We chose to be married July 9 because it was the day of our first date. The ceremony was at a local country club at 11 a.m. The theme of the wedding was frogs, which are a favorite animal of mine. We had pewter frog goblets for our champagne toast, frog cake toppers, blue wooden letters spelling out FROGS at the cake table and frog centerpieces.
I arrived at 8:30 to have my hair and make-up done by a local woman who worked incredible magic! I wore a white full wedding dress from Private Label by G and white Reebok tennis shoes that my mother decorated for me with roses, lace, pearls and frogs. I also wore a veil and tiara. I loved how beautiful I felt in all my wedding "finery." There's nothing like the happiness I felt getting dressed and waiting to marry the man of my dreams.
The club had a spiral staircase under a beautiful chandelier that my Matron of Honor (my best friend and only attendant) and my father and I walked down. We had a short ceremony (about 20 minutes) conducted by a pastor at the church my husband has attended for the last few years. We wanted the ceremony to be short because those long wedding ceremonies are awful for the audience in my opinion:)
We had a buffet lunch for our reception. We had about 57 people attend, which was a good size because we got to go around to all the tables and talk to everyone at least once. It's true what they say about weddings and receptions - they go by so quickly!
We had all the traditional wedding stuff: bouquet and garter toss, cake cutting, and dances. My husband and I chose Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts for our first dance. Because this was a second marriage for us both, the lyrics really resonated with us. My father and I danced to You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban. I chose the song because its lyrics very much remind me of my father's place in my life. My husband and his mother danced to What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. A nice, traditional song for their dance:)
My wedding shows that if you want something traditional (white wedding gown, viel and tuxes) mixed with the untraditional (frogs) then go for it! I don't regret any of the choices we made to have the wedding of our dreams.