I am so excited to be sharing these pictures of our wedding ceremony. Every time I look through these pictures, I feel like I am looking at something incredibly sacred! We wrote or handpicked everything ourselves--our vows, our couples' blessing, the exchange of our rings, our hand ceremony, everything. Each part of the ceremony was incredibly special and meaningful to us! :) I will be posting our ceremony program, invitations, and all of our beautiful paper products, as well! I loved them all so so much--and I love the custom monogram our friend created for us!
Here are Rob's parents walking down the aisle. I LOVED the dress my mother-in-law chose to wear. She was so anxious about picking the right outfit, and probably ordered 10 dresses! She picked a huge winner though--she looked gorgeous!
Here is my sweet momma being escorted by my cousin, James. My mom is so cute! Her dress story is pretty cute, too! Aunt Kay (her sister) was shopping at Dillards several months before our wedding and found this dress for my mom! She brought it down for my first shower (in January) and not only did it fit perfectly, it went so well with everything for the wedding! I thought it was hilarious that my mom and mother-in-law had completely different shopping experiences when it came time for wedding dress shopping.
Here's one last shot of my cousin and our ring bearer, Eli. He is SO cute! I am so happy he was able to be in our wedding--isn't his suit the cutest? And his little cowlicks are just too much for me! So darling!
Two of my long-time friends and groomsmen, Ben and Josh are headed down the aisle to get the runner!
Here's my handsome groom heading into the sanctuary! I don't know why boys have to use the side aisle--they should get just as much glory and recognition as the girls do! :)
One of the things I love the most about Rob is the facial expressions he makes. You will always know how he feels! There are so many wedding pictures that I love simply because of the expression Rob has on his face. For example, look at this one! You can see all of the emotion and love Rob has in his eyes! I love that man. :)
Here's Rob's sister, Cindy! Her husband, Phil was best man--pictured above! Her son, Owen, was a groomsman, and their daughter Audrey was a flower girl. I am so blessed they all agreed to be in the wedding!
Here's my sweet friend, Alicia! She and I have only known each other for a couple of years, but we have an amazing friendship and bond! Alicia helps me out with a TON of youth stuff and has been my saving grace on more than a million occasions. She's a rockstar, for sure!
Here's my friend, Katie face! I was actually Katie's camp counselor (!!) but now we are also real life friends. Katie is SO gorgeous and spent the entire wedding day telling me how pretty I was. The perfect bridesmaid!
Here's my sweet name twin, Becky. She could not stop cracking up--I love the expressions on her face! Her brother was one of the groomsmen, and was also in charge of the aisle runner. They look so much alike--they could be twins!
Here's my cousin, Tara! Tara and I have been close for a long time, but we have grown so much closer since I have moved to Columbus. We now attend the same congregation and have participated in a bunch of Bible Studies together. She is SUCH a wonderful person and I am hoping her wedding will be the next wedding in our family! :)
Here is my sweet friend, Bird! We have been friends since middle school and I absolutely adore her. I performed her wedding last summer to the man of her dreams, Henk. They were married in South Africa! She and her husband are finishing up their fourth year teaching in Qatar, but are planning a big move to the US this August! I cannot wait to have her home--I have missed her too much!
Here is my amazing friend, Sarah! We have been friends/roommates/sorority sisters/travel buddies/just about anything you can think of! Sarah is the most loyal friend in the world--which is such a blessing in my life.
Here's my sweet friend, Paige! Paige is the third part of the Trinity of friends I have (Bird being the other third). We have been friends since middle school, but really started being as thick as thieves when I was in high school. We have seen each other through everything! She will be marrying the man of her dreams this August! Hurray! :)
Here's one of my other wonderful college friends, Mary Scott. MS and I were on the same hall freshman year, but I knew I wanted to be friends with her even before school started! I saw her at a FBLA State Conference and thought--that girl will be my friend! ha! I am so lucky to have her in my life! Just like with Sarah, we have been roommates, sorority sisters, traveling companions, and the list goes on! Mary Scott is a beautiful person and I am so honored she was able to take time out of her work schedule (she's a pediatric resident!) to be a bridesmaid!
And last but not least, my sweet sister! I love posting about Rachel on my blog! We have a million inside jokes and the list keeps getting longer. Rachel gave an incredibly touching toast at our reception and I couldn't help but shed some tears. (Even after I cried through the entire ceremony!) There is no one else in the whole entire world that could have been my Maid of Honor--she's the best!
Ok, I lied. One more picture of Eli. I'm sure you don't mind--he's adorable! He took his job SO seriously--I love it!
And an action shot of my two sweet flower girls! Amelia Kate is on the left and Audrey is on the right. Aren't they so precious? And check out their pretty headbands! They aren't related, but they looked so similar they could have been sisters!
I LOVE this picture! The doors are getting ready to open and I will be walking down the aisle in just a few seconds! I had a MILLION emotions and thoughts running through my mind--I hope my lip gloss is still on, please don't let me fall, I hope my breath doesn't stink, etc. But, they truly did evaporate when the doors were opened and I saw all of the people who were there to support and love Rob and I as we said our vows!
I felt this HUGE relief when I first saw Rob at the end of the aisle. The aisle was super long, so I tried to focus on all of the friends and family first--I was so happy to see them all!
Now--look at Rob's face! This is such a look of love and happiness. :) This very picture is going to be framed. :)
AH! This picture is of so much relief and happiness. We were finally together to say our vows and be married! I remember just overwhelming feelings of gratitude and love. Such a happy moment!
Isn't this an amazing shot of the sanctuary? This is definitely going to be in our wedding album--I just love it!
This is my sweet friend Jess who did our hand ceremony! Jess and I have known each other for a hundred years and I knew she had to be a part of our wedding day! She did a wonderful job and this part of the service was SO moving and unique. I will make sure to post the words here, as well!
This is a picture of Rob and I during the hand ceremony. Some of the words were, "these are the hands that will hold your babies, these are the hands that will comfort you" ah! I just lost it--it was so so sweet and perfect for our ceremony!
Right after the hand ceremony, two of our good friends sang "I Will Be Here" by Steven Curtis Chapman. I first heard the song when I was in college and I instantly earmarked it for my future wedding! The song also gave me a chance to pull myself together a little--as evidenced by the tissue! Our friends Emily and Jeff sang, while another friend Kara played. I loved incorporated friends and family into our wedding--such a wonderful way to personalize a wedding ceremony!
Exchanging our rings! Love this! Our rings mean the world to me, as I'm sure they do to many married folks! We had each of our bands engraved with our wedding date and a favorite saying on each of them. I always tell Rob he's "my favorite" and he always responds with "you're my only". It was an easy choice for our wedding bands! :) I also want to make sure I take the time to showcase our wonderful officiant, Stephen! I've also known Stephen for a hundred years and our parents were actually best friends growing up. Isn't that amazing? I loved having someone who knew me so well marry us! Stephen's also young (which I love!) and was pretty open to doing anything we wanted in the ceremony. He is an incredibly special person in my life!
This is the last part of our ceremony, my aunt, Kathy, said a prayer of blessing over our marriage. I said a prayer at my friend Bird's wedding and I knew I wanted one in my own wedding. Aunt Kathy had never heard one before--or obviously done one!--but she was such a champ and pulled through. The words were incredibly powerful and meaningful and absolutely the right way to end our ceremony!
You may now kiss the bride!!
We are married!! I love this picture of us--we were both just in complete shock that we were married now! We laughed the whole way up the aisle together!
Super sweet picture--Rob's reaching out to touch his mom's hand. I love love love this man. :)
I know I've said it a million times, but my husband makes the best expressions. He's looking at me just the way every bride deserves!
One last shot of the train and veil in all its glory! :)
Oh and another sweet kiss! :)
I hope you've enjoyed the pictures from our ceremony! I've loved typing this post--it's such a great way to remember the moments! :)
Beautiful pictures!! Your photographer did a great job capturing the whole ceremony from beginning to end! I loved your choice of bridesmaid dresses too! Is Amelia Kate your cousin Katie's little girl? I couldn't tell she had her head down. Still a small world knowing that's your cousin and I read both blogs!
Posted by: Mallory Thompson | 05/25/2011 at 05:50 AM
I love how many ceremony shots you got - and they're all good!! You are going to have an awesome album at the end of this process!
Posted by: Katie | 05/25/2011 at 06:42 AM
Love your veil!! I also love your smile in the picture right after you got married!
Posted by: Stephanie | 05/25/2011 at 10:53 AM