Our Asian themed, at home wedding, with pics!

[Belle Amy]

We were married Saturday June 30th at home, and took a couple days to honeymoon at Disney. I figured since you girls have been there through the booking and cancelling of our Disney wedding, and have given great feedback on everything that we've done, I'd go ahead and post some of our wedding pics! It was a beautiful day and everything came together at the last second, and I wouldn't have changed a thing.

A little backstory, we decided to cancel our Disney Intimate wedding and use the money to do some major remodeling to our house...the money would be invested in our property and we would have something beautiful to remember our wedding day by forever.

It was a big feat to get our backyard in shape for the wedding. We spent the last two months before completely redoing the yard. We bought the house from my inlaws, and they neglected the backyard for so long, it was completely overgrown...and I mean overgrown...unfortunately I didn't take before pictures, it would have blown your mind! After getting rid of a jungle gym that had vines 6 feet tall, a pool liner that was folded in a pile and filled with ants, and cleaning out an old hole used for their old above ground pool and was being used as a trash pit, we put in a pond, planted some flowers, and made a pergola (an arch type thing that we got married under) To know what the backyard looked like before and to see the transformation was something that we were exceptionally proud of!!!

Our beloved pond!

The box is hiding the filter and pump for the pond and waterfall, and became a great place to put the favors for guests as they walked in.

Each point had it's own firecracker plant and we lined the deck with candles that smelled like cherry blossoms.

The waterfall and the beautiful flowers that my mil found...she was a lifesaver, and along with my new sil did all the final details of decorations....
(Notice the shop and a pop up camper in the background...we couldn't hide everything, there just wasn't time!!!)

The pergola that we built, and the beautiful fabric that my mil and sil found that matched my dress perfectly and made such a wonderful backdrop to the "alter".

We bought a hanging basket to hide a tree stump from a tree that had fallen during a storm a couple months ago...it went together nicely, and the stump had lillies growing naturally around the bottom of it...

The fabric on it's own...

We used bamboo fencing to hide some of the more obvious flaws of the backyard, and my mil and sil bought fabric and draped each peice of fence with my colors and some hand painted chinese symbols...

Another view of the alter, with the parasols I bought used as decoration and shade for Brian's 95 year old grandmother! The lady is amazing, she couldn't stop raving about the wedding to all her other family!

Our favors...we gave out sandlewood fans with personalized boxes and a CD of all the songs we played before and during the ceremony....

Close ups of our favors. Brian's 95 year old grandma loves the soundtrack we made so much that she listens to it every day!! I searched to find acoustic guitar, piano, and string quartet versions of well known songs. I walked down the aisle to a string quartet version Just Like Heaven by The Cure.

Up next, pics of the bride and groom!

 

[pepples22]

Wow your garden looks amazing!!!!! What a pretty setting for a wedding, and something you can always use and enjoy afterwards.

Congratulations!!!!

 

[princess110607]

Wow...how beautiful!!! I'm excited to read more

 

[dmslush]

WOW! Everything looks so beautiful!!!

 

[JJClemson]

Wow, what a neat theme for a wedding! Your backyard looks great

 

[calanniebu]

congrats! I LOVE your red dress Your backyard looks amazing!

 

[hmgolden]

Wow! Everything looks great! And I love your dress. Can't wait to see more

 

[Dremwvr]

your back yard looks beautiful!! I can't wait to hear more!!

 

[cryssi]

wow, great job on the backyard! can't wait for more...

 

[Cinderella22]

I love the favors and the waterfall--so pretty!

 

[AbbyPan]

Congrats! love your favors

 

[lurkyloo]

You look gorgeous in your signature picture - can't wait to read more!

 

[oneyodafan]

Your yard is amazing! I love the pond.

Looks like you all did a fabulous job transforming your yard for the wedding. Can't wait for more!

 

[Glorydaz]

what a fabulous job you guys did - your backyard looks so tranquil! looking forward to reading more and of course, bring on the photos!

Michelle

 

[Lynn5700]

You guys did a great Job!! I love everything!! Congrats, can't wait to see more pictures

 

[JaxTeach]

Everything looks so nice! You really did a fantastic job with the Asian theme!! You look gorgeous in your signature pic! I love your hair. I can't wait to see more!

 

[Missy Mouse]

Wow, that's a really original theme! I love it. Can't wait to hear more!

 

[myprincessgirlisa]

your yard looks awesome....i love the pond!!!

I cant wait to see more pics

congrats!!!!!!!!!

 

[Belle Amy]

And now for the wedding!

We woke up around 5:30 am for our 10am ceremony. On top of it all we didn't go to bed until around midnight the night before, and that was forcing ourselves to lay down...there was SO much to do and no time to do it.

We did the final cleaning of the house, and Brian finished hooking up the outdoor speakers. We found an amazing deal on a set of KLH speakers, (which I understand are a great brand) for $50 dollars a pair! They are so cute, shaped like rocks. You can see them in a couple of pics around the bottom of the pergola. Brian got them hooked up and called me outside. There was the soundtrack I had worked so hard on, playing in surround sound. It really brought the moment home for me, and I think I started jumping up and down...only a few hours to ceremony.

My friend from work came by to do my hair. She was actually a little late, but I hadn't noticed, I had too much to do. I was still running around, shoving our water bottles into buckets and filling them with ice. I started getting pretty frustrated, and Brian forced me to go sit in the bedroom and get started on my hair.

Before I could get started, Brian's real mom, who I'll refer to as mil2 just to make things easier, showed up and wanted to refit me in my dress. She made my dress for me, I picked out the fabric and the style and she had it done within a week. I loved it, although I wish that it would have been fitted even better, but I suppose that's not her fault....I lost 25 pounds between the first fitting two months ago and the wedding day. She had to do some final alterations the morning of the wedding, and had to take in another 3 inches...and after wearing it for about 10 minutes, it was falling down.

So she takes the dress to sew the final alterations and my friend gets started on my hair, but not before I have a breakdown in the bedroom. I'm crying and frustrated, and have no idea what's going on in the backyard. Brian calmly goes in the kitchen and returns with a glass of Woodpecker Cider to help me calm down. He kisses me and returns to finish the final touches on the back yard.....

While I'm getting my hair done, family starts showing up. Brian's dad and step-mom (who I've already referred to as mil, as she is more of a mother to Brian than his real mom) show up with Brian's little sister, Whitney, and they get started on the chair covers, fabric, table cloths, etc. I could not have done it without them...mil and sil were my rocks during the whole thing...They kept telling me not to worry, they wouldn't let me down!

So hair is done, I start on makeup. Brian and I meet up in the bathroom and I do my makeup while Brian shaves. I'm finally calm, and just ready to be married to this amazing man!

We finish up in the bathroom and he comes into the bedroom to help me with my dress....we get it up and over my head and he calls mil2 in to help lace it up....I put on my black converse, which I had INSISTED on wearing, and I was ready. Now I just had to wait for all my guests to arrive.

Fil, mil, and sil had just finished final decorations and had to drive home quickly to get changed!! My friend April was also coming from out of town, but had called and was about ten minutes away from my house....so much for the 10am ceremony!

I got bored sitting in the bedroom by myself so I wandered through the house...mostly family and we took a few pictures before the wedding...

And then everyone showed up and it was time....

Now here is the funny part. We were so concerned with getting the backyard done, we didn't practice the ceremony. Not once. It was a fly by the seat of our pants kind of thing, and made for some funny memories!

Whitney was our attendant. She walked to the alter with Brian, carried the rings and took care of my bouquet during the vows. Some uncomfortable pics of them starting to walk together...Brian didn't know which side to be on, how to hold her arm, or anything....and she had been threatening to do the robot down the aisle for months

Waiting at the alter for my arrival.

I didn't walk very slow and most of the pictures where I am laughing is because my dad kept telling me to slow down...I was racing to the alter I guess!

A kiss from daddy and off we go!

The preacher, a friend of Brian's from work, got started right away...we asked him to make it short and sweet, and it went a little longer than we would have liked, but it was very well done. During the exchanging of rings, the preacher confused us both in the way he said the "repeat after me" part. He said, "Brian (long pause) repeat after me (no pause) Amy"

Brian didn't know if it was my turn or his turn to repeat....I knew because he was putting the ring on my finger, but after a few seconds of him not saying anything, I kinda prodded him and started laughing. The preacher said the words again, slowly, and I broke out laughing!!!

The whole time we could hear a woman crying almost to the point of sobbing, but we couldn't turn to see who it was....It was my mom!!! It was interesting because she's usually very reserved and unemotional about traditional things like weddings...but there she was sobbing like a baby...my whole family ribbed her the rest of the afternoon for crying so loud no one could hear the vows.

We finally got to the kissing part and we grabbed each other so tight...it was finally over!!!

Yay, time to kick back and relax...oh wait, we're still standing in front of everyone....another time when we should have rehearsed something to do....so we stood there and giggled....

Whitney wiped my lipstick from Brian's mouth...although it looks like he's making a snack of her finger.

Someone yelled out for me to show my shoes...

And so we moved around the yard, taking pictures with family and friends...we had no real plans, and we had no professional photographer to tell us where to go, so we just went with the flow...

With my mom and dad..

All the siblings...this was funny because I'm an only child...
Brian's half-sister Angie, they share mothers...Whitney, his half sister, they share fathers, and Sion, Brian's step-brother, mil's son from another marriage....so confusing...see how easy it is to be an only child?


We also like to make fools of ourselves...

We had a blast, and it was over quickly...then I had to get out of my dress....it was SOOOOO hot!! It was thick, made out of a double layer of the fabric and I was melting...my dad came in to dab my face a couple times in between pictures so my makeup wouldn't slide off....Brian jokingly asked for a fierce brow mopping as well, but was denied....

Other pics from all around...

Brian's step-mom, or mil, my creative goddess, who did the final touches and made it more than just a backyard...

We took some pics in front of our cupcake tree...I wasn't out during the preperations, and would have liked a little more space filled, but I loved the way the cupcakes looked and the way the strawberries were cut....we had decided at the last minute to use red velvet cake to match my dress and my uncle had offered to make the cupcakes the night before...I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't offered....these cupcakes were the most amazing cake I've ever eaten...he made them from a mix, but went off recipe and made them so moist...everyone was raving about them....

We draped the inside of a shade tent with mosquito netting and mil and sil bought silk rose petals to lay in the canapy above us....it was a last second thing, as we had to keep the already melting cupcakes out of the sunlight, but I really liked it.

All in all, for the money that we saved and put into our house and backyard, we were thrilled with how everything turned out...we did everything on such a small budget, with so much help from our parents and family, and I really enjoyed every moment of it...I could over analyze everything, like how I really wanted to have the house freshly painted and changed from that aweful grey blue color, and how we wanted to do more planting of flowers, but there wasn't enough time!!! We were thrilled how the final product came out, and wouldn't really change a thing...

We're, hopefully, within the next month or so, going to have our professional pics done with Randy at Port Orleans Riverside, but I've yet to set a solid date with him, and if I keep losing weight, my dress may not fit!! We'll see, it would be a perfect end to everything...

Now, do I wish for a Disney wedding for my 5 or 10 year vow renewal? You betcha!


I'll also share our five days at Disney, coming up soon!!!!

 

[lurkyloo]

Yay! Pictures! You look so pretty - I love your hairstyle and the color of your dress, and your dress & Cons combo is fantastic!

Now I have to ask where you got the cupcake holder tower thingy. Our local cupcake bakery wants $10 for one half that size....