Inlight of our 9 year wedding anniversary I wanted to take a trip down memory lane. I went to my old blog and found this post from July 2012! This post is like a time capsule; a snap shot of my little world 9 years ago!

After my last post I just realized I hadn’t really shared any of the little details that made my BIG DAY so special and so personalized!  It was a lot of work but well worth it!

Custom invitations made by my dear friend and bridesmaid Emma.  Seersucker yellow trim against the navy blue!  The invitations include hotel accommodation info as well as directions, the trolley schedule, and response card!

 I LOVE TULIPS!  I ordered from a wholesaler and my cousin put together adorable bouquets that later doubled as centerpieces.  All the stems were wrapped in white and navy ribbon.

 The boutonnieres were made from nautical rope and billy balls!

I made clutches for all of the girls with a special decorative knot for their gifts and put a silver knotted bangle and yellow and navy earrings inside as their gift! 

Navy satin shoes with my Grandma’s silver scallop shell shoe clips (shoe clips not shown) and the gorgeous bangle from Stella & Dot with matching earrings!
Get it here!

 The Dress!

To ask my girls to be bridesmaids I wrote them each a little jingle and had shirts made.  I mailed all the shirts with the jingle to the girls and if they accepted they had to put their shirt on a send me a picture.  It was so much fun!  I had to include the “Mom’s” in all of theT-Shirt fun while we got ready!

Of course I had to get one for myself too!

Cheers to the Bridal Crew and our T-shirts!

All of the groomsmen received  yellow and white stripped ties to go with their navy tuxedo suites.  For my groom, I wrote him a letter and gave him a monogrammed hankie with the date.  We also gave hankies to our parents with letters embroidered on them.  We did the same for our little flower girl and Jr. Groomsmen.  I wish I got a photo of the one I did for my dad!

The letter… I got one too!

On Wilmington Trolley on the way to the ceremony singing, “going to the chapel”

The property had a quaint home that just completed the whole look, it had beautiful gingerbread detailing, an old porch swing, and rocking chairs

We used an oar in lieu of a guest book, we now have it hanging in our house with all of our loved ones best wishes!

I made programs that doubled as fans for the guests

Personalized water bottles, over 300… it was sure fun making those! ; )

His reaction…YES!

We actually tied a knot!  Instead of a unity candle or sand ceremony there were two pieces of rope, one for each and we tied them together. 

The unique oak tree with the intracoastal background…does it get any better than this?

We had picnic blankets that had baskets and bins filled with bubbles, coloring books, glow sticks, and other fun activities for the kids.  There were also some “adult” blankets with a crate for a table and lanterns.

I made all of the vases and votives… I used vases from the dollar store, sprayed them with white semi gloss paint and then hot glued ribbon around them.  I also got mini mason jars and did the same to them and put votives in them.  I bought this life-saver from Home Goods which had different text on it. I sanded it and did a white wash on it and had a friend paint our name and date on it!
The Menu Board… YUM!

We had a four tier cake with all different flavors and it was totally nautical!  It is everything I ever wanted in a cake and the base was custom made for the wedding and I think it was just the “icing on the cake!”

I mentioned that the bridesmaid bouquets doubled as centerpieces, they were placed on the round tables in the white cylinder vases with rope following the ceremony.  As for the rectangular tables I used small galvanized pails that were filled with white hydrangea and then a large white vase with rope (that I also made) that had a collection of white and yellow flowers.

When I pictured my wedding growing up, I ALWAYS pictured a tent with beautiful white lanterns!Lucky me… not only did I get the tent and white lanterns, I also got navy blue ones too!

I own a ton of nautical decorative pieces so they were used all over as props to add to the ambiance!

A friend of the family made multiple directional signs that we were able to customize.

Tall cocktail tables with rope sash…LOVE

Cheese & Fruit Montage

The bridesmaids in their navy dresses with handmade clutches made by… Me!

Sweet Tea Vodka mixed with lemonade and Pulled Pork Sundae’s which include pulled pork, coleslaw, and a piece of cornbread.  Served in a mason jar as an appetizer for cocktail hour.

So much love filled the room, especially from my parents… so sweet and so special

The love and pride from my dad…priceless!

Our First Dance- Michelle Featherstone, “Man & Wife”

Yay for lawn games!  Croquet, bocce ball, horseshoes, and corn hole…all were a hit!

Blind Lemon Pledge, what an awesome band!  They even let my dad and his friend perform!

We danced the night away!

And then we lived…..