Peyton and I both work in an industry where people are constantly vying for our attention. We both work where people need us and we have a lot of knowledge that is valuable to others. He runs conferences and leadership events, I know a little about everything in our company to be dangerous. People seek us out and we love being able to help those in need.
What I said above is what really made me consider eloping. We tend to people all day long, so when it comes to "us", there is never time for just he and I. I wanted to take our parents and siblings, the preacher man, and go get married by the pond where our engagement pictures were taken. I wanted that intimate moment so badly...I wanted to focus on our marriage, not a wedding itself. I already had a simple white J. Crew dress hanging in closet, some pretty jewels, and was ready to marry that boy any moment he was convinced that eloping was the best option too.
After much discussion, we decided that we didn't want to regret not having our friends and family by our sides, so we decided to have a small wedding...which turned into 186 people.
I am so glad he convinced me to go ahead with a ceremony and reception. We have beautiful and holy memories from our ceremony, we had a great team of bridesmaids and groomsmen, and we had a lot of fun celebrating with family and friends.
After making the decision to not elope, I was still seeking that private moment between he and I, so we agreed on a first look. We didn't do anything traditional about our wedding (no bouquet toss, no garter, no unity candle, no wedding favors), so why do the traditional first look down the aisle? We planned the first look with our photographer (her first!!) and it was one of the best decisions we made throughout the wedding planning process.
One of my favorite moments was between my dad and I before the first look. He helped me get in the car and drove me across the street to where I was meeting Peyton. My dad used to take me to school as a little girl, so I felt those memories flooding back. Even though we didn't talk much, it was so fun for my dad and I to have that moment together.
I was so excited to see Peyton that I practically jogged my way over to him. Not seeing each other for 18 hours isn't fun, especially the night before you get married! In the middle of my jog walk to Peyton, Tiffani stopped me and told me turn around. It was seriously torture for both he and I. I was so ready to get my arms around him and to begin our life as one.
Even though my dress wasn't a "surprise" when I walked down the aisle, it was still a special moment between he and I. I knew that when I got down to the end of the aisle, my groom was going to be there waiting and in the end, that's all that mattered to me. I wanted to start a life with him, I wanted to be his wife, and nothing else at that time was on my mind. We still had "the moment" and I even got Peyton to shed a few tears. Come back next week to see how I got him to shed a few tears and get a look into our ceremony!
Did you do a first look? If so, why? If you stayed traditional...I would love to know why too!
All photos taken by the wonderful Tiffani Evans Photo!