To review …
I have shared with you:
Today, I get to talk about the best day of my life (feel free to eye roll at my sappiness). 
Brandon and I were married on December 18, 2010 in Sarasota, Florida.
The evening before the “big day,” we had the typical rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.
(If I look a little darker than usual, it was my spray tan … it hadn’t quite worn off before the rehearsal! 
)
The morning of the wedding, I was ready to go!
Never mind the fact that it was raining. And I was receiving texts every few minutes from friends trying to make me feel better about the fact that it was raining on my wedding day (and my reception was at the beach). I trusted God to make it all work out. And I was just happy to be marrying Brandon!
I got my hair and make-up done at the hotel.
My friend Tammie did all of the “primping” for me, and I was grateful for her expertise.
By the time we left for the church, the rain had stopped. And guess what? It never rained another drop for the rest of the day!
At the church, the first person I saw was my dear friend, Cindy.
Cindy was my “wedding coordinator” for the event. I couldn’t have done anything without her help, along with help from my friend, Samantha, and my mom!
Prior to the ceremony beginning, Brandon and I had a chance to pray together.
If you can’t tell from the picture, he was hiding around the corner, so that he wouldn’t see my dress.
My ridiculously talented friends, Heather and Jordan, performed all of the music at the ceremony.
They drove the entire way from Kentucky to be there on our special day. Not only did they do an AMAZING job with the music, but their son, Kal ,was our ring bearer.
I was able to share a special moment with my mom when she walked me down the aisle.
Let me tell you, at this point, I was holding back tears like you wouldn’t believe!
Our ceremony was beautiful. My former pastor, Pastor Mike, did a wonderful job leading the ceremony. But I have to be honest … I only half heard him while he was talking! I was just focusing on holding back tears and getting my vows right!!
Fortunately, we have the ceremony on video, so I have since been able to go back and listen to everything Pastor Mike said in detail!
Before I knew it, we were husband and wife!
Next came a cupcake reception at the church, followed by lots of “formal” pictures.
This part went wayyyy too quickly. Actually, the whole day went too quickly!
Soon, we were being picked up in a limo to head to the beach. And of course, more pictures were taken there.
After pictures, came the party!!!
We had our reception at The Beach House Restaurant. It’s where Brandon proposed, and it’s a cool little place that sits right on the beach (hence, the name. ).
It was an awesome night.
Great food (yes, we even ate at our own wedding!), great music, and great friends.
At the end of the evening, we said our good-byes and made our exit …
We had a limo take us back to the Ritz-Carlton, where we enjoyed chocolate-covered strawberries and shared our favorite memories from the day.
It really was the perfect day. There’s nothing I would have changed. And I know it’s sappy, but I’m just so thankful that all of our friends and family went out of their way to be there for that day. I felt like the most special girl alive!
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A few weeks later, we had Round 2!
Brandon’s parents were kind enough to plan and host a second wedding reception in Ohio, as many of the “northerners” weren’t able to make the trip down to Florida.
And I got to wear my dress again! Win-win, in my book!
At this event, rather than having a cake, we had chocolate fondue!
(It was delicious. )
We had another great night, surrounded by our friends and family. And then …
… we were done. We were married, and ready to begin our lives together.
The End.
