Now that you have read my ‘Married Young‘ post (and if you didn’t go check it out here), I thought I would share our special day with you: Our Wedding Day. We got married on the afternoon of October 21, 2016 when the sun was shining and it was still blazing hot outside because… Arizona, that’s why. We originally chose this day because it is our favorite month and is in the middle of our favorite season. I just wish it would have been a little more on the cooler side with the weather, because it was like being in a oven with the wedding dress that I was wearing! Other than the weather, It was the most perfect day because I got to marry my best friend.♥
We got hitched at The Farmhouse @ Schnepf’s Farm in Queen Creek, Arizona, which was a beautiful little farmhouse that was filled with the memories of others, not only from previous weddings, but also from the Schnepf family that was their childhood home growing up. They decided to keep their family home a part of Schnepf’s Farm by using it as the perfect wedding venue (And it seriously was!).
Our wedding was country themed with the boots and all (Yes… I made every single one of the bridesmaids and groomsmen wear cowboy/cowgirl boots). Now, all of our decorations were not provided by our venue, which was fine with us because we made all of our decorations ourselves including the flower arrangements and bouquets… EVERYTHING! Our flower choices were sunflowers, roses, and babies breath that went well with all the burlap that was on almost everything. Our favorite part of our decorations were our seating arrangement idea. We chose to do seating arrangements… but just to the point of having people assigned to a table not a seat… and we put our own spin on the table numbers. Each table was not given a number but a caliber. We picked 15 different gun calibers and assigned a table to it using a block of wood that we stained, the name of the caliber written on it, and even an actual caliber round glued to the wood block. Then on the board that had the list of who-sits-where, we wrote “Find Your Caliber”. Cute right?! We thought so! Overall, all of our decorations turned out perfect and was so worth the effort of making rather than buying (and it saved us money!)
All our delicious food was catered by my aunt’s catering business, Heidi’s Events and Catering. We chose a BBQ style meal and appetizers to go with our country theme. From BBQ chicken and country style potatoes to shredded pork and the Arnold Palmer, the food was perfect for our event. We got nothing but complements about the food and even the catering staff!
Our DJ, Robert Walk, was the most engaging DJ who made the wedding come to life and made sure that our guests were enjoying our special day. We liked to think of him as a DJ and a wedding planner because he did the part of the DJ but he went above and beyond by organizing the timing of everything and even putting together an itinerary to give to all our wedding vendors so that they knew when everything was going to happen. He even helped me organize a surprise for John of me singing “Dibs” by Keslea Ballerini to him on our wedding night. Of course, he was a little pricier than we wanted to originally spend on a DJ but it was well worth the splurge because he blew our expectations out the window from the moment we met.
Now, our photographer, Carla Beedy (owner of Carmichael Studios), was the service we raved about most! She captured every special moment that you would want to have memories of. We met her at a bridal expo and ended up booking an engagement photo session with her. When we received our engagement photos back from her, we knew that she was the photographer that we wanted for our wedding day. On top of creating beautiful pictures of our wedding, she was the sweetest and most personable person! I am a person who feels awkward when trying to pose, but Carla made it feel so natural. Our wedding pictures are wonderful memories that so special to us but she made them much more special. Feel free to check her website out here to see more of her amazing work!♥
Although our wedding turned out perfect… no matter how much I say it…there was still one thing I wish I could have changed but couldn’t. I lost my father in March of 2007 so I was not able to have him walk me down the isle or have that special daddy daughter dance… there is still a uplifting part about why I am telling you this though. Although I could not share those moments with my father, I was able to create an even more special memory of having my mother walk me down the isle to give me away and sharing a mother-daughter dance with her. And the most heart-warming part of this day is that I still had my father there with me. Tied to my bouquet with a piece of twine was my father’s wedding band, from his marriage with my mom, so even though he could not be there in person, he was still able to walk me down the isle in spirit and in my heart. We also displayed a memory table to recognize my father, as well as John’s grandparents that passed, with a memory candle and framed picture that held close to my heart. There we so many special memories from our wedding day but knowing that my dad was there in spirit was one of my favorites.
If you are still reading after that big sop story (sorry…), here are a few of our wedding photos taken by Carla (as well as the ones from above):
Overall, we had such a wonderful time and have so many great memories to look back on. There are so many days that I wish I could go back and relive the best day of my life♥
What was your wedding like? Did it turn out the way you wanted it to? If you aren’t married yet, do you have your dream wedding planned out (Pinterest users… I’m looking at you)? Let me know in the comments down below! I would love to hear about your special day!
Thanks for Listening♥
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Danielle Ruppert 