D & E Wedding Part II: The Ceremony

Today, I’m excited to be sharing Part II of Eric + I’s wedding – The Ceremony! If you missed the details from getting ready and our first look (probably our favorite moment from the whole day), you can read them here.

You also might notice the new ‘Wedding” tab up there in the header! If you’ve been a reader of the blog, you know the party planner in me absolutely LOVED working on our big day. We did it all ourselves, and learned so much. Thankfully, it was a huge success!

All that being said, I’m looking forward to sharing our journey, tips, and resources here in the coming months in hopes they could help someone else! So stay tuned – if you’ve got questions, I’d love to hear ’em!

Ok back to the wedding…

So it had started to rain just before the ceremony. E and I chatted with our team of vendors (artists is a more like it!), and decided to wait it out some before making the call to move everything inside.

After just a few minutes, the amazing happened. Suddenly the rain stopped, the sky cleared, and sun flooded the big ranch house we all stood in. Our Memory Lane (ML) coordinators gave the signal to wipe down the ceremony seating and ushered us down stairs to line up!

*****

{The Ceremony}

As E & I gathered downstairs with our parents, grandparents, and wedding party, we were smiling ear to ear. I feel like even though we all appeared calm, we were bouncing around on the inside.

It was really time!

Guests that had taken refuge from the rain in the reception hall made their way outside to the benches in the gorgeous ceremony area. Seriously *heart eyes/swoon/mouth drop* at this scene, right??

Giant oak trees sprawled above. At the end of the white stoned aisle, a wooden pagoda (seriously could never remember this was what it was called) stood on the platform where E and I would exchange I dos. It was graced with the dreamiest wine, blush, and ivory florals!

I also have to take a moment to show off these DIY wooden pieces E and I crafted for the ceremony. We opted to save the money instead of doing printed programs since we felt they often ended up getting tossed aside or left behind at other weddings we had attended.

Eric stained the wood, and I put my hand-lettering practice to work. I loved having these personal touches.

You also might notice the aisle liners we made. Phrases from the well-known 1 Corinthians excerpt are written on them. We love these verses and wanted to incorporate them in a unique way since they are often read during a ceremony.

Everyone was finally settled and the procession began.

Marry Me by Train played as our pastor, Eric, the groomsmen, parents, and grandparents made their way down the aisle.

Paying tribute to my fave Queen B, XO by Beyonce played after as the bridesmaids and our sweet flower girls followed. We actually used a cover by John Mayer that could not have fit more perfectly.

It was so surreal to listen to these songs play one after the other. After all the planning, to actually hear the tunes play had me full of anticipation and excitement.

I couldn’t fully see everything happening up ahead, but I knew with each note the minute I’d be walking towards E was coming closer.

We selected Kiss Me by Ed Sheeran for my walk down the aisle. The sweet lyrics about the feeling of falling in love just felt right.

As soon as it began playing, I remember my dad turned to me and said, “You ready?”

I took a deep breath as the biggest smile came over me. I was the most ready I had ever been.

We made our way through the rays of sun shining down upon everyone. A double rainbow had appeared through the trees. I was in awe with how fortunate we were to have the day turn out so beautifully.

Walking towards Eric was the best feeling ever. I quickly stole a few glances from family and friends, but before I knew it, we were at the top of the aisle. My dad placed my hand in Eric’s as they exchanged a few words.

While at UT Austin, E and I attended a non-denominational church called The Austin Stone. My faith has always been a priority for me, but I feel like in my four years attending Stone, I learned about and grew more in God than I could’ve ever imagined. Our time at Stone was a real life blessing.

We were lucky enough to get to know one pastor there well in the months leading up to the big day, even all the way from Chicago! Having him marry us and be a reminder of a special place made things all the more wonderful.

Grace and biblical marriage are two of my favorite things to learn about in the Bible. Our pastor spoke to both. His message also weaved in background on Eric and I as individuals, and as a couple.

Then came time for E and I to read the vows we each wrote. I loved, loved this part and would relive it over and over again.

We exchanged rings and finally our pastor pronounced us husband and wife. The whole thing was done in about 20 minutes! We knew we wanted a shorter ceremony, and it worked wonderfully since we had already shifted the timeline because of the rain.

E and I kissed for the first time as Mr. & Mrs. while Hall & Oates You Make My Dreams Come True began playing. I’m getting goose bumps as I write this just thinking about how blissful the whole atmosphere felt.

I thankfully did not forget to grab my bouquet from my sister before leaving the platform (whoops, good thing we have rehearsals, right?!).

We headed back to the ranch house to await the rest of the wedding party and immediate family. Once guests cleared the seating, we’d all head back out for photos under the pagoda.

Little did we know a special surprise waited for us inside the house…

E and I actually shared a pre-first dance, first dance with a mariachi band playing celebratory tunes! My dad had worked with the ML coordinators to sneak them in. This made out for a pretty unique moment I’ll never forget.

Afterwards, we made our way back outside. Guests enjoyed cocktail hour as we snapped family photos. We had queso, chips, and salsa as the appetizer because E and I love them so much. They practically make up one of our food groups.

And because Texas.

Saying “I do” to Eric was everything I could’ve ever imagined and more.

I had a husband now (*screams*). He was/is my favorite human in this big ol’ galaxy. Now let’s PARTY.

*****

You guys. Still cannot believe that sun came out and everything went off seamlessly. If you helped orchestrate this whole thing and happen to be reading this, know we love you!

Writing out our big day has been so much fun. Come back and check out Part III next week – I’ll be sharing some dreamy photos Feather & Twine snapped of the wedding party crew as the sun set.

Pssst, some have already been shared on Insta – follow along and get a sneak peak!