wedded bliss.

i can't tell you how much fun it has been to "relive" our wedding through tulips & flightsuits. planning this wedding was such an amazing experience for us, mainly because we cared about each detail, but only in so much as it let our guests know how grateful we are to have them in our lives and led to something great in our marriage.

for all you brides to be out there, i hope something here has been helpful, and in that spirit, i thought i might do one big post that will link you with all the previous posts on our wedding. so, you can find exactly what you need! first of all, if you want to scroll through all the wedding posts, simply click on the tag on the right that says wedded bliss!

the post that began it all.

our engagement photos here and here.

unique wedding presents here and here.

our save the dates, here.

our invites here and here.

incredible calligraphy here and the president's invitation here.

postcard "guest book" here. (we're loving getting them in the mail!!)

(lots more links- click through if you like!)

photo booth goodness, here.

photos we took in the streets and at a coffee shop

our flowers. just love them.

bridesmaids brightly colored shoes and groomsmen's spectator shoes, all here.

writing letters on our wedding day here.

why we loved having an ipod for dancing, here.

our dinner with farm tables and potbellys sandwiches.

table numbers that meant something and one of a kind place cards.

jars of candy, here. and super rich chocolate cake, here.

ring bowl/keepsake, here.

the. dress.

handmade programs, here. 

finally, our giving tree rehearsal dinner invites.

there is so much i could say about planning this wedding, and even more importantly our marriage, but in short, it was such a bonding experience for us. we kept it small in terms of numbers. ryan's family is wonderfully big, so truly this wedding was our family and dearest friends (all 124 of them!)

we didn't have a wedding planner, didn't have a big budget, were paying for some of it ourselves, weren't both in the same place or ever living where the wedding was and did it all in six months. ryan was in naval flight training, i have a more than full time job and all this to say, we made planning this wedding a shared experience and something that brought us joy.

i'm a tad bit type a :) and a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to arts and crafts -- and i have a wonderfully patient husband. we did the programs while watching episodes of entourage or west wing and talking about our days. we held each other accountable for not spending our time or money on things we didn't think needed to be a part of our big day and kept our focus on our marriage and making our guests feel really loved. 

we made plenty of mistakes (i had a dress crisis 65 days before the wedding and had to find a new dress, the sandwiches were delivered three hours early- while the art center was still open, we couldn't find a clear rubber band for my hair even though we had 10 girls in the house) but at the end of the day, we were married and oh, so, happy.

so, my best advice, is to take a deep breath, constantly ask yourself if this is bringing you joy and best you can, soak up being engaged. the best news is, being newlyweds is way better.

thanks for reading, i'll be back tomorrow to take any Q&A you have on our big day!

Comments

[Allison Z]

So I've announced my love of this blog on facebook, and I've been reading through all of tulips and flight suits this past week. Needless to say, I'm clearly enjoying myself. While I have not planned a wedding yet, I love reading all your tips and really unique ideas. Most of all, I love how personal your wedding seemed to be. Basically, it is incredibly refreshing and I can't wait to use this blog as a tool when wedding planning time is here!