After meeting at an Easter egg hunt and enjoying a Christmas engagement, bride Katie knew her walk down the aisle would be emotional. Wearing a lace, trumpet silhouette wedding dress by designer Stella York, Katie and husband Cole said “I Do” in a rustic wedding surrounded by close friends and family. Cheers to the happy couple!
From the bride: The night before the wedding, I had no idea how my emotions would play out. I’d watched many friends before me on their wedding days — some calm and smiling, some exuberant, some clearly nervous and subdued. My own emotions surprised me — when I woke up on my wedding day, the first song to pop in my head was that old Katrina and the Waves song, “I’m walking on sunshine, woah, and don’t it feel good!” Of course my sister and I woke up my maid of honor by singing, “Going to the chapel and we’re, gonna get married.” Nothing, and I mean nothing, could wipe the smile off my face that day. I couldn’t wait to meet Cole, my husband, at the altar.
Not to sound cliche, but the walk down the aisle was the big, shining moment. I’d told Cole, “I have no idea how I’m going to react in this moment.” I’d imagined it a dozen times — Canon in D playing overhead, everyone rising from their seats to turn and face the door — and I cried. Every. Single. Time I imagined that moment. I actually had to prep myself by playing Canon in D over and over on my phone months before the wedding because every time it played, I cried. Happy tears, of course, but tears nonetheless. Needless to say, I did my best to prepare for the big moment because I knew if I cried, Cole would cry harder, and then we’d both be a big teary mess! On the big day, my wedding planner came into the bridal suite and said, “It’s time.” Talk about nerves! Where I got married, there was a long, beautiful gravel path that wound around a spring-fed pond and over a wooden bridge into the chapel. During the long walk down with my stepdad, I still had no idea how I’d react once the double wooden doors of the chapel opened. He handed me off to my dad, I took a deep breath, the doors opened… and there were no tears. Instead, I was beaming ear-to-ear, probably the biggest smile I’ve smiled of my life. It was very special.
This is the biggest day of your life, so don’t let others’ dreams of what your wedding day should look like cloud your own vision of how you want it to be. We had people tell us we need to get married in a traditional church and have a country club wedding. Nothing against that style at all — I think it’s lovely, but it’s not what we wanted at all. We had to tell people who disagreed with our choices, “Trust us. It’s going to be beautiful.” And it was. I have always loved the outdoors and, being from Texas, a rustic themed wedding was fitting.
