The Wedding Flowers

Omg, the flowers at the wedding were simply gorgeous! And I mean GORGEOUS!

My daughter Miranda's best friend Kendra is the creative genius behind the bridal bouquet, boutonnieres, bouquets and the beautiful floral arrangement. She's so amazing!

Kendra handed over the arranging of the centerpiece floral arrangements to my dear friend Chris and her lovely daughter Bailey. And let me tell you, they singlehandedly arranged 36 beautiful floral arrangements. That was no easy task. Truly a labor of love that I am forever grateful for!

The centerpiece decor will be a blog post all on its own. Can't wait to share all the details!

 

When the wedding was over, the flowers that were arranged in my mason jars came home with me. And let me tell you, I thoroughly enjoyed them, staging several photo shoots each day until their demise a week later.

  I would daily pick out the withered flowers, snip fresh cuts and add clean water every other day, making them last as long as possible.

I hung the shepherds hook aisle arrangements on my back patio.

I've been collecting Ball mason jars for many years... never dreaming they would one day be used at my daughter's wedding!

Miranda's dear friend Carla came to the wedding from England and brought me a Cath Kidston coffee mug. I know! Cath Kidston!!! I was beyond ecstatic! Doesn't she look pretty next to the wedding flowers? 

As you can see, I did my own arranging in various vessels. But check out the rose that never fully opened!

It was so dense, but never did open up. Rather strange.

The wash tubs that I brought back from the farm in Wisconsin last year were used at the wedding for bottled beverages. I have vivid memories of my Mom using those wash tubs along with her wringer washer. Talk about back-breaking work! 

Thank you for taking the time to read all my wedding posts. I have a few more to go, then onto Christmas!

Amy's wedding photos

Our dear friends Amy & her husband Andrew drove from Southern California on the day of the wedding and she went on to capture some of my very favorite photos! She's so talented I could hardly wait to share them with you. I'm amazed at what she shot from her aisle seat. 

But I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Oh my gosh, they make me cry every time I look at them!

Thank you Amy. Your photos tell a beautiful story of Aaron & Miranda's memorable day ~ that I now get to relive over and over again. I am forever grateful!

Wedding Family Photo

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

flower girl dresses

emolyn kate ~ 4

elsie lane ~ 2

My daughter Miranda was the lead in Hello Dolly when she was in the 8th grade and wore the most beautiful gowns.



One of which we transformed into the flower girl dresses that my granddaughters wore in their Aunt Miranda's wedding. Yes, in keeping with the theme of these wedding posts, even Emolyn & Elsie's dresses have a repurposed story. 

So thankful my friend Kathi made these gorgeous gowns using the lace fabric and pearl buttons I salvaged from the gown that Miranda wore 14 years ago. They turned out beautifully! And I could tell that Emolyn & Elsie loved wearing them too.

Just prior to the start of the wedding, I found Jack & the little E girls out on the porch steps. The interaction between the three of them was priceless.

Here they are walking down the aisle ~ the evening of the rehearsal.

And here they are walking down the aisle ~ the day of the wedding. 

Are they cute or what!

Pinkerton Photography wedding slideshow

IT'S HERE ~ the moment you've all been waiting for ~ professional photos from Kelsie Pinkerton Photography!!! Oh my gosh ~ outstanding ~ extraordinary! 

Don't get me wrong, I am forever grateful for the amazing, candid, heartfelt photos from friends and family, but I'm telling you, I could hardly wait to see the wedding through Kelsie's lens. She's amazing, so artistically gifted, so sensitive!
And what she does that sets her apart from the others, you will experience in the following link. Trust me, I have yet to watch this without crying. And if you think it's just because I'm the mother-of-the-bride, you would be mistaken. I have wept over every slideshow Kelsie has ever created over the years.

Once the slideshow is over it will automatically take you to Kelsie's blog post of the wedding on her web site, for even more breathtaking photos. You don't want to miss those either.
Simply stunning!

Be sure to have your volume up, and if beautiful photography makes you cry, a few tissues.

Aaron & Miranda's slideshow/ blog post

Ok, I can't have a blog post without a photo, so I was pretty excited to see that Kelsie and her 2nd photographer (and friend) Sarah had their photos taken at the Photo Booth!
Thank again Kelsie & Sarah!!

wedding snapshots

My sister Kathy and her daughter Kristen came to the wedding, all the way from Oklahoma.

I can't tell you how thrilled I was to have them here and thankful to have them share in such a special day. We had way too much fun together!

Kristen captured some of my most favorite photos of the wedding. Love the flowers!

Miranda decided she wanted the parents and grandparents wedding day photos on display at the guestbook table... along with cd's of Aaron & Miranda's favorite songs for the guests to take home as gifts. Love this idea.

Miranda also asked if I had an old mailbox that she could have on display at the gift table for cards. Of course I would. Does that make me a hoarder? Don't answer :) Yes, I happen to have two that I found in alleys over the years. This one wasn't as beat up as the other. I love the color she chose and that she let me keep the red metal flag as is.

Their mother's are sisters, but these cousins could easily be sisters as well!

My beautiful daughter waiting to walk down the aisle...

Miranda's dear friend Carla from England loved spending time with Emolyn & Elsie.

I loved that my sons Tyler (23) and Shawn (30) escorted me down the aisle. I remember thinking at this moment that I didn't want to miss a thing, I wanted to take it all in, to savor every moment, the way my daughter looked at Aaron, the smiles on the faces around me, the late afternoon glow, the quiet calm...

... and then she stepped out with her Dad... all lovely, peaceful and assured. I had to remind myself to breathe.

At one point in the ceremony both Dads shared, and it was so emotional and personal.

I love my mother-in-law with all my heart and will cherish this photo forever. Thank you Kirsten for capturing this special moment.

And then this amazing thing happened immediately after the ceremony ~ the backyard was transformed into this magical wonderland of loveliness.

The tables were repositioned, the wine bottles corked, the candles lit.

Such a sweet, beautiful, magical night ~ family & friends gathered under a canopy of twinkling lights, to celebrate the union of Aaron & Miranda. I will never forget it as long as I live.

The night had to end, but for these two, it was only the beginning. And oh what a start to an already deeply committed, God-honoring relationship. We were blessed to have witnessed such an event. God is truly good and faithful.