I’m sitting here in Indy, having just returned home from my wedding weekend and about to head off to my honeymoon, and my heart is so full. I’m married! And I got to spend days with close friends and family with the support of friends and family from afar. We had perfect weather, beautiful sunsets, good food and lots of laughs. And did I mention I’m married?!
The ceremony was in St. Joseph, Michigan, my hometown. 36 of our 39 guests had to travel some distance to get there; all told, there were people present from eight different states. How humbling! We felt so loved.
We rented a house in downtown St. Joe for most guests to stay in. There were 19 people in and out of that house at any given time, sleeping, eating, drinking. One of our guests best described it as, “It just smells like a big fart in there.” I say, that’s the sign of a good time! Everyone pitched in to bring food and drinks, and the front porch was always full of friends listening to music, telling stories and laughing until the wee hours of the morning. I think that house was the best decision we made for the weekend.
Our ceremony was at Jean Klock Park, and we had the most beautiful weather. Clear blue skies, clear blue Lake Michigan. My aunt and uncle did an incredible job building a floral arbor and setting up the entire ceremony site with chairs and blankets. It was so beautiful – straight out of my daydreams.
Our friend, Jimmy, officiated the ceremony, and he did such a great job. Bryan and I wrote our own vows and recited them to each other; of course, I could barely get through mine without going into the ugly cry.
I am still blown away at how perfectly everything went this weekend. We picked a random date on the calendar for this ceremony, and a site on the beach that could not be reserved, in a state we don’t live in, in the fall. So many things could have gone wrong: rain, wind, another wedding in the same spot. (Actually, as we were leaving our ceremony, another wedding party was walking down the same path to rehearse for their wedding the following day. What if we would have both selected to wed on the same day?!) But, everything went without a hitch. I seriously can’t think of anything that went wrong. And the weather! You all can’t imagine a better, prettier day. God must have cared about our little wedding ceremony, because he completely blessed us with his nature in its full glory.
I was so happy this weekend, I could have just exploded with joy. Last night, as I was on the porch of our rental house, sitting closely to my husband, surrounded by laughing friends and family, I took a deep, intentional breath to soak it all in. Sebastian told a story, my dad told a joke, someone almost broke a bench, my mom brought fried chicken, Bryan reached for my hand, everyone was happy. Bryan is mine, I am his. His friends are my friends; my friends are his friends. His family is mine; my family is his. I feel complete. I am abundantly, overwhelmingly, unfairly blessed.
I can’t wait to tell you more details about the ceremony, my dress, our dinner, and all the rest. For now, I hope you’re loving these sneak peek photos from our amazing photographer, Chelsey. (Which I’m totally using without her permission, so make sure you visit her website so I don’t get in trouble!) See you in a few days!
Jillian Wyatt 