Shane and Teresa's Wedding in Yorkville, Illinois

Ironically or contra to all the wedding planning advice I had the dress first! A year prior to my engagement bliss, I had helped one of my friends plan her wedding and had stumbled upon a dress in a store that spoke to me. At the time I certainly didn’t try it on, but snapped a quick photo to keep in memory. Now a year later I was sure the gown must have been discontinued but I went looking for something similar. As though it was meant to be, after trying upwards of 12 dresses on at one store, I went sifting through the racks and happened on the exact dress I had merely laid eyes on a year earlier. Putting it on, I had butterflies in my stomach and walked out of the dressing room, hands in my pockets and danced around with glee. It was the one! This was one of those magical moments for the wedding day, no fuss, no stress, but finding the one gown to glow in on the day of our wedding. Afterwards, we started with the date, because being overseas meant I only had a limited time to come home to the states to marry. We are both babes of summer, and love warm weather, being outdoors and soaking up sunshine - So July it was. Then we checked with our church where we encountered perhaps some odd looks about blocking in the date that early, but it was necessary to know so that the venue could be selected.

Ashley Farm was the dream of a venue and we both loved it instantly upon visiting. The exposed wood of the barn, the hanging chandeliers and iron work, the open air bar between the silos, the Edison lights to enjoy by sunset and evening, and the quiet of the countryside removed from the hubbub of traffic and more urban noise. The farm felt like sitting on your grandparent’s' porch watching fireflies and hearing nothing but crickets and the rustle of the breeze. Serenity encapsulated in one place. We got to work with Ashley and Amanda who took use though contract and planning for the big day. It was amazing to have Amanda to bring the vision to life, especially in dealing with phone call from Germany, or multiple email discussions.

Our photographer Haley is someone whose work I had seen through an acquaintance and was in love with her body of work. Her easy natural rustic style fit the tone of what we wanted for the day, and she turned out to be the best person to have behind the lens. She knew how to direct us non-models and get us laughing and joking to catch the most intimate of moments for us to treasure.

On our big day it was easily these two vendors that really helped us bring it all together.

The morning started at 5am when my eyelids popped open because I simply wasn't going to be able to sleep anymore. I snuck out of my bridal sweet where my bridesmaids all still slumbered contently, and made an early morning Starbucks run. This may seem like the most trivial of tasks but I am a Starbucks SUPER fan. I used to work for the company and I have enjoyed the cup of warm hugs I get when I visit every single time with a contented sigh. Once the ladies awoke in the hotel I felt the day start to run. Patty McGuire and her make-up-artist team extraordinaire arrived and began getting the ladies, my mother, and my sister who had also come all the way from Germany with her family, ready for the day. I remember sitting there at some point and thinking, wow, I don't have to plan anything anymore, it just has to happen now. It was a deliciously exuberant moment and I found myself non-stop smiling from that point on. Hair and make-up, getting ready shots, dressing and primping for the big event to start, seemed to go by in a flash and then we were piling into the Trolley to get to the church on time. We snuck into the back door access of the ladies waiting room and I was all nerves. I am not normally one to be in the center of attention but I realized I was about to go through a whole hour-long Mass being the midpoint along with my husband. Phew - there was definitely some deep breathing happening.

The ceremony was ethereal. The music, the readings, the vows, the stained glass windows, and finally those little words - I now pronounce you husband and wife! It was hard to keep face from splitting from how wide my smile was and we could not have been happier than in that moment, or could we?

The hard part was over, now it was time to have FUN! The magical moment of exiting the church in a cloud of bubbles blown by all of our guests, the excited giggles of my nieces who rode along to the farm in our Trolley, the prosecco flowing freely, the laughter, the candid selfies - it was a blissful 20 minute right, in our air conditioned Trolley to the farm. Upon arrival the heat of the day smacked us in the face but between breezes and laughing in the shade of trees on the farmstead to awkwardly standing over A/C vent in the floor of the farm house so that cool air would blow up our dress, it could not have been a better day. It was as though the heat couldn't really touch us, because we were too happy!

Before joining the rest of our bridal party for the cocktail hour and reception introduction entrances, we had a few moments to ourselves for portraits and these were definitely some of my favorite moments. Yes, we were being observed, but from a respectful distance. We connected amongst all the excitement of the day and laughed about our getting ready time, the ceremony, some of the blooper moments, and just generally how happy we were to finally be husband and wife.

When being introduced to the room of guests we were both excited to see how our planning had come together. And oh boy did it come together! Everything was glowing, the flowers were fresh, and our wedding colors sprang from every corner without being overbearing or pretentious. The smell of the wildflower field wafted in through the doors on every side of the reception barn, and twinkle lights accented the remaining rays of sun coming in through the windows. It was a moment of pure perfection, entering and being able to soak in all of our friends and family in this fairy-tale of a setting. What more could you want?! Well, a first dance of course.

I felt like Cinderella during her dance with the prince. I had been petrified about the moment of our first dance because had done hardly any prep, and again, it was a moment of all eyes on us “performing” in a manner of speaking. However, just as our private moment of pictures before our entrance had been, we had a few moments of smiling, gazing, and chatting while we somehow gracefully managed a box-step and twirls around the dancefloor.

All of the fun that ensued was intoxicating. Between several courses of dinner, Macaroon-sour and Romeo-Sunrise cocktails (named for our two cats Romeo and Macaroon), and our honor attendant speeches leaving us with stiches from all the laughter, the love and positive mood of the day kept getting better! One of the highlights for both of us was the cupid shuffle. My nieces had invested quite a bit of time learning line dances for the wedding and the cupid shuffle was just what everyone needed in the evening to get people together. It was one of those fun moments when you just enjoy being with everyone. No one cares if you get it wrong, you’re laughing and being crazy and getting lost in the moment. I know we were sad when it ended but our DJ kept us going and we danced, and danced, and danced the night away.

Once the heat subsided, fire-pits were lit to enjoy s’mores, the yard games were used in full force, from our Giant Jenga to the Bags game and the extra-large Connect-Four. It felt like a family reunion – something near and dear to both of our hearts. The outdoor activities, photo booth hilarity, and conversation were paused only for trips to the dancefloor or the sweets table, to get another cool peanut butter pie or cheesecake with strawberry sauce. The laughter we heard amongst our guests, the smiles, and the heartfelt conversations between families were such treasured moments for us, that it was hard to see it wind down and come to an end.

As a final hurrah we sent guests back to the hotel with soft-baked pretzels as a nod to our German heritage and family members, before taking a few last photos amongst the wildflowers and fireflies that graced the dark sky at this point. We could not have imagined a better day, or more deserved good night’s rest after all was done. Our guests left smiling, looking a little messy after vigorous enjoyment of the music, dancefloor and other activities, and we began our married adventure.