Today, Mike and I are celebrating our 5TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!
I was always one of those little girls constantly dreaming of her wedding day. My Barbies were always dressed for a black tie event, I was always asking to try on my mom’s gown, look through my parents wedding album and I basically had everything planned since I knew what a wedding was. But I can honestly say that our wedding day was far better than anything I could’ve ever dreamed up and I’m always saying how I wish we could relive it over and over and over again!! So, in honor of our 5th anniversary today, I thought it would be fun to reminisce and share some of our favorite photos from our wedding day by the amazing Dana Ann Photography!
When Mike and I first locked eyes on the dance floor of the high school homecoming dance back in 2009, we never could have imagined the beautiful adventure that we were about to begin together. We certainly wouldn’t have guessed that we’d be saying “I do” during a breathtaking Bloomingdale Golf Club wedding celebration! But on a radiant August day six years later, all of our closest family and friends gathered together to celebrate the beginning of our new life together as husband and wife.
The morning of our wedding day was bursting with joy and excitement! Decked out in our lace and floral robes, my girls and I sipped mimosas while getting our hair and makeup done, and my baby sister rode her tricycle around us in the kitchen of my parents home I grew up in. Meanwhile, Mike and his groomsmen prepped for the big day relaxing at the hotel. One of my favorite parts of the day was my first look with my dad. He had no idea what my dress or anything was going to look like, and that moment I was able to share with him as I came down the staircase was definitely one to remember and such a special moment we’ll treasure forever!
When the final curls were sprayed and all the mens ties were tied, we all headed off to our ceremony venue at Faith Christian Reformed Church - the church I grew up in - in a big trolley! The simple ceremony details of candles and greenery were the perfect touches for our romantic day. Our ceremony was made EXTRA special too, as our musicians (the girls who I had nannied for many years prior!) arranged a beautiful rendition of our song “I Will Follow You Into the Dark” by Death Cab for Cutie on their violin and harp for my walk down the aisle. Mike and I were also married by our favorite middle school/high school Bible teacher, Mac Wiener!
One of the things we were most excited for on our day was the moment when Mike would finally see my dad walking me down the aisle towards him - and his reaction did NOT disappoint!! We had a two year engagement while I finished school in Chicago and Mike moved to Los Angeles ahead of me, so I had my dress and everything for about two years before the big day! For months leading up to our wedding day, I kept telling Mike that I was going to wear a very princessy styled ball gown to try to throw him off, but when he saw me, he said that it was exactly how he had always imagined me looking the day of our wedding - a beautiful, elegant and elevated version of myself! (Now if that doesn’t make you swoon, I don’t know what will!)
We were so amazed by the beautiful scene that all of our fabulous vendors put together with their hard work and talent! They literally made all of my childhood wedding day dreams come true! From the organic shape and neutral tones of the florals created by Ipomea Floral Design to our delicious three tiered textured cake by Central Continental Bakery - each and every detail was perfectly “us”! Because family is always our number one, we wanted to make sure that we could incorporate them into our day as much as we could. All of our siblings were in our bridal party or were ushers, and my baby sister and 8 week old niece were our flowergirls! Then, during our ceremony, our parents came up to join us after our unity candle to pray over our marriage and our new life together. At our reception, one of my favorite details was our “It All Started With Love” table where we had wedding photos from our each of our parents and grandparents displayed!
The uniqueness of our celebration didn’t end there! When Ryan from Double B Entertainment cranked up the music and our loved ones flooded the dance floor, no one stopped dancing until the venue closed down! Our live painter, Meghan - who painted us a beautiful scene of our first dance! - kept everyone entertained, and just before our sparkler send off, bottomless Chicago style pizzas and cookies were served!
As the celebration of our dream wedding day came to a close, we gave all of our loved ones and friends hugs goodbye as we ran off to begin our life together. We woke up the following morning to join our families for a quick brunch before heading off to catch a flight for the most romantic Cancun honeymoon at the gorgeous Westin Lagunamar - which was a COMPLETE surprise to me!! Mike planned and booked our entire honeymoon for us and told me during our first dance where he was taking me! It was so amazing to have such a fun surprise waiting for me and I loved that Mike took the initiative to make that trip such a special start of our married life together.
Now fast forward and today is our 5TH ANNIVERSARY!! Man, time really flies when you’re having fun and in love with your best friend! The past five years have been full of lots of happiness, changes, joy, arguments, laughter, tears, growth and SO much love! We’ve overcome so much together in our marriage and I truly could not have asked for a better life partner. I cannot wait to see what the next five years holds for us. I love you, Michael John!
The Dream Team:
Photography: @dana_ann_photography | Florals: @ipomeafloral | Dress & Veil: @herecomesthebrideinc | Hair: @alyssa_ridder_hair | Makeup: @madalyn29 | Suit: @indochino | Photo Location: @mortonarb | Rings: @michaelhillj | Jewelry: family heirlooms