Wedding Wednesday: The Reception

Hello and happy Wedding Wednesday! I have to say, I'm not great about showing up here every Wednesday to recap our wedding, but when I take the time to go through photos and prepare a post, it always puts my heart in such a happy place. When I say the wedding day flew by, it's difficult to get across just how true that statement is. Taking some time every few weeks to peek at our photos again and choose some of my favorites takes me right back to that particular part of our day and I really love that about blogging in general. So let's get to it, shall we? Here are some I mean lots of my favorites from our reception.

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Snyder for the first time ever!

For our first dance, we twirled around to "Baby I'm  Yours" by "The Arctic Monkeys."

Jonathan and his momma danced to "A Song for my Son" by Sarah Connor.

My daddy and I danced to "Dance Baby Dance" by Chris Cagle. I've never been able to listen to this song without crying and the first time I heard it, I knew it was the one we'd dance to. This is just one of the many moments of our day I shared with my father that I will never ever forget.

Trying to keep my tears under control which was a constant the whole day.

My dad was a nervous nelly about his speech and I have to say he was so amazing. Watching him up there welcoming Jonathan into our family and being genuinely over the moon about it was more than I could ever ask for.

This photo kills me! I don't even need to show you the photo that came after this for you to tell that Jonathan's cousin, Bree (the one diving in the blue dress) caught my bouquet! I love this one!

This photo of my mom makes me so happy.

This next photo requires a story because it is too amazing not to share. My father has never been much of a

dancer. Whether we've all been at another wedding or just a night on the town, we've never been able to convince him to get on the dance floor and just dance. Quite a while back, I found a funny pin on Pinterest that said, "The secret to dancing: Pretend you have a wedgie and try to get it out without using your hands." I sent it to my dad because I knew it would make him laugh and didn't really think about it again. During our reception as people started hitting the dance floor, I was so pleasantly surprised to see my dad not only on the dance floor, but he was tearing it up! I obviously had to rush over there and celebrate his new-found dance moves when he caught my eyes, leaned in and said these three words:

"I'm doing it!" 

I knew exactly what he was referring to (my little piece of advice I had texted him probably over a year before this) and I know I will never forget how unexpected and hilarious this moment was! My dad proceeded to spend the remainder of the night on the dance floor and even grabbed the microphone for some karaoke at one point! I don't think I'd ever seen my dad have such a genuinely good time before. I love that man!

Our wedding reception was an absolute blast! I'm glad we kept things fairly simple and focused on making sure everyone just had a really good time. I knew the night was going to fly by and I tried to stop every now and then and simply take it all in. Even still, the DJ announced our last song and I was shocked that our night was coming to an end. I'll never forget dancing with Jonathan to the last song with the happiest tears in our eyes as we watched our loved ones dance and celebrate around us in complete awe and appreciation. It was truly an unforgettable night.

All photos by Lora Rodgers Photography.

Linking up for Wedding Wednesday.

Wedding Wednesday: Reception Details

Details, details, details! We tried and I believe we succeeded at keeping things fairly simple when it came to our reception decor. I have to admit that while I obviously enjoyed planning our big day, making decisions on all these little details was a little overwhelming. I mean, there is so  much to think about and the little things add up so quickly. We wanted it to look nice and fit with our theme and of course, our personalities but we also weren't about to spend time and money on things we honestly didn't feel were super important at the end of the day.

My favorites were obviously the navy and white striped straws and the coasters, which Jonathan made from tree branches he cut himself...he even ordered a custom brand and personally branded each coaster with our initials. I love, love, love that he thought of this idea and did it all himself...it added such a sweet personal touch to our decor!

It was pretty awesome walking into our reception and seeing all of our ideas and planning come together!

All photos by Lora Rodgers Photography.

Linking up for Wedding Wednesday.

Wedding Wednesday: The Ceremony

Hello and happy Wednesday! I thought I'd switch things up with a Wedding Wednesday post today seeing my last wedding post was about 2 months ago. Oops! The thing is, I really want to share the rest of our day with you all, so I'm back! I think we left off after our family and bridal party photos, so today I'm sharing a few shots from our ceremony. 




My brother walking my beautiful momma down the aisle

I still can't get over how awesome Dean (Jonathan's nephew) did as our ring bearer. He carried this adorable sign and made it all the way down the aisle. We weren't sure what to expect and he did so great! There's my niece and our flower girl, Alyssa speeding down the aisle. She took her job very seriously ;) 

If I remember correctly, It felt as if we sped down the aisle. Sure, it didn't make for great photos of the bridal party walking down or opportunities for many photos of my dad and I walking down, but it was coooold, I was nervous and honestly, I had a hunk waiting for me at the other end. Why not rush down the aisle?

That smile on my dad's face! There are no words.

One of the first decisions we made was to write our own vows and I'm so glad we did. It goes without saying that exchanging our vows was my absolute favorite part of the day. Jonathan's vows were so well written and beautifully spoken and mine, well at the least they were perfectly written. The delivery on the other hand? Despite practicing so many times, my emotions got the best of me on our day and while I think you could still understand what I was saying and I made it through them (and it could have been worse), I was hoping to avoid being such a blubbering mess up there.




My new husband and I with our bridal party before heading inside for the reception!

Every moment of our ceremony was perfect. We wanted it to be simple and a reflection of our personalities and relationship. I truly think we achieved that and it was everything we'd hoped for.

All photos by the lovely Lora Rodgers Photography.

Linking up for Wedding Wednesday. 

Corn Hole, Crab Cakes & Cherry Blossoms

Happy Monday! We had an absolute blast in Maryland over the weekend. We went up for one of Jonathan's good friends' wedding reception. They had a private ceremony with just family and invited everyone to a casual barbecue reception. The weather was gorgeous and we spent the weekend with such a fun group.

It was perfect. So perfect that I don't even know how to tell you about it without just inundating you with the photographic proof. So here you go :)

This was the view from our hotel room.We got in super late Friday night and went right to bed. I was ecstatic to see this view when I opened the curtains on Saturday morning and saw this.

Benefits of a casual wedding reception absolutely include wearing flip flops and playing outside and I certainly didn't hate it.

Our men all told us "it's casual...just wear jeans," but I'm glad us ladies all decided we just don't operate that way. Casual dresses were a great choice.

On Sunday, Jonathan and I made the hour drive to D.C. just so we could see the cherry blossoms. Neither of us had been before and we didn't have nearly enough time to see everything, but we made it by the White House and wandered around a bit before heading to the airport.

 Jonathan has been working like crazy and life has been hectic so I couldn't have asked for a better weekend away with him. It made my heart so happy to see him relaxed and taking a break from work. On this Monday morning, I'm left feeling thankful for the good friends in our lives and this current season of our lives. We are so absolutely blessed and I am constantly reminded of that.

This week is all about prepping for the big Easter brunch we're hosting. I have lots of crafting, cleaning and baking to do and I can't wait to see how everything comes together on Sunday.

How was your weekend?