Our Hydrangea Wedding - Details That Made Our Day Special
My husband and I got married in August of 2024 - almost a year ago! It is a little wild how it has almost been a year. Over the next few weeks, I will be posting different blogs about my wedding as a walk down memory lane.
We planned the wedding ourselves, and let me tell you, it was quite the endeavor! I found myself often stressed a little too much about the little things and intricate details. Take it from me, an overachieving perfectionist, that your wedding day will be perfect no matter what happens because you are getting to marry your best friend and enter into a covenant with him forever! Not to get too sappy, but looking back, so many things went wrong on our wedding day, and yet I remember all the little details that made the day special for Andy and I. I want to share the personalized details from our special day in hopes of inspiring you for your special day :)
10 Details That Made August 11th Feel Special
First look with my husband, my dad, and my bridesmaids |
This was something that was super important for me! I knew I wanted a special moment with everyone involved in our wedding. We opted to do first looks with my dad and bridesmaids, as well as my husband.
I did the first look with my dad first, and he sobbed. It was a sweet moment I got to share with him as I gave him his Father of the Bride gift. See #5 for inspo! Next I did a first look in my dress with my bridesmaids! I hadn’t shown them what it looked like yet, and let’s just say this dress is not what they thought I’d pick out! Finally, I did my first look with Andy. We did this in the chapel where we got married, and it was intimate and sweet. We got about an hour together to sit and relish in the fact that we were about to become husband and wife, pray together, and share our personal vows to one another. 11/10 recommend doing a first look with your spouse!
All of our first looks!
Our written details |
I love a good letter! Especially to the people who we love deeply. For each of our guests, we had a place card letter thanking them for how they have invested in our relationship and in our walks with the Lord. This letter greeted each of our guests as they sat at their seats for the reception. We also decided to handwrite our bridal party letters to have them as their place cards at the head table. At the moment, it felt tedious because we had 9 girls and 9 guys, but it was a meaningful detail we don’t regret as we got to express to each of them what they mean to us :)
Upon entering the wedding ceremony, I had two friends handing out our programs which I designed to look like a newspaper. This was a simple and creative addition to our wedding day that allowed us to share our story, our hope for marriage, and the details of the day with our guests.
Canva was my friend when it came to the written wedding details. I created these place card letters using Canva. It made it easy to match my colors and fonts in every aspect of our written details to look cohesive and streamline. It was a fun creative outlet that meant a lot to us!
Having a friend photographing & filming our wedding |
We had good friends of ours photographing & filming our wedding day which was 11/10 the best decision! We had Morgan Gribble Photography & Noah Transeau Weddings capturing our wedding. It was so meaningful and important to Andy and I that we would have friends with us on our wedding day for every part. They made the day feel so effortless & comfortable from start to finish. If you’re in the DFW area or not – you should go with Morgan & Noah! They’re amazing!
Creating a theme for the wedding specific to us - hydrangeas |
This was honestly a last minute decision I made after changing my florals a few weeks before my wedding - OOPS! I decided that I wanted to add in a splash of color and chose to do so with blue hydrangeas! This informed the rest of my details I chose for the table scapes, guest notes, & color scheme. Once I added the hydrangeas to my bouquet, I went to the internet to find hydrangea napkins for my table scapes - I found the dreamiest set on Amazon from Two’s Company. From here, I tried to incorporate hydrangeas in as much as I could. This was one of my favorite details of the day, and one that I was able to carry past our wedding day into our home decor & design!
Personalized gifts |
If you’ve found yourself wondering “What should I get for my bridesmaids?” or Googling “Father of the bride gifts,” say no more—I’ve got you covered!
I didn’t want to give our friends and family generic thank-you gifts for our wedding. I wanted each one to feel thoughtful, personal, and representative of Andy and me.
For my bridesmaids, I gave them matching hydrangea-print pajamas (to tie in with our theme, of course!) and a pair of gold hoop earrings with a delicate knot detail. It may seem simple, but I loved that I got to wear the same earrings on our big day. Now, whenever they wear theirs, I hope they think of our friendship and the special moment we shared.
I did something similar for my mom—she received beautiful pearl drop earrings with a knotted accent that matched mine. It was such a sweet, meaningful touch for just the two of us.
For my dad, I wanted to give him something deeply personal. I had a custom tie made with a childhood photo of the two of us and our special phrase: “I love everything about you.” We both sobbed during our first look when I gave it to him—it was such an sweet moment.
Andy’s mom received a necklace with the initials of both her sons and their wives—her two boys mean the world to her, and the gift meant so much. For Andy’s dad, we gifted an engraved Bible, which included a heartfelt letter from Andy inside.
And to make sure everyone felt appreciated, every single person in our wedding received a handwritten letter from us. There have been countless moments where Andy and I have felt cared for, celebrated, and cherished by our friends, and we wanted to return the favor.
Incorporating our “phrase” into the details of our wedding |
Last, but certainly not least, the most meaningful detail from our wedding day that made it feel special was the different ways we were able to incorporate our phrase “day by day” into our wedding.
The phrase “day by day” began when Andy & I were dating long distance, and we committed to one another to take our relationship one day at a time. We knew long distance was no small feat, and we wanted to pursue one another daily. Little did we know that this phrase would hold a two-fold meaning - not only were we continuing to pursue one another daily, but we were also practicing daily dependence on the Lord - doing day by day with HIM.
Since this phrase has always been a part of our relationship, we knew it needed to be a part of our wedding day too. We incorporated this phrase on our wedding handouts, letters to our guests, and custom banner on that hung on our head table at our reception.
Not only did we include it in the decor, but we also included it in small gifts to our family, such as a workout towel for my mom and a blanket for Andy’s mom. Of all the gifts, though, Andy’s wedding band was my favorite incorporation of this detail. As a surprise, I had Andy’s wedding band engraved with our wedding date & our phrase. Now every time he puts on his ring, he gets to be reminded that his wife is choosing day by day with him & daily dependence on the Lord.
I could go on and on about our wedding day & the many reasons it was special… but I’ll stop for now! If you’re in the thick of wedding planning, soak it all in!! It goes by quickly!!! If you’re just getting started & need some inspo, head over to my Pinterest & Amazon Storefront!
XO,
Em
