Family Affair

Having such a large family we decided to use them to our advantage. They knew that with us saving money we could invite more people to celebrate our day with us. So, below are some ways friends and family came together to make our day special!

Bridal Party - We chose all family to stand up for us on our special day. Friends come and go from our life but family is forever. My cousin and her husband married us. My other cousins stood up for us. And my cousin's four beautiful girls were our flower girls. And Hunter, my nephew, was our ring bearer. Check our Maryn in the front. She's letting the photographer know she's done!

Flowers - We did them ourself! We had a college friend cometeach us how to doarrangements, bouquets and boutonnieres. Then the day before the wedding we got together as a family and arranged and wrapped for a few hours. We did not cut the bottom of the bouquets or wrap them until the wedding day so that we wouldn't be holding soaking wet ribbons.

Va

ses - My mom made a few large arrangements to dress up the chapel and venue. I trusted her with this since she always does a beautiful job. It was just the touch of height and color for the chapel and a few tables in the reception.

Garter - My mom volunteered to sew me my garter! She did an amazing job with the size andfabric and details. This was much more personal than buying one from a store. The time that went into it made me enjoy wearing it that much more.

Something Blue - Ashley Taylor made me a beautiful hand stitched tag to go in my wedding dress that had our initials, the date and a heart. This will be a piece of the wedding I will always keep. I also got a cute pair of blue undies at my bridal shower to wear under my dress.

Ring Bearer Pillow - We were pretty sure getting a 1 year old down the aisle with a pillow would not work. So, I found a great idea of making a small pillow to attach to his wrist. My cousin Jessica made the pillow and even made it look like my dress! This idea was asuper success. Hunter ran down the aisle and the

ringsmade is safely.

Cake Cutting and Serving - My dad does woodworking so we found a way to get him involved too. He made us custom cake cutting and serving pieces that we will have forever. They stay in our hutch and we bring them out anytime we need a flat serving piece.

Grandma's Pearls - My dress had a lot of detail at the top so a flashy necklace didn't work. We chose my grandma's pears because they were from family and they added just the right amount to the dress. Not to mention their color matched my dress.