...presentation of the bride...

I had contemplated using a handful of different pieces for my walk down the aisle.  Somehow none of them really seemed to fit.  But one day, I was driving to work, and it occurred to me that I could arrange the song I'd written for DG for the organist to play and it would be perfect. 

Funny story about that song.  Back when DG and I had first started dating and I was still living back in Missouri, I was at home alone one random Friday night and decided to sit down at the piano.  This song had kind of been floating around in my head for awhile but it hadn't completely come together.  By the time I got to the end of the chorus, I realized I'd written lyrics that I didn't really set out to write...thought about it...and decided they were true.  Needless to say, this song means a great deal to me.  This is how I discovered I'd fallen in love with DG...

This is Love

Stripped away is the mask that I'd been wearing

I'm exposed for exactly who I am

Still you see the beauty in all these flaws

Piece by piece, I am giving you all of me

And it feels like all I've ever dreamed of is one step away from truth

You're the hope that I'd been missing

I've realized I needed you

We are the two I wanted to be half of

My Love, this is love

Becoming more, like myself in every day

You inspire things in me I can't explain

By your side, I amount to so much more

You are mine, and believe me, I am yours

And it feels like all I've ever dreamed of is one step away from truth

You're the hope that I'd been missing

I've realized I needed you

We are the two I wanted to be half of

My Love, this is love

Anyone could hold me, anyone could say

I am beautiful in their eyes and look the other way

But you see something different

And knowing who I'll be

You push me

And it feels like all I've ever dreamed of is one step away from truth

You're the hope that I'd been missing

I've realized I needed you

We are the two I wanted to be half of

My Love, this is love

So unfortunately I don't have a recording to point to for how this song sounded as my dad escorted me down the aisle...but it felt exactly how I wanted it to, and despite the work it required, it was the perfect choice for us.  The photos that follow are some of my favorite.

DG's reaction as I walked in the door.

Dad and I make our grand entrance.

Trying not to cry.  Kind of wish I had really smiled rather than doing this weird grin sort of thing.

Opening prayer.

Being given away.

Time to get married.

Once again, thanks to Will at Will Knowles Weddings for these amazing photos.

..my lovely ladies..

My bridesmaids’ dresses were one of the few details I decided to brag about prior to the wedding.  (You can read about all the decisions leading up to this point here, here,  and here.) 

My girls were amazing and the whole time we were taking pictures, I really just couldn’t stop saying how hot they were!  I was so pleased with the way their dresses went together and helped to tie in everything else.  I could continue rambling…but I’ll let Will’s photos speak for themselves…

Ugh.  See?  Sooo hott.

And cute!!

 Most adorable flower girl ever. 

Seriously.  You wish she was your flower girl.

Pretty just like her mommy.

I might have wanted DG to let me keep her...

Bestest MOH. Ever.

My favorite Canadian.

DG's big sister/My former roomie.  LOVE her.

DG's little sister.  Love her too!

Sisters!  So maybe I just claim them as my own.  Sorry, DG.  They're mine now.

Five of my favorite people in the world.

Just goes to show you that sometimes thinking outside the box really pays off!  I thought my girls looked gorgeous!  And I don't think any of them paid more than $100 for thier dresses.  That strapless number was something like $30!!! 

...one-month-iversary and the dress...

I suppose it’s only fitting that on our one month anniversary I actually start writing about the wedding.  I know you all are anxious to see pictures, and I have been selfishly holding out on you.  Well, that stops today. J

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to showcase all of our hard work, and I’ve decided that I want to walk you through all of these little details step by step.  There are a whole lot of things I didn’t blog about prior to the wedding because all of our guests were invited to read along, and I didn’t really want to spoil the surprises.  So this is my chance to talk about all those little decisions along the way….and show you how we arrived at what we did.  We’ll do a budget recap later on, but right now, we’re estimating that we spent 25% of what this wedding would have cost us if we’d paid retail for everything.  And just one note regarding that giant savings:  WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITOUT THE CRAZY, UNMATCHED WORK AND SUPPORT BY OUR DEAR FRIENDS AND FAMILY.  Seriously people, we were amazed.  I cannot explain to you how blessed we are to have such amazing, willing and capable people around us.  We are so grateful.

Anyway, so where to start?  Where better than the dress…

Before I moved back to Nashville about a year ago, I had been living back home in Missouri.  We all knew that my engagement to DG was impending, and Mom and I wanted to have a chance to do a little shopping together.  So back in April of last year, right before I moved back, I got to have the pleasure of explaining to that nice commissioned consultant lady at David’s Bridal about how I wasn’t engaged yet but I was going to be, etc.  Her there-went-my-sale face was pretty great.  She humored us, but seemed more than annoyed.  (Guess that’s David’s Bridal for you.  I know, I know.  I sold out…but you can’t deny the affordability of their gowns.  Just sayin’.)

Anyway, we tried on a handful of dresses that day.  By the time we left, I was fairly convinced that when the time came around to actually purchase my dress, this would be the one I bought.  (Please ignore that very strange look on my face.)

At one point I had pictures of the other dresses I tried on, but that’s been some time ago and I really don’t know where they’d be now.

Moving on…later on in July, my mom came to visit for a weekend so we packed up my MOH and went shopping again.  This time, we stumbled upon my dress in the front of the store.  I was really drawn to it, so I decided to try it on in spite of the fact that I was pretty sure I wanted something done in mostly lace.  Boy was I wrong.  As soon as I tried her on (I use “tried her on” loosely here, as the largest size they had in the store was still four sizes too small…so really more like “held her up”), I knew she was made for me.  I also really loved the high collar in the back.  My mom’s wedding dress had a similar high collar and neckline when she and Dad got married back in 1980, so I particularly liked our dresses would have that in common.  I didn’t buy the dress that day, but waited until DG and I were later engaged and I could actually put the dress on and zip it up.  You know, details. 

Once my dress arrived, I was fortunate in that very few alterations were necessary….at least at the time.  I spent a little extra on the French bustle so as not to detract from all that pretty stuff happening there in the back.  About two weeks before the wedding I randomly decided to try it on again, and to my surprise, the top had become really loose.  Guess that hot yoga was working better than I’d thought.  I got stuck paying a rush fee to have it taken in with such little time to spare, but in the end, Coco out at the David’s in Cool Springs did a WONDERFUL job and it fit perfectly.

So!  To show off the dress that I absolutely loved, about which people are still giving compliments, here are some of my favorites from the solo shots Will did before the wedding.

All images courtesy of Will Knowles Weddings

Just a note…

I know that from this point forward that dress is just going to be occupying space in our little house, and I am not really all that sentimental about it, so I’ve decided to sell it to another budget conscious bride.  I would have loved to buy it used in the first place, but it was still a pretty new style when I first bought it.  If you happen to be interested, check out my listing on Recycled Bride.