Weddingbee boards

Hey everyone! I posted some of wedding pictures a few weeks ago. We received the rest of our pictures and I just wanted to share some of our details for those who asked.

*All pictures by Echard Wheeler (www.echard-wheeler.com)*

The Clothes and Accessories...

 My e-ring was bought off of Overstock.com and I love it. It is princess cut diamonds with a slightly larger stone in the center. My wedding band we got an amazing deal on! A jewelry store was going out of business and on the last day you could walk in and offer a price and then they decided to take it or counter offer you. My ring was originally $1600, and my husband offered $500 for it, and they accepted! The only other jewelry I wore was my bracelet that my MIL gave me (it was her grandmothers) and earrings I bought at a sample sale in Atlanta at Christmas for $10. 

My dress- my dress is from JCREW. I had tried on a bunch of dresses and then saw this one in the magazine. I knew it was "the one" as soon as I saw it! 

As much as I loved the dress, I thought it needed a little something. I found a couple different sashes and then realized I could make them for next to nothing! So I made a sash out of silk. It was SUPER easy!

The shoes- I bought these off ninewest.com. I think they were on sale for $25 or $30.  

The Wedding Party-

The Ladies- I really wanted everyone to be comfortable and have a dress they could really "wear again." I told them to choose a black knee length dress. That way they could spend as much or as little as they wanted. I did buy m cousins dress because I saw it marked down from $200 to $40. I couldn't pass it up! I also gifted them with the necklaces and earings they are wearing. I got these at the same sale as my earrings for $10 for the necklace and $10 for the earrings!

The Guys- We did the same with them. They were told to wear a black suit/tux and that was it. Matt told them he was going to wear converse (because he wears them everyday) and they could wear them if they wanted. They all did except for one.

The Ringbearer and Flowergirl- How cute are these kids? Her dress came from Gymboree (on sale!) and her headband is from Forever21. I saw the same headband on Jcrew for $20 and found hers for $2.50. She loves it and wears it everyday! His suit is from Dilliards or Nordstrom I think, and he rocked the chucks too!

We got to the church early, so we had plenty of time to relax, take pictures, and get a little nervous!

The guys goofing off in the parking lot. 

My husband and his dad. 

 I love this picture! It is both of my husbands grandfathers.

I was secluded in this room so no one would see me!

Me and the flowergirl. 

We forgot to print off one of the readings! I think that was the worst that happened the day of so I was happy! I just found it on my Blackberry and wrote it out! 

The guys waiting for people to start arriving. 

 Before I knew it, it was time for guests to arrive and the ceremony to start! 

*The Ceremony*

We got married at Great Bridge Presbyterian Church. We LOVED our officiant. Ralph is the main pastor at the church. He is such a cool guy and I love listening to his sermons on Sundays. I was a little nervous because he does a pretty traditional service, and I wasn't going to get any say in it. Let me just say I was SO happy with the service.

In pre-marital counseling sessions we talked about our views on religion and how we both weren't really sure where it fit into our lives right now. We also shared some personal troubles we have had over the last year. He  was very supportive about everything we talked about without making us feel bad about it! I had so many people come up to me after the ceremony and say that he is everything that is right about religion, accepting and open!

The one problem we did have with the church was the wedding planner! She was supposed to get in touch with us 8 weeks before the ceremony, but she didn't call me back ( I called her A LOT) until 1 week before, and that was after I talked to the pastor about it. In the end, she was fine. She did all the decorating and flowers. I showed her pictures of what I wanted and just gave her control. I liked everything, I didn't love it though. I wasn't too happy with the daisies she used on the pews, but I didn't even notice them until I got the pictures back. 

We made the programs with a lot of inspiration from Mrs. Cherry pie! 

*The music and Readings*

We had a traditional service so we had to use "church" music. We had 2 trumpet players and an organist.

Here is a list of the songs we used:

during the prelude (among others):"Sheep May Safely Graze " J. S. Bach

"Largo" from Xerxes G. F. Handel

Processional"Trumpet Tune" Jeremiah Clarke

during the ceremony

"The Gift of Love" (O Waly Waly) Traditional English folk tune, Arranged by Steve Carlson

Recessional"Rondeau" Jean Joseph Mouret

You aleady saw one reading we used. "Love is a temporary madness..." Louis de Bernieres (Captain Corelli's Mandolin)

The other we used is from the Old Testement. It is the reading from my in law's wedding.

Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;but how can one be warm alone?Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

I loved this as soon as I heard it. It made me realize how strong we would be together. The Threefold cord could be interpreted as our family (once we start one)! 

They were a little nervous, so we decided it would be better if they walked down together. She ran out of flowers towards so she just kept walking and pretending she was dropping flowers! 

My grandpa walked me down the aisle.

 

And then we were married!

After we eft the church, my bridesmaids dropped us off at the boat. The ringbearer and flower girl's grandparents took us to the reception by boat! It was so nice to have that 15 minutes to relax and spend some time just the 2 of us!

 It was kinda hard to get off the boat in my dress!

High five for not falling in!

 Then the flower girl and ringbearer released butterflies! 

*The reception Details*

The reception was held at The Pagoda gardens in Norfolk, VA. It was a great spot outside and on the water! They also have beautiful gardens which can be used for a ceremony! 

The flowers for the reception and the bouquets, bouts, and corsages were done by a friend of mine. She did everything for $500!

 The printed tablecloths were made by my mother in law. She bought the fabric on a trip to Atlanta. Then she cut out 54" squares and sewed black sating ribbon around the edge. It took her about 2 days to make the ones for the reception and she made checked tablecloths for our BBQ rehearsal dinner.

In addition to the round tables, we decided to do seating areas. We had a grouping of six ottomans with tables in between them. We also had 2 sofas and 2 ottomans in 2 corners of the tent. These areas were great and I saw people hanging out on them all night!

We had a cocktail reception. We just chose the appetizers that sounded the best and went with those! It didn't end up being less expensive than a sit down dinner, but it was a lot more fun. Everyone was up all night mingling and talking. I didn't want people to feel as if they had to sit in one spot all night! One regret I do have, I wish we would have gotten more food. We didn't run out of food, but there were certain things that went really fast (like the fried green tomatoes with goat cheese)! But it was all really yummy!

The cakes we got from Sugar Plum Bakeries in Virginia Beach. We decided to do six of their signature cakes to save money. We spent $260 on cake including delivery. They were all so good too! Also, it is a non-profit organization that hires people with disabilities. They do a lot of really good things in the community so we wanted to support them!

*The Dances*

We did our first dance to "First Day of My Life" by Bright Eyes. The we combined to mother/son & father/daughter dance to "Let us Down Easy" by Ryan Adams and the Cardinals.

Then my husbands grandfather cut in...

A little while later, we did the toast and cake cutting. But first we had to bring out the fake mustaches. The best man said he wouldn't do his toast unless he was wearing a fake mustache!

Next we cut the cake. I told Matt before hand not to smash cake in my face. I'll just show you the pictures! (Watch the woman's face in the bottom left hand of the pictures)

He literally ran all the way around our venue

Since Matt ran away, his uncle stepped up to the plate!

I had to get him back, just a little!