the photo that started it all...

so fridays are dedicated to real weddings and/or tutorials or some sort.  I didn't have a new submission for weddings this week (SEND SOME IN, LADIES!!!) and I didn't finish my tutorial, so thought I'd share a bit from my own wedding.  the photo that started this whole business (above) was taken that day and it was the best day of my life outside of the day beckett joined our family. hope you enjoy! 

my dad found all the wood and handmade the signs that were placed throughout the grounds.

I loved my bouquet. my florist rocked.

they didn't realize their hands and feet would become almost famous. :)

we incorporated a wine/letter ritual during the ceremony.  changing it up a bit from traditional wine ceremonies (that I researched ad nauseum), we each placed a letter in and then as our parents came up the aisle, they placed one in as well.  I hope we make it to our 25th anniversary before opening the box. the wine may be spoiled by then, but the letters; they're priceless.

if you were wondering about my choice of shoes : I went with rainbows. it was a good decision.

our friend kevin's signature wedding move. he goes backwards too!

our wedding was a lot of fun. hence all the dancing photos (and I'm not even a dancer!!!)

matt & reagan were awesome enough to follow us over to FSU (where I went to college) after the reception ended and take a photo of us all in front of westcott fountain. it's one of my favorites from the day and I have it blown up on a canvas in our house. makes me smile every time I walk by. :)

and one last thing just for fun. if you're on the fence about getting a photobooth/smilebooth. DO IT! :)

{all photos by the amazingly talented matt miller of our labor of love & his rad assistant, reagan powell of west destiny drive photography}

nikki & ben's intimate glacier national park wedding

glacier national park : one of the top ten places on my 'to visit' list. seeing the photos nikki sent over of her wedding day definitely reinforced my desire to get there soon! enjoy the photos and the awesome details nikki was nice enough to share with me.

I'd been scouring first Etsy and then Pinterest for ages for fun ideas for things to make and do for my special day...all I needed was that elusive guy to pop the question. When Ben did ask the question I knew two things for sure; I wanted to get married in Glacier National Park (so I could get the one picture I have been dreaming of forever or at least since I had come across a similar picture online- the newlyweds in a row boat on one of the many beautiful lakes the park has to offer with the mountain scape in the background) and couldn't wait to finally get to order the matching purses I had wanted almost equally as long from Oatmeal Lace!

(isn't she sweet!!! thanks, nikki!)

Needless to say, by setting a date that ended up being only three and a half months in the future, I didn't have as much time to get to all the projects that I had had in mind and the whole thing was much simpler than originally dreamed up, but perfectly us none-the-less. We were married on the shores of Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park in Montana on a Thursday. I remember as I was walking into the lodge there with my Dad there was an older gentleman there on a group tour who smiled at me and said, "Well now, there's something I didn't expect to see on the tour today!"

    As with all outdoor weddings, weather was a worry...especially I think, for my Mom. The day couldn't have been more perfect though. Hands down, we had the best day of the week as there were a lot of wild fires in the neighboring states and therefore a lot of smoky gloominess had been hanging in the air all week,  but the skies were clear for our big day. Not so luckily the wind must have shifted again and the couple who got married the next day didn't have such luck.

It is hard to tell with only one attendant each, but the color scheme was supposed to be gray and yellow with pops of red and a blueish teal. I don't know where all those other brides find the nice gray tuxes to rent but I just couldn't find them so we had to settle for traditional black. The best surprises were the small touches that we hadn't planned on, such as the red in the boat oars and flowers that the park service surprised us with for the aisle.

Our twist on the new tradition of mixing sand was to use sand from the lake in my home town in Minnesota and from the river running through his home town in Montana. I'm thinking it might be a nice touch to add a rock or sand from the river here where we are making our first home in North Dakota.

(love, love, love this idea!!!)

                              

 In an effort to keep the ceremony small, we only invited parents, siblings, grandparents, and a few select friends. And a lot of these people were put to work as either the maid of honor or best man, playing musical selections, video taping the ceremony or even as the officiant. The part we hadn't been planning on were all the wedding crashers! Not only did Ben's extended family surprise us by making their way into the park (and therefore having to stand as we only ordered up 20 or so chairs), but I kept getting distracted by all the on lookers on the adjacent beach area taking our pictures and gawking at us.

here's her take on the photo she was inspired by. I can see why, can't you? gorgeous!!

thanks so much for sharing, nikki!! hope married life is fabulous!

{all photos courtesy of : marianne wiest photography}