Wedding Wednesday - My Wedding Part 1

All images by Kelly Sweet Photography 

We finally got our wedding photos back and I luuuuuv them! Our photographer was Kelly Sweet and she was incredible. I want to post all of them, but there are over one thousand photos, so I'll just stick to two posts - one of getting ready and ceremony and the second of the reception and all the details (many were DIY, I'll be posting tutorials later as well!).

The photographer was a huge decision for Kacey and me. We knew that we wanted someone who would shoot all the little details of the day that we worked so hard on, but also capture the real moments of the wedding itself and the people involved. Kelly came all the way over from Michigan and was absolutely phenomenal. The entire day flew by, but every time I look at these pictures I remember what a perfect day it was (and then I start freaking out, this is my wedding?? These beautiful shots are my wedding??) It turned out more beautiful than I could have imagined, and it was all thanks to my family, my new in-laws, and my friends who helped do so much of the work to make everything perfect.

My mom helping me get ready

The girls got ready at my parents' house, while the guys got ready at the hotel. Kacey and I went back and forth on whether or not to see each other before the ceremony, but ultimately we decided to do a first look so we could do all the family photos before the ceremony. It was definitely the right decision, and we wouldn't have been able to fit it all in between the ceremony and reception. We were married at the church we went to in college. It's this beautiful old stone church that was built in the 1800s, and there really isn't much else like it around where we are. I always told myself in college that if I ever got married, it would take place there. And it did! 

My dad and I, waiting to walk down the aisle

We got married at the church we went to in college

We were married by a close friend of Kacey's family

Immediately after the ceremony :-)

The weather that day was crazy. It was raining in the morning, became sunny, hot, and incredibly humid, started downpouring right before the reception, and ended up as practically a hurricane by the time we left at midnight. Even so, we ended up with some great pictures!

A few notes: My wedding dress was Robert Bullock and I am absolutely in love with it. This was the dress I compared every other dress to and it took forever to find. The veil was my mom's and I was so honored that she let me hack it up and wear it. I really wanted a long veil with lace edging, but the pricing at the bridal shops was ridiculous - $300+ for a piece of tulle and some lace?! No thank you.  I was getting ready to take the plunge and try to make my own, when my mom stepped in and offered her veil. The main layer was exactly what I wanted, long and had a lace edge. She graciously let me detach the layer from the blusher and awesome 70s headpiece and sew it onto a comb. It was the absolute perfect finishing touch. I have so many more things to say about that day, but this is already getting long.

Stay tuned for Part 2 next week!

Dress: Robert Bullock
Shoes: Rampage via DSW
Necklace: Bloomingdales
Bracelet: JCrew
Hair: Impressions Salon in Mequon 
Flowers: The Flower Lady in Wauwatosa 
Church: St. John's Ev. Lutheran Church