What a Beautiful Wedding!

I wanted to do a blog post so that you could see all the lovely touches that made Mallory and James's wedding so perfect!

As with any outdoor wedding, you worry about the weather.  You never know what kind of day you'll end up with, especially in June.  Hot... muggy... rainy... these are just a few of the nightmare scenarios you could end up with.  But it's SO worth it (compared with the impossible task of trying to make the inside of most church buildings look pretty and match your theme and give your photographer the dreamy natural lighting we all crave.)  So worth it that you just come up with an indoor "Plan B" in case the need arises, and charge ahead full-speed with your planning.

Mallory and James got married at Swan Creek Chapel in Sparta, MO.  There is (obviously) a chapel on-site, but they chose to hold the ceremony in the large field next to the chapel.  This also allowed them to utilize the gorgeous bridge over the creek as part of the aisle.

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The other neat thing about this property was that there was room enough to accommodate the entire groom's family for lodging purposes the weekend of the wedding!  The Easters stayed at the farmhouse just a stones-throw down the road and even threw the rehearsal dinner right there on the property.  How perfect to be able to eat and rehearse the ceremony all in one place!

Didn't Denise do a fabulous job on this dinner set-up?  It was just magical :)

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Also awesome... was the fabulous Bridal Brunch (so graciously hosted by Angie Barnes.)

The food was beyond delicious!  I did not get pictures of everything... but among my favorites were the Strawberry Brie Bruschetta (pictured below) and the mini-quiche.

Strawberry Brie Bruschetta

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On the big day, I got the awesome honor(s) of coordinating the cakes and doing Mallory's hair.  Instead of the traditional large tiered wedding cake, Mallory asked women from our church to volunteer to make individual cakes for each table at the reception.  Vanilla cake with raspberry filling (to represent the "bride's cake") and Chocolate Mocha cake (to represent the "groom's" cake.)  It was so exciting when each cake started to arrive!

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Mallory chose a very elegant up-do for her hairstyle.  It was no small task (haha!) But it turned out lovely :)

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This lovely shot was taken by our talented photographer and cousin, Zach Cheatham.  (Pay him a visit over at ZachCheatham.com!)  I had to include it because it's such a pretty shot of the hair!

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And here are just a few more pictures of special touches throughout the day...

Her floral choices were a gorgeous mix of white and vibrant green (her favorite!)

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I also really enjoyed getting to make Mallory and James's cutting cake.  I make the "E" myself because I didn't like the font options out there in pre-made letters.  This one was cut from a cereal box (strong cardboard, but thin!) and then wrapped in twine.

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We had trouble leaving her alone from safety pins and bobby pins!  It always seemed there was one more little thing that needed to be adjusted and secured against the breeze.)

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And as luck would have it... the evening was absolutely perfect.  Comfortable temperature, mild light, no rain... vibrant green everywhere!  We were so thankful!  (Of course, as a bridesmaid, I wasn't allowed to carry my camera down the aisle... so my arsenal of photos is devoid of any actual shots of the ceremony.)  But you'll be able to check those out on ZachCheatham.com if you want to.  It's well worth it, he's truly gifted at what he does!

Congratulations to Mallory and James!  We love you both.