In honor of our one-year wedding anniversary this year, I thought it would be the perfect time to finally get our whole wedding story written down and shared with all of you!

In Part 1 of our wedding story, I tell you about the week before our wedding, all the fun we had, and all the celebrations that occurred before we said "I do." Part 2 is all about the morning of - getting ready!

First of all, how adorable is this rental house we were blessed to be able to get ready in before the ceremony? It was such a steal that my family was able to rent it; it just so happens someone had canceled their reservation only a day or two before we saw it available online and, luckily, they snapped it up right away.

Part 1 ended with "I went to bed that night with butterflies because I knew in less than 12 hours, I would be married to the man of my dreams. The next morning I woke up and the fairytale, most-perfect wedding day I could have ever asked for began." Now, let's get to the details ;)

Planning the wedding, Tim and I decided to go with a brunch-timed wedding. It was not only so unique, but also quite a bit cheaper than serving a full dinner. That being said, we knew we'd have to sacrifice a bit on the time we would need to wake up to be ready for 9 a.m. bridal party pictures and an 11 a.m. ceremony start time. I thought, "oh, I'll probably have to wake up around 6 a.m." Nope. I had no idea hair and makeup could take so long, haha.

It was just my mom and I who wanted to get our hair and makeup done so my hair dresser, Chrystal (so recommended, by the way!), decided she would do my mom's first and then mine. My mom woke up at 4 a.m. (yep, you read that right) to start getting her hair and makeup done. By that point of the morning I couldn't continue to sleep (way too excited!), so I got up, went downstairs, had a bagel and some tea and chatted with Chrystal, Chantelle (her assistant and sister), and my mom. While the butterflies in my stomach were definitely still there, I was as calm as ever and sitting down there in the peace and quiet of the early morning was actually the most perfect way to start our wedding day.

I honestly can't tell you what else was going on while I was having my hair and makeup done. I was just so in the moment chatting with everyone in the room, while at the same time thinking "this is so surreal! Is the day we've been waiting for for what seems like forever really finally here?"

I was sitting in front of this beautiful, big bay window looking out on the drizzly morning sky with a sense that all was right in the world - that in just a couple of hours I would be walking down the aisle to marry the love of my life.

There were a few very special items I had with me on my wedding day. One was a gold heart, attached to my garter, that belonged to my late grandmother (my mom's mom). I also had my late grandmother's rosary on my bouquet. The last item was a blue ring that my mom gave to my sister for her "something blue" on her wedding day and my sister gave to me for my "something blue" on my wedding day. So happy I could incorporate all three into our special day.

I truly felt like a princess. Everyone kept asking me if they could do anything for me and telling me how gorgeous I looked (I thought, "I could get used to this!") ;) But in all seriousness, the love and support we felt that entire week, not to mention the day of, was overwhelming and humbling. We are so, so lucky to have all of the people in our lives that we do. Special thanks to my mom, Tim's mom, and my amazing bridesmaids for helping make the morning quite spectacular.

When the guys arrived to the house, I was promptly whisked away so Tim wouldn't see me before our "first look," a moment I will cherish for the rest of my life. More on that in part 3.

(Photography credit: Gregory Bartning of BelleImages)

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