A bohemian love story 🙏🏼✨

 

On May 5, 2019 Bryan and I committed ourselves to one another in the ceremony of marriage.

After spending countless hours planning every last detail, the day itself seemed to fly by! When you hear someone say to really enjoy every little moment, it is absolutely the truth. I wish that I could go back and do it all again, just so I could relish every moment a little bit more. It truly was such a special day, surrounded by family and friends. We opted for a rather small and intimate wedding, a little less than 75 guests. We want to extend our sincerest thanks again to everyone who came out in support of our union.

I am writing this blog post in part, to just share our experience, but also perhaps for inspiration to others who may also be in the process of planning their own wedding.

I also want to make a note, that I often hear how many people express what a “perfect” day their wedding was. I think that this expectation can put a lot of pressure on a couple trying to plan a wedding. I want to share that in my experience, not everything about our day went exactly as planned. There were many little things which could be “flaws”, but I instead have chosen to see them as reminders that those are not the things that really matter in life. It is about your commitment to your partner that matters. It can be so easy to get caught up in trying to plan a picture perfect event, but always remember the real reason for the celebration itself.  It rained on our wedding day, but we still managed to have the ceremony outside. The DJ played the wrong song on the entrance of the groomsmen, and it was too windy outside for our unity candle to light. These things however, are just laughable moments to me now. They are something Bryan and I look back on with smiles. Our day was perfect despite these things, because we choose to see it that way. There were also so many things that day that worked out even better than I expected. I choose to be grateful for all those things, there is a lesson in each of them.

As you may know, Bryan and I are bit untraditional in some ways. For this reason we wanted to have a  ceremony that reflected who we are, and our values. Bryan and I’s relationship was formed out of a connection we made during our yoga teacher training. Yoga for us is not just the physical exercise that some may perceive it to be, but instead it is a representation of union with the greater whole of the universe. The word yoga itself is often translated to mean union. It seemed well suited to also be part of our union to one another in this life as well. I closed my vows with the word, “Namaste”. This word has been somewhat appropriated by our culture,  but is often interpreted to mean “ I bow to you” or sometimes, “The light in me honors the light in you”. To me I think of it as a recognition that we are not as separate as we believe, we are at our core connected. I wanted Bryan to know that in the depths of my soul, I honor and respect him.

I highly encourage anyone planning their wedding to write their own vows if they feel comfortable. It doesn’t necessarily have to be anything elaborate, but just something heartfelt. It was very special for myself and Bryan to share our commitment to one another’s well-being in that way. In the five months we have been married, I have thought back about the words I shared quite often,and have sought to make sure I do my best to uphold them. The vows you make to each other are not always going to be easy to uphold, but in the challenge we are able to learn and grow.

I also want to share a little bit about the way we planned and styled the wedding for anyone who might be interested in those details. For the most part, I did most of the planning on my own. I had the support of Bryan, my mom, and my mother-in-law as well, but no wedding planner. Bryan, my mom, and myself visited a handful of venues together. We wanted to find a place that had an outdoor venue, as well as an indoor reception area that was affordable as well. We also wanted to pick a location that would be accessible to both of our families, myself being from southern Virginia and Bryan’s family being from Maryland. We ended up deciding on The Mill at Fine Creek which is venue located in Powhatan, Va, just a little west of Richmond. We decided on the Mill for the before mentioned details, and for the fact that there were cottages on site which meant Bryan and I wouldn’t have to travel far after the reception for somewhere to stay.  The Mill is also in our opinion of the most picturesque venues in Virginia that we saw. It had a beautiful indoor reception area, and well curated and lush foliage outside. There was an option to have the ceremony in the Mill ruins, under a pergola, or down beside the creek that runs through the property. We decided on the pergola location because it offered more space, and would be shaded from the sun as well. The Mill also offered on site catering. This may be a con for some, because you have to meet a certain price minimum: but the food they fixed was absolutely delicious and it was very convenient to have it all done on site.

 

As far as the styling and theme of our wedding, I wanted a very bohemian feel. This meant we included macramé details for our backdrop, a geode cake topper, and agate and crystals to decorate our tables. I also wanted the tables to be colorful and unique. As soon as Bryan and I got engaged, I began collecting different colored glasses to give away as wedding favors. These also served as an eye catching decoration; and I hope a gift the guests found both interesting and useful. Thanks to the help of our wonderful floral team (Amy Marie Events) the flowers also added a boho feeling. She included many wildflowers in different colorful vases, and my bouquet included a gorgeous king protea flower and pheasant feathers I had asked her to incorporate. We had also asked to them to help design a Teepee for a photo backdrop. Bryan and I both value Native American culture as well. My family actually has ancestry from the Cherokee Indian tribe. Amy and her team designed a beautiful topper for the Teepee and a backdrop for the pergola at the ceremony site as well.

 

 

As for my own styling for the day, I want to say a huge thank you to my friend Jordan Simpson who did my makeup, and the talented Myra from All about Hair who styled my hair not only once, but twice because of the rain.  If you’re wondering about my dress, I had my eyes on it for a long time and never thought I would be able to wear it. It is from my absolute favorite designer Rue de Seine which is based out of New Zealand. They just happened to have a store in Georgetown D.C. which was not too far from where I am currently living in Maryland. For my bridesmaids I found a convertible one on amazon which I thought would be great so the girls could creatively express themselves, and wear in a way that made them feel beautiful. If you’re reading this ladies you were all absolutely stunning and I am so thankful for every one of you. And guys, y’all cleaned up so well! Bryan did a great job of picking out the men’s attire.

For the ceremony itself we had a Reverend from Yogaville, who we had both met in our time there. He did a wonderful job of customizing the ceremony to suit our needs and desires. He opened the ceremony with a Tibetan singing bowl which was a special touch. Luckily the rain managed to stay at bay for most of the ceremony except for a few sprinkles. It felt like a dream to be standing in front of so many people that we care deeply about. I am so grateful to everyone, especially our bridal party and parents who supported us with their time and energy. The day may have been about celebrating Bryan and I, but it would not have been the same without our families and friends there to share in the joy.

 

After the ceremony we had a cocktail hour for the guests to mingle and eat some appetizers while Bryan and I did some of our wedding pictures. We had taken family and bridal party portraits earlier in the day at the mill ruins. Luckily the rain had completely subsided at this point, so we went down to the creek area and did some pictures with the water and stone. Although it was still somewhat overcast, I actually found that this lighting suited well for the photos. Our Photographer, Maddie ( Maddie Kaye Photography), was a family friend of Bryan’s and she did an excellent job. After we finished with photos we joined everyone inside for the reception.

We started off the reception with an entrance of the bridal party and our first dance as a married couple. We chose the song “Nothing More” by the Alternate Routes.  We then thanked everyone who had joined us, and the Reverend blessed the meal. A Caesar salad was the first course, afterwards guests were welcomed to the buffet where they could choose their food options. Although I am mainly vegetarian, we had chosen to serve food that would best suit our guests desires. We served a teriyaki salmon and a panko breaded chicken as the meat. As sides we had a shitake mushroom and green bean dish, mashed potatoes, and my personal favorite, mac and cheese. We also served dinner rolls as well. The food was all delicious in my opinion. I wish I could have taken leftovers on our honeymoon with us!

After dinner we opened up the dance floor with the classic father daughter dance, and mother and son dance. I also incorporated a special mother daughter dance for my mom and I as well to honor her. It was really so special to dance with my parents. If you all aren’t aware my dad had been diagnosed with cancer earlier in the year, and I felt so beyond blessed to have him and my wonderful mom there to celebrate with me. After these special dances everyone joined in the dance floor.  Bryan and I had chosen a fairly old school playlist with lot’s of 70’s style music. One of my favorite dance memories is when everyone joined in a big circle to the song “We are family ” by Sister Sledge.

 

Later into the reception we had the Maid of Honor and Best Man toasts along with the cutting of the cake. Thank you so much to Chloe and Erik who shared their stories of our friendship and wished Bryan and I the best of luck in our life together. Cutting the cake was something I was looking forward to, as I have a huge sweet tooth. Our cake was lemon flavored with a vanilla buttercream icing, topped off with a rock candy geode cake topper. The cake was truly delicious, and I regret that I didn’t eat more of it! I am making Bryan wait until our one year anniversary to eat the top of our cake. He doesn’t really agree with this tradition (he wants to eat it now), but I think it will be a special way to celebrate that moment.

After the cake cutting, we danced some more until it was time for things to wind down for the evening. The whole evening really seemed to fly by. I wish I could do it all gain and appreciate it all even more. We ended the night by lighting luminary bags in honor of the loved ones who could not be with us on that day.  I look back on it with such fondness. As I sit here and write this it has been a little over five months since our celebration, and with each day that passes I feel that I value it all even more. I also think it is important to remember the wedding is just the start, although there will be many challenges along the way, it is such an honor and privilege to be able to share your life with someone you love.

 

It may be a cliche, but I really believe, love  is really all you need.

P.S. I still have so many more pictures I need to upload. Hopefully will add more to the album soon.

Thanks for reading! 🙂