Wedding Wednesday!

This week Kristin and I were discussing what to write about and I actually came up with my blog post while reading some tweets from a wedding website. They were answering some FAQs and one of them was if it was acceptable to have two maids of honor at the wedding. And then I thought to myself, DUH! Of course it is! It's your wedding! But then I started to think, and the more I thought, I really didn't follow a lot of the "traditional" wedding rules. And to some people, this might be outside of their comfort zone--moving away from the tradition. But then again, thanks to Pinterest, I feel like more and more people are moving away from the tradition and more towards a personalized event that really fits the couple themselves ... which is exactly what the day should be! Thus, today's blog post!

5 "untraditional" moves we made at our wedding

1. Well, obviously I have to bring this up because this is what started the whole blog post ... I had 2 maids of honor! There was a time when Jayne, Lindey, and I were inseperable. And I can bet you some serious money that we still would be if we didn't all live in different cities. We actually just discovered the art of group texting and will now text pictures of what we're doing at that moment. It's basically like hanging out. Regardless, I knew that when I got married it would be nearly impossible to pick my 1. So, what the heck? I picked them both! And they rocked at sharing the title. They planned a seriously baller bachelorette party (I'll have to blog about this sometime- holy awesome). They gave the funniest speech together (that they "practiced" in the car while we were getting our hair done the morning of- and by practice I'm pretty sure they were just then writing it). And they were just 100% there the whole way. Honestly, I could have picked my whole wedding party as an MOH because they all mean that much to be. If the hardest decision that you have to make in your wedding is who to be your MOH because you love them all so much, then I'd say you're doing pretty ok! 

*pretty sure jayne just spilled a huge life secret right here.*

*this used to be our "we're-going-to-homecoming-with-each-other-as-dates" pose.*

2. We didn't listen to traditional "dinner" music. In fact, we didn't even come close. Brandon & I spent seriously about two weeks putting together an playlist of 90's hip-hop to listen to during dinner. I will never forget the look on our DJs face when we met him before the wedding and gave him our dinner playlist. I will also never forget walking to the side of the yard to take family pictures (WITH MY GRANDMA!) and hearing "Big Poppa" playing in the background. I can honestly tell you about half of our wedding loved the music and the other half not so much. Oh well! I'm sure if they didn't like it, they've forgotten by now.

*why yes, grandma, that is "rapper's delight" you hear in the background.*

3.  We let people have cocktails at the ceremony. I have only been to one other wedding where this has been allowed (and it was actually in the same place where we got married and where I got a ton of my ideas! Much love to Nick & Alexia) and it was so cool. It gave a very laid-back vibe and really just made you feel at home watching the ceremony. Some people may be totally against this and that is a-ok. I don't know why it was such a big deal to me (maybe it's because I just really appreciate a good glass of wine at any time, all the time), but if you have the option available to you (which I know not everyone does! We were fortunate enough to be getting married in Brandon's parent's backyard ... can't get much more "at home" than that), I totally would recommend it.

4. I'm just starting to realize that music is something that is super important to Brandon & I because we, in addition to playing crazy dinner music, did not allow for any sort of line/organized dances at our wedding. You could have offered the DJ your pet puppy and he wouldn't have played it for you, per our request. I do not know why we were so against organized dancing because honestly I will do the Wobble all over someone's wedding (shoutout to my organized dancing partner-in-crime/BFF, Jenni May!), but it was just something we wanted to avoid. I'm almost positive everyone still had a good time. In fact, I have pics to prove it...

*apparently no organized dancing = lots of hand raising*

*kristin and i can dance to anything, so she was clearly not upset in the least. that's why i love her!*

 5. We saw each other before the wedding! This is something that I had always thought I would be against and honestly when it comes down to it, I think that you and your hubby/wife-to-be are the only people who can make this decision. I read a ton of blogs about it, put a post on Facebook to try to get advice, and talked to a ton of brides. We personally did it because I wanted to have most of our pictures out of the way and more time for us to mingle and party since our ceremony/reception were in the same spot. It was so nice to get to have some B time beforehand and really just hang out with our wedding party, laughing and easing the nerves. That feeling you get while walking down the aisle that people swear you won't get if you see each other before the wedding? You totally still get it. I promise.

*oh, hey guy who will be my husband in 2 hours!*

*i promise i'm not scared here, nervous i'm sure, but not scared*

*pure joy. wouldn't have traded that moment for the world.*

So, if you've learned anything from my veryyyy long Wedding Wednesday, it is DO what YOU GUYS want to do. Don't let rules get in your way. It really, truly is your day and it should 100% reflect your style. And if you're having trouble deciding what your style is ... hire Exceptionally Chic Events, Kristin & I will totally help you out! ;-)

XO, E

**All of my wedding photos were taking by the amazing duo of Ben & Mindy Peterson, from Studio 6.23. They are AMAZING!