Steve + Laura // Wedding Story Part II

Continuing on with our wedding story...

After the ceremony was finished, Steve and I ran out into the crowd of friends and family standing outside of the church with bubbles in hand. Because of the rain, we darted through the narrow opening of people for a quick photo-opp, and then headed back into the church for family portraits. Once we finished up at the church, we jumped on the Muskegon Trolley with our beloved bridal party to enjoy some drinks and take more pictures. We made stops at Heritage Landing on Muskegon Lake, Monet Garden, and then made an ice cream stop at Pinchtown Market at Fricano's (to get some dry, indoor photos). We were a mess from the rain!

All photos are by Trisha Marie Photography.

After our ride around town on the trolley we made our way back toward Fruitport Golf Club for the reception, where our guests were already enjoying cocktail hour.

We made our grand entrance shortly after arriving. Needless to say, things got a bit weird... but if you know my family, that's no surprise. Just take a look.

 

Finally it was time for dinner to be served, and it felt like the biggest relief of my life to finally sit down with all our loved ones. It's crazy, with all the planning and preparation for this night, you'd assume that the bride and groom would be shoveling food into their mouths. Steve and I were so overwhelmed with love that we didn't even have much of an appetite. And thank goodness too, because people were clinking glasses every 4 minutes. Since we knew this was going to happen, we decided to shake things up a bit and make it fun for everyone. We gave the DJ a bowl full of names of all the couples at our wedding so that whenever glasses were clinking, the DJ would draw a couple out of the bowl and they'd have to kiss in front of everyone first. Then Steve and I followed suit. It worked perfectly.

Ok, enough of that nonsense. ;]
After dinner ended, the toasts started. I was anxious for this part of the evening all day long, because I knew I wouldn't be able to keep my composure. First up was my dad, and the waterworks definitely started with the first few words uttered out of his mouth.

Following my dad were Steve's two Best Men, Leo and Padraic. Then my Matrons of Honor, Stacey and Miranda, were after them. More tears were shed throughout all of them. My sister also had all of the other sisters in the room do the pinky promise with their sister. We locked pinkies and recited "Sisters forever, friends for life."

Then it was time to cut the cake and get the dancing started! Our gorgeous cake was made by my cousin's girlfriend, Tina, and we were so insanely happy with how it turned out. It was also the most delicious cake I've ever tasted- almond with butter cream.

Steve also surprised me with a song later in the night.

Best. Day. Ever.

xoxo,
Laura

Steve + Laura // Wedding Story Part I

It has officially been 3 months since my wedding day, so I thought it was finally time to share a bit of our wedding story on the blog. All photos were taken by Trisha Marie Photography and her assistant.

After Steve and I parted ways following our rehearsal dinner, I went to my parent's house in hopes to get a decent night of sleep. I was pleasantly surprised when I woke up feeling refreshed, energetic, and more calm than I'd been all year. After the long-distance Skype calls, traveling back and forth from Michigan to Canada, the gigs every weekend, and planning our special day without seeing much of each other, the day had finally come where I'd get to marry the man of my dreams. 

The morning started at The Creative Edge Salon where my bridesmaids, flower girl, mothers, and I had our hair and makeup done. We sipped on mimosas and relaxed before the ceremony. Our longtime family friend, Lindsay, has been my hairstylist for several years and she's always a master at wedding up-dos. Her and her coworkers did a marvelous job making my bridal party look beautiful.

From the salon, we headed to the church. The ceremony was at 3pm, so we had some time to just kick back, eat some snacks, and exchange our wedding gifts. Steve and I decided against doing a "first look" because we wanted to keep things traditional. He didn't want to see me until the moment I walked down the aisle with my dad. 

Dress- Morilee by Madeline Gardner

And then it was time for the ceremony to begin. My dad met me in the classroom where us girls had been, but they had already set out toward the church. I stood there waiting for him to show up to walk me over, and the second he stepped into the doorway, we both lost it. Everything was suddenly feeling surreal from that moment. My daddy was just minutes away from giving me away to my husband.

It started raining at the exact moment our ceremony had started. Regardless of weather,  it was everything we had dreamed of and more. Steve and I forwent the traditional unity candle and planted a tree instead. It was definitely more fitting for us. At the very moment we watered our tree, the rain hammered down on the roof of the church and everything felt symbolic and magical.

And just like that, we were man and wife. I'll never forget the feeling that took over me when we finally made it to the back of the church and we could take a deep breath, kiss each other, and say "I love you" in private.
Then the rest of the day was smooth sailing.

Stay tuned for Part II, which will include post-ceremony, the reception, and more.

xoxo,
Laura