don't like to rock the boat.

I think I was laughing a little in the process of trying not to cry. And it probably had a little to do with the fact that I was pledging the rest of my life to my just about husband!

So after the vows, the best man handed over our rings and Pastor Benke blessed them.

Then it was time to slip them on! I forgot to switch my engagement ring over to my right hand ahead of time, so there was a little fumble when I pulled it off quickly and switched it over. Apparently everyone saw too, because I got teased about it later on.

And then before you know it...we were married. But it wasn't over yet. We still had to light our unity candle...

...and present roses to our mothers. We kept this a surprise ahead of time, and I think they both really appreciated that we took the time to thank them for all they did in raising each of us. First was my mom, and then Mr. T's.

Then it was back up to the altar again, where we had the whole church join us in the Lord's prayer.

And then....our first kiss as husband and wife!

And then it was official...we were actually married! Pastor Duey announced us for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. T and that was that.

Then we made our way down the aisle, and the rest of the bridal party followed.

Next up: Our second exit and the bubble tunnel!

Unless otherwise stated, all pictures are by Brandy Swartz of Photography by Brandy.

In case you've missed anything...

The Church Details
Heading To The Church
Slipping Into My Dress

Getting Pretty
A Crazy Lady The Morning Of
Decorating the Reception Hall
Honoring Our Family
The Rehearsal

Happily After All: The Readings and The Solo

2010-08-12T18:32:00.000-05:00

Once we reached the altar, it was time to pledge our love and support to each other in front of all our family and friends. In the year leading up to this moment, I probably put 90% of my effort into decorating and getting ready for the reception, when in reality, this moment was 100% the purpose of the day. I was so excited to plan for the party, but I didn't let that take my mind off of how important the wedding ceremony is.

I won't lie though, I really don't remember much about our ceremony. As I'm writing this recap, I'm having to look back at our program to see the order of events that went on. It was so hot that day and there was no air in the church. And in all honesty, I think I was too busy smiling at Mr. T and being happy to really let anything sink in.

After the invocation and opening prayer, my good friend Sarah stepped forward to do the readings. Sarah is in fact the entire reason that Mr. T and I were getting married that day. When I started hanging out with her, I made friends with her husband's friends as well. And Mr. T happened to be one of those friends. So thank you Sarah!

I chose two readings for the day. I had originally settled on "Union" by Robert Fulghum. For those of you who haven't stumbled upon it yet, you can find it here.

I also decided towards the last minute, to have her read from 1 Corinthians because it coincided with the banners that were hanging in the church.

Then, following the readings, Mr. T's mom and aunt came forward to sing a solo.

Originally it was just going to be his mom singing, but she decided to ask her sister to join her and they did a little practicing the night before and were ready to go that day. The song they sang was "He Has Chosen You For Me" by Pat Terry. She came to us with the song when we were discussing what to do. They have sang it at multiple weddings in the family, and we knew it had to be sung at ours as well.

We don't know what tomorrow holds, but we know who holds tomorrow.
Knowing this we'll live above the world and all its sorrows.
I have prayed for all my life that we would be together.
Serving Him together seems so right.
Oh, oh yes, it's true.
He has chosen me for you.
Take my hand and we'll agree
That He has chosen you for me.
Now and then I like to think about the day He saved me.
All the love that He bestowed and all the gifts He gave me
With all this I praise His name for putting us together
He knew we'd be together from the start.
Oh yes, it's true
He has chosen me for you
Take my hand and we'll agree
That He has chosen you for me
He has saved us
Washed us white as snow
Now we're together
Cause He has made it so

While we were busy paying attention to the song and just being busy being in love, some of our guests were having a good time as well.

I can't blame them though...it was HOT that day! I bet it was hard for them to keep focused.

After the readings and the solo, it was time for the wedding message, or what would be a sermon in a typical church service. We had our MN pastor do this part of the service, because he has known Mr. T and his family for a long time, and he got a chance to know me while we were doing our premarital counseling. The pastor at the church had only been there for a couple years, and really didn't know either of us well.

Hopefully one day soon I'll be able to share the message with you. He gave us a copy of it that day, but it's still at my parents' house and they're away on vacation right now! It was really great though, and very personal. He had us and most of the guests who know us well laughing on a couple occasions.

Next up: The I Do's!

Unless otherwise stated, all pictures are by Brandy Swartz of Photography by Brandy.

In case you've missed anything...

The Church Details
Heading To The Church
Slipping Into My Dress

Getting Pretty
A Crazy Lady The Morning Of
Decorating the Reception Hall
Honoring Our Family
The Rehearsal

What We're Doing This Weekend

2010-08-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

Last night we headed out of town after I got off work to go visit Mr. T's brothers for the weekend. I don't know if I've told you guys before or not, but his oldest brother Jake rents a little one bedroom "apartment" which is kind of more like a "cabin" in Baxter, MN. I use both terms loosely. It actually looks like at one time it was an old time motel, you know the kinds that are lined up in a row on the side of a highway? Yeah, kind of like that.
Anyways, it walks out onto a big stretch of lawn that goes right down to a lake and a beach.

We haven't had a chance to get there at all this summer with all the running we've been doing, so we're going to take advantage of Mr. T's last weekend before football season and go up and see them. We took up the truck and boat so we can all do some fishing and hopefully enjoy some great weather. Maybe get a little sun.

So that's where we're at through the weekend!
Then Sunday we'll be back for a birthday party with all of his family, and hopefully by Monday I'll get back to normal posting!

Enjoy your weekend!

Happily After All: The Processional

2010-08-05T14:49:00.001-05:00

The moms walked, in the unity candle was lit, and the aisle runner was laid. It was finally time to get this show on the road! We decided to have all of the groomsmen walk in with the bridesmaids because there was just no room for them to be up front, or for them to come halfway down the aisle to meet them. So we all lined up outside in the hallway, and they entered in pairs.
First up was Katie and Russ.

Then it was Arin and Scott's turn.

After those two, Brianna and Eric followed.

And then it was onto Brittany and Joe, one of the best men and Mr. T's brothers.

And finally, the maid of honor, my sister Sam, and the other best man and Mr. T's brother, Jake.

Our pastor told us numerous times leading up to the wedding and during the rehearsal that the flower girl and ring bearer should walk in with Sam and Jake. He kept saying that they were little and they might not do so well on their own. That might be true, but that's what makes them so darn cute when they're coming down the aisle and looking for mommy or daddy. I wanted to give them the spotlight and let them walk themselves down the aisle, so I pretended to agree with him, when all along I knew we would be doing it my way. And yes, they didn't make it the whole way down, and my flower girl didn't carry her parasol, and she walked way faster than the ring bearer, but they were so cute that it didn't even matter. I wasn't expecting a perfect performance, nor did I expect them to stand at the front of the church for the entire ceremony. So they did a great job and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

I would have loved to watch them walk down the aisle, because there was some laughing and oohing going on, but I couldn't see them without stepping out into the doorway, and I wasn't ready for Mr. T to see me just yet. I think he was ready to see me though! So the organist cued up Bridal Chorus, or "Here Comes The Bride." I decided to go very traditional when I picked this song to walk into. And then it was time.

I think this might be the exact moment that I stepped into the doorway on my dad's arm. I managed to keep everything about my attire for the day a complete secret from my almost husband. He had absolutely no idea what the dress was going to look like, or how my hair was going to be done, or that I was wearing a veil in front of my face. It was all a complete surprise to him, and I'm really glad I didn't give anything away.

When I think back on my walk up the aisle, sometimes I think it went incredibly quickly, like maybe we were walking too fast, and other times I remember it taking forever. But either way, I made it to the front of the aisle where Mr. T was waiting for me.

Then it was time for my father to give me away. They came up with a great hand off the night before at the rehearsal dinner, and they made sure to practice it multiple times to get it just right. First, my dad lifted my veil over my face.

Then it was a kiss on the cheek and an "I love you Dad."

And then a handshake...

...that turned into a hug for his almost son-in-law.

And then on the release, they did a nice stealth move that placed me in Mr. T's arm.

And up to the altar we went to begin the ceremony!

Next up: The Ceremony

Unless otherwise stated, all pictures are by Brandy Swartz of Photography by Brandy.

In case you've missed anything...

The Church Details
Heading To The Church
Slipping Into My Dress

Getting Pretty
A Crazy Lady The Morning Of
Decorating the Reception Hall
Honoring Our Family
The Rehearsal

Happily after All: The Pre-Processional

2010-08-04T19:46:00.000-05:00

After we got to the church and did a little switcharoo, and once all of the guests had arrived, it was time to get this show on the road. I hid out in the fellowship hall while everyone was arriving, because I wanted the first time most people saw me to be while I was walking down the aisle. As time drew near, Mr. T and the pastors snuck into the front of the church and hung out in a little closet sized room, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

The guests had all taken their seats, including the little ones...

...and it was time to begin.

We were actually surprisingly on time, given all that had gone on that morning. The guests were all able to find their ways to the church, and most had allotted themselves enough time to get all the way out there on time.
While that was all happening, we were starting to line up in the fellowship hall. I finally got to come out of hiding in the kitchen, and said hi to a few stragglers who were on their way in.

(personal photo)

I gave myself a once over in the mirror, and my mom made sure my dad was good to go. It was nice to see them both alone for a moment before everything got going. My mom was already crying at this point, and it took a lot to keep the tears from flowing myself.

(personal photo)

And then my dad and I practiced with my veil to make sure he didn't mess up my hair! I couldn't tell him about it the night before at the rehearsal, because I was trying to keep as many details about my attire a secret from Mr. T. At first I was totally against it, but I'm glad I changed my mind and decided to wear the veil as a blusher. It felt so bridal to me!

(personal photo)

Then we all got lined up in the hallway to the church. It took me back to my highschool cheerleading days, when we would line up on this big ramp at State, getting ready to go out on the main floor to perform. That was the only point of the day that I really got nervous. And I've have to say I was probably more anxious than nervous. I was SO ready to get the ceremony started and finally marry my man.

The ceremony got started with the moms being walked in by two of the ushers.

Mr. T's mom was first, and she waited at the front of the aisle for my mom.

Then my mom followed, and they both walked up to the altar to light the two sides of the unity candle. I could tell you what music was playing right now, but I honestly don't remember, and it wasn't included in the program for whatever reason. I think I just had the organist transition from the music he had been playing while guests were arriving, into a new song. I might have been specified, but not sure!

They walked up the stairs together and took the side candles, lighting them from the candles that were already burning on the altar. And then they took their seats.

After that, the two ushers that walked them forward, rolled the aisle runner towards the back of the church. I learned afterward, from hearing it from others that this was quite the task. The plastic was never taken off the runner, so first it had to be taken out of its package. And then it wouldn't unroll because it wasn't pinned well enough into the ground. So as an afterthought, future brides, I would definitely say to you, make sure your runner is ready to go so it doesn't take forever, and make your ushers look silly.

I don't know if I ever told you guys, but I had planned on doing a custom aisle runner, but few things led up to the decision not to do it. I originally wanted to lay down the runner and close off the center aisle so that only the wedding party would walk down it, but the side aisles were way too small to seat the guests with. And I wasn't sure that it would hold up nicely with all of the guests walking all over it. Then I thought about painting it and rolling it back up, but that just seemed a little too daunting as it would have to be totally unrolled to get to the section to be painted. So I just gave it up.

Then it was time for Mr. T and the pastors to come out and the processional to begin.

At any given time, Mr. T has on what I and all of our friends like to call his "angry face." I don't think that he realizes he's doing it though. But there he is, angrily waiting for me to walk down the aisle =] Just kidding of course!

Next up: The actual processional (I know I've said it like 5 times now!)

Unless otherwise stated, all pictures are by Brandy Swartz of Photography by Brandy.

In case you've missed anything...

The Church Details
Heading To The Church
Slipping Into My Dress

Getting Pretty
A Crazy Lady The Morning Of
Decorating the Reception Hall
Honoring Our Family
The Rehearsal

Happily After All: The Church Details

2010-08-02T06:00:00.001-05:00

I decided to do a quick recess from the order of recaps, and instead of jumping right into the processional and ceremony, like I had promised, I'm going to take you on a tour of all the church details. This way I can go into depth about them a little before you get a chance to glance at them during the ceremony recaps. I gave you guys a glimpse into the decorations when I set up the week of the wedding, but there were things that weren't quite finished yet, and detail pictures always look better when taken by a professional with great lighting =]

We'll start with the outside of the church and work our way inside.

The wood sign I made pointing our guests in the right direction. You'll see this sign again in future recaps...

The new wood sign a member of the congregation made just a couple months before the wedding.

The wreaths and painted letters I made. These wreaths recently underwent a transformation and were used for the wedding of family friend. She added some purple flowers into the mix and took off the letters. They were gorgeous, and now the work is done for me for my cousin's wedding in October. I was planning on adding in purple for her, and now I don't have to!

The "Quaker Marriage Certificate" that I designed and had printed through UPrinting.com They offered me a poster print when I hosted a giveaway awhile back. I touched on it briefly here. You can get a glimpse of it fully signed in the picture below. It was a nice alternative for a guestbook at the church.

This picture worked out nicely too, since we don't have any pictures of us signing our marriage certificate. Our pastor had us sign it the night before at the rehearsal and we didn't think to take any pictures. I really wish we would have done it on our wedding day, all dressed up, and gotten a couple pictures. But that's okay!

Here is the finished program. Even though I hated them at 2 o'clock in the morning the week of my wedding, I'm really glad I put in the time and effort to pull off what I initially wanted. Our guests loved them, I got to keep one, and the back page actually ended up being extremely helpful in getting through our family portraits.

These are the two baskets of bubbles we used for our exit. I bought all of the bubbles from the Dollar Tree and tied little green bows around each one. The baskets were on sale from Hobby Lobby and the ribbon tied around it was left over from other projects. It was very easy, just a little time consuming!

These reserved signs were another last minute project in the week leading up to the wedding. I think I might have done them on Thursday possibly? I stuck them on the first four pews on each side of the aisle. Since the church was so small and we were expecting such a large turnout, I wanted to make sure that all of our family members got a good seat up front, and didn't end up standing or in the balcony.

And here is the altar with our unity candle, altar arrangements, and the "table runner" I made as well. I never did do a DIY post on that, but it was very easy. I printed out the design on my printer and laid it under a piece of white material. Then I traced and painted the design. Then it was just a matter of hemming the white material and attaching it to the green material, and then hemming those edges as well. I actually used Heat N' Bond instead of sewing it together. It held up wonderfully throughout the day, but it never made it to the reception hall like I was originally thinking. It just wasn't worth the hassle of taking it over there and finding a spot for it. Anyone have ideas of what I should do with it now?

And as a sneak peek to our ceremony, here is a picture of the whole church decorated and filled with our friends and family.

Next up: This time I'll actually do the processional!

Unless otherwise stated, all pictures are by Brandy Swartz of Photography by Brandy.

In case you've missed anything...
Heading To The Church
Slipping Into My Dress

Getting Pretty
A Crazy Lady The Morning Of
Decorating the Reception Hall
Honoring Our Family
The Rehearsal

What We're Doing This Weekend

2010-07-31T06:00:00.000-05:00

Lest you think all I do is sit around writing recaps, we're actually out enjoying life this weekend! So instead of a wedding recap today, I'm going to give you a different kind of recap.

Right now, we're in Warrens WI enjoying a weekend of camping with family and friends. Every year since I was a little girl, we've spent 10 days at Yogi Bear in Warrens. It has always been with the same group of people, and it's always been the same week every year. Over time we've added more people, and the park has definitely changed, but one thing that hasn't changed is the great time we always have.

Our camping group consists of about 60 people, and it's always growing when you add into the mix husbands, children, girlfriends, and friends. None of them are actually related to me, but they're all related to each other. Remember my bridesmaids Brittany and Brianna (the cousins?)...

(personal photo from 2006)

It's their entire family. They're what I like to consider my extended family. They were also ALL invited to my own wedding. That was one of the reasons our guest count climbed up above 300. Mr. T didn't really get it at first, but after spending more time with them than my own family, he gets it now. Lucky him, he had the pleasure of learning all of my family's names AND all of theirs. He still doesn't get who belongs to who, and how they're all related. (We've started adding in family members from other sides of the family. Like for example, Britt's aunt's brother and wife and kids. They're not actually related to Britt.) So the group just keeps on growing.

But anyways, hopefully I haven't confused you too badly. When we were growing up, it was always 10 full days of beach, sun, water, volleyball, swimming, and dances. Now, as we're all growing up not everyone can make the full trip anymore. So all of us youngins come and go on the weekends and it's usually the grown ups who are there the whole week because they can afford to take off a week stretch. It's definitely changed some, but it's just as fun. Now our weekends are full of different games like beer pong, and flip cup, and drinking around the fire. But we still go to the dances every weekend, and head down to the beach to work on our tans.

So that's what I'll be doing this weekend. Hope you'll all be having fun as well!

I'll end with some of my favorite pictures from the last couple of years. These first few are from the summer of 2006.

We put together a little act for the talent show one year. The singer of the group needed a little back up act for her performance. Needless to say, we won first place and some free pizza!

This was a fun little dice game called "Mexican" It involved lots of tequila shots. This was the summer after my senior year when I was finally allowed to drink with the older kids. Great parenting huh? Although, did you know...in WI it's legal to drink underage when you're with your parents?

We're not too old to take pictures with Yogi Bear!

The following pictures are from the summer of 2007.

With some of my favorites, watching a friendly game of beer pong.

And speaking of beer pong, this was the summer that it all started. It has now become a staple at all family functions, including Christmas!

The year before, we snuck into a building that housed all the water balloons used at the Water Wars station, and stole a couple bags of water balloons. Just in case you were wondering, each bag had 10,000 water balloons. We're still using them years later. The summer, we filled as many as we possibly could, and loaded them in tupperware containers and laundry baskets, and anything else we could find. We put them all on a flat trailer that usually carries four wheelers, and we took off through the park, throwing water balloons at innocent people on the road and at their campsites. We made it all the way down to the beach before we got yelled at. Now the boys just launch them out into the beach or straight up in the sky trying to catch them on the way down. Do you have any idea how much a water balloon hurts coming out of a launcher? It leaves bruises.

We had a full out, four course fitness competition between these two guys. They made a bet at Christmas about who could lose the much weight and get in shape, and this was the determining factor. It included pushups, situps, log holds, and a run. There's even a video montage.

We always close out the dances with a little version of "Stand By Me" once the DJ stops playing.

Did I mention we do a Margarita Night every year?! Everyone brings a bottle of tequila, mix, and some strawberries, and we blend up margaritas all night. We also all bring food and have a big potluck. Something has to soak up all that booze right?

There are also regular volleyball tournaments. We even set up spotlights at night and play in the dark. It gets a little intense. One year there was even a torn ACL.

Here are a couple from 2008.

Every weekend is a different themed weekend, and this particular one happened to be Halloween. So the boys "dressed up" to head down to the dance.

A shot of all the girls before starting up Margarita Night.

So as you can see, it's a fun time had by all! It's a great bonding weekend for the kids and the adults, as they all get involved in our drinking games too. You should see some of these moms play flip cup!

So that's what I'm doing. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and I'll see you again Monday for some more wedding recaps!

Happily After All: Heading to the Church!

2010-07-30T06:00:00.002-05:00

After getting into my dress, and finalizing all of the finishing touches, we were ready to head to the church!
I don't know that I touched on it at all, but we had a bus for the day of the wedding. My uncle (or ex uncle I suppose) owns a bar in town and has a small mini bus for trips to sports games/driving drunks home/etc. I asked him if we could use it for our wedding day. It would fit 13 people and a driver. It was perfect for the wedding party.
Originally he was going to charge us the family rate of $10/hr and then we just had to fill the tank at the end of the day. As time went on and I verified times with him, he said we could just have it for free, tip the driver, and fill it up. What a great deal!
Earlier in the day it picked up the boys from the country club where they dropped their cars off and took them out to the church, and then it turned around and came to get us girls.

So we boarded the bus and had a nice relaxing 20 minute trip out to the church. It was nice to finally have a breathing moment in the day, and just goof around and laugh with my favorite ladies.

All four are personal photos.

As we were pulling up to the church, we were there about 45 minutes before the ceremony was supposed to start. We had to do some coordinating so that Mr. T and I didn't run into each other.

We stepped off the bus and headed inside. Mr. T was hiding in the kitchen of the fellowship hall. While he stayed in there, I hopped into the bathroom, and then he left, and I headed in. It's such a small church so it was a little tricky making sure that we didn't cross paths.

The girls and I hung around inside until it was ready to get lined up. We had some fun chatting and taking pictures. At this point, I made my little heartfelt speech to them. I told them I had intended to write them each a letter about how much they meant to me and how glad I was to have them in my life, but that I didn't get to it! So I told them instead, and it was just as nice.

(personal photo)

This is my favorite from in there. It shows a great shot of the belts I made to accent the dresses. Aren't these girls gorgeous?

While we were all hiding out in the kitchen, things were starting to happen outside!

The boys were playing around...

My dad was helping people find their way...

Guests were starting to arrive...

And my future hubby was saying his hellos...

And then before I knew it, it was time to start lining up. But first I want to show you my favorite pre-ceremony picture. Even though Mr. T and I weren't doing a first look, I still wanted to get a picture of us together before we were married. So while I was in the bathroom and he was coming out of the kitchen, I hollered for Brandy to snap this particular picture. Mr. T thought it was ridiculous, but I'm so glad we did it!

Next up: Getting excited, and the wedding processional!

Unless otherwise stated, all pictures are by Brandy Swartz of Photography by Brandy.

In case you've missed anything...
Slipping Into My Dress

Getting Pretty
A Crazy Lady The Morning Of
Decorating the Reception Hall
Honoring Our Family
The Rehearsal

Happily After All: Slipping Into My Dress

2010-07-29T06:00:00.002-05:00

Sorry about yesterday's slightly depressing post about my flowers. I promise to be happy and joyful from this point forward =]
After we finished getting ready and all the girls were in their dresses, it was finally time for me to put on my lovely dress. But first I had Brandy take a few pictures of the dress itself and the cute hanger I ordered from LilaFrances on Etsy. I just barely got my hanger in time, she is now backed up 8-10 weeks from your time of purchase. Mine arrived just 3 days before the wedding!

She also clicked a few pictures of my jewelry with my bouquet at this point too.

This is the necklace that I had custom made from Etsy seller Jwhiz. It also had a matching bracelet. I talked a little about the process here, but I'm going to be doing in-depth reviews on all of my Etsy purchases when I do my vendor reviews at the end.

Here's the gorgeous peridot ring my mother lent me to wear that day. Ever since she got it a few years ago it's been one of my favorite rings. I would steal it from her for weeks at a time to wear. I figured it was the perfect accessory for my wedding day since it matched our green color perfectly.

And of course, what's a wedding day without your engagement ring?? This is the beautiful, 80+ year old heirloom ring that Mr. T's great grandma originally wore.

And finally, it was time! At this point we were running so far behind so we were trying to do this as quickly as possible. I grabbed my bridesmaid Brittany, and my dress and headed downstairs to get started while everyone else was finishing up their final touches. The best place for me to get my dress on was actually down in the computer room since it was wide open, and had wooden floors without much dog hair on them. I kind of felt bad that I was starting this without my mom and sister and all the other girls, because you always see pictures of a whole group getting the bride into her dress. I knew it wasn't going to take that much effort though, and we really had to get going! They did all join us towards the end though.
I ended up not wearing the corset I originally picked to go under it. It didn't work out quite right in the neckline, so I went without a bra, and slipped on a cute pair of blue undies as part of my something blue.

It was so great to have the two girls that have been in my life for the longest helping me at this memorable time of the day. I've actually known Brittany longer than my own sister, so I'm glad she was there with me at this time.

Here's the standard holding the boobs shot. Had to make sure they were in there good and tight! And don't worry, I did eventually remember to take off the rubber band that has a permanent spot on my right wrist.

At some point, my veil made it on top of my head like a hat, so that I could see what was going on.
And after what seemed like forever, the dress was finally on! By then, the bus had already gotten to our house and was waiting to take us to the church. But I wasn't ready quite yet. I still had to print out the readings for the ceremony, and make sure I had the programs with me as well. I managed to forget those though, so my mom brought them when she drove out separately after she finished getting ready.

This was the point when everything finally started to feel real. I stepped on the bus and realized at that moment that everything that wasn't finished, wasn't going to get finished. There was nothing else for me to worry about, or run around like crazy trying to get done. I finally got to relax and live in the moment. I had a 20 minute bus ride with my best friends to enjoy, and a ceremony in which I would be marrying my husband to look forward to!

Next up: The bus ride over, and the goings on before the ceremony.

Unless otherwise stated, all pictures are by Brandy Swartz of Photography by Brandy.

In case you've missed anything...