Photos by Anton Drummond Photography
They are here! Well, actually, our wedding photos arrived weeks ago, but we have finally decided to share them out as we have been keeping them to ourselves.
Going through these photos brought back so many emotions. The laughs and tears come rising back up within me every time that I look at these photos. I’ve been slowing sharing some of the wedding photos in other posts in my wedding series, but these photos are the ones that I felt showed off every single moment that meant so much to us during our wedding day. And it only seemed appropriate to share them today since my husband and I will be leaving to our honeymoon in exactly two weeks! (We didn’t go on our honeymoon right away since, as a teacher, I don’t get many days off except for when summer arrives). We will be on our way to Punta Cana soon and I am so excited to go on my first out of country adventure with my husband. It is such a different experience to travel with another person rather than just heading to places by yourself.
Pete and I have been married for almost two months now. Time has been flying by and each day we grow together and learn so much more about each other. Before we were married, we knew plenty about each other, but something changes when you are married. There are just more things that you pay attention to and different conversations that you have with each other. People have been consistently asking us “How is married life?” and every time they ask, I feel that I have a different answer. Our lives are different but the same. But everything is amazing and so full of love. Even in our biggest arguments, there is love present.
I am so excited to share our wedding photos with you all. And be able to share details on the wedding day, our entire theme/aesthetic, and to give you some recommendations on our vendors. Make sure to read the other posts in the wedding series for tips on wedding planning and how to take the stress out of it. But, without further ado…here they are!
The inspiration behind our wedding was “royalty”. Not to sound conceited, but I’ve always considered myself a princess. As a daddy’s girl, I wanted for nothing and as a princess finally finding her prince, there was nothing better than having our theme be a royal wedding where we become the king and queen. Our colors were a deep, royal purple with a darker gray complimented tone and then we accented everything with gold. Both of us love the color purple. And many of our family and friends thought that our color palette was picked because of where we went to school. We love our alma mater, and honestly, if the area was convenient for both of our jobs, we probably would be considering moving there.
To go back a little, Pete and I were engaged for about a little over a year. It was a little complicated though. We picked out a ring and began planning about two years in advance before our chosen date. The idea was to plan ahead as many of the venues that I began contacting had booked up two years in advance. So as I was doing walkthroughs at venues, I didn’t have my ring on my finger. Pete was waiting to pop the question when I was no longer thinking about the ring at all. It wasn’t until Christmas of 2015 that he popped the question. Sometimes I look at the video of the engagement and laugh. My sister had started off this “activity” where we all were supposed to go around and tell everyone what we were thankful for. Of course, me being tired and exceptionally full, I didn’t want to do any activities and the first thing that I thought was “This isn’t Thanksgiving”. In the video, you can see the annoyance on my face. My sister went first, and then Pete went next and in about four seconds he dropped down to one knee and proposed. He told me afterwards that he had a whole speech, but in the moment he forgot and just went straight in for it. It was special and exactly what I wanted. My family is so important to me, so for him to ask me right in front of them was all that I ever could want.
Planning our wedding was slightly exhausting. Pete wasn’t too involved and I pulled my bridesmaids from time to time to help me with things. I picked ideas from Pinterest and ones that just came to mind when I thought of royalty. Some of those ideas were shot down by other people involved, because I was getting a little too into it. Apparently, tiaras aren’t appropriate for adults. And it would have been too much for me to wear a crown. My mother helped me a lot throughout the wedding planning. She was there for every appointment – from the flowers to the gown fittings and everything in between, she was there. She talked me off the ledge when I just was completely fed up with the wedding and wanted to cancel it all and just head off somewhere and have a secret wedding. Through this process we were able to get closer. I appreciated every moment and couldn’t have asked for anything better than what she gave me.
The night before our wedding, I was a bundle of nerves. I had gotten frustrated off a little things that other people were doing, but I mostly think that frustration came from the fact that I was taking a big leap in life. It was strange for me, but I had the support of my family and friends.
When we woke up the next morning, the day of our wedding, I was all sorts of panicked. My cousin was making mimosas with OneHope wine for everyone, and everyone kept saying how calm I looked and how they hope that they are as calm as me on their wedding day, but I was nothing but nerves. I just kept stuffing my face with the breakfast that was made by my sister and her friend and kept to myself.
Hair and makeup was done by Blended by Lenore and Lisa of LilyRose at the hotel – the Royal Worthington – and though we had a set-in-stone schedule. We ran about an hour late. But off we went to the church ready for me to promise my life to my husband.
I met my dad in the back hallway so that he could walk me down the aisle. I burst into tears seeing him. It was in that moment that I realized my dad had carried me as far as he could, and now it was time to hand over that care to another man. My dad gave me the biggest hug and walked me down the aisle, cracking jokes as he always does to ease my nerves and get me there. Guests were all seated at our church wedding in Berwyn with our DIY decor that looked so royal and set for the occasion.
My dad walked me up to my husband and within a few sweet moments of our ceremony, we were married!
The remainder of the day were filled with multiple toasts, laughs, hugs, tears, and some silly moments. But the reception was amazing – it was a party worth remembering by everyone.
It was the royal wedding of my dreams and now I am married to my king. And I know that we will live our fairytale and be in love forever within our happily ever after.
Photographer: Anton Drummond Photography // Ceremony Venue: Berwyn United Methodist // Reception Venue & Catering: The Empress Room – Paravati Catering // Wedding Cake: The Masters Baker // Ceremony + Reception Decor: DIY with Etsy + Michaels // Reception Stationary: Minted // Florals: Risher Van Horn // Hair: Lisa of LilyRose // Makeup: Blended by Lenore // Champagne: OneHope Wine // Maid of Honor Dress: David’s Bridal // Bridesmaids Dresses: David’s Bridal // Tuxes: Men’s Warehouse // Flower Girl Dresses: David’s Bridal // Ring Bearer Outfits: Men’s Warehouse // Rings: Zales // Bridal Accessories: Everly & Charming Charlie // Veil: David’s Bridal // Bride’s Shoes: Macy’s //Bride’s Dress: Pronovias from La Bella Moda
