While Caleb and I were trying to figure out one of the biggest questions we were getting asked by family - “So where do you want to get married?” - we were kind of just shrugging our shoulders. It bounced back and forth from a couple of different parks, each of our family’s homes, and even his family’s farm in Tennessee one time. Ultimately, we ended up deciding on my family home - my childhood home.

I was expecting - maybe more so hoping - for a really warm early spring. Once again, we just didn’t get that. We have these trees in the back yard that bloom really well during spring and I was envisioning us standing in front of those for the ceremony with some chairs for family surrounding us. The week of the wedding, I kept looking out the back door to the trees praying for some life to show through the still dormant sticks of branches. Not even a bud. I didn’t really mind getting married in front of some still-to-bud trees, but then it rained the day before. I mean, it poured. The ground held water and just squished and squished the more I walked around. I think I did an audible shrug and just walked up the back deck.

The back deck was my last resort, and I’m not sure why. It’s beautiful and where I enjoyed spending most early mornings or evenings laying on the couches reading, eating a meal, or trying to nap. It was a normal occurrence to be out there even in the middle of winter with a fire lit and a blanket bundling around.

I had had friends over my entire life - we were one of those houses that hosted the Christmas parties, birthday volleyball parties, random taco bar bonfires, had the random groups of people that had no other reason to be connected than that the fact that my sister and I invited everyone from different seasons of life together to one place…all the time. And that’s one of my favorite things about growing up there. My parents made it such an enjoyable place for my friends to be, and for us to host people. I always looked forward to being able to plan the next bonfire with the mass 30-40 person group chat - if you were ever a part of those, I’m sorry - with the details. This was another reason that it seemed so natural to have our Wedding Reception at the house, too.

While Caleb and I were doing our first look and taking some portraits in one of our favorite parks - Veterans Memorial Park (it’s our favorite for the creek down the hill, although the big helicopters and tanks are cool) - our parents were setting up the chairs for family to sit during the short ceremony. I didn’t really have a preference on how they were facing, where they were set up or anything. Just that there were enough chairs and everyone had a place to sit. I didn’t care about which side people sat on, nothing like that.

Looking back on the day, that was one of the best moments - of the part of the day we were looking the least forward to…having all eyes on us at the same time. Standing up with Caleb in front of our families - moms, dads, brother, sisters, and our grandparents - and everyone all mixed together will be a vision I never forget. It was awesome. And I hope and wish everyone could experience what we did on that day. I talked to his family equally as much as mine, it truly felt as if we had already all come together as one family - it felt that way to us at least. Which from the beginning was our biggest answer to prayer.