Exactly one year ago today, my husband and I were in Waco, Texas saying "I do." It was seriously the best day of my entire life, and I wanted to take a little time today reminiscing (because I am nostalgic and cheesy). 
When planning our wedding, one of the most important things to me was heritage. At first I remember feeling a little scared - starting something completely new. Holding onto important pieces of my past gave me strength in building something for myself and my husband's future.
When walking down the aisle, it was important to bring something from the women who went before me. My pearl necklace was worn by my mother on her wedding day, and my pearl earrings were worn by my mother-in-law. I carried my grandmother's Bible (which she also carried down the aisle on her wedding day), which was secured with a vintage pearl Kappa Alpha Theta sorority pin, which my mother, younger sister, and I were all members of. The sixpence in my shoe was also worn by my mother when she married my father. My bouquet was made of a single gardenia attached to my grandmother's Bible.
Our wedding ceremony took place at Armstrong Browning Library in Waco, Texas. This beautiful building is filled with stained glass, and the archway that we were married under is inscribed with the timeless Sonnet 43 of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." Words and language are such a beautiful way to express love, and we wanted to incorporate that into our wedding. My younger sister, Shailee, was my maid of honor and during our ceremony she read 1 Corinthians 13. This verse is special because of the love it promises, and is also something that she and I made a commitment to memorizing while we were in college. Our accompanist also sang "Amazing Grace," as the perfect end to an incredibly beautiful ceremony.
Nothing beats that "Just Married" feeling!
After some quick photos with our wedding party and family, we were off to the reception.
The cake table was beyond gorgeous! When planning for our wedding, it was important to us to keep the reception relaxed, fun, and something that could be enjoyed by everyone. We held our reception at the Dr Pepper Museum in Waco, Texas and had a local barbecue restaurant, Vitek's bring their food truck out to serve everyone their famous "Gut Pack." We didn't have a DJ (neither of us really enjoy dancing, and prefer to chat with guests). Instead, we made a playlist of our favorite songs and had it softly in the background.
I was also really excited to have the opportunity to monogram as many things as humanly possible. From the cake to koozies I was so excited to have a custom touch on our wedding decor.
Our wedding day was the most magical, most fun, most special day of my life. I am so incredibly thankful for my family and my husband for the hours of work, help, counseling, and support that they gave me while planning for the "big day." If I had it to do over again - I would do it the exact same way.
For brides out there planning their own wedding - cherish these moments. Being engaged is such a beautiful time in a young woman's life. In lots of ways, planning a wedding is like dreaming up the perfect future life for you and your spouse. For me, it was important for that future life to include pieces of my family, including the generations that came before me. It was important to keep God at the center of all things, and made sure that His word was prominent in our ceremony. It was important to make sure that there was plenty of Dr Pepper and cake to spare. Start with what is most important to you, and the perfect wedding will flow.
In keeping with the tradition of eating a piece of your wedding cake on your first anniversary, we just pulled our wedding cake topper out of the freezer. Wish us luck!
Sparkle on!
