Love is All About "We": Almost Time

All photos below by The Wiebners unless otherwise noted. We purchased a disc of all unedited images from our wedding day, so some post-processing has been done by me for the purpose of sharing the photos with you. Click on any photo to enlarge.

It was all setting in as we pulled up to the church. I was about to walk in a Miss and walk out a Mrs!

{photo by Mr. Cupcake's cousin, Evan}

I snuck in the front door (as our guests entered in the back, where the parking lot is); in the sanctuary, everything was in place for our ceremony.

{photo by Mr. Cupcake's cousin, Evan}

The pew decorations at the front of the church — which I really never even noticed until I saw these photos! — were lovely.


The flowers on the altar were beautiful and made everything feel cheery and warm.

{photo by Mr. Cupcake's cousin, Evan}

I had made a few "reserved" signs to sit on the pews in the front, so our groomsmen knew where to seat "VIP" family members. We made sure that all of our aunts, uncles, and cousins had a space reserved for them up front, in addition to our parents and grandparents.


Our programs sat snugly in their basket, hoping to be snatched up (because after slaving over them for hours, the last thing I wanted were lots of leftovers!).


Although I should have finished our programs earlier, I was definitely guilty of completing these the Thursday night before our wedding as Mr. Cupcake wrapped the gifts for our parents and bridal party. I had been a little bit stressed finishing them up, but ultimately I am so glad I went through with making them the way I had planned. I used the scroll-shaped cut-outs from our invitations, which I Gocco'd with our names and wedding date (in silver ink), and made accordion-style, pocket-sized programs, tied closed with a silver bow. I will post a DIY how-to soon!


As our guests were arriving...


... the ladies and I hung out in our quarters, waiting impatiently for 4:00 to draw closer.

MOH Kelli and me {photo by SIL Cupcake}

I took my shoes off while we waited, because no matter how comfortable I thought they were, they were starting to bug me after having them on for a few hours already!


I think our moms were bursting with excitement and anticipation.


Didn't they both look gorgeous?

{photo by SIL Cupcake}

All three of us bought our dresses at The Wedding Touch in Frazer, PA. (That's where I got my veil, too!) I cannot say enough good things about The Wedding Touch. They were so friendly, patient, non-snooty, and they had plenty of weeknight hours so I was able to schedule all of my fittings after work. I still have to send the below photo to them with a nice thank you note!

{photo by SIL Cupcake}

My brother checked in on us...


... as the ladies chatted away. The sound of laughter coming from my favorite ladies helped me to stay calm.


I got in one last touch-up...


... and then it was time for the bridesmaids to head out of our quarters to get ready to walk down the aisle. We decided to do a quick little "go, team" chant before they headed off... except we said "go, bridesmaids!" :-)


Yes — we are, in fact, nerds. But it was one of my favorite spontaneous moments of the day!


In the meantime, Mr. Cupcake's grandmother was escorted down the aisle by her son/Mr. C's uncle, Kevin.


My mom would be walking down the aisle with my dad and me, and I don't have any living grandparents, so I wasn't sure who my step-dad would walk down the aisle with. I didn't want him to walk alone, so I asked my mom's sister, my Aunt Jane, to escort George down the aisle. It was a nice way to give George some company and to acknowledge the importance of my aunt in my life.


Mr. Cupcake, an only child, escorted his mom down the aisle as his dad followed behind. FIL Cupcake was supposed to escort his mom down the aisle, but she was late! We were set on our 4:00 start time, so they had to play it by ear and go with the flow.


My parents and I were (im)patiently waiting for the church coordinator, Kendra, to come fetch us.


I made sure to take a few deep breaths and soak in the peaceful moment while it lasted. This was it. This was really, really it!



After Mr. Cupcake "dropped off" his parents at their pew, he made his way back through the sanctuary with the pastors and his best man to get into position.


Oooh, ooh, I see someone starting to get a little teary!


Trumpet Voluntary began singing beautifully from the organ pipes as the bridesmaids made their way down the aisle.

Michele & Coleen

Chrissy & Kim

Kelli & Nicole

As the girls filed one-by-one to their positions, Kendra motioned for me to start making my way to the sanctuary. I took the arms of my loving parents, took a deep breath, and slowly got ready to take the walk that I had dreamed of for many years. I was about to marry my best friend in the whole world; we were about to say our vows and share our love for each other in front of all of the people who love us and made us who we are today.


Up next: the moment that makes it all official — the ceremony!

Previously in our wedding recaps:
The Eve of Our Big Day: The Rehearsal Dinner
Love is All About "We": Getting Gorgeous
Love is All About "We": The Dress!
Love is All About "We": The Guys Get Sexy
Love is All About "We": The First Look
Love is All About "We": Our Entourage

Love is All About "We": Our Entourage

All photos below by The Wiebners unless otherwise noted. We purchased a disc of all unedited images from our wedding day, so some post-processing has been done by me for the purpose of sharing the photos with you. Click on any photo to enlarge.

Once Mr. Cupcake and I had our first look, we spent some time taking photos with our bridal party and parents. It was important to us that it be a quick and painless process, and The Wiebners made that very easy! We had about 30 minutes for all of our first look photos as well as all of the photos you see below, and we couldn't have done it without the speediness of the pros.

First up: our extremely good looking bridal party!

Six bridesmaids + five groomsmen = lots o' love

The bridesmaids dresses ended up looking more blue than teal to me, despite the fact that the color was called teal (I have a very specific sense of color!), but I loved them just the same. (They are Alfred Sung style D328, which seems to no longer be available.) The guys also look especially dapper in their suits (all rented with the exception of Mr. Cupcake's suit), even minus their boutonnieres. I think everyone looked smashing!

Kissy kissy!

Another fabulous shot of my bouquet from Blue Moon

I wanted to make sure I got a photo with each individual bridesmaid. Mr. Cupcake? Not nearly as sentimental and didn't want to torture his guys. Luckily my ladies are all hams like me and didn't mind this request ;-)

Cousin #1, Michele. She got the tall blonde genes of the family; I got the short brunette ones.

Cousin #2, Coleen. I probably don't have to tell you that she and Michele are sisters! These lovely ladies traveled from New Orleans to be my 'maids. It meant the world to me to have them there as I always admired them growing up.

Bridesmaid Chrissy and me; I think we're giggling because I was making a joke about the scene in 27 Dresses where Katharine Heigl squats down to get on the same level as the bride. What can I say... I know some lovely, tall ladies!

SIL Cupcake, a.k.a. Kim, the sister I never had! We were truly destined to be family.

MOH Nicole, my best friend since 8th grade. She currently lives in Austria and came home especially for our wedding!

MOH Kelli, my best friend since freshman year of college, and baby girl H in her belly! The baby was born just 11 days after our wedding, and two days after we returned from our honeymoon (on her due date!). Doesn't Kelli look fabulous? I will forever be grateful to baby H for holding out so Mommy could be in our wedding :-)

While the girls were looking adorable, the boys were playing it cool in a nearby field.



Did I mention that the weather was absolutely perfect on September 20?? We seriously could not have asked for a more glorious day. 72 degrees, sunny, no humidity (thank you, hair gods!), and I think the only cloud in the sky was that super teeny tiny one in the photo below.

See it?

I was really glad that we were able to spend a minute getting a few more traditional bridal portraits of me. Although one of the main reasons we hired the Wiebners was because of the amazing candid shots they are able to capture, there is still something to be said for some more traditional posed shots. They totally understood this but didn't make it a long process.



SIL Cupcake helped me with my dress as I moved around....


And little did we know that Joel (or maybe it was Rita?) captured this ridiculously amazing shot below. I swear I'm not full of myself, but this photo took my breath away when I first saw it! I think what I love the most about it is that I had no idea it was being taken. It feels real to me.


Now, enough about me — where did all of those fine lookin' ladies go?

There they are!

We made our way to another area of the park....


And found ourselves a Moonbounce!


I find this so hysterical, because Mr. Cupcake has always joked about wanting a Moonbounce at his birthday party every year. Okay, so it wasn't his birthday, but a Moonbounce on our wedding day! How awesome! (If it had been after the ceremony, maybe we would have considered getting in it, although the people having the party may have thought that was a bit strange.)

A few more shots of my bridesmaids and me....




And then we finally let the bridal party get going to the church! While they headed off, we took a few moments for some shots with our parents.

Momma Cupcake and me

I loved Momma Cupcake's dress — see that amazing little jacket she's wearing? She made it! The dress consisted of a strapless top and skirt, and she wanted something with a bit more coverage, so she ordered some extra material and emulated the pleats from the dress. I was so impressed!

Love this photo!

Momma Cupcake and Stepdad Cupcake

Daddy Cupcake and me

Mr. Cupcake and his parents

The whole clan!

We wrapped everything up and were ready to head to the church. Even though we had already seen each other, Mr. Cupcake and I still decided to go our separate ways until the ceremony. We still wanted there to be some element of suspense when I walked down the aisle, so he rode to the church with his parents while my parents and I rode in the limo.

My mom and me, probably yapping as usual

My dad has had enough!

Jenn helped me into the limo as our driver, Teddy, got ready to roll.



And off we went!

Next up: the anticipation builds as our ceremony nears closer!

Previously in our wedding recaps:
The Eve of Our Big Day: The Rehearsal Dinner
Love is All About "We": Getting Gorgeous
Love is All About "We": The Dress!
Love is All About "We": The Guys Get Sexy
Love is All About "We": The First Look