Oh my… the flowers. The romantic, pretty, show stopping flowers from Exquisite Petals. It took me all of .5 seconds to fall in love with this wedding thanks to the flowers that set the tone for the most gorgeous soiree. With Forever Photography Studio behind the lens, it’s always going to be beautiful, but this wedding brought a whole new level of beauty to the world. Trust me. You NEED to visit the gallery.
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It was always nerve racking introducing a boyfriend to the family, but even more so with Blake because I wanted everyone to like him the way I did. Of course, he won them all over. Every holiday my mom will give all of her kids a little gift, usually something that each individual likes, mine would always be crafts. For Easter last year, Blake and I were visiting my family and when we got home from church, everyone was told to go throughout the house and search for their colored giant Easter egg. We all brought them back to the living room where we watched everyone open them. Naturally, my little brothers went first, then Blake. Everyone got a new bathing suit and I was so excited to see what mine looked like because my mom always buys the best!
When I opened the big egg, there was a smaller egg, and in that, an even smaller egg, and so on for 5 eggs. I was thinking this was some sort of joke, but when I opened up the last egg there was a ring in it. Not just any ring either, Blake and I had discovered this hand-crafted ring randomly on a trip to New Mexico when weather made us stay in Santa Fe for an extra night. I was more than completely shocked and just started crying tears of happiness. Then Blake walked over, got on one knee and told me how he had asked my parent’s permission and knew how much they meant to me and then he turned around and asked all four of my brothers for their permission too. Needless to say, it was the sweetest thing and still to this day I cannot believe that everyone was able to hide the surprise so well; no wonder my mom was making such a tiff about what I should wear to church!
I owe all of the inspiration and decorations to my mother, who had the most amazing ideas and was able to exceed my expectations. The two weeks that lead up to the wedding were filled with unexpected wintery weather that left us with no choice but to change venues five days before the wedding! There was high stress during this time, but we ended up having our ceremony and reception at Lakeway Resport and Spa which I would not change for the world! Julie at Lakeway Resort and Spa was a saving grace and was super patient and professional as we tweaked a few things and transformed our ideas into a new venue. I honestly think we were meant to have our wedding there the whole time.
We found what we called the “love poster” on the internet that was a poster of blue, pink, yellow, and gold with a beautiful vintage design with the word “love” in the middle. From this we built the style of the wedding. The bridesmaid’s dresses were a soft champagne color that would make the flowers pop. We took a high resolution picture of the “love poster” and made it the cover for our invitations, programs, and wish card tags. The flowers were absolutely gorgeous and I can never thank Beth Richards at Exquisite Petals enough for taking our previously planned romantic outdoor wedding into a dreamy floral display of love inside. She way exceeded our expectations!
Blake and I are dedicated to Christ and wanted to celebrate in all the joy of love and marriage blessings that He sustains us with. So to carry on that circle of love, we began our marriage ceremony with the “loving hands” of our families and the surprise of seeing each other at the alter. My father escorted me with love down the aisle, my little brothers also walked down the aisle with rings and message boards, my step-father anointed us with God’s promise of love as our officiant, and my mother stood by my side (as she always does) as my Matron of Honor. We had the joy of a song sang during our ceremony by JR Taylor, the same song that was played during my mom’s wedding ceremony. Our vows were sealed with a kiss that was unimaginable prior to that moment amid this romantic endless stage of flowers!
Photography: Forever Photography Studio / Floral Designer: Beth at Exquisite Petals / Event Designer + Planner: Lynn Oliver + Julie at Lakeway Resort and Spa / Venue: Lakeway Resort and Spa / Invitation Designer: Lynn Oliver, Mother of the Bride / Cake: Scott Calvert, The Cake Plate / Wedding Gown Designer: Wtoo / Bridesmaid’s Dress Designer: Jasmine Bridal