Life With The Williams: March 2012

Something fun I came across was Wedding ABC's - just a fun way to do some recapping of the special day. Hope you all enjoy!

*Beware, this is very lengthy!*

Aa

Attendance

We invited approximately 200 guests, with an estimate of 150-175 actually attending. I think our final total was right around 170.

Bb

Bridesmaids

{From left to right: Sara, Kristin (MOH), myself, Tara, Cherie, Stephanie}

I had a total of 5 bridesmaids.
Meet the maids:

Kristin - Maid of Honor, Kristin is my sister & best friend. She went above and beyond with everything she did for me throughout the engagement and wedding process. So many thoughtful things along the way and she had an amazing speech, too! Love you!

Tara - one of my good friends that I have known since high school. We lived together freshmen year of college (by far the best roommate ever!)

Stephanie - one of my good friends that I met randomly in a summer chemistry class. We were both going back to school for another degree in nursing and then ended up in the same nursing class and graduated together!

Cherie - one of my good friends that I have known since Kindergarten! She moved schools in 7th grade, but we always kept in touch and remained close!

Sara - one of my good friends I met in my sorority at KSU. We became friends freshman year and have been close since then! We lived together our senior year (she was also a wonderful person to live with!!)

Cc

Catering & Cake

The ah-mazing salad

Pork Chops

The catering was done by the venue that we had our ceremony and reception at (The Hawthorne House). The head chef is actually the owners brother - he is beyond amazing. The food was wonderful. I wish I could order to-go dinners from there still!
On the menu:

Chicken with basil cream sauce

Pork Chops with applesauce glaze

Grilled green beans

Garlic mashed potatoes

Spinach salad with candied walnuts and homemade poppyseed dressing (amazing!)

Our cake was done by Lynne with Icing on the Cake. I cannot speak enough kind words about Lynne. She did an amazing job on my cake and it turned out perfect (both taste and appearance). We had so many compliments on our cake! I highly recommend her. She is affordable, too; and is willing to work with you on your budget, if needed. I had such a hard time coming up with the design of my cake. It was about 3 weeks out that I found a photo online of what I wanted my cake to look like. I took it by her shop and she was so excited to give it a go! She said she had never done a cake like this before and was so excited and willing to try to make it perfect for me. I loved her enthusiasm!

Dd

Dress

My dress was strapless, sweetheart neckline, and mermaid flare. I tried this dress on at almost every bridal shop I went to. I loved it! It is by Maggie Soterro.

Here's a pic of the first look:

Ee

Engagement

Photo in the limo after the engagement (Yes, I'm wearing my work scrubs, ha!)

Chris & I were engaged on Christmas Day 2010. I had to work that day and was totally bummed I was missing out on the special day. That week he had said he was going to drive me to work, with Laney of course, and pick me up so that I didn't feel so alone. I thought that was really sweet of him and totally didn't suspect anything weird. When he came to pick me up, he text me and said he was outside and I walked outside and didn't see his car. All of the sudden I notice a limo and the driver opens the door and Chris pops out! I was caught off guard, but hadn't totally figured out what was going on. I got in the limo and he said that he knew I had been upset about having to work the holiday so he wanted to do something special - he wanted to drive around and go look at Christmas lights on the plaza in the limo. If you know me, then you know I love going to look at Christmas lights, especially on the plaza/downtown and in the neighborhoods around the plaza with the big ol houses! We were driving around and I could tell he was getting nervous - I started wondering what was going on and was starting to get nervous, too. He went through his schpeal about everything and then asked me to marry him. Of course, said yes, but was in shock! We stopped and the limo driver took some pictures of us. Then we went back to our parents houses. We stopped by his parents house first and said hi, showed them the ring, etc. Then went over to my parents house. My parents knew he was going to propose - he had gone over there that morning to talk with them. But, my sister didn't know he was proposing... and he had asked my parents if he should tell her and they thought it would be fun to make it a surprise for her, too. And yes, she was surprised... but she found out another way! I had called my friend, Tara, to tell her that I was engaged. Shortly after, she posted on facebook (ohhh, facebook...) "My best friend is getting married!!!" My sister saw it on Facebook - at almost the exact moment we walked through the door to surprise her. We were both caught off guard by the whole thing! It is a funny story now to tell, though! :)

Ff

Flowers

My flowers were done by Erin Volante - who is wonderful!! Not only is she an amazing florist, but she is so wonderful and easy to work with! I was never once stressed or nervous about how the floral arrangements or my bouquet would turn out. I love recommending her to all my friends!! She is so sweet!

We had floral arrangements on each table - some tall, some short, etc. Here's a picture of some of the arrangements immediately after being set up prior to the ceremony/reception:

My bouquet - I wish I could keep it forever, it was exactly what I had imagined!

Bridesmaid bouquets:

Isle:

Grooms Boutonniere:

Gg

Groomsmen

From left to right: Tom, Sean (Best Man), Chris, Mike, Jared, Nick

Obviously more than ready for the ceremony!

Chris had a total of 5 groomsmen.

Meet the groomsmen:

Sean - Best Man, Chris & Sean have known each other since high school and lived together at K-State.

Tom - Groomsman, Chris & Tom have known each other since they were young and lived together for awhile at K-State, as well.

Mike - Groomsman, Chris & Mike have known each other since high school and have always been good friends.

Nick - Groomsman, Chris & Nick have known each other

Jared - Groomsman, Chris & Jared have known each other for about 5 years. He is actually our neighbor and has been a good friend of ours since we moved in.

Hh

Honeymoon

We went to St. Lucia for our honeymoon. We stayed at the Sandals resort, The Grande, which is pretty much full of honeymooners. Our entire flight from Atlanta to St. Lucia was all newlyweds (I'm sure the flight attendants always love that flight!). It was an all-inclusive resort, which I highly recommend for honeymoons. We did some fun excursions and relaxed, too.

Ii

Invitations

Our invitations were created and ordered online. I wanted to keep them simple. I used the website Magnet Street and was very pleased with the invitations. I also used Magnet Street for our save the date magnets, too.

**I dont have an actual photo of my invitations. Will have to take some and upload.

Jj

Justice of Peace (*officiant)

Hubert Neth, myself, Chris

Chris nor I really belong to a church. We both went to church growing up, but neither of us had a strong pull as to who was going to marry us. Our venue gave us the names of a couple officiants they recommend and regularly use. Of course, by the time we got around to contacting them, they were already booked. Although, they gave us the names of a couple other people they recommended. We met with Hubert Neth one evening at a Panera for an introduction - we both were very impressed!! As we sat at Panera, we were probably interrupted at least 5 times by people in the community wanting to say hi and express how excited they were that he would be filling in for several upcoming sermons. That spoke a lot to both Chris & I and we were able to see how well respected he was by all. We also loved his outlook and views on marriage, the marriage ceremony, etc. We could not have picked a better person to marry us. He also did a wonderful job during the ceremony at entertaining people and making people laugh, as well as expressing the importance of marriage. I thought I would cry like a baby throughout the entire ceremony; however, he did a wonderful job including some humor to make me smile and laugh, as well.

Kk

Keepsakes

*Us-guest book
Guests-favor,candy bar

One of our "keepsakes" was our guest book. Our photographer took our engagement photos and made them into a guest book. I thought it was a great idea and loved how it turned out!

The "keepsakes", or favors, for the guests was a candy bar. We kept the candy to silver, black, and white. We encouraged our guests not to be shy and to take as much as candy as they pleased; however, at the end of the night, there was still a ton leftover. I think most people really enjoyed the candy bar.

Ll

Ladies Night (bachelorette party)

Kristin & I the first night - passing out jello shots

Delane & I - in serious, deep convo (probably about the central vac system)

View from bottom of patio, pool level

View from upper level of patio, over looking the pool (late in the afternoon - that's why it's so shady)

View from top patio

Main Room

Sara, myself, Kristin at Horny Toad

Shady Gators

Where's Waldo? at Shady Gators

The group together at Shady Gators

Sara, Steph & I with our beverage supplier (one of Sara's friends from an old job in KC)

Kristin & I at Horny Toad

Overlooking the pool from the top patio

Steph & I

For my Bachelorette party, my sister (the MOH) did a wonderful job of organizing it. There were several "bumps in the road" with planning and organizing, but she always kept herself together and she made my Bachelorette weekend one of the most memorable weekends. We went down to the Lake of the Ozarks and rented a very large house on the lake with a pool. We spent the first night and all of the days at the house or in the pool - just sipping on cocktails, playing games, and entertaining ourselves. We went out for a nice dinner the last night and then to some of the local bars. We had the most fun at Shady Gators - mind eraser, anyone? It was by far one of the best weekends ever and I loved all the girls that went. I wish I could relive that weekend every summer! One of the best things about it - d.r.a.m.a. free! No drama the entire weekend - everyone had so much fun!
I can't thank my sister enough for that weekend (and all the girls that came, too!!)

Mm

Music

First dance: This Years Love by David Gray

First Dance: This Years Love by David Gray

Father/Daughter Dance: My Little Girl by Tim McGraw

Mother/Son Dance: Blessed by Elton John

Bridal Entrance: Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles (Instrumental Version)

Recessional: Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve (Instrumental Version)

For our ceremony and reception, the music was done by Wendy, a DJ. She does most weddings at The Hawthorne House that are DJ'd. She helped us organize the music by breaking down the important songs and then breaking down and organizing what songs we wanted played at specifics times throughout the evening. If you know me, then you know how important music is to me. I spent hours upon hours googling unique songs and finding the best songs that I wanted played. Wendy was wonderful to work with and she played all the songs we asked. A couple of the important songs:

First Dance: This Years Love by David Gray

Father/Daughter Dance: My Little Girl by Tim McGraw

Mother/Son Dance: Blessed by Elton John

Processional Song (for entrance of the bridesmaids): Wonderwall (an instrumental version)

Bridal Entrance: Here Comes the Sun (instrumental/acoustic version) *I Couldn't find the good acoustic version we used on youtube

Recessional: Bittersweet Symphony (instrumental version)

Nn

Newlyweds

Chris & I lived together before we got married. So moving in together as newlyweds wasn't something we had to do! We enjoyed our time as newlyweds on our honeymoon. Our biggest change was that I had to change my name (and yes, I'm still in the process) and that we combined our finances.

Oo

Old, New, Borrowed, Blue

My sister took it upon herself to come up with the traditional "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue". I hadn't put an emphasis on this because it wasn't something super important to me at the time. However, on the morning of my wedding, my sister surprised me with a little gift. It meant so much to me!

Something old: a piece of my blanket from when I was a child, sewn into my wedding gown
Something new & something blue: a handkerchief with our names and wedding date embroidered
Something borrowed: my grandma's wedding ring - my aunt gave it to me to wear. It really meant a lot to me!

Pp

Photography

Choosing a photographer was rather difficult for me. I knew that this would be my wedding, documented, for the rest of my life. We went and met with several photographers. WE took into consideration: price, personality, copy right release, reviews, and samples of their photography.

We chose - Sarah Dickerson Photography

Again, we were so pleased with her work. I was also impressed with her responsiveness - if I emailed her questions, she would always get back to me quickly. I never had to worry!

Qq

Question Popping (engagement)

**See engagement story {E}

Rr

Rehearsal Dinner and Reception

The rehearsal dinner was held at Jack Stack's BBQ in the freight district. Chris & I are huge fans of Jack Stack's and we thought it would be a great place to have our rehearsal dinner. We also liked the idea that it would be nice for out of town guests - to have some delicious KC BBQ!! Everyone loved it! We did it buffet style. Also, Chris's family got a wonderful cake for us with one of our engagement photos on it.

The reception was held at the Hawthorne House. We had our ceremony at the Hawthorne House, as well (outdoors). The reception hall was beautiful. It is what sold me on this location, as well at the people who work there. I loved the chandeliers and how clean and crisp everything was! It was all so elegant! The location of the Hawthorne House is a little hidden, off the main roads in Parkville. But, it is perfect. You drive down a long street and you can start to see the chapel and the house in the distance. It sits on some land that is kept well groomed. Check out the webpage:

The Hawthorne House

It has won so many bridal and wedding awards in the KC area. The owner, Irene Sparks, is such an amazing woman. She is wonderful to work with and every bride has a great experience working with her!!

Ss

Shoes

It was difficult for me to find shoes because I didn't want anything with a heel too tall! Chris isn't much taller than me so I didn't want to be towering over (you know what I mean). Also, since we had the wedding outside (in the grass), I wanted something I could easily walk in. I know some brides take a long time to find the perfect shoe, but much emphasis wasn't put on the shoes for me. Plus, once the reception started, I changed into some flip flops that one of my bridesmaids, Tara, made for me! Here's a photo of the shoes I wore & of the flip flops, too!

My shoes with the jewelry that I wore

Bride flip flops made my Tara

Bridesmaid flip flops, made by Tara

Tt

Trash the Dress

Have yet to "trash the dress". My dress still sits in my closet! I don't really have any plans to "trash the dress", either.

Uu

Unique

A few unique things from our wedding:

We had our wedding on a Friday evening
We did not do a "dollar dance"
We had traditional vows
My sister put an amazing photo around my bouquet - that way our little girl (Laney) and Chris's family's little girl (Ellie) could be with us. Most thoughtful detail to me!! Laney wasn't at the wedding because Chris thought she would be "too hyper"

Vv

Vows & Venue

Vows - our vows were very traditional, we did not write our own. It was too much pressure for us to come up with our own vows. Our officiant did a wonderful job, though!!

Venue - see "Reception". We had our ceremony and reception at the same venue,

The Hawthorne House.

Ww

Wedding Woes, wedding day

Our wedding day went very smoothly!! We really didn't have any hiccups along the way, which I am extremely thankful for. The only minor hiccup was while we were getting ready in the bridal suite, the power went out. Cricket and her sister (our hair & makeup girls) worked around it as best as they could and within an hour or so the power was back on. It didn't delay anything, though! Our ceremony and reception went as planned and nothing got mixed up or out of order.

All the bridesmaid got to Hawthorne House early in the morning, about 8-9am to start getting ready. We spent our day getting ready there. The groom and groomsmen showed up about 2pm or so to start getting ready. Then we had our "first look", started pictures, and at 6pm the ceremony started!! It was perfect!