Their wedding was everything you would want a wedding to be! Family and friends came together to witness this wonderful couple become husband and wife and I am so glad I was able to be a part of their special day.
Early on Saturday morning, my friend and fellow bridesmaid Leah and I drove out to the mother of the bride’s house to meet up with Laurel and her sisters to get ready for the day. (Remember Leah’s wedding in October?) Leah and I both met Laurel in college through our sorority. Laurel and I lived together our sophomore through senior years and she was basically the best roommate ever! Laurel’s three sisters were her other bridesmaids and Leah and I agreed that the whole day felt like a family affair. I loved it!
The atmosphere in Laurel’s mom’s house was calm for most of the day up until the last hour. Isn’t that how weddings always seem to be!?
Though we all did our own makeup, a woman came to the house to do our hair and I ended up going with option three pushed off to the side (which really looked more like option five). I was pleased with it because it stayed in all night and didn’t fall out even during hours of dancing at the reception!
While we each took turns getting our hair done, Laurel gave us bridesmaid gifts that included silky pink robes!
After the photographer arrived, it was time to slip into our dresses. That is when something funny happened!
I started to freak out a little bit because when I put on my dress, it was way too short. We cut my dress with fabric scissors earlier that morning to make it shorter because it was too long, so I assumed we measured incorrectly and something was way off. When I put on my four-inch heels and the dress only reached my ankles, it looked absolutely ridiculous. I spoke with one of Laurel’s sister’s about my dilemma and we quietly scrambled to find a pair of flat sliver sandals in her bedroom that I could wear. When I went to slip them on, I realized that the hem of the dress was different! I was wearing Leah’s dress and she was wearing mine. Thank goodness!
We switched dresses and 30 seconds later walked out the door and headed to the church.
For those of you who asked about our bridesmaid dresses when I posted the above picture on Instagram, Laurel found them on Etsy for $80! They are convertible dresses by VanelDesign that you can tie in many different ways. Laurel gave us the option to tie them three different ways which was great and gave us a little flexibility to choose a style that made us feel a little more comfortable. (Just in case you are interested in this dress, I must warn you that the fabric is rather thin, so you’ll likely want to wear some kind of shape wear underneath.)
After a short drive, we made it to the church and hurried inside so no one would see the bride!
Our bouquets were waiting for us in a small room off to the side of the church. They were gorgeous!
We didn’t have much time to spare before the ceremony started and quickly snapped a couple of pictures before it was time to walk down the aisle.
The ceremony was lovely and when I saw John start to tear up as Laurel walked down the aisle with her mom, I couldn’t help but cry!
Before we knew it, Laurel and John were officially husband and wife!
After the ceremony and a few brief pictures at the church, I had the chance to meet up with my groom for a few minutes!
Right before Ryan and I attended our first wedding together after we got married, I remember my mom saying how every wedding she attended with my dad after they got married reminded her of her vows and that special day in her life. I totally agree! I loved watching my best friend marry the love of her life and remembering why I married mine.
(There’s an explanation behind that photo, I promise. Ha!)
While wedding guests headed to the mother of the bride’s house for light refreshments, the bridal party and the bride and groom’s immediate family drove out to the reception site for pictures before cocktail hour began.
Laurel and John’s reception took place at the Tuscawilla Country Club (the same place where my mom and sister hosted my bridal shower) and kicked off at 5:30 p.m.
We enjoyed wine and beer while Laurel and John took more pictures together and I loved hanging out with some of my closest friends.
My friend Merri (in the green dress) is getting married in October and we’re all excited for her bachelorette party and wedding festivities soon!
Eventually it was time for everyone to take their seats in the main dining room. Once the bridal party was introduced, Laurel and John found their way to the center of the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife.
They looked so happy and in love!
Then it was time for us to join our dates for a delicious dinner that included a salad, fish and filet and wedding cake made by Laurel’s mom!
Doesn’t her cake look incredible!? I still cannot believe her mom made it! It tasted fantastic, too!
After dinner, it was time to dance and we made sure to dance our faces off for the rest of the night!
Before the night was over, everyone headed outside with sparklers to send off the bride and groom!
It was the perfect way to end the night!
Congratulations to Laurel and John!
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You look so beautiful can’t believe the dresses only cost $80 that’s awesome!
Loving the cake too and your hair choice worked out great.
looks like such a lovely wedding! i’m in the midst of planning my own wedding and love looking at others’ photos for inspiration — thanks for sharing!
so exciting! congrats mary! when are you getting married?
September! I’ve been using some of your workouts to tone up for the big day — thanks!
awesome! congratulations to you and your husband-to-be!
Julie you totally made the right decision about your hair, it looks gorgeous! So funny about the dress mix up, bet you were glad you hadn’t cut too much off yours! What a beautiful looking day, all the best for the happy couple in the future.
I love how you tied the dress … such a gorgeous look!! Glad the wedding was a success! 🙂
What a stunning wedding! It looks like you guys had a great time! Thanks for sharing. We don’t seem to have many weddings in our world so it’s always nice to live vicariously!
Gorgeous dresses!
I was in a wedding last weekend, and we got the same robes (at least, they look the same!), but in a turquoise color.
I found your blog recently and I have been reading old posts. I came across one yesterday that was about a friend of yours also named Laurel engaged to someone named Benny. Are both Laurels the same person?
Everything and everyone looks so beautiful! I love the bridesmaid dresses, and I love that they’re customizable. And Laurel looks so gorgeous It sounds like you had a blast!
Looks so fun! I love weddings
This summer my sister got married and I was the maid of honor. I got what I thought was my dress on first so I could help my sister get dressed while the rest of the bridesmaids got ready. Well I got in my dress and asked my friend to zip me up and it wouldn’t go anywhere! My moms best friend ended up sewing me into the dress and then we realized that I had someone else’s dress on. I was freaking out because I had tried the dress on about a week before the wedding. Thankfully, the other bridesmaid didn’t care(she was newly pregnant and said the dress could of used some stretching out) and when I put on my dress that was only a size different, it felt wonderful. Congrats on your friends wedding! Everyone looks wonderful!
what an absolutely GORGEOUS wedding!!
Wow what an amazing wedding! The bride look stunning as do all her bridesmaids.
Yay!! The wedding looks gorgeous and I LOVE the firecracker send off 🙂 Happy wedding season!
i cant believe she made that cake – incredible! i love wedding pictures – my wedding is next may and my best friend’s is in october. can use all the inspiration!
What a beautiful wedding! Congrats to the newlyweds. Ahh it’s crazy to think that will be me in a little over a month!
What a beautiful wedding! Enjoyed reading the recap! I love your dress…so beautiful! Weddings are the best!
Oh my gosh.. I love those dresses and the entire wedding looks and sounds amazing! It makes me so much more excited for mine in 2 months!! I can’t believe her mom made the cake- it looks amazing!!
I love the KD circle up picture! 🙂 Looks like it was a beautiful wedding!
Ha!! Love that you recognized it!!
Love the dress….the color looks so good on you! Do you think this dress would work as a maxi for me to wear to a wedding or is to too bridesmaids-y?
I think it would be perfect! I actually loved that it didn’t feel too bridesmaidish when I wore it.
Oh my gosh, how beautiful! I can’t wait for my friends to start getting married 🙂
Beautiful bride, beautiful bridesmaid dresses, and an all around stunning wedding. How fun!!
So who didn’t get married this weekend? LOL!
PS: I love that bridesmaid dress! I wish my sister picked those for her wedding… Nope, she picked something that I probably will never wear again! 🙁
Those bridesmaid dresses are gorgeous! I LOVE the color, and I love that you all have a slightly different design. How cool!
I LOVE Laurel’s mom’s dress!!!!!! Beeeautiful!
she looked gorgeous. 🙂
Such a fun wedding! I can’t wait til my friends start getting married!
You looked absolutely stunning! And so did the bride!! Hope you had a fun time 🙂
Everyone looks so pretty! Gotta love discount bridesmaid dresses. 🙂 My hubby was in a wedding this weekend. I think Memorial Day weekend has unofficially turned into Wedding Day weekend!
You look so beautiful Julie! And so does the bride–congrats to Laurel!!<3
Love your bridesmaids dresses and only $80 is wonderful! What a wonderful wedding…Congrats to Laurel and John 🙂
You look so pretty Julie! Im glad that you all had a great time 🙂
I too went to a wedding this weekend and went with a similar “do.” The weather was horrible, so it seemed like a good idea to pin to the side – loved it! Probably my favorite wedding style yet.
I feel you on the hour leading up to the wedding. Ours was doubly nerve-wracking as the bride had to make the “outdoor/indoor” call. She went outdoors, and just as every sat down, the rain came down. Then, the wedding was moved indoors!
It was quite an affair, but everything turned out perfectly, and I couldn’t be happier for my best friend.
Love the bridesmaid dresses – I did something a few years ago in a friends wedding, and it was great because everyone could chose a style that flattered their figure. Definitely recommend them.
Looks like you had such a fabulous time! Gorgeous wedding- I love the purple of the bridesmaid dresses. I’m going to be a bridesmaid in my best friend’s wedding next May, and I am so excited for it! 🙂
Your dress is gorgeous! Love the hair too! Looks like everyone had a good time.
My sister is getting married later this year and we just picked out bridesmaid dresses. This is my first time in a bridal party, so it’s pretty exciting!
I love everything! Really pretty spring color.
I love the color combination of her flowers! And the cake is amazing! I can’t believe her mother made it! I’m glad everything went smoothly (aside from the dress mix up 😉 )
what a gorgeous wedding! I want my friends to start getting married so I can dance the night away! haha
This is a totally random/potentially creepy question haha, but did you guys sing “Dreams” to Laurel? I know you were a KD (I am too!) and it’s a tradition with my chapter to have all the KDs at the wedding sing “Dreams” to the bride. I’m not sure if that’s something you guys do in Florida, but I love singing it to my friends at weddings!!
no, we didn’t. i’m not sure i know about that tradition! sounds fun. 🙂
I just looked for it on YouTube to see if I could find some examples, and I found this cute video that gave me goose bumps! Weddings are just so great 🙂 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQUvY7Vj-Jg
I love wedding pictures! Looks like a beautiful time.
Looks like it was a fun wedding! The pictures are great! The color of the bridesmaids dresses are beautiful!
wow wow wo wwowww I love those bridesmaid dresses! They’re probably some of the prettiest ones I’ve seen~and I like that they’re convertible, which gives all the bridesmaids a chance to be more creative. And Laurel’s mom is so talented, I’m impressed. 😀
I can’t believe that Laurel’s mother MADE that cake! What an amazing talent she has! We all know homemade cake tastes 800 times better so I’m sure it was absolutely delicious. Laurel is such a gorgeous bride, and I love her taste. Those dresses are gorgeous. I’m glad you all had such a great weekend, and congratulations to Laurel and John!!
Those dresses are such a great idea! I have to say I like the way you had yours the best! Definitely something you can get more wear out of since you can it up so much!
How many people were at the wedding?
about 75ish?
Such a pretty wedding! You all looked gorgeous. I was just telling my hubby that I love weddings even more now because it reminds me so much of our special day!
I absolutely loved the purple dresses 🙂 Definitely your color!
What a beautiful wedding! I love reading wedding recaps, it makes my heart so happy!
Such a beautiful wedding. As a few others have mentioned, I’m also in the process (more specifically, the homestretch) of planning my big day and stalking wedding blogs and seeing others’ pictures is my new favorite hobby these days.
The one thing that I really adored about this one is the silky pink robes that she gifted to all her bridesmaids – so stinkin cute! I’d love to do a similar idea. Do you know where she found the robes or is there any way you could find out?!
she’s on a cruise right now for her honeymoon, otherwise i’d call her to ask! i’ll ask her when she gets back!
That’s too funny, my man and I are doing a cruise for ours (and saving up for Venice next summer for the “real” one). Did they do the Caribbean? For sure, I’ll be curious to find out where they’re from. I’ve been brainstorming gift ideas for my girls and I just can’t shake the feminine getting-ready robe… just looking for a cheaper deal!
She got them at Macy’s I am pretty sure. I helped pick them 🙂
Thanks, Allison. Miss you alreeeeady!
Ditto!
Aw, this looks like a super fun wedding! That’s hilarious about the dress mix up. I would have flipped out! You and the bride are so pretty!
You look so beautiful and it looks like it was such a lovely wedding!
Love that shade of purple for the bridesmaids dresses!