Hello, Friends!
Long time no chat. 😉 I’m so excited to be back after a long, much-needed break while I focused on our wedding and all the craziness that last year was. If you are reading this, thank you for sticking with me while I took time off! I’m glad to be up and running again- let me know in the comments or on Instagram what questions you want answered (about the wedding, Atlanta, or life!) and what you want to read about next year!
Let’s Catch Up
Life lately has been a season of change. It’s wild thinking that this time last year, I was about to head off to Christmas for the final Christmas with my family, feeling like the last moments of what was left of my childhood were ending. I remember thinking, wow- this is really it, wondering what it would be like, and honestly a little scared, at all the change about to happen. And now, I’m sitting here writing in our new house that has had a complete makeover this past year, next to my husband as he addresses our Christmas cards with our wedding pictures on them, wondering what I was so afraid of. Finally, sitting down and getting back to blogging before we close out the year and off to celebrate Christmas, I feel like I’ve crossed the finish line and can finally breathe again.
It’s been a wonderful year- but to be honest also an exhausting, excruciating, occasionally heartbreaking, and overwhelming) year that has made me so grateful. Like every year, there were some personally tough moments (like some loss this year in my personal life, a loved one that didn’t get to attend the wedding, and a few very stressful months at work), but this year taught me so much. There’s something about a wedding that forces you to define your relationships and evaluate your life in a very specific, real way. It’s hard to describe until you really do it, but when you see who shows up for you, it’s incredible (and sometimes a little sad when you realize who doesn’t). But thinking about our day, all I can think is how lucky I am. And seeing how many incredible people were there to support us on our special day was one of the best feelings in my life. I can’t even describe the outpouring of love from the people that traveled to see us to share in our celebration (including three very dear loved ones that came all the way from Australia <3!).
Wedding Preview
Okay. The wedding. Y’all. What a magical day– it’s a little tough to process that something that took a year and a half to plan (at the expense of my hobbies, like blogging) was over in twelve hours, but I have to admit that it was the best twelve hours ever.
And honestly, it was not at all what I expected. The things that I expected to go wrong, didn’t- the weather was perfect, the trolley in an accident was magically repaired in time for the big day…meanwhile, the smallest, most unpredictable details went awry. Like everyone warns you, there were some things that went wrong- my hair was done in the completely wrong hairstyle, our mantles were a little messed up with their decor, my veil caught on the brick and almost ripped out of my head during our run through of bubbles after the service, and *cue drumroll* I completely clocked Ryan in the first dance that we went to private lessons for weeks to practice (it was actually kind of funny).
A City Wedding
Mishaps aside…I’m so excited to share all of the details of our big day with y’all! In case you’re new here or want a refresh, we went completely Atlanta-themed for our wedding. Half our guests were traveling from out of town for our wedding, so we held the entire weekend in Midtown to make everything super accessible in case people didn’t have a car. We had all of our wedding events on Peachtree Street- and called the wedding “Wedding on Peachtree Street”! (Our website URL was weddingonpeachtreestreet.com which I just though was the cutest thing ever). It was a very classic wedding- Black Tie, church ceremony, with English garden style flowers and southern fare for dinner…and even a band that featured only Frank Sinatra style-music (thank you to famous Atlanta band The Bourbon Brothers!).
I wanted a Gone with the Wind-meets Audrey Hepburn in a Roman Holiday themed wedding (very specific, I know… you can view my vision board here) and I in my very modest opinion, I think our day came together perfectly. I descended down a spiral staircase in a huge ball gown, danced to The Way You Look Tonight and sipped dirty martinis. It was perfect!
Our Welcome Drinks
Our welcome drinks were at Pour, Midtown (thank you, Pour team from the bottom of my heart for the BEST welcome party!). We invited our guests to come party with us on their third floor after our rehearsal dinner at Ray’s in the City and had the absolute best time. To anyone getting married soon, don’t hesitate on hosting the welcome drinks. It was all the fun of the wedding without the pressure, and I still was able to be tucked in bed by 11PM to get a full night’s rest before the big day. Pour was the most incredible location, too- everyone that had visited Atlanta for the weekend couldn’t stop talking about what a fun venue it was. Plus, the team surprised us with a slideshow of photos from me and Ryan that they grabbed from my Instagram, tables set up with our welcome bags, had our welcome sign displayed, and even had a DJ for us! It was perfect- we got to greet all our guests and start our weekend in the absolute best way.
Our Ceremony and Reception
We had our wedding ceremony at our church in Midtown, which was so meaningful as Ryan and I met at our church and have been working so hard to build a life here in Atlanta. Having our ceremony at our new place of worship with our new pastor was so unbelievably special. I picked all the hymns myself (I’ve been singing in the choir since I was five years old) and even chose a hymn that I’ve loved since that age. It was so special, and hearing all our loved ones share in the music was one of my highlights of the day.
For our transpiration from the ceremony to the reception, we hired two trolleys to drive the few blocks up and down Peachtree Street- it was such a cute detail and I loved how it added to the theme. When guests arrived at our reception, they were greeted with attendants lined up serving champagne on gold trays at the Wimbish House, a historic mansion right on Peachtree Street. It is also the site of the Atlanta women’s club, which was so special to me as a blogger that supports women and I loved that it is a nonprofit. They have a beautiful ballroom- totally classic (and featured in tons of shows and movies!). It was the perfect venue- we had the cocktails and appetizers upstairs, and then opened up the ballroom for dinner after our big entrance after cocktail hour (cue staircase grand entrance). Our pianist from the Bourbon Brothers even played Moon River for the moment…I think it was magical? I just remember freaking out that we were about to do our first dance after, haha.
Our Wedding Vendors – A Complete List
In case you are interested, here is a complete list of the vendors that we used for the wedding! The below are all local (and mostly female-owned) businesses in Atlanta that did a phenomenal job…We can’t thank them enough for such a special day!
- Photography/ Videography: @mintforeverphotography
- Face & skin: @kathrynseeger_np @skin_pharm
- Hair & makeup: @makemeupga
- Dress: @larainesboutique
- Band: @thebourbonbrothersband
- Venue: @the_wimbish_house
- Flowers: @carithersflowersatlanta
- Catering: @thegrandgourmet
- Trolley: @peachtreetrolleyco
I’ll share more in blog posts in the new year and would love to answer any questions y’all have- keep them coming! In the meantime, enjoy these sneak peeks from our big day from our incredible photographer April Baker!
