Photo Shoots and Soup
After the first look photos, we got an opportunity to take photos of just the two of us together, happy and in love. We also took plenty of bridal party photos that were natural and not too posed. I wasn't too cold, but I think I was running on adrenaline, since my maids I think were shivering pretty bad. Although you can't really tell in the pictures!
Matt's groomsmen were his very best buddies from growing up. He'd known them for years, and couldn't have picked a goofier bunch of guys. They all wore black vests and black ties, and my Matthew wore a white vest and white tie - sort of the male version of bridal white. :)
My bridesmaids were basically the most random collection of girls ever put together. From left to right are Matt's sister (my sister-in-law) Marrina, my dear sweet cousin and oldest friend Amber, my maid-of-honour and best friend Kirsten whom I've known since the first grade (and it was also her birthday that day!) and then on the end is Mallory, my older brother's at-the-time fiance, who has since become a great family friend, and was a stupendous bridesmaid.
What my bridesmaids wore wasn't too much of a concern for me, since I know for-a-fact that you never wear a bridesmaid's dress again, unless it quite literally was taken out of your closet to begin with. So I didn't want them to spend too much, and I quite frankly just didn't care too much what they looked like. As long as the girls were comfortable, and they were the right colour, I was satisfied. The other obstacle was that these girls were from ALL over, and I couldn't get them all together at once. Solution? I picked out a suitable dress from the Sears catalogue for a ridiculously reasonable price, and told them all to order it in their size. Done.
The bridesmaids "bouquets" were actually homemade bunches of white feathers with tiny pearls on acrylic strands, their bases wrapped in white silk ribbon. My bouquet was similar, only larger, and incorporated large pearls on fabric-wrapped wire, and round crystal beads, with the base wrapped in sparkling white wire ribbon. There's no closeup of the men's boutonnieres but they were also a small white feather with crystal incorporated as well, all hand made by myself.
After a round of picture taking, we all headed inside for some delicious lunch, put together and cooked by our wonderful hostess and home owner, Kirsten's mom. There was a delicious bevy of buns and butter, cheese, crackers and meats, muffins, and some amazing soup.
This was another highlight of my day - just sitting next to my husband-to-be and having some lunch together. Giggling about what we were about to do, trying not to get crumbs all over our clothes, just enjoying each other and relaxing and taking in the moment. It was so simple and so beautiful.
Sometime after this, my mom showed up and marveled at my prettiness. It was nice to have her there. Then we all headed back outside in little groups to take more photos together. Either just Matt and I, or the bridal party. We just explored the yard, looking for spots to pose together, goofing off and just having a great time. Not feeling the cold at all.
This photo actually wasn't prearranged. The kiddos were actually peeking through the window at us, and the photographer caught a glimpse of them and told them to stop where they were. Then Matt and I shared a kiss while they peeped on from their sneaky little spot, and we got this amazing photo, one of my favourites from the day.
As we posed for photos in the dirt road, a couple of vehicles drove past, waving and honking their horns, congratulating us on our impending nuptials. It was so much fun.
And then the groomsmen found these tools in the barn, and they of course got to take their manly photo out in the road as well. And since they found them in a traditional Mennonite housebarn (I'm actually of Mennonite heritage myself) they let out their battle cries as they raised their "Weapons of Mennonite Destruction." Eyeroll.
And when photo taking was finished, we headed over to the ceremony - what the whole day had really been about.
To be continued...
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