Today is my fifth wedding anniversary!!  It honestly does not seem like it has been that long.  I don't want to get too mushy on y'all, but I have to say that I still truly believe with all my heart that I have found the perfect person for me.  He still brings me flowers every Friday.  He still lovingly deals with my dramatics, my love of shopping, my constant need to entertain or sing.  He funds my NKOTB adventures and loves me with all his heart.  He still makes my world the happiest it has ever been. 


This year, I thought I would post some pictures from the details of the wedding.  I handmade so much and decorated so many things for our big day.  It was an intense labor of love for me.  If you'd like to see some more portrait photos, check out posts from 2012 and 2011.

- I made all of our invitations by hand, even the pockets for all the inserts.  I had an Invitation Party with friends to put together some of the aspects of the invitations.  It was a wine and cheese party and my mom got drunk and punched holes on the wrong side of about half of the invitations.  I had to do those all over again by myself.  The other pictures are of "Day Of" boxes I made for family and bridal party members.  They had granola bars, safety pins, lint rollers, breath mints, band aids, mini bottles of water and the like.  I also made place holder cards for family members.


- For the ceremony, my sister-in-law and I decorated topiaries with ribbon, flowers, and pearl garlands.  I designed and made all of our programs, decorated the basket, decorated frames and a candle holder for our memory table, decorated the candle holders for the arch, made monogram door signs, made boutonnieres and bouquets, etc.  We found a wonderfully textured length of fabric for our aisle runner.  We had to affix brown satin ribbon to each side of the 18-foot runner.


- My necklace and bracelet were made by me because I could never find something with the right colors.  My dress was ivory and champagne with darker champagne pearls and pinkish sparkles.  I also spent fourteen hours applying rhinestones to a pink velour hoodie with my married name and wedding date.  It was a fun project and really came in handy since it was pouring rain that morning.


- With the help of my mother-in-law, I learned to sew (the very basics) in order to make my husband's vest and tie, my bridesman's vest and tie, and a tie for my nephew.  I also designed and sewed together a coordinating ring pillow.


- My brother walked me halfway down the aisle to represent my dad who died when I was 17.  Then I joined my stepdad, who walked me the rest of the way.  I was missing my dad so much.  As my brother let go of my arm and I went to walk with my stepdad, the reality of what that represented to me really hit home.  I totally ugly cried in the middle of my walk down the aisle.  lol




- Going clockwise in the next photo: Reception door decor made with wooden letters, rhinestones, paint, and feathered hearts; We made 300 tissue paper flowers in order to make these particular pom pom balls to decorate the reception.  They now hang from the ceiling of my craft room.  I wasn't about to throw them away after all that work.; Card box I decorated; Groom and Bride plaques for our table; a ribboned place card holder.


- More reception fun: I found the rhinestone monogram on eBay; The monogrammed glass dessert plates were also the wedding favors we gave to guests.  My in-laws were mostly in charge of making those, but we did help put all the pieces of glass together before they were placed in the kiln.; The cupcake menu, drink menu, and food menu cards were all designed, made, and put together by me.  I found the cupcake card holder at Target, but had to paint it pink and yellow to match my wedding colors.; Painted and rhinestoned the "I DO" letters; and found great napkins online.


- Dancing at the reception: My stepdad danced with me, and my brother and I also danced together to "Dance With My Father" by Luther Vandross.


- This is an event that will NEVER, ever happen again.  It was time for the Electric Slide.  My mom, stepmom, brother, little sister, and friends all joined me on the dance floor.  It was a wonder my mom and stepmom were even in the same room together, so this was pretty amazing to me.  I am sure it helped that wine was involved.  But then my mom started dirty dancing with her then boyfriend and I almost threw up. lol


I hope you have enjoyed this walk down memory lane with me!  I get so emotional going over all the pictures because all the feelings come flooding back.  Have a great last day of May, everyone!!