It seems pretty ridiculous to even try and explain how incredible our wedding was. It seriously was a dream... way better than I could have ever imagined it to be! I loved every single minute of it, and try to convince Zach of having more weddings with me because it was so much fun. ;)
l o c a t i o n :
We got married on May 9, 2014 on Kiawah Island in South Carolina. Being born and raised in SC and also having such a passion for the beach, I knew Charleston would be the perfect place for our wedding. Seeing as we live in NYC, it was a bit difficult to plan our wedding in a different city than we lived in, but my sister and brother-in-law live in the area and were able to help us a ton. Our ceremony was on the beach at sunset, and the reception was inside of a community center called, The Sandcastle.
d r e s s :
I found my dress on pinterest...yes, I know. Ridiculous. I didn't buy it right away because I thought that would be insane (as I am sure you are thinking as well). With modeling, I have worked for many bridal companies and have tried on several wedding dresses but never have actually "fell in love" with a dress. I am not the type of girl who wants a poofy dress, or anything over the top. I wanted something pretty casual, but still elegant, and with a low back. Who doesn't love a low back? After going to a couple bridal boutiques in NYC, I found myself still dreaming over the dress that I saw on pinterest. So I did some searching to find out where it even came from, and realized it was from a company called Grace Loves Lace located in Australia. I thought, "Great. So I will be ordering my wedding dress online AND from across the world. Brilliant idea." But I did it anyways- and I am SO happy I did! To this day, I still try and think of what in the world I could wear my wedding dress to again, haha. It was the perfect dress and the perfect fit for me!
g u e s t s :
Zach and I have a lot of close friends and family, so deciding on our guest list was by far the hardest part of wedding planning. Our reception venue only allowed for 150 people, and we were able to fill that number up pretty quickly. Even though we were getting married away from NYC, we had a lot of friends that we wanted to come. We ended up renting a house for them for a few days so that our guests could make a vacation out of the trip! It ended up being so much fun. We rented from VRBO, and they were awesome to work with!
b r i d a l p a r t y :
We had such a fun bridal party! I had 6 bridesmaids; my 2 sisters, Zach's 2 sisters, and my 2 best friends. And Zach had 6 groomsmen as well. We had 5 flower girls because I couldn't choose and I just love them all so, so much! Most of them were my little cousins, but one of them was a girl Zach teaches piano lessons to. They were all precious!!
f i r s t l o o k :
On the day of the wedding, we did a first look shoot before the ceremony. We knew it would be an emotional day, and thought that would be a good way to get some emotion out, as well as allow us to have some time to get some great photos during the day instead of waiting for after the ceremony at sunset. This was probably my favorite part of the day (although FYI- I do find myself saying this about almost every part). But seriously, I met Zach down a long narrow path with a lot of trees around, and he waited for me with his back to me until I tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around, he lost it. It was beautiful in ever way. Also, I may or may not be crying just thinking about it. Then we drove around with our photographers and my sister and brother-in-law to get some great shots before meeting with the bridal party.
c e r e m o n y :
Our ceremony was only about 15-20 minutes. We didn't want it to be too long and drawn out. We were basically ready for the party. We had some of our friends sing and play the acoustic, and they were incredible. Our friend and pastor, Blaze Robertson, did our wedding. Him and his wife, Desiree, were and still are a huge part of our life. They also did our marriage counseling before we got married. They are such an amazing couple who we look up to and respect in so many ways. They are pastors at our church where we are heavily involved, HillsongNYC. Instead of having a unity candle, we did a painting. I had pink paint and Zach had blue, and together we painted together and made purple. It was pretty cool, even thought the picture turned out pretty ridiculously looking, haha. Zach and I wrote our vows to one another and read them over a microphone to each other so everyone could hear us. That was really special to me. Even though we did not share our vows with each other before hand, they were pretty similar in several ways. For example, we both talked about promising lots of adventure and chocolate in our marriage. All of the important things, of course. We ended with praying with our immediate family, which is a moment I will never forget. It was truly beautiful. Oh, and then the kiss of course, which was too dreamy for words.
r e c e p t i o n :
Our reception was full of amazing food and dancing. It was so much fun! We had the best man, Zach's brother Caleb, and the matron of honor, my sister Shannon, make speeches. They were both so great and had us all crying and laughing at the same time. Our first dance was another one of my favorite things (see what I mean?). Zach had previously asked me if he could handle the music for our first dance as a surprise. I said sure, wondering what song he was going to pick because we never really said that anything was "our song," But I trusted him because he is a musician and I knew he would pick something great. But it was so much more than that- he actually WROTE and PRODUCED our first dance song!!!! Yes, I know. He is ridiculous. I was crying like a baby. It was the most beautiful song I had ever heard. I was blown away! He honestly never ceases to amaze me. Speaking of amazing me, when it was time to cut the cake, we had a massive cake fight with each other. I blame him for starting it, but if there had to be a winner I would have to say that I won...I don't know why but I just like to think of it that way. It was so funny, but then my sister had to help clean me off in the bathroom and get all the cake that she could off of my face and out of my hair. Yummy. We danced, and danced, and danced some more, and then got out of there to have some...fun. We stayed at The Sanctuary, thanks to my sister and brother-in-law, once again, and it was spectacular in every way!!
Anyways, like I may have mentioned, it was BY FAR the. greatest. day. of. my. life. I thank God everyday for Zach and for somehow bringing us together in such a miraculous way that only God can do!
Thanks for letting me revisit this dreamy day!
Xo- T
(See wedding gallery for more photos and watch our video from Favoron Productions HERE.)
