This wedding has it all: a seriously sweet (and totally in love) bride and groom, a breathtaking al fresco setting and a group of awesome friends and family that know a thing or two about crafting some sweet wedding details. I’m talking everything from fab paper goods to crazy cool signage to yummy s’mores favors (yes, please). See every perfect moment captured by We Heart Photography in the full gallery.
And an amazing film from Forrey Films… enjoy, lovelies.
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From The Bride…When I think of our love story, the words that come to my mind are courage, joy, faith, trust, sorrow, and faithfulness. Courage defines the beginning of our relationship and the courage Daniel and I had to take a risk on one another just 15 months ago. Joy defines the entire relationship of discovering our mutual passions, interests, and love of being together. Faith and trust came on the day when Daniel told me he would be leaving for a 7 month deployment to Afghanistan just five short months after we met. Faith and trust in the Lord and each other have sustained us through trials, separation, distance, and fear. Sorrow has come with separation and longing to be together. And faithfulness, the faithfulness of God has reigned true in our love story as we look back on our lives before we met, our meeting, dating, falling in love and marrying. We have seen God’s faithfulness to prepare us for each other and make us better together.
Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to get married outside. When I dreamt about my wedding, I would picture two things- getting married under oak trees and dancing under the stars and twinkle lights. Daniel and I love the outdoors and it seemed so “us” to get married outside, with mountains, blue skies, big trees, and gorgeous greenery. The first thing I did when I got engaged was call Jacob and Christin to see when they were available! I knew that I wanted them to photograph the day. I was lucky enough to mention to Christin that I wanted to get married outside in a rustic setting with mountains and a beautiful setting. Jacob and Christin suggested the Temecula Creek Inn and the moment my parents and I drove out there and saw the stone house venue, I knew it was perfect! A ceremony under a beautiful wooden arch with oak trees above? Perfect! A beautiful old stonehouse with outdoor reception? Perfect! A dance floor with twinkle lights? Perfect! And a sweet little bridge connecting the ceremony to the reception, perfect! I got to work with my amazing sister Hayley, who loves decorating, design, and pinterest, creating what she called a “country rustic chic” look. I loved growing up in california where natural beauty is everywhere and Daniel loved growing up in the south (Georgia). We combined our love for the outdoors with our love for anything country and added beauty, sweetness, and “pretty things” like lace, doilies, and the color pink! I wanted our guests to get to know Daniel and I and to have fun at our wedding. One of the best compliments I got after the wedding was that our wedding was so “us.” Wow, that is the best compliment ever!
One of the most important things to me was that all of the people we loved got to be involved. It was so special to me to have my aunt set up the cupcake table, one of my mom’s best friends did the flowers, my father officiated the wedding, good friends sang and played music, passed out programs, and coordinated the guest book. We hardly had any vendors at our wedding where we did not have a previous relationship with them. I loved that. The other thing I loved was how many of my friends and family were involved in our special details and DIY projects. My maid of honor Elise designed our programs and assembled them with me. Elise also hand wrote every name card. My matron of honor Lindsay created and made two burlaps banners, one that said “Just Married” and another that said ” Gifts”. My sister Hayley handwrote all of our chalkboards- the menu board, the instagram boards, the ringbearer sign, the cupcake signs, etc. Hayley also wrote every guests name on our window seating chart. Hayley was the designer of my centerpieces, as well and she came up with the polaroid guest book idea – a favorite of mine! My mom collected family wedding photos of my family and Daniel’s family and created a beautiful display inside the stone house. My mom also frayed and ironed all the burlap, made beautiful table runners, and painted the L & D signs. Daniel also got in on the action. Daniel built beautiful standing wooden signs. Daniel built them and then Elise painted them. Daniel also created a slideshow of our pictures growing up to be displayed in the stone house. My aunt Debbie set up the cupcake table and my grandmother (Mimi) and cousins (Marissa, Katie, and Amy) created and assembled my s’mores favors. My mom and I covered every mason jar with burlap and lace. Pretty much my entire wedding was DIY and I loved it that way! I had so much help to make my dreams a reality and it turned out amazing.
I had so many favorite moments. Praying with my bridesmaids before the ceremony, walking down the aisle with my dad, reading my vows to Daniel, the sword arch, my first dance with Daniel, my crazy choreographed father daughter dance with my dad, cutting our cake with a sword, and dancing the night away with people I love most were all so amazing. But I would have to say my favorite moment was when Daniel and I read our vows to one another. We wrote our own vows and neither of us are short on words! When we were reading them, I forgot an audience was there. I was simply telling my best friend, my love, the man of my dreams what he means to me, how thankful I am for him, and who I hope to be for him. I was promising my sweetheart my heart, mind, body, and soul and that was all that mattered. I loved that moment too because I felt the presence of God and experienced His love for me in a way I never had before. It felt like it was just me, Daniel and Jesus for that brief moment and it was quiet, sweet, beautiful, and holy and I loved it.
In the entire wedding planning process and the day of my advice is this: savor, choose joy, choose gratitude, take pictures, say “thank you,” have fun, laugh, say “I love you,” remember you are special, unique, enough, and worthy, and look into the eyes of the man you love and remember the best thing you are getting out of the whole process is at the end of your wedding day, you are the wife to that wonderful man standing into front of you and you get to spend forever with him.
Photography: We Heart Photography | Videography: Forrey Films | Coordinator: Dannah Christensen From Cafe I Do | Florist: All Things Beautiful | Cake: Sweet Layers Cakes | Entertainment: Special Event Entertainment | Wedding Venue: Temecula Creek Inn | Beauty: Something Blue Stylists