The Juliff Wedding: Reflections
Steve and I have been married for a little over a week now, and I have some wedding reflections/advice/vendor recommendations that are on my mind. The photos are just various phone pictures. I’ll have much better photos when our photographer photos come in!
From the start of our engagement, we felt some societal pressure to have a big, traditional wedding. As we continued planning, we decided that a big affair wasn't for us. That was the best decision we made for our wedding. I think the meaning and importance of a wedding gets lost in the details sometimes.
We included the traditions that we felt were most important. For example, we exchanged rings, got married in a church, said traditional vows, had a photographer, had bridal party toasts, I wore a veil, and we shoved cake into each others’ mouths. What traditions didn’t make the cut? Well, I didn't wear white or a garter. We didn't have a flower girl, a first dance, or a bouquet toss. We also didn’t have a rehearsal dinner.
We didn’t have real flowers. Something Borrowed Blooms is a New Orleans local company that rents wedding flowers to brides for their weddings. No one, including our photographer, knew they were silk unless we told them.They even smelled real! If you have a specific floral vision for your wedding, I recommend checking them out first, because they have several collections for all seasons, styles, and brides.
I did have a big bridal shower that was an absolute blast. I saw all of my girlfriends from college again and was able to eat, drink, and be totally spoiled by friends, family, and in-laws. A lot of the things I had pinned to my wedding Pinterest board made their way into the bridal shower. Which allowed me to have my traditional bridal moment.
We kept things simple. We picked a little chapel that was so beautiful it didn't need any additional decorations. We had a sit down dinner reception at a New Orleans restaurant. We handmade what we could and used our resources elsewhere. Steve's mom made our wedding cake and it was so delicious I still have day dreams about it. We planned our wedding for a date that worked for us both and our families. We actually got married the same weekend that Steve graduated college.
If someone asked me for wedding advice, this is what I would say:
-Plan your wedding your way. It’s your day. Don’t have a huge to-do if that isn’t your style.
-Have one person (maid of honor, a trustworthy cousin, an aunt) who knows every detail of how the day is supposed to go. So, when the wrong menu options are listed or the venue doesn’t put the place cards out, that designated person can handle it for you.
-Have a moment for just the two of you. We had our moment in the form of our romantic bride&groom photo session, but I wish we had been able to just sit side by side for a moment, hold hands, and soak in the fact that we had just gotten married.
-I didn’t see the point in having a whole emergency kit for my wedding day. But, the two things I should have brought are makeup wipes and bobby pins. My lipstick rubbed off onto Steve after smooching for our photos and a makeup wipe would have fixed that!
The things we learned while wedding planning will stick with us: Plan events our way, be frugal and crafty, do what feels right in every regard, be true to ourselves and identities as a couple, validate and encourage each others’ decisions, back each other up, write thank you notes, and communicate on a whole new level.
Vendor Shout-Outs:
Wedding Cake: The Cake Diva (Janan Juliff, Minnesota)
Flowers: Something Borrowed Blooms
Hair and Makeup: Hair by KP (Metairie)
Dress: Aidan Mattox
Veil: The Bridal Boutique by MaeMe
Steve’s Suit & Groomsmen Attire: Jeff’s Haberdashery (Metairie)
Groom’s Shoes: Banana Republic
Bride’s Shoes: Kate Spade Glitter Sneakers
Photographer: Elizabeth Ray (@erayphoto)
Bridesmaid Dresses: Hayley Paige, The Bridal Boutique by MaeMe
Chapel: The Small Chapel at Jesuit High School
Dinner Reception Venue & Caterer: Vincent’s Italian Cuisine
Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas
Rings: Ramsey’s Diamond Jewelers
