Wedding Blog

While the boys were golfing and us girls were gallivanting around taking photos, our DOC Tiffany, Hotel 1000 coordinator Donna, Aunt, and a few cousins were putting the finishing touches on all of the setup.

Jamie Smith

I felt really bad about asking my aunt to hang the chandelier for me, because I felt like I was asking her to work on a day of celebration. She’d already driven all the way out to Seattle for the weekend, taken time off of work, and now I wanted her to climb up on a ladder and hang things up.

I tried to find a way to fit doing it myself into the schedule but it would have meant getting up at 4 AM on my wedding day for setup, and I knew that was a bad idea.

Now I realize that people were so willing to do things for us because they love us. It’s wonderful to see the ways in which people gather to show how much they care about you on your wedding day. I love my family and friends for that.

Jamie Smith

We didn’t end up lighting the candles on the chandelier, and just let them hang in their Phantom-esque glory. My aunt and cousins then hung 12 hanging glass votives with battery powered tea lights and sparkly diamond chips inside. The decor was simple, cheap, and modern, and I loved it.

Jamie Smith

I needed something to dress up the runner and the buttons I was incorporating throughout the wedding provided the perfect solution. I sorted through my huge supply purchased off of eBay and filtered out all of the black, cream, ivory, and gold buttons.

I printed the reserved seating signs on sheets of cardstock two-by-two and cut them in half. I made sure to inform all of those who had reserved seats to look for them so we didn’t have someone doing a reading sitting in the back row.

Jamie Smith

The programs were a last minute project that I ended up being really happy with. I was just going to do little quarter sheets of paper set on every other chair, but then I realized that our quote was entirely too long for people to pay attention unless they could read it.

So I emailed Ami of Elizabeth Anne Designs and she whipped up a template for me in word. We went back and forth for a long time on how to bind the three pages together. The sewing machine wasn’t working so I couldn’t do that again, and I didn’t want to just use staples.

Photo by me

Using a hole punch and filling it with a diamond head tack turned out to be the perfect solution.

Photo by me

The second page had the quote we used for our reading printed on vellum. I hope it helped people better understand how we feel about marriage, and what we think a successful marriage is.

Photo by me

On the last page I had the chance to reuse the compass I purchased off of iStockphoto.

Photo by me

When creating the schedule for the wedding I stressed a lot about the period of time between the temple and the ring ceremony. What would our guests do for so long? I felt like I needed to be entertaining them every moment of the day, and now I realize how ridiculous that was. The break gave family and friends a chance to relax.

Jamie Smith

Mamacado got a chance to touch up her hair and makeup.

It was a time for guests to kick off their shoes and relax…

Jamie Smith

and my grandma took that really seriously.

Jamie Smith

Around 4:00 PM the ushers started escorting their guests to their seats. You might have noticed that the cousin pictured here doing the ushering was also hanging up tealights earlier. He was really helpful that day, and it was so fun to look at the pictures and see how they took ushering the ladies to their seats very seriously.

Photo by guest

That morning in the temple, Mr. Avocado and I made the decision that we wanted to take a moment with our parents and the officiant to say a prayer right before the ring ceremony started. It was a very brief moment, but I think it was one that we all needed to help put us in the right mindset before things started. Luckily there were no nerves (well, maybe for our friend doing the reading and the officiant), but our parents and we as a couple felt great since the marriage had already happened that morning.

Photo by guest

As we walked into the atrium the ushers were waiting to escort the ladies inside.

Photo by guest

It was very important to our officiant (and now we agree with him) that the ring ceremony be as free of pomp and pageantry as possible. We wanted to share this moment with our friends, but also emphasize that the most important thing to us was our marriage in the temple earlier that day. As I walked in, clutching my non-vows, no one stood up.

We walked in quickly, and because the aisle was so small it made more sense for Mr. Avocado to follow behind me instead of walking side by side.

I forgot to do my bustle up and I was forced to reach behind and awkwardly hitch up the train. I couldn’t bear to let it drag and mess up my pretty buttons.

Photo by guest

What bride doesn’t love a good shoe shot?

We sat down and waited for the sounds of Yo-Yo Ma playing his Cello Suites to die down.

I think our friends and family were starting to get impatient. It was time!

I don’t know how, but that girl Kelli Nicole was everywhere.

Previously:

That Wedding: Bridesmaid Party!
That Wedding: Whole Foods (Rehearsal-ish) Luncheon
That Wedding: Harbor Sailing
That Wedding: Putting My Face On
That Wedding: The Gift Exchange
That Wedding: Dressing The Bride
That Wedding: Bridal Details
That Wedding: The First Look
That Wedding: Into The Woods
That Wedding: Woodsy Family Portraits
That Wedding: To Wed! To Wed!
That Wedding: Showered With Love, Coins, and Hugs
That Wedding: Group Shots With a Little Spice
That Wedding: Those Groomsmen
That Wedding: The Whole Party
That Wedding: Me and My Maids (+ Manmaid)