VANDI GOES GREEN – OUR WEDDING

**video by Take 4 Films, music courtesy of Disney.

To watch the video full-screen, simply click here and then hit the square icon on the bottom right corner of the video.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been just over five months since I said I do to my very own prince charming (it’s true – just scroll to the bottom of this post to see how he surprised me with a Cinderella moment on our wedding day!) on what was hands down the very best day of our lives. I’ve been anxiously awaiting to share details from the big day, but I simply couldn’t until the incredible video by Take 4 Films was finished, because it’s simply magical and captures the emotion, vision and overall feels of our wedding just perfectly. The video is by far my most treasured takeaway from our wedding day and I am thankful beyond words for Hunter and his amazing team from Take 4 Films for putting it together. Click play above to watch the video and keep scrolling down to see photos from the big day (there’s a lot – be forewarned) and learn a little more about our wedding day.

December 31st, 2015 was an absolute fairytale. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day to celebrate me and Cole’s first day as husband and wife. I decided to plan the wedding myself (and had a month-of coordinator, who was a life-saver), so while the planning was  a bit stressful, it was absolutely worth it (and I’ll be sharing a post on all the things I learned from wedding planning soon). The morning after the wedding when I had a few moments alone in our hotel room before we left, I started crying tears of pure happiness and joy. I’d dreamt about the man I’d meet at the end of the end of the aisle and my wedding day since I was a little girl, and it was far beyond anything I could have ever dreamt up (and I was a very imaginative child, for the record).

I’ve already done a little post about the New Year’s Eve Cinderella-inspiration for our wedding, which you can see here, so I’ll let that post and the 1,000 photos above do the talking for the overall theme and feel of the wedding. One of the things I loved most about our wedding is that Cole and I were truly able to take everything in. Cole and I had both heard and been to so many weddings where the bride and groom seem so busy that they never really get to live in the moment and enjoy their wedding, so Cole and I promised each other that we would make a point to get all of the traditions, talking and photo-taking out of the way and spend the rest of the night partying on the dance floor. And so we did! It also helped that since it was a NYE wedding, the party went on until nearly 1:00am.

When Cole and I started talking about planning, our number one priority was that our guests would have the time of their lives, because we knew that would in turn fill us with immeasurable joy. For us, that meant finding an incredible band, and I cannot say enough about how incredible Memphis Soul was. The 8-piece band played music that everyone could enjoy and I don’t think there was a person left in their seat by the end of the night. Both during the wedding and after, we had so many people come up to tell us how much fun they were having. I actually had one person bring me to the back of the dance floor and whisper in my ear, “Lauren, look how much fun people are having at your wedding”. It’s moments like those where I was actually able to take a step back and take it all in that I am so thankful for.

There were a few surprises that Cole had up his sleeve for me at the wedding that added to our Cinderella theme (which he sometimes questioned as we were planned). As we walked out of the church to head to the reception, a horse drawn carriage was waiting for me, but that wasn’t all. As he was taking off my garter, he brought out a pair of Cinderella-style silver, sparkly Christian Louboutin pumps and placed them on my feet (my first pair ever!) It was such a special moment.

A few other things that stand out to me on my wedding day – my little sister’s incredibly sweet speech that brought me to tears (you can catch a lot of it in the video at the top of this post). Dancing with my dad to the Stephen Curtis Chapman song “Cinderella” – “I will dance will Cinderella[…]’cause sooner of later the clock will strike midnight” – I mean could there be a more perfect song for a Cinderella-inspired NYE wedding? And last, counting down to 2016 with my family and all my best friends by my side. It was the most wonderful night of our life filled with more love and happiness than a girl could ever dream of. A huge thank you to all of the amazing vendors and all of our family and friends who brought our fairytale to life.

PS – stay tuned next week for a giveaway you don’t want to miss + details on my amazing, custom dress by Third and Loom.

And they lived happily ever after. The end.

VENDORS

VIDEOGRAPHERS: Take 4 Studios

PHOTOGRAPHERS: Matt and Julie Weddings

CEREMONY VENUE: First United Methodist Dallas

RECEPTION VENUE: Sheraton Dallas

BAND: Memphis Soul

FLOWERS: Eubank Florists

CAKES: The Butterfly Cake Factory

COORDINATOR: Allison Lewallyn

PHOTOBOOTH: Jared Rey Photography

THE LOOK

MY RECEPTION/PRE-CEREMONY DRESS: Third and Loom  //  MY CEREMONY DRESS: Watters  //  BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES: Badgley Mischka via Rent the Runway  //  HOUSE PARTY DRESSES: similar Rent The Runway //  MY EARRINGS  //  BRIDESMAIDS EARRINGS: Margaret Elizabeth  //  HOUSE PARTY JEWELRY: Kendra Scott  //   MY ROBE  //  BRIDESMAIDS ROBES  //  HOUSE PARTY ROBES: Lavendar and Lemons  //  BRIDAL PARTY DISNEY TANKS

Fair-well xx,