Some pictures are worth a thousand words. When you see them you can instantly feel the love, laughter, sights, and sounds. And when wedding photos do that, you just instantly know that the day was, well, perfect. But when you get THAT combined with the sweet story from the couple themselves, it makes everything you see that much more special. That’s exactly how we feel about Jamie and Melissa’s wedding, captured so amazingly by Inner Song Photography. The pictures already show us just how fantastic the day was, but combined with Jamie’s story, below…it becomes that much more magical.
“As a couple, we are pretty out of the box, and like to do things differently. So when it came time to plan our wedding, we knew we wanted it to be different then most other weddings. We both like to talk (a lot) and laugh (a lot), and we both value finding the meaning and authenticity in everything we do. So first and foremost we wanted our special day to be a really good time and feel like us every step of the way. My fiancé is someone who doesn’t like to be vulnerable in front of people, so we thought it would be fun (and necessary) to open up the ceremony with a shot of whiskey to loosen her up as well as signal to our guests that they were in for a wild ride that evening. Every guest had a shot glass hidden under their chair, and so we all did a quick toast at the beginning of the ceremony, which really broke the ice and got things off to a festive start.
As the ceremony continued, we were both so overwhelmed by the whole experience that we kept trying to kiss each other prematurely which our officiant had to remind us that there was no kissing until the end! Then when she went to pronounce us wife and wife, our officiant accidentally said, Mr. and Mrs., which if you know her, and you know us, was actually one of the best moments of the whole night. The entire ceremony was so totally us, mistakes and all!
We had rented out a beautiful estate in wine country that we held both the ceremony and the reception at as well as stayed there the whole weekend with our families. Staying on site made the whole weekend so intimate and easy, as well as quelled my control issues knowing I was right there should anything go wrong. We had a gourmet burger food truck cater the reception and a vintage ice cream truck roll up for dessert, complete with bells and all, which really brought some fun character to the wedding. We did most everything ourselves, which ensured that our essence as a couple really came through in every detail.
My wife is a (fanatical) Dave Matthews fan so we named all of the tables after her favorite Dave Matthews songs, and for our favors we got personalized spice jars printed up with a silly picture of us to help people remember the day by. We still use those spices almost 1.5 years later, and so do all of our guests! We really wanted the day to be relaxed, fun, and basically a big giant party with all the people we love. It could not have been more special, and when the night came to an end and we went upstairs to bed, half the party was still going strong at 1am. We heard from a lot of guests that they had the biggest hangover of their lives the day after our wedding. That is exactly what we were hoping for, mission accomplished!
Right before we got into bed that night, I realized that I had left the hat my uncle had playfully put on my head during the reception on the table outside. It had started gently raining by then, and I was so upset that I left it out there. My new wife, the amazing woman that she is, ran back out into the rain and grabbed it for me. It still sits on my dresser today. My uncle passed away shortly after our wedding, and that night was the last time I saw him. I am so grateful for that last beautiful moment I had with him, for all the love we were surrounded by that night, and for my beautiful new wife who loves me unconditionally. I’ve decided that being a wife definitely suits me!”
Photographer: Inner Song Photography//Caterer: American Flavors food truck//Event Venue: Bella Gardens Estates//Floral Designer: FlorUnique//Specialty Foods: Sweet Treats Truck
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