Wedding Recap {Ceremony}

When I wrote my blog post, 12 Steps to a Perfect Wedding, one of the steps is to "Make people glass cases of emotion." This, is still true. You don't want your wedding guests checking out after you walk down the aisle because they have already been to this wedding ceremony 5 times this summer. This is actually one of the reasons why The Mister and I decided to write our own vows. In my experience, Reverends/Priests/Officiants try to talk you out of writing your own vows. Mostly because they have seen many people flub what they are going to say. But, if you are adamant about writing them, stick with it. It's usually 30 seconds to a minute of your life and so worth it in the end. I will admit though - to this day I can not watch my wedding video. I hate (HATE) public speaking and although I can work a room like no other, talking in front of a bunch of people while I am the center of attention is not my cup of tea. Alas, I am sure in a few more years I will be able to watch it.

Which brings me to wedding tip #3 - Not to make anyone nervous and this should be a pretty obvious tip BUT, all eyes are on YOU during your wedding ceremony. Which also means all eyes (and pictures) are on your alter/the spot where the officiant is marrying you. With the being said, you need to make sure that this space is immaculate and picture perfect. Example - If there is wood paneling anywhere near where you are getting married/having your reception, RUN...run very far away and don't look back. After all, these are the prime pictures...this is what the day is about..YOU and your partner getting married.

^ You're doing it wrong...

Our chapel was perfect as it had a huge blank wall where we were getting married. When I was planning out the decor I made sure to Google other weddings that were in this location. As I was Googling (stalking) around I saw that couples had decorated the wall...BUT they also had the American flag/RI flag in the background of their pictures. If that's your cup of tea, forgive me when I say that you should never have flags (by accident) in the background of your wedding (and especially ceremony) pictures. That brings me to wedding tip #4 - Don't be afraid to ask any venue to move things that you don't want in your pictures. Not only that...but BE AWARE, visit your wedding location with judgmental eyes. Just to give you and idea - When we looked at the space for our reception they had Christmas lights on their outdoor deck left over from Christmas (it was February at this point) and I requested they remove them before our wedding in September (more on that later this week). Be ruthless...these are your pictures, this is YOUR wedding and you shouldn't take no for an answer. Anywhoo, sorry for the wall of words/rant, without further ado...here are some ceremony shots -

This was our program. On the back it had all the ceremony info/everyone in the bridal party's name. The handkerchiefs were make by my mom and embroidered. This one was of my favorite touches of the wedding. Remember, always make every little thing, a little thing.

#SoNervous

#Love - Canvases were ordered off of Etsy and gave the PERFECT touch to our ceremony. Not to mention they made our pictures timeless and chic. I can not even tell you how many complements we got from those canvases. 

#ReadyForADrank

All of our wedding guest were held up by our Reverend so we could get this picture. Moral of this story - Do whatever you.need.to.do. to capture that perfect shot.