When I met John, everything seemed so easy and natural. Our first unforgettable date was dinner at McAdoo’s. We dated a little over two years before getting engaged. His proposal was perfect. He took me to New Orleans for my birthday and proposed during a dinner cruise on a river boat.
My wedding planning process was easy. Yes, easy! Bev, at Old Mill Weddings and Event Venue, where we decided to have our wedding, was invaluable! We chose Old Mill because it just felt like us immediately upon touring the venue. We also loved the on-site accommodations.
It was my recently married friends and my bridal party who were a huge help in our planning process. We decided on simple but elegant. With help from friends and family, we did DIY most of the decor and also our wedding favors.
A part of any wedding planning is the budget. I think we saved the most on our bar package. Bartenders4You were amazing. They helped us stay within our budget while providing the most options to our guests. Our big splurge was photography. We felt the photos were memories that would last a lifetime.
We added the sentimental detail in our reception of adding a memory table for our loved ones who had passed prior to our big day.
While we tried to keep in mind that not everyone was going to be happy with our decisions, John and I felt that our best decision surrounding the big day was having Bev Mahnke as our day of coordinator.
In hindsight there are several things we would have done differently. I think John and I would have enjoyed taking thirty extra minutes to ourselves to have dinner privately. We had about five minutes to ourselves between photos and our grand entrance where we could just talk and have a drink alone. I think another moment like that would have been wonderful.
The dress I chose was simple but elegant with a vintage feel to it. My bouquet was wooden flowers. To me, it was the perfect combination.
Pecan crusted chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans was served for dinner. John’s cake was a peanut butter cake with a chocolate ganache. Mine was a red velvet and cookies and cream.
There were so many joyful moments throughout the day. One was during the garter toss. I laughed as Danger Zone from Top Gun was playing and John quoted the lines from the movie the entire time.
Our first look was very emotional. I couldn’t help but cry!
It is really hard to pick just one memorable moment above another. We spent the entire weekend with our bridal party which gave us many unforgettable moments. One of which was when the groom was tossed in the pool as an April Fools’ prank.
Our advice to brides and grooms planning their wedding is not sweat the small stuff. Things are going to go wrong. The DJ will probably forget a song on your list or play the wrong version of it. You won’t be able to talk to everyone. The entire day will be a complete blur. Just Have FUN!
