5 years ago today, I married my best friend, Jesse. Since my sister posted about her special day, here are some pictures and details about mine…
All photos are from our great friends at Ruple Photography.
The Venue:
Well, as you can see from these first few pictures, our wedding took place in a not so common venue: at a camp: Camp Caudle. It is actually the first place I ever set eyes on Jesse. And what better place to get married than the place you first met your spouse!? Jesse attended here as a young pre-teen in his youth group every summer up to the present, now bringing kids from the youth group he works with. When we met, I was attending camp as a counselor and he as a camper! When he began college where I was, we had a close friendship and later began dating: all the while, attending Camp Caudle together with his home church for retreats, spring break trips, and summer sessions. It is a very special place that we call another “home,” at least for part of the year, and we were more than happy to find out that we could celebrate our wedding day there……for free!!!
The Ceremony:
Our ceremony was pretty short and sweet, for a number of reasons. First, we knew that the wedding party and guests would not be too crazy about being outside in the summer heat for an extended period of time. Second, we had decided on a few meaningful elements that we wanted to include, making for a quick ceremony. Also, our ceremony was probably cut a little shorter than even we had planned, because wind and rain began to threaten our big event!
Here are some meaningful things we included in our ceremony:
- The wedding party and I walked down the ailse(s) to One Voice by Brandy. I picked these lyrics out when I was in high school. You can click here to read them.
- Opening prayer by my dad & closing prayer by his grandfather
- The circle shape of the chairs and stage in the middle was “stolen” from a friend of mine. I loved the idea of all of your friends and family surrounding you and supporting you. During the opening prayer our wedding party actually stood around the perimeter of the stage.
- We sang 3 or 4 short praise songs with everyone; words were included on the programs
- Jesse & I had written our own vows to each other
- Our ordained minister was his preacher from years of growing up as a teen (and at camp!)
- A white tent served as a “lobby or entry-way” into the ceremony where guests signed in and viewed pictures of our parents and grandparents’ weddings. The tent was also helpful to shield me from Jesse until I walked down the aisle.
- Best Man: his brother, Maid of Honor: my sister
Like I said before, the rain started to threaten our big day, but It didn’t do too much harm. Here are some pictures as proof that we just went with the flow:
The Reception:
Our reception took place at camp as well, just up the hill from the ceremony site. Camp Caudle has a big amphitheater that serves as a perfect place for gathering for sermons, worship, basketball games and talent shows. We opted to use the court area as the space for eating. (If it had rained out our ceremony, we would have used it for that as well.)
Here are some details about our reception:
- The food served at our wedding was from a local “mom and pop” diner. There was corn, beans, barbecue, potato salad, coleslaw, sweet tea, and kool-aid. We are southern kids through and through.
- Jesse LOVES spiderman, so his groom’s cake was tailored to him of course.
- Guests were encouraged to leave us notes of advice or scriptures that we still treasure today and read from time to time.
- We smashed each other with cake, and needless to say, Jesse got me good!: classic Jesse move. You know I had to get him back!
- All flower arrangements incorporated (artificial) hydrangeas, which are my favorite. Growing up, my pa-paw used to have hydrangea bushes at his house. We still have the same artificial flowers around our house today as decoration!
Our wedding day was definitely one of a kind. Friends and family were SUPER helpful in planning, preparing, and executing my DIY dream wedding. The rain just added to the uniqueness of the event. It fit in perfectly with the “theme” that was written on our programs: “Love knows no bounds.” We got through the rain together, which is what marriage is all about. I must say, I will never forget our special day. It was one of those moments you will treasure for life. God has blessed the two of us since the beginning, and the chapter of our wedding was no exception.
