Friday, October 3, 2014

A Lovely Wedding & the Surrounding Celebrations

I am so excited to be posting about this lovely event!
Sometimes, you know two wonderful people, and you have a little thought in the back of your head that they would be great together.....and then it happens and it is just so marvelous + such a God thing. 
This post is about the wedding and surrounding celebrations of my cousin and her (now) husband, both of whom are dear friends of our family.
A week before the wedding, we got together with the bride-to-be and her younger sister to practice the bride's wedding hairstyle! Such fun times.
So beautiful...
 And then there was the rehearsal. The day of the rehearsal was quite stressful with things at home + frantic last-minute practicing of "The Prayer" with our cousin who lives out of state and had just gotten in for the wedding. {that is a whole different story. There's nothing quite like trying to live up to Josh Groban. It's just rough, period. But praise the Lord...HE honestly made that song beautiful, because on our own we weren't doing very well!}
I had so many things on my mind w/ Labor Day prep + preparing for company + the wedding that I totally forgot to take my camera to the rehearsal. Hence the fuzzy phone pictures of the cheesecakes..because I just had to have some kind of picture to document the yumminess. =) Alli & I made cheesecakes for the rehearsal dinner-Blueberry Lemon, Pumpkin Praline, Triple Chocolate, & Mocha.
Ahh!!!
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A BRIDAL SHOWER
One morning the week of the wedding, My aunt hosted a lovely "girls only" bridal shower.
stunning fresh cut flowers
One of my cousins made this amazing biscotti.
Alli & I made chocolate covered strawberries.
Some of the gifts were....very, VERY fun. =)
The bride-to-be with her sisters, mother, aunt, and cousins.
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THE WEDDING ITSELF

Alli & I were in charge of hair/makeup for the bridal party ladies, so the morning of the wedding found us at the bride's home amidst piles of hairspray, bobby pins, and glorious things of that nature. =)





The photographer in me couldn't resist snapping a few pictures as the bride was getting ready. We were crunched for time with trying to get everything done in time for bridal party pictures, so I didn't have time to properly set my camera and compose my shots...but I grabbed a few anyway. =)

My cousin, sister of the bride, sewed her wedding dress for her! It was beautiful.

Dorcas, you are STUNNING!!

There's just nothing quite like leftover rehearsal cheesecake to start out your wedding day!
(even if we were very firm and insisted she wear a bib =))

A few problems occurred with attaching the veil but finally...success!!



The bridesmaids choose various styles...mostly side french braids and then low buns of curls.

lovely little flower girls

On the stage, at the church.

Yes, all these amazing people are my relatives! =) Such a fun group of cousins + uncle + aunt.


LOVE this picture.

We also did hair for two other cousins, who were the program attendants.

yours truly, with the bride...

My apologies...this is the only good picture I have of the ceremony. Being one of the musicians is definitely not like being the photographer; you don't have quite the flexibility and opportunity to take pictures since you are playing an instrument.
Naturally. =)
{you can hear a bit of our prelude music on their wedding teaser video, here}


The rain from the day before cleared off in time for a beautiful outdoor reception. The weather was perfect and the whole celebration could not have been more beautiful!

Alli and I and our brothers played bluegrass/fiddle music while all the guests were being seated and getting their food. The music set such a fun mood! 
Naturally, again, I have no picture of us. =(

The bride & groom had this lovely rustic little bridal table all to themselves.


There were special new additions to the family group....

there were DELISH and BEAUTIFUL cupcakes made by this talented cousin.

the bride with her brother.


the lovely bride, excited to be departing! =)

The wedding photographers had to leave immediately following the wedding, so my cousin asked me if I would come to a nearby location and take a few pictures of them at sunset. 
Of course, I said "yes, please!" =)









And there you have it. Yet another amazing, wonderful, God-honoring wedding, and another incredible couple to join the ranks of married folk. =) I love these weddings, I really do. So much joy and happiness and emphasis on honoring Jesus. It gets me every time. 
**Jacob & Dorcas...y'all are so perfect for each other and I couldn't be happier for you! Love you, dear people!**

Readers...anybody have a favorite? What is your favorite thing about weddings? 
-Chels

28 comments:

  1. Love this post! This was the perfect peek into the day since I couldn't make it, so thank you! :)
    Emily

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  2. So lovely! Thank you bunches for sharing with us! My favorite is the shot of the bride in her dress (with her bouquet) and her mother in the church. They weren't looking or smiling, but it was simplistic and so very beautiful. Thanks again!! =)

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  3. Beautiful pictures Chelsy! God has truly given you a talent in photography! My favorites were the last ones that you took of the bride and groom, the sunset ones. So gorgeous! What kind of lens did you use? Do you have any photography tips?

    The bride and groom have such a genuine radiance about them. That is clearly a God-written love story for them! Praise God for marriages like theirs!

    ~ Morgan R.

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  4. Awe...so much beauty!
    Beautiful bride...beautiful day...beautiful pictures...beautiful stylists...beautiful family...beautiful reception!
    May God richly bless them together as a married couple!
    Our Love and Prayers~
    The Mayo Girls

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  5. What an all around lovely post!

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    1. also, Chels, I'd like to suggest a hair tutorial for Alli's hairstyle in the photos where she's doing the bride's hair. love it!

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    2. I second that!!!

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  6. So pretty! I have been WANTING to see these pics! Since I sorta know your cuz! What a nice day! I love "seeing" your relationships you have with your cousins! My favorite things about weddings..... the first kiss! I love it when couples save their first kiss for their wedding day! Its so perfect! -Mary

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  7. Aw! what a sweet post of a very special day!

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  8. I loved seeing all of the pictures! It looked like a lovely wedding.:)

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  9. Looks like a beautiful wedding! You took some great shots!

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  10. BEAUTIFUL! SO nice to see families that get along! :-) I also enjoyed your snippet of your playing- it was beautiful. (And, yesterday I found your new 2014 Sibling Cooperation which I ADORE!) I simply love Blogtober. I know it's hard on you, but I like it!

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  11. So lovely!! It was such a sweet and fun day!!

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  12. It was such a lovely day!! :)

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  13. Gorgeous wedding and breathtaking photos! <3

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  14. Ahhh I just Love it!!!!!!!:) It just makes me get so excited all over again!!!;) I just Love the picture of Dorcas in her wedding dress laughing!!:) She's just so cute!!:) I just loved All of the pictures really!!;) Such incredible, fun memories!!!:) And you got such beautiful pictures of them in the sunlight!:) It was really So Wonderful, all of it!!:) And such a celebration!!!:) Jesus was So Beautiful that day!!!:) I love you dear!! And huge, large, and immense hugs!!;) Ha!;) ♥ Rhoda
    P.S. Ya'lls song really Was beautiful!!:) God was very gracious!!;) I still like to tease Hannah about what would have happened, had she made that mistake!!;) Ha!!;)

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    1. Oh yes...if she would've made "THAT mistake". haha...would've been hilarious for sure! =) We will never let her forget that, will we?! =)
      Yes, God was so gracious...He definitely blessed that song, since we were not ready for it on our own!
      hugs to you too, lovely!

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  15. What beautiful wedding pictures! Just seeing all the genuine joy and purity... so wonderful! The pictures of y'all getting ready are such special memories. Your cousin was a gorgeous bride inside and out! Your pictures during the "golden hour," as the sun sets are so lovely. Thanks for sharing their special day!
    Walking w/ Him,
    Clay

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  16. Wow! A beautiful wedding, indeed....with a beautiful bride. =) so neat to hear how it was such a God thing!!
    Chels, that coral scarf looks fabulously classy on you and the hats too!!! =)
    ~Priscilla G

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    1. Aww...thanks...the scarf + cream/navy hat are thanks to you, you know!! =) I borrowed the scarf from Alli for the wedding. =)

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  17. Chels! I love love these pictures! You did an amazing job!! Thanks so much!! :D I keep coming back to your blog to look at them! :)-Dorcas (the bride herself ;))

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    1. aww..thankyou for commenting, dear! I'm sooo happy that you are happy with them!

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  18. Wow!! Her mom(Dorcas's) came and spoke at a girl's conference that I was at here in Wisconsin!!!!!! It's a small world:)

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  19. Sounds like they were a lovely few days! The photos are really cool!

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  20. Wow, such a lovely wedding!! My very favorite photos are the ones with the sunset- just gorgeous!! Great job! :)

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  21. Such a beautiful day to celebrate a new life together! Can you please share the name of the song played at the beginning of the wedding teaser video? I have heard it many times before, but can't think of the name. Thank you so much!

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  22. Sounds like it was such a beautiful day! Thanks for sharing the pictures. :) I'm sure your cousin was super blessed by all the love + diligence you & Alli poured into making the day so special! And those cheesecakes are looking prettyyy yummy right now. :) Much love!

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