A rundown of our awesome day - aka the longest post ever

It will be difficult to craft a post that does justice to the beautiful day we had on July 16. I'm sure I'll forget something!
Our save-the-dates and invitations were designed by Arippke on Etsy. I had them printed at A & K Printing in Mt. Vernon, Il.


The big day:
Daniel and I were married at the Garden Chapel in Greenfield, Ind., on July 16, 2011, at 3 p.m.

The chapel is a beautiful building with a high ceiling and stained glass. It is actually the original St. Michael's Church, where I attended church when I lived in Greenfield, and is more than 100 years old. The upstairs area, which was commandeered by my bridesmaids and me, had a lovely antique mirror and a tiny room with stained glass, where I admit I took a few deep breaths before the ceremony.
My bridesmaids and I carried purple and white stock flowers from Andree's Florist. My bouquet also had small orange spray roses. They smelled divine!
The ceremony was officiated by Brother Ira Scott from the Greenfield Church of God. During the ceremony, we did a wine box ceremony with a wine box made by my friend's wife, Vonderberry77. The box included love letters and a bottle of our favorite wine, Oliver Winery's muscat canelli.



My bridesmaids were three cousins and three friends; my maid of honor was my best friend. Dan's groomsmen were all friends.


My brothers were ushers, and my nieces were flower girls. They carried handmade baskets from Hilltop Baskets in Bluford, Il., and wore lavender gowns customized by my sister-in-law. My nephew was the ring bearer, but he had second thoughts at the last second and the show went on without him. He had just woken up and was so not into the idea!

The bridesmaids wore 'lapis' dresses from David's Bridal, which were actually a deep purple rather than a blue as suggested by the name. My bridesmaids also wore purple and silver multi-strand glass bead bracelets I made as their favors. The groomsmen and my groom wore coordinating tuxes from Men's Wearhouse.


I wore an ivory satin-and-tulle gown made by my mother from a 1959 Vogue design and spangled with swarovski crystals and glass pearls (by me). My mom actually broke a sewing machine on my dress, which I may never live down. My veil was made by me, from the same material my mom used on her wedding dress when she married my step dad. I edged the veil with glass beads, a trick I practiced on the veil I made for my dear friend Kasey's wedding. I wore a rhinestone bracelet from daniel12 and blue rhinestone earrings and a matching bracelet I borrowed from my maid of honor, Katie. I made my garter from leftover dress material and a violet heart-shaped Swarovski crystal.


Our reception was at the American Legion in Greenfield, Ind., where we decorated the head table with twinkle lights and purple and clear toasting glasses for the bridal party, bought secondhand. The reception was decorated with ficus trees borrowed from my aunt's church and fluffy white paper balls Dan's aunt and uncle sent us in a huge box of wedding decorations. We decorated the head table with twinkle lights my godmother had.


The centerpieces were clear glass bowls filled with sand and purple candles. The tables also had some mini candles one of my aunts brought from my cousin's wedding. My awesome cousin and bridesmaid Mattie made a flag quiz to keep people entertained - the Legion hall had all the state flags hung from the ceiling! The gift and cake tables were decorated with ivy garlands and white tulle. Everything at the reception was a collaborative effort from our wonderful friends and family, and I'm so incredibly thankful everyone offered their help.
As you know, the favors were tiny crocheted hearts made by me, which surrounded the bowls on the tables.


Our reception was DJ'ed by Jeromy Pierce. The beautiful, delicious wedding cakes were made by Willow Branch Bakery. We had a main cake with red velvet cake and butter cream icing, and a smaller groom's cake with lemon cake and raspberry filling. Daniel's grandmother also made a delicious (and huge!) carrot cake, and my cousin Colleen made a lovely and delicious strawberry cake.

For the father/daughter dance, my dad and I started out dancing to Butterfly Kisses, a song my dad found hilariously gag-worthy, and then we surprised most of the crowd by dancing an Irish jig. My grandmother was the youngest of 13 children, and her grandpa said he wanted to do a jig when she got married, so my dad paid homage to his memory and sense of humor.


Our breathtaking photos were taken by Adam Sturm, who runs his own business, Seegull Media, out of Indianapolis (though he has traveled all over the country for his work). Adam also does video and website design, so he is quite multi-talented!
The process of planning the wedding has had its stressful moments, but they were negligible compared to the love, caring and friendship Daniel and I were so blessed to receive from every angle. Our wedding weekend was the most wonderful time, and we will always look back on it with nothing but joy and happiness.