Before getting married everyone told me “You won’t sleep on your wedding night, and you won’t eat on your wedding day”. Let me just say… I beg to differ. I slept like a freaking baby the night before, and woke up the morning of our wedding and ate a ton of fruit, an entire bagel from Panera with cream cheese, cookies (made by Jessie at Main Street Cookies and Cream in Fisher, Illinois), coffee, and mimosas. In fact, my sister said “Wow, you are eating more today than you do most days”, LOL! I was just so excited, and relaxed. I literally had zero nerves.

That morning, Alisa Greene, our incredible photographer, Jeremiah Cox, our videographer from ParkLife Films, and our glam team came to the house we got ready at. Huge shoutout to my coworker, Kenny who owns a gorgeous home in our area rented his home out to us to stay in the week of the wedding, have my bachelorette party at, and to get ready for the day at. It was perfect. I will link his Airbnb here. My mom and my sister surprised me with a beautiful robe to wear while I got ready.

Let me take a moment to brag on my incredible glam team. I hired Aleah Nickelson to do mine, and my girls’ makeup. She is not only CRAZY talented, but also has a heart of gold. Aleah made us all feel so beautiful and glammed up. What I love about her is that she makes you feel so pretty, but you also still look like yourself. Sometimes the glam gets a lil crazy and you can look like a different person real quick, but she really just accentuates your natural beauty and makes you feel naturally beautiful. She was the perfect person to do my wedding makeup. I have recommended her to SO many people, and I know I will hire her again for future family photoshoots and maternity pictures when that time comes.

For hair, I hired Haley Piper (who came to do my bridesmaids’ hair the WEEK before her wedding?? a superwoman??) from Salon 105 in Mahomet, Illinois to do my bridesmaids’ styles, and my childhood bestie, Joey Starwalt to do my hair. Joey has done my hair for years for school, football games, homecoming, and prom… I knew I wanted Joey to do my hair for my wedding day, too. It was so special to have her there while we got ready.

After we got all glammed up, it was time to get dressed! My gown was all I could’ve dreamt of. I worked with the team at Sophia’s Bridal and Tux in Indiana to create my ideal look. I selected a very simple gown, and added lots of my own details to it to make it my own. Including all 119 hand-sewn buttons up the back, haha! I also had them add a removable overskirt, and I also had them use fabric from my gown to create a giant detachable bow that I could put on for the reception after I removed the overskirt. My dress was called the Blaire from their private line, Joie. My overskirt was a Maggie Sotterro. My veil and hairpiece were both from Amazon, and my jewelry (bracelet and earrings) are family heirlooms. It felt so special to have my mom and my sister help me get into my dress.

After I changed into my dress, I did a first look with my bridesmaids. My sister guided them outside (since she had helped me get dressed), and it was so special. My bridesmaids are all wearing black maxi dresses from Lulus, and my sister is wearing one from David’s Bridal. She needed a maternity dress, because she is having a BABY! Woo-hoo!

After we did our first look, I ate almost an entire Jimmy Johns sub, and a coke and we left for the venue. Once we got there, I had the absolute honor of doing a first look with my Nana and Papa. My mom’s parents are so incredibly special to me, and I wanted to have this intimate moment with them to laugh, and cry, and celebrate with them privately. WARNING: These pics may make you cry OMG… These two are just precious.

Soon enough, it was time for the ceremony! A HUGE thank you to Herriott’s Rents Tents and Events in Champaign, Illinois for supplying us with these chairs for our guests to sit in. We will talk a lot about Herriott’s in the next part, just know they are THE best!

My bridesmaids looked UNREAL! Here they are about to walk down the aisle, carrying their bouquets from Flora Design Studio in Mahomet, Illinois. I wanted almost the same bouquet, just larger, so you’ll notice we have almost the same bouquets. All of our precious people came down the aisle, and then… it was my turn! I rode a golf cart down to the end of the aisle because it was a looooong walk. My amazing brother-in-law, Mitch walked me down the aisle.

Hayden and I grew up in the same church so it was very easy for us to decide who would marry us. Two words. Matt. Clark. Matt is really important to both of us, and has been a great friend to us for years. It was an honor to have him marry us!

Hayden got my wedding band from Anye Designs as well. It is the perfect complement to my engagement ring. I got Hayden’s wedding ring from AydinsJewelry on Etsy. They were so great, and they even exchanged Hayden’s ring totally free of charge for a half size smaller. They’ve got a great selection, and Hayden loves his band. We were gifted the most beautiful ring box for our ceremony from Liron Trésor based in Miami. Remember that logo I told you was so important to design in part 1? Yeah, they printed our logo onto our box for us. So chic.

After our ceremony, we did family portraits. Here is us with Hayden’s side of the family! And, then with my mama’s side.

And, that was our ceremony deets. Head over to Part 3 to check out our reception… personally, my favorite part!