Weddingbee Blog

I often I feel guilty that our wedding festivities are happening exclusively in Illinois, since the majority of Mr. Pony’s family lives in Tennessee. Not only does Mr. Pony’s family have to travel a long distance just to attend the wedding, it is also harder to involve them in the wedding plans.

But, we were fortunate enough to have our very first wedding celebration a few weeks ago hosted by FMIL Pony and FSIL Pony in Tennessee. And I am happy to report that it was fabulous and made me even more excited for our wedding in just a handful of weeks!

FSIL Pony, the decorator extraordinaire, coordinated the linens, decorated the tables, and arranged the flowers for the centerpieces. While FMIL Pony prepared enough food for a small nation, which we scarfed down so quickly I failed to get a proper picture. I did manage to capture a few shots of FSIL Pony’s handiwork:

Plus, in addition to great food and beautiful decorations, we were shocked by everyone’s generosity when we were greeted by this big pile of presents.

Showing my excitement for future waffle time in the Pony household:

We worked as a team opening gifts:

And unintentionally matched, much to the amusement of our guests:

After gifts, we relaxed in the pool, drank wine, and caught up with everyone’s lives. There were no games, no time lines, and it wasn’t your typical wedding shower, but it was perfect for us and exactly what we needed to relax before the planning gets crazy in the last two months.

Finally, we watched the sun go down on a perfect, but hot, Tennessee day.

But, our celebration wouldn’t be complete without a little love from the bees:

Celebrating with Mr. Pony’s family really made our wedding feel real for the first time to me. Obviously I’ve been eagerly planning our wedding for the past 15 months, but seeing our loved ones so genuinely happy and excited for our upcoming nuptials really made the entire wedding seem bigger and more real than ever before.

What made your wedding feel real to you? Did you have a couples’ shower? How do you involve family members that are far away?