Conor and I had finished our pictures and it was time to visit with our wedding party and family to snap a few more.

For my Bridesmaids I chose a champagne-colored chiffon full length gown. I wanted something simple, elegant, and timeless. The deep-V back of their dresses was my favorite part. Originally, I had actually wanted gold dresses for my girls, but then I had bought my gown (which was completely unlike me and covered in beading and sparkles) and decided a simple approach to the Bridesmaids gown was the way to go.

Their cable knit shawls are actually from Target believe it or not! It took me FOREVER to decide on what I wanted them to wear. I didn’t want the classic pashmina scarf look, as I felt that it may be a bit too classic and possibly outdated (I wanted something fun and different). I also knew I didn’t want them in fur, as that was just way too much with mine. When I came across these chunky cable-knit scarves (Yes they’re actually an infinity scarf) I tried it on over my shoulders and loved the look!

Their bouquets were just simple bundles of babies breath with a few sprigs of greenery to tie in with the greenery in my bouquet. Our florist, A Schoolhouse Garden, did an absolutely incredible job with everything for our wedding.  I was adamant that I only wanted greenery for our wedding and a winter flower bouquet for myself, as I really have never been much of a blooming flower person (ironic, with the name of this blog, right?) but have always loved the fresh scent and look of greens. She had asked me, that if there was a flower that I would have wanted if I needed one, what would it be? And my response was babies breath, as it is so simple, classic, and beautiful. This is how my Bridesmaids bouquets came to be!

I am still blown away by the work she did on my own bouquet. She did such a great job tying in all of the colors, textures, and different aspects of our wedding into my one bouquet.

My bouquet was wrapped in lace from my Mothers wedding gown- this was my something old. My Mom had also surprised me with something else in my bouquet. She had spoke with the florist prior to the wedding, and asked her to discretely tuck a blue iris in my bouquet. My middle name is Iris, as it has always been my Moms favorite flower. And with the florist being sure that it was a blue iris tucked in there, it ended up being my something blue. When we met with our florist, she suggested that I actually needed to get TWO bouquets for my wedding day due to the cold temperatures. My Mom and I were back and forth on it for a while, as it was not cheap, and we didn’t know if we necessarily found it a priority. In the end, we ended up listening to the florist and ordered two, and WOW.. am I glad that we did. Due to the fact that it was 15 degrees outside, my original bouquet browned up and died before I even finished pictures with our family and wedding party! I was so grateful for the fact that we had another identical one tucked away inside, all nice and warm, ready for me to walk down the aisle with.

 

One of my favorite pictures from my wedding is this one with my Bridesmaids and I. They were lucky enough that their dresses flowed and were loose at the bottom so they could wear all the layers they wanted under there for pictures outside! And I’m glad they did, because it made for this awesomely silly picture

The Groomsmen were in a mix of black tuxes and blue Air Force uniforms. I actually loved the look of the mixed colors on the guys and the tuxes and uniforms were also fitted, so they all looked incredibly handsome.

Conor’s Groomsmen were a mix of family and friends from the Air Force Academy

Pictures were all snapped quite quickly outside as it was FREEZING, but everyone did an incredible job with ignoring the cold. I always have said since then, that I’m so glad it wasn’t windy that day, because it made the temperature outside actually tolerable for short periods of time.

After pictures with our wedding party, we got together with our families.

Conor and I are lucky to be joining together families that really knew each other pretty well beforehand. Both growing up in the same town, and dating since High School, we had plenty of opportunities to get our two families together. Also, the fact that we’re all really quite close in age makes it all so much more fun!

One thing Conor and I were sure of, from the very beginning of this process, was that our entire wedding weekend would be dedicated to our parents. We are incredibly blessed to have two sets of parents who prove each and every day that is IS possible. They continuously show us how great marriage is, how FUN it can be, and how to overcome the challenges that come your way. Both of our parents have been together from very early on in their lives and have always been wonderful role models in life.

Both sets of parents did such a wonderful job in making this day all I ever had imagined it to be. Truly, we will never be able to thank them enough.

Lastly, I’d like to just take a chance to recognize my Grandmother

This woman- who is so incredibly strong. Things have certainly not been easy for her after losing my Grandfather a few years ago. Unfortunately, a couple years back she began getting increasingly weak and unsteady on her feet, to the point where she was falling quite frequently. Well, about a year or less before our wedding day, she decided she was going to start physical therapy to get stronger. According to my Mom, she would tell every therapist there that she needed to get stronger so she could dance at her Granddaughter’s wedding in January. Well, on our day, this beautiful strong woman ditched her cane, walked down the aisle, and even hit the dance floor for a song. I am beyond proud of her. Dancing with her on my wedding day after some of her most challenging times physically,  will be one of my most cherished memories.

We ended pictures inside, with one last large group picture of us and our wedding party

At that point, it was time for my Bridesmaids and I to head up the mountain to the ski lodge to hide out for a bit before the ceremony began.