What A Week. Part II: The Day Of

Saturday morning, the day of the wedding was a beautiful, sunny day. It was chilly but not overly so, and the ground that had been rained on all the previous day had dried up so fast that I barely had time to stress about whether or not we’d be able to have the ceremony outside. after breakfast, we put up the decorations, a memory table of our loved ones who are no longer with us, and a cigar bar. I had promised myself that, leading up to the wedding, I would not stress about any small stuff. If something didn’t look like I had envisioned in my head, or if some unforeseen issue arose, I refused to stress about it, and I think that helped me stay calm most of the day. We had a very simple vision for the decorations. The house is already beautiful enough, so the plan was simply to accent the beauty with green and white drapes, white roses, and hydrangeas. Simple and timeless was the goal and I was truly blown away by how beautifully it all came together that day.

I was able to get my hair and makeup done in solitude, which was what I had wanted on that day. I had time to myself to soak in what was happening without distractions. I love my friends and I love surrounding myself with people I love but on this day I wanted time to process and soak in everything going on around me. It gave me the opportunity to really turn this day into a core memory.

Once I finished hair and makeup, I went back to the house where I met with a couple of vendors who had arrived already and were setting up. After that I actually had some time to kill, so I made my way up to what I kept calling Thomas Street – where most of our T Street fam was staying – but were actually called the Riverview Suites since they have a view of the river (duh). For those who don’t know, Matthew works at Thomas Street Tavern in Charlotte. They are like his second family, so by default they have become my second family. They are some of the best people I’ve ever known, and I love them with all my heart. I had just enough time for hugs and a shot of tequila when another vendor arrived and I needed to meet with them. Once I’d done that, I took another solo moment to sit in the chairs they had set up for our guests. Again just taking in the view of this vision we had created that would be buzzing with excitement in just a few hours time.

At 3:30 I went up to our suite to start getting ready. My sister, mom, and aunt were all there getting ready and making sure I had what I needed. My wonderful aunt Carla buttoned every single button on the back of my dress in record time because as soon as I’d stepped into it, Father Curley, my favorite Catholic priest who I still have coffee with regularly, knocked on the door to give me a blessing. He waited patiently outside while aunt Carla’s fingers worked fast and furiously to get me strapped in. I then had a few close members of my family and Matt’s to my room for a champagne toast. It was a sweet moment I’ll never forget.

After everyone left my room to go to their seats, it was just me and my mom left while we waited for people to get seated. My room opened up to the courtyard where we were hosting the ceremony. When the time came I walked across the balcony from my room, descended the iron staircase to the brick walkway where my mom was waiting and we walked down the aisle hand-in-hand to meet Matt, his brother who was standing up there with him, and the officiant for the ceremony.

After the ceremony, the real party began. We ate, drank, chatted, and danced our little hearts out for hours. And when the reception was over, we kept the party going at Cedar Grove’s in-house bar. We bought out the entire property that weekend, so we didn’t have to worry about keeping any strangers awake, just our own guests, who were warned ahead of time and knew what they were signing up for when booking their rooms. Our T Street fam are expert-level partiers and I’m happy to say I was able to keep up and was one of 3 people left when we finally went to bed around 4am (Matthew went down around 2, which is a rare occurrence for him. Sweet baby was tired!).

We spent months planning and imagining how it would look, and I was blown away at how well everything came together. The forest green with gold accents aligned perfectly with the decor at CG. Our vision truly came to life that day.

We worked closely with Kendra Reed, one of the owners of Cedar Grove, to plan every detail, and let me tell you: I can’t recommend her enough. She is such a pro and it’s clear that she cares for that house. A fun fact about me: Cedar Grove was my very first job when I was in high school, so I have a personal interest in that house. It has a rich history and deserves to be loved and appreciated. I’m happy to see it so well cared for and preserved.

The flowers were designed by Helen’s Florist, who did amazing work. Rusty’s did the catering, which was so good. Hannah Bonelli of HannMade Cakes did the bride and groom cakes. Matt’s cake was a whiskey barrel and was a huge hit. The DJ was Dailon Huskey, host of The Early Show on K-Hits 104.5 in Vicksburg. He was so cool and super easy to work with. The photographer was Karlton Jenkins of RIPPZ Media, and I just want to be clear when I say he was amazing. He was everywhere I needed him to be and then some. He is such a professional in every way and worked with me to bring my vision to life. His work is absolutely S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G and I am in love with our pictures.

Honestly, I can’t get over how beautiful everything was, how much fun everyone had, and how perfect the entire day was from start to finish. It went by fast, but I did everything in my power to soak it all in. I didn’t let a single moment get away from me. I was present and aware and just so grateful to all the people there and the time and effort they put in to being there with us. It truly was the best day of my life. I will remember it and that feeling forever.