Hi friends! I’m excited to finally share this post about our wedding! B and I got married on April 21, 2018 in a small ceremony in front of close family and friends at our favorite restaurant. Best Day Ever!

I will be completely honest and admit that I’m not a fan of 2-3 part blog posts, so I’m going to try to be brief and fit this all into 1 post. I’m also sharing our wedding highlight video at the end, as well as a list of our wedding vendors for any readers in Charlotte, NC.

All photos taken by Tara Lilly Design & Photography

Planning

We knew early into our engagement that we didn’t want a big, traditional wedding. I actually wanted to elope or go to the courthouse, but it was really important to B to have a ceremony with his friends and family present. The perfect compromise for us was to get married down the street at Vivace, one of our favorite restaurants.

Our hope for the wedding was to keep things as simple and small as possible. We picked a few things that were important to us (for Rich it was the bar, for me it was photography) and tried not to stress out too much about other stuff – flowers, decorations, invitations, music, etc.

The Wedding Day

We began the wedding day separately- B had spent the night at The Kimpton so that I could have the house to myself. One of my favorite parts of the wedding day (outside of the wedding itself, obviously) was being able to enjoy some quiet time by myself earlier that morning. I sat in bed with Lily, enjoyed a cup of coffee and watched the sun rise. I am pretty introverted and like spending time to myself, so that morning gave me an opportunity to really feel relaxed and embrace the day.

The main things I wanted for our wedding day were to feel completely like my everyday self and to keep the focus on what was important- being able to marry such a great guy! I just tried to keep the attitude that as long as those two things happened, the day would be perfect.

We opted not to have wedding parties because we wanted to keep things simple, so we were grateful that our friends and family joined us earlier in the day to help celebrate.

Getting Ready

My family and some friends came over to the house earlier in the day and hung out as I got my hair and makeup done. Kaitlyn and Teri from Cali Stott Artistry kept the mood light and fun.

The dress. I originally wanted to keep things simple and just wear a grey or pink evening gown as my wedding dress. Unfortunately I am very short-waisted and I had a really hard time finding something. I probably tried on over 50 dresses. I tried this one on and it fit me perfectly, so I just decided to go with it and bought it off of the rack. I had originally planned on cutting off the train but after I found out how much alterations would cost to remove all of the lace and place it back on, I decided to just let it be.

It feels weird to say this but I really didn’t love my wedding dress. I’m a pretty simple person and I pictured myself in a more simple dress. But at the same time, I didn’t feel like the day was all about the dress and I still felt pretty- so I think it all worked out :)

First Look

After I got ready at home, I headed downtown to meet B. We didn’t really hesitate in deciding to see each other before the wedding. Those moments together before the ceremony were so special, and tapping him on the shoulder and seeing him for the first time will probably be one of the most memorable moments of my life.

Our photographer and videographer were nice enough to go back to our house before the ceremony so that we could take some pictures with Lily. We had no idea at the time that our time left with her was so short, so the photos and videos with her from that day now feel extra special.

Ceremony

B and I got married at 7:30m PM as the sun was setting over downtown Charlotte. Vivace has glass panel walls that fold out and open up to a patio, which was nice because we had the feeling of getting married outside without having to worry about the weather.

My father passed away from pancreatic cancer when I was 12, and thinking about walking down the aisle by myself or being escorted by someone else made me feel overwhelmed with sadness. So B and I decided to walk down the aisle together. Wedding days are so happy but they can also be painful reminders of losing loved ones. B knew the way I felt and I loved that I had his support during that moment, even if it was a bit non-traditional.

We loved our wedding ceremony. One of our good friends married us, and we wrote our own vows. It only took 10 minutes but it still felt incredibly special, and saying our own vows was definitely my favorite part of the night; B’s vows were sincere but still humorous and reminded me so much of why I fell in love with him.

Reception

To avoid the formality of a sit down dinner, we had a cocktail party with heavy hors d’eaurves after the ceremony. We really enjoyed getting married at a restaurant and having more variety when it came to picking out the food and selecting the wine and bar menu. Our friends and family said they enjoyed the food and cocktails – we did as well!

B hates dancing and there was no room for a dance floor at the beginning of the night (we moved tables after people ate), so we didn’t do a first dance. Instead, we ended the night with a private “last dance” right before we left. It was fun in theory but truthfully, I was pretty toasted by that point. Ha!

It’s crazy to think how quickly a wedding comes and goes. You spend so much time planning and anticipating the day and then it flies by. Our wedding day was wonderful, and I’m so grateful for all of our friends and family who traveled into town to celebrate with us. It was the best way to start our life together.

I feel to lucky to have found B. He has brought so much love and happiness to my life. Our wedding day was amazing, but hopefully the best is yet to come.

I know many of you have been following my blog for a long time, all throughout the ups and downs of life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for not only being readers but also for offering me love and support through it all. I love that I can share such a happy chapter with you guys!

xoxo,

Sam

Vendors

Here’s a list of all of our Charlotte wedding vendors. We were happy with all of them!

• Wedding Coordinators: Best Day Ever Studios – Laureen was amazing
• Venue: Vivace
• Photographer: Tara Lilly Design & Photography (and you can see her wedding recap here)
• Videographer: Carlisle Videography
• Ceremony Music: Todd from Sincerely, Iris
• Reception DJ: Carolina DJ Professionals
• Cake: Cheesecake, Etc.
• Flowers: Party Blooms
• Hair/MakeUp: Cali Stott Artistry
• B’s Suit: Myers Park Tailor
• Transportation: Comfort Limousine