After the Vows| Thoughts From a Lebanon Bride

This week we are hearing from Mrs. April Moseley about her fabulous fall wedding. She was so excited to share what she learned in her planning process and the little details that made her wedding so unique. The couple decided to get married in The Mill at Lebanon which fit them perfectly.

Number of people at your wedding: 400ish

Wedding colors: Navy, gray, ivory (and a little bit of fall orange added in for pops of color).

How long was your planning process? We got engaged in February and married in October so around 8 months.

What time of year was your wedding? October 22nd, fall, the most beautiful time of year to get married!

Where did you find inspiration for your wedding?

Most of our inspiration came from within us and our relationship. So since we really liked personalized things, we wrote out notes to each other and to our bridal party in our program. And throughout our relationship, we baked a whole bunch of cookies and always drank milk with them, so we had that as our food. We love Jesus, so we wanted the focus to point back to Him in our ceremony, so we asked our preacher to do just that and make that apparent in our vows. And so on and so on. Also, I found a few ideas for inspiration on blogs I found online. Pinterest was just starting to get kinda big so we used it a little bit.

Where did you find the vendors for your wedding?

I knew some of them as friends, from school and church. (That included the people who did our invitations, pictures, videographer, caterer, cake lady, and preacher.) And our florist was someone that a friend of mine had used before. The venue was a place in Lebanon that I had passed a million times. So I don't think I really found most of them in the stereotypical ways.

Did you have a theme for your wedding?

If so what was it? I don't really think we had a theme. I could come up with one now though! Our cake stand said "Love is sweet." And that pretty much sums up our day. All of the sweet, caring touches we added into our ceremony and the detailing throughout the room, plus the super sweetness of the thousands of cookies made for the best day of celebrating how sweet our love is. Also, our main theme in our conversations was just that we wanted us and God to show up and for the day to be full of peace from Him. And it really was.

Was there anything that made your wedding unique?

I like to think so! I think everyone's love is unique so how that comes out on a wedding day makes the day unique. I thought our thousands of cookies were unique and all of the decor were things that we had done ourselves with the help of our friends so that made it really unique. And like I said, I loved our programs and I thought they were beautifully unique!

Looking back, is there anything about the planning process or wedding you would do differently?

Honestly, there isn't much of anything that I would change. When we look back on our wedding, we love it because it was so US. You know? It was full of all things Josh and April to the point where our friends and family felt like they had spent time with us by just being there. And we loved that. So I don't think we would change anything big at all. The only small thing I would change is that I would have let my bridesmaids wear whatever shoes they wanted to wear. Because the truth is that I didn't care one bit if they matched on that day. Ha!

What was the best part of your wedding?

My groom, of course!! Truly though. Marrying Josh was the best part of the whole day. Knowing that though, I'll tell you a couple things that don't rank quite up that high... more like the #2 spots. I loved the moment where Josh and I got to see each other for the first time. That was wonderful and is so much fun to watch on film. Also, the cake was fantastic. One of my favorite parts for sure. The video and photos are beautiful. And the ceremony was absolutely perfect. Love our preacher for that. And our program seriously was unbelievably wonderful as well. Honestly though, walking down the aisle and marrying Josh with all of the people we love the most surrounding us really was the best part. There is nothing quite like beginning a new family with the one you love with all of your family and friends standing and sitting around giving you their support.

Do you have any advice for future brides?

Sure! Probably one of the things that most set the tone for that day for me was when I looked down at my nails at the very beginning of the day and they were already chipped even though I'd gotten them done the day before. And I realized at that moment that everything wasn't going to be exactly perfect all day long. The mantle might be lopsided and the ladies who are cutting your cake might cut it before you get to and the song you walk out to might skip... But at the end of the day, what mattered was that I was marrying the man I loved and that we would have a whole lifetime together. All of the details are so fun and truly make the wedding day special just for you, but in the end, keeping a level head, being calm, and knowing what matters the most (vowing to the Lord that I'll love this man forever) is really what is important.

Oh, and take time to sit down and eat your cake. It's SO worth it.

Also, have someone else be in charge of making everyone line up at rehearsal and at the wedding. That way you don't have to be the bossy one that everybody gets mad at. You get to enjoy it! And that made a huge difference for me in comparison to other weddings that I've been to where the bride did it herself and STRESSED. Have fun, relax, and live up your big day!