Wedding Wednesday (Part 2)
I chose to get married in my childhood church for three reasons: 1. My Mamaw, who passed away in 2014 was insistent that I get married in a “church house”. I had such a special relationship with her, and wanted to honor her in that way. She also thought I was going to be an old maid, so I’m sure she was smiling from heaven all day long. 2. Freedom of Worship Church (along with my parents, obviously) laid the foundation for my faith, values, and relationship with Jesus. 3. Getting married in a church (to me) signifies two people inviting God to guide their marriage, while also honoring Him for brining them together. For a while we considered a destination wedding with a small group, but reason number 1 kept weighing on my heart.
Again, the theme here was winter white with a little Christmas thrown in. Neutral colors, classic, chic, etc. White, white, white. I also really wanted the lights in the sanctuary to be dim. I remember Christmas services as a child lit up only by candles and the glow of Christmas lights. That’s the mood I was going for.
The story behind the winter wedding is quite easy. I was NEVER the girl who dreamed about her wedding day. Ask my family, friends, ex boyfriends, etc. HAHA. I wanted to be a successful, wealthy, business woman. That was my goal. Literally, it was of no interest to me until I met Josh. So, I never had a wedding pinterest board and all that jazz, but soon after we met I started peeking. I LOVED the winter/Christmas weddings I saw online. Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year. It’s so magical. I decided in the winter of 2013 that I would have a winter wedding one day and knew Josh would be my groom! (I obviously never told him this and played coy until he came to the same realization, which took a few years HAHA)
The Inn at Wise is such a gem in Wise, VA. For as long as I can remember it was closed down. I prayed for the day it would reopen, because I knew if I ever did get married I would need a beautiful site for the reception! Low and behold, The Inn reopened a few years ago. The original hard wood floors, the décor, everything is so perfect (especially in the winter/Christmas time). Old time, classic glamour.
Back to the storyline: Me in the Fellowship Hall singing hymns, crying, thinking about my long journey that brought me to this special point in my life. (probably being a little melodramatic). So, our musicians started playing about 30 minutes before the ceremony started. Josh and I fell in love roaming the streets of Nashville, going to honkey tonks, country concerts, and playing/singing together. Music is a big part of our relationship, and we wanted the day to reflect that. We had our good friends and incredible musician/vocalist If Birds Could Fly play all the music for our ceremony. They were so awesome and learned some of “our songs”. Everyone raved about how great they were. Again, not the most traditional route. I haven’t been to many weddings where Johnny Cash “Walk the Line” was played during the prelude. It was perfect.
We invited all of our closest friends to sit up front behind family in the sanctuary. I just couldn’t fathom the thought of having 12 bridesmaids, but wanted them to be included in the day. We also got pictures together afterwards (originally planned for before the ceremony). They were all so sweet, and I don’t think anyone’s feelings were hurt that they didn’t get to buy a $200 dress and stand beside me on stage. Again, do what is best for you. “Your people” will get it, and be cool with your decisions.
So, everyone has walked down including my ADORABLE niece aka flower girl. I cannot wait to see the video! When I heard ‘First Try’ by Johnnyswim begin to play, I knew it was almost time to go! I had my Mom and Dad both walk me down the aisle. Again, continuing my theme here of breaking tradition. My Mom and Dad played an equal role in raising me, and I felt that the symbolism of “giving me away” should honor both of them. I wasn’t too nervous at this point, just excited! The dim lighting of the sanctuary worked against me here as we were walking down the aisle, because I could not see Josh’s face until we got super close. I just kept my eyes ahead until we finally locked gazes. He looked so handsome, calm, and happy.
I, on the other hand, look like the biggest goober on the face of the planet. HAHAHA. I feel like our photographers genuinely captured the emotion of the day, especially with me. On any given day, if there’s a camera around anywhere, I’m posing. I’m very aware that it’s there, what my angles are, and what facial expressions I think photograph best for me. All that went out the window on our wedding day. I didn’t pay a bit of attention to the cameras. I was just SO giddy and happy. It’s all over my face!
Once I made it to Josh, everything else is sort of a blur. This was the beginning of like a 10 hour high for me. Everything was such a rush. The ceremony was beautiful. I was pretty caught up in staring at my soon-to-be-husband, so again, I just don’t remember a lot. We said our vowels, Josh dipped me for our first kiss (which was SO sweet), and we walked out and took a lot of pictures. It was 8 degrees (again, remember I’m still actively praying for SNOW), and I know everyone was dying. I, however, felt GREAT. Such a rush. I didn’t feel cold at all even in my strapless dress. I told Josh that he could punch me in the face and wouldn’t feel a thing HAHAHA.
We came back inside and took more pictures and I got to mingle for a bit, then Josh and I took pictures outside again just the two of us. So sweet and fun. We were just hugging and kissing and enjoying the moment. Again, such a rush. On a high. Floating. However you want to describe it. And then, SNOW!!!!!!!!! It started peppering (as my Mamaw would say) snow!! I just remember the high escalating and I thought I would quite literally explode because I was so freaking happy.
We danced around, hugged, kissed, and enjoyed our new marital bliss in the snow for a few more moments until it was time to head to the reception. This amazing day wasn’t over yet, and we still got to go celebrate with all our friends and family!! I was overwhelmed with SO much joy. Josh helped me fall into the backseat of the car (I could barely sit in my dress, which is the exact tightness level that I wanted it to be), and we were off to our winter reception as Mr. & Mrs. Ayers!!!
Next week I’ll do part 3 and wrap up this Wedding Wednesday business. Reading my personal recap of our wedding day makes me realize how much of a big picture person I am. My wedding day will forever be etched in my mind as a story, not how pretty my flowers were, what the centerpieces looked like, if the food was perfect, etc. I”m not a detail person at all. Never have been. I see the big picture, the overall goal. My overall goal was to find the person whom my soul loves and soak up every second with him and my family & friends. No one will remember the wedding favors or what song we had our first dance to. I do hope they remember the love that was felt on this day. I know I sure will.
xoxo,
DeAndra Lynette
*All photo credit goes to: https://www.meganrheaphotography.com/
