the bridal party.

My bridal consisted of my sister, high school best friend, two childhood best friends, and my oldest niece. One traveled all the way from Korea. 

This is really the best one, my nephew photo-bombed us. It looks like he is going to hit Ken with a stick.

I wanted the wedding party to look casual. I had the girls pick any cream, blush, or soft colored dress they wanted. I wanted mismatched colors and style. Plus, I've been in a few weddings, nobody wants to buy a dress you pick out for them. For the boys I told them to wear tan pants and a white shirt. I found the bow ties at H&M for $1. Originally I wanted mismatched brown colored bow ties, but I couldn't pass up a $1 deal!

what day of the week is it?

I am officially on christmas break! I told my 23 kindergarteners I was really going to miss them, I lied right to their faces. I'm just kidding ... kind of. You could say this break was really really needed. On Monday I rested, all day, read a few books, ate lots of food, and rested. By Tuesday I had about 4 projects in the making. Today, I have about 7 projects in the making. My husband is a saint, or he just might be high because I've painted about 5 different surfaces in our house. I will share all my DIY projects later, for now, I'm off to home depot ... again. 

the rings.

I felt these beauties deserved their own post.

Hers: My ring is from a local antique jewelry shop in Portland, OR. I told Ken I didn't want any ring before the 1940's. They sure did it right in the olden days. Its a cluster ring, it has one bigger diamond in the middle and 5 smaller ones surrounding it with a gold band. The best part, its one of a kind. No wedding band yet, maybe one day when I can decide what style I like.

His: Kens ring is actually is grandpas. His grandpa passed away a few years ago, so his ring means a lot to him. It is gold with milgrain on the edges. It matches mine perfectly.

Together they are two peas in a pod.

the reception.

I finally got my wedding pictures!! They sure were worth the wait. I had planned on sharing the ceremony pictures first, but when I saw these babies below I almost screamed of joy and couldn't help myself. My wedding was at a local park where you can rent the place and have private events. It sits on a lake and is nestled in the woods. It was very inexpensive and exactly what I wanted. The morning of we did all the flowers and had to set up the whole venue (the only downside of not renting a wedding venue). By the time I had to leave for my hair appointment the whole reception still needed to be set up! I gave the groomsmen very specific description of what it needed to look like. When I arrived back for the first look, I was so nervous. But oh my word, I almost cried. It was exactly how I envisioned it!

For the reception I knew I wanted long tables rather than the traditional circular ones. I felt they gave it  more of a backyard feel, and that was what I was going for. For the flowers I chose wild flowers. I said if they looked like weeds the better. They turned out pretty spectacular. We used over a 100 mason jars!

One of my favorite parts of my wedding was my pie table. I didn't want want a traditional wedding cake or cupcakes. My husband loves pie, me, not so much. But once I saw this table, I knew I made the  right choice. Its all about this looks, right?