Tying the Knot: Photo Booth Take 2

Candid photos are some of my very favorite photos ever. Photos where you can be goofy, show your personality, that aren't too posed or formal. So during our reception J and I made a point to hit the photo booth ourselves quite a few times. 

Both together and with our guests these photos show what a blast we had the whole night celebrating our new marriage,  the endless amounts of love we have for one another and the support we have from our favorite people. 

Like our typical selves, J and I made sure to let all the fun and goofy out in these photos too which I absolutely love!

All photos courtesy of Ignite Images.

Next up: Dancing the night away

Need to catch up?

First we got ready

Then it was time for The Dress

Lovely bridesmaid photos

Our sweet Ollie pup

Handsome groomsmen photos

The Bride & Groom portraits

Our First Touch before the ceremony

Small wedding details

The start of our Ceremony (Readings & Ring Warming)

We're finally Husband & Wife

Formal family & wedding party photos

How we remembered missing family

Our pictures as Mr & Mrs

Our First Dance

Reception Dinner & Toasts

Dancing with our Moms

The partying begins

Cutting the Cake

The Bouquet & Garter Toss

The Photo Booth Take 1

Tying the Knot: Formal Photos

These pictures are pretty standard when it comes to the photography for our wedding but I am very happy to have them. Both J and I have relatively small families (although J's seems much larger to me since mine is SO small) and we opted to do only pictures with our immediate family. Since we weren't seeing each other before the ceremony started this meant that we had lots of photos to take (Husband&Wife, family and wedding party) while our guests were enjoying cocktail hour and it also meant that most of these pictures would be indoors since the sun was setting early. 

Side note, both J and I were feeling miserable at this point. I haven't mentioned it yet but two days before our wedding I started feeling sick as a dog! Seriously. I spent our entire rehearsal dinner sipping hot tea and trying not to spoil the fun with tears because of how horrible I felt. Thankfully most of our wedding day I felt good but after hours and hours of standing outside in Colorado-cold weather for pictures I wasn't feeling too hot. Add onto that J's pounding headache and our hungry/thirsty selves and we were a hot mess which explains some of the forced smiles. We were also pretty crabby and just wanted to be done with pictures which meant we probably didn't get as many as we would have liked. But alas, here's what we've got. 

J's Family with step parents // My family

Sibling love // And my momma

(see what I mean about forced smiles. Yikes!)

All photos courtesy of Ignite Images.

Next up: Our Unique Touches to Missing Family

Need to catch up?

First we got ready

Then it was time for The Dress

Lovely bridesmaid photos

Our sweet Ollie pup

Handsome groomsmen photos

The Bride & Groom portraits

Our First Touch before the ceremony

Small wedding details

The start of our Ceremony (Readings & Ring Warming)

We're finally Husband & Wife

Tying the Knot: Husband and Wife

We were the first wedding at Villa Parker to do something different when it comes to the ceremony part of our day. Typically ceremonies are held in this same room but turned 90 degrees. It's hard to see but there is a stage in front of the arches on the right hand side of the picture where there ceremony usually takes place. This is definitely a beautiful option as there's a natural stage for the bride and groom to serve as an "alter" of sorts, there is a wall of windows that looks out onto the mountains and plenty of room for rows of guests. We however decided to be the first to use the space long-ways because the idea of walking down an aisle that was short (how it would have been the other way) was not something I really liked. I wanted the grand entrance and time to walk!

After the Ring Warming Ceremony and the readings done by our families the rest of our ceremony was relatively traditional. There were prayers for us in our marriage, promises made by each of us and lots and lots of tears from the two of us, our wedding party and many of our family and friends. 

J and I both agreed that we wanted to write our own vows to each other which I am so happy we did. Let me explain the above picture a little bit since it happen while J was reading his to me. J started his vows explaining how when we met 5 years ago I was his boss working as a lifeguard at the pool. Then he said "And well, nothing's really changed!" He always tells me I'm the boss, something that in our relationship is very endearing for me, and it made every single person start laughing. I am so happy our photographer was able to capture that picture because it was such a personal moment in the ceremony!

After reading our vows and exchanging rings it was finally time to pronounce us as Husband and Wife. For the last year during all the planning I found myself thinking of this moment, as the day that I will become J's wife and it surpassed my expectations. The feelings we both had in that moment were so amazing, so joyous and so happy!

We are husband and wife! Off to pictures with our family, wedding party and each other and then to celebrate!

All photos courtesy of Ignite Images.

Next up: Formal Photos

Need to catch up?

First we got ready

Then it was time for The Dress

Lovely bridesmaid photos

Our sweet Ollie pup

Handsome groomsmen photos

The Bride & Groom portraits

Our First Touch before the ceremony

Small wedding details

The start of our Ceremony (Readings & Ring Warming)

Tying the Knot: The Ceremony

After what seemed like no time at all it was suddenly time to start the show! 

We planned on having our ceremony at 4:30 but ran a few minutes behind based on where the sunset was. I was completely oblivious to this though as I was hiding in the corner of the bridal suite so when our planner came running in to tell me, "don't worry, just a few more minutes! the sun just needs to set a tiny bit more." I had no idea what she was talking about. 

Then it was time to go! All morning I had been calm as a clam, seriously. Running a few minutes late from the salon? No big deal! Sneaking in some First Touch shots with my fiance? No nerves or anything! I was beginning to think this whole day was going to be a breeze! Until A Thousand Years by The Piano Guys (click below to listen as you read) started playing, the song I had specifically picked out to have our family & wedding party walk down the aisle to. My heart started pounding, I lost my breath and seriously couldn't believe this was it! This was my wedding day! I was going to marry the man of my dreams tonight. From where I was hiding in the back room no one except my maid of honor and our wedding coordinator could see me and I thankfully pulled it together quickly and away they went.

The ceremony started with J's Parents (& Step parents) followed by my Mom and Sister. Then our wedding party followed by our Best Man and Maid of Honor.

Then it was my turn! I will touch on my walk down the aisle a little later when I post about [Our Unique Touches] but I will share my wedding music. I walked down the aisle to Love Story Meets Viva La Vida by John Schmidt (click below to listen.)

Our ceremony was officiated by a family friend who I have known for many years. He did a fantastic job! Instead of doing the normal Unity Ceremony with candles or the ever-so popular sand ceremony we opted for something a little different. Since our guest list was relatively small, under 90 people, we chose to do a Ring Warming Ceremony. At the beginning of the ceremony our wedding bands were taken first by my MOH/Bridesmaids then passed to our families then throughout our guests and finally to J's Groomsmen/BM. Each person was able to hold our rings for a moment, say a silent prayer/blessing/positive thought to us as a couple and our future together and then pass them to the next. Once they returned to us they held more in them than just our promises to each other, they contained the blessings and support from our closest family and friends. I am so glad we chose to add this to our ceremony as it made it that much more personal for us and for our guests.

We asked both J's Step Dad and my Sister to do a reading during the ceremony. For J's Step Dad we asked him to write something himself about what it takes to have a successful marriage and somehow include the verse Corinthians 13:4-8. The same verse was used in his wedding with J's Mom and we were able to tie in that special moment into our ceremony.

For my Sister, we asked her to read an Irish Blessing for us, one because of how beautiful it is and two because we are going to Ireland for our honeymoon. 

May the road rise to meet you// May the wind be always at your back// May the sun shine warm upon your face// And the rains fall soft upon your fields// And until we meet again// May God hold you in the palm of his hand// May God be with you and bless you// May you see your children’s children// May you be poor in misfortune// And rich in blessings// May you know nothing but happiness// From this day forward// May the road rise to meet you// May the wind be always at your back// May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home// And may the hand of a friend always be near// May green be the grass you walk on// May blue be the skies above you// May pure be the joys that surround you// And may true be the hearts that love you.

All photos courtesy of Ignite Images.

Next up: We are Husband and Wife!

Need to catch up?

First we got ready

Then it was time for The Dress

Lovely bridesmaid photos

Our sweet Ollie pup

Handsome groomsmen photos

The Bride & Groom portraits

Our First Touch before the ceremony

Small wedding details

Tying the Knot: First Touch

I've mentioned it before but there were only a few things that J had specific opinions about related to our wedding. One of those was sticking to the tradition of not seeing the bride before the ceremony which included the entire day, not just while I was in my dress. So that meant basically doing a drive-by as I dropped his wedding present off at his house on my way to hair & make-up, sneaking out of the salon making sure the boys weren't in the parking lot, and secluding myself in the bridal suite once we got to the venue. 

However the one part of our wedding that threw a bit of a wrench in this tradition was that it was winter and therefore sunset was much earlier than the typical summer wedding. Since we were doing a sunset ceremony this meant that there would be little to no sunlight after the ceremony to capture pictures of the two of us together. So instead of breaking with tradition and doing the ever so popular "First Look" moment, we opted for the "First Touch". 

With careful coordination from our photographer, his assistant and our planner, J was led to this spot and hidden behind the corner while I waited inside. Then once he was in place they brought me out and told me, "don't step beyond this point!"

We were both so nervous and excited and just emotional at this point that reaching out and grabbing hands was incredible. We had spent the entire day apart knowing that by the end of the night we would be Husband and Wife and it was a great moment to stand there with my fiance, just moments before our wedding and know how happy we were to take this next step together. I am so glad we were able to add this part to our day.

And while we were outside together, this is what our wedding party was up to! Such a fun group!

All photos courtesy of Ignite Images.

Next up: Small Details before we had our ceremony!

Need to catch up?

First we got ready

Then it was time for The Dress

Lovely bridesmaid photos

Our sweet Ollie pup

Handsome groomsmen photos
The Bride & Groom portraits

Tying the Knot: Groomsmen Photos

These five guys are seriously a hoot!

At the venue there was a specific bridal suite where all the ladies hid when the guys were roaming around. Well we definitely knew once they arrived! Laughs, loud noises, and just a great time follows these guys around all the time. Seeing J with them just makes me smile. They've all been friends since high school and are totally in their element when they're together, they're the best definition of what true friends should be. Obviously it was important for J to have these guys by his side at our wedding but I truly wanted each and every one of them there too, as they've made J into the man he is today. Even if that does mean the occasional immature or goofy moment!

Funny story with these pictures is that, being guys, they totally forgot about their boutineers (hence the reason they don't show up till the bottom pictures) and our amazingly awesome, super funny, has-everything-under-control wedding planner came running out during their photo shoot yelling "you idiots! you're supposed to wear these!" and pinned on all 5 in a matter of seconds. She's a pro.

And aren't these guys handsome!

See, I told you they were a fun group!

All photos courtesy of Ignite Images.

Next up: Portraits of the Bride & Groom

Need to catch up?

First we got ready

Then it was time for The Dress

Lovely bridesmaid photos

Our sweet Ollie pup