Wheelwright Wedding — savannah grace

First comes love, then comes marriage... Ahh! Joe and I were married on July 13th, just a couple weeks ago. I can't even BEGIN to tell you guys how amazing, special, magical, and wonderful that day was. The wedding day that I have imagined since I was a little girl came true; it truly was the best day of my life, and I want to tell you all about it. We haven't received all of our wedding photos back, but I will share some that we have been given. They're perfect!

For those of you who don't know, Joe and I are quite young, some might say a little too young to be getting married. I'm 21 and he is 22. It's funny though, we felt beyond ready to make this step in our relationship and our lives, and we weren't intimidated by the commitment whatsoever. When you know, you know. I would love to make a separate blog post about why we got married young, what's been hard about it, what's been easy, etc. But for now, I'll focus on the wedding.

We got married at a winery in McMinnville, Oregon called Youngberg Hill. It is the most GORGEOUS venue, it honestly feels like you're in Tuscany, Italy because of the views. One hundred and seventy-five of our dearest family and friends made the trek to support us, show us love, and party with us. Having all of those people there was such a blessing, Joe and I felt so tremendously loved. There's one specific image that will stick with me for the rest of my life - when Joe and I were introduced into the reception as Mr. and Mrs. Wheelwright, everyone immediately stood up clapping and cheering for us. I'm not sure why, but that was one of my fondest moments of the day. The amount of love I felt in that moment put tears in my eyes, and even writing this makes me teary. It was such a special moment.

Our bridal party included 10 of our best friends - I had six bridesmaids and Joe had five groomsmen. They made the day soooo much fun. Without my girls, I would not have been able to get myself through the day. I am SO beyond thankful for them, for their love, their support, their acceptance, and their friendship. I'm going to have these girls by my side for the rest of my life, and I can't WAIT to experience life with them. Anna, Annika, Karee, Val, Lauren, and Cassie..... I LOVE YOU!!!

I tried to create a European, classic, timeless, and bohemian theme to our wedding and incorporate as many small details as I could. One of my favorite details of our wedding was the flowers. Swoon Floral Design did all of our florals, and she killed it. They were soft, romantic, the perfect combination of messy and put together. The flowers were one thing I was not willing to compromise on... I just feel like they make such a difference in the mood and overall aesthetic of an event, especially a wedding. I was obsessed with them! I was also obsessed with our cake. Dream Cakes did our cake, and they also killed it. I wish I could have stared at the cake a little longer because of how beautiful it was.

Aside from the smaller details, the most important part of the day was the ceremony, and that was absolutely amazing. There was such a strong spirit of love, a spirit of power, and passion, it was emotional but in the best way. I will never forget how nervous I was, but how my dad was able to help me before we walked down the aisle. He helped calm me down and tell me everything was a-okay. I love my dad so much, it was such a special experience being able to walk down the aisle with him and have him give me away to Joe. Gah, I love my daddy to death.

Joe and I actually both wrote our vows the morning of our wedding, and they were both so impactful, so meaningful, straight from our hearts. Some people thought we were crazy for doing that, but hey... we pulled it off. One thing I loved about our vows, his in particular, is that they were SO specific to our relationship and what we have been through. No other couple could use our vows at another wedding - they were so special to him and I. I loved that! One piece of advice I want to give to anyone who is getting married in the near future...

1. Don't fret about your vows. It might seem intimidating, but it shouldn't be.

2. Pretend like you are writing a letter to your spouse, don't make it sound fancy or like you're writing an essay, Simply take your heart and pour it out onto paper.

Writing my vows was special, and also quite fun. I wrote them in a little café on the morning of my wedding day with my maid of honor, Anna. She helped me find the right words I was looking for. I'm excited to be able to turn back to our vows and read them and remember every promise that we made each other under the witness of God and all of our family and friends. After the ceremony, after the tears and the emotion and the nerves, it was party time. Joe and I sat together at a small sweetheart table in the corner of the reception area; that was so nice to be able to sit down and watch everyone without having any attention on us. It was also nice to sit down for a little while. I was wearing three-inch heels, which doesn't seem that bad, but let me tell ya...that's enough heel for me. We had our daddy-daughter dance, Joe and I's first dance, both of those were so special and so fun. My dad and I danced to "My Girl" by The Temptations - that's been our song since I was a little girl, and it was so fun being able to dance with him to that song.

Bethany Small Photography -- She is AMAZING!

One word to best describe the reception once the dance floor opened started was... FUN. Right as the music started to play, everyone went out and started dancing their hearts out. The young ones, the old ones, and everyone in between. It was SO much fun!!! We did the bouquet toss, and the garder toss, but one fun game that we played was a little different - I got the idea from going to pinnings in my sorority. The couple sits back to back and are asked questions regarding their relationship. We each hold one of our shoes and one of their shoes and have to raise whichever shoe indicates the answer to the question. So for example, we were asked, "Who is cleaner?" Both Joe and I raised his shoe because we both know he is way cleaner than I am. The fun part though, is that we can't we what the other person responds with. It was so fun, and I'm so glad we did it. We also had some lawn games out for people to use and the most popular event of the night - an ice cream truck. Everyone loved it. Once the sun set, we had café lights draping over the dance floor... I am SO happy we decided to incorporate that detail. It made the night so much more inviting, so romantic, and so much better. Overall, the night was a blast.

If there's one person I want to thank the most, it would be my mom. The amount of energy and time she put into helping me plan this day is so humbling. She wanted it to be just as perfect as I did, and both of my parents were 200% supportive of it. It was the biggest blessing having them be such a big part of the day and being able to experience it with them. I'm also so grateful for my amazing brother and all the support and love he has granted me. We have always been so close, and it was awesome having him there helping me, calming me down, and making the day so fun. I love you guys!! Every thing about my wedding day was perfect - EVERYTHING!! I can confidently say that. All the months of preparation were worth it because it all turned out just the way I have always dreamt it would be.

I want to give everyone that was a part of that day the biggest hug and thank you - ALL of you made the day so special and both Joe and I feel so lucky and so grateful to have all of you in our lives. Cheers to marriage, cheers to love, and cheers to happily ever afters!

I love you all so much, thanks for reading this long post of me bragging about the best day of my life. <3

xx, Sav