Haney House Diaries

From start to finish, our wedding day was the greatest day of my entire life. I spent the morning with my girls getting pampered and then we headed over to the venue for some pictures. See below.. :)

We're so FANCY!

My mom and sister helped me to get dressed. It was such a special time for us. :)

Getting ready for the first look. This picture CRACKS me up!!

This was the only point of the day when I felt really nervous...waiting to see my husband for the first time. :) We opted to do a first look at the suggestion of our photographer and it was THE BEST decision we made for the wedding (other than hiring that photographer - DUH!). It was the most intimate, special, wonderful moment of the entire day. I would suggest this to ANY bride!

After we had our first look, we decided to run to a nearby school house to take some pictures. Weren't our ring bearers and flower girl THE CUTEST?

I asked my girls to buy matching navy lace pencil skirts but I let them choose any ivory top that they wanted. I LOVED that they were all different but fit their personalities perfectly. :)

And I couldn't resist getting these fun sweaters and glasses for a FEW pictures!! :)

I can't post individual pictures of my bridesmaids without saying how important they each are to me, so here goes nothin... :)

Michaela is my baby sister. She is an inspiration to me in SO many ways. She loves God, she raises 3 INCREDIBLE kids, and she works harder than almost anyone I know. Her children are all respectful, intelligent, kind, and LOVE the Lord - PROOF that she is doing an amazing job with them. I'm so proud of the young woman that she has become and even though she is my LITTLE sister, I look up to her in so many ways. :)

Emily and I have been best friends for almost four years now. We met when I started doing Zumba with her, and we connected over a similar sense of humor and love for all things ridiculous. As our friendship continued to grow (in the beginning), we talked about EVERYTHING except for one thing...God. See, I was an atheist, and Em was a Christian. At one point, she finally took the opportunity to share her faith with me, and was one of the greatest things anyone has ever done for me. She guided me through the first year of being a Christian by making time for Bible studies and taking me to church with her. For the rest of my life, Em will always hold SUCH a special place in my heart for answering God when He asked her to do something hard. I'm so thankful for this lady.

(Girl) Robin and I have technically known each other the longest. She grew up right down the street from my grandma's house. To make a long story short, we didn't reconnect until about two years ago, but when we did, we made up for lost time by becoming SOOOO close! I'm so thankful for this lady in my life. She is the FRIENDLIEST person I know. ;)

Rachelle and I met less than a year ago when I walked into a church in a movie theater that she and her husband pastor. After service, I sent her a long message on Facebook, and the rest is history! Our friendship is SOOOO God orchestrated. He sent us each other when we both didn't even realize that we needed a close friend. Through Rachelle and her husband (and their church), I have grown SO MUCH in my faith. They have fostered my creativity and encouraged me in SO many ways. They are my go-to people, and they have always treated me with kindness, respect, and honesty. I couldn't be more thankful for this woman. I mean, really, WHO ELSE would get in a pencil skirt and heels when they are 8 months pregnant? :)

My sweet sister and her kids. I am godmother to all three, and I love them each with all of my heart!

Rachelle and her big boy Maddox (and Marshall in her belly). :)

These girls have been with me through every step of the wedding planning process. Andie and Danielle are two of my favorite people in the entire universe for their selflessness, their encouragement, and their love!

My parents.... they made this all happen. They worked their tails off to make my dreams come true. :) I am so overwhelmed every time I think about everything they did to make our day come alive. Most of all, though, they love and accept Rob. They treat him like he has always been a part of our family, and that is SOOOO special to me. :)

Rob and his sweet mama. :) I love this woman to pieces!

It's SHOW TIME!!!

These details...AHHH!!! The details in our wedding completely make me SWOON! This part of our wedding COMPLETELY came together due to the help of my incredible friends and family. Let me break it down..

The flowers were made by my grandma. She hand cut and put together the most gorgeous bouquets of felt flowers I have EVER seen. To make them even more special, the night before the wedding, she tacked my great grandma's cross onto the flowers. I can't even begin to explain the comfort that it gave me to have that with me all day. :)

The cakes were made by the sister in law of one of my bridesmaids. There were four and they each had a different flavor. The biggest cake was FUNFETTI which was a really fun surprise. :) My favorite was Rob's grooms cake because it was chocolate with cookies and cream filling. We must'e eaten 12 pieces after the wedding!

The dress was so perfect. :) It was vintage looking and modest in the front with a low back. Every time I put it on in the months leading up to the wedding, I teared up. :) The hanger was a gift from a dear, dear friend from church, Tracy. She found it on my pinterest and special ordered it. She is the most thoughtful person I know. :)

The shoes are the things that inspired the entire wedding. A friend sent me a link to them on Facebook, and an idea was born!

The rings were both chosen by Rob. :) He surprised me with mine (see engagement story on a past post), and he wanted something a little different, so he chose a ring with a wooden center. It's REALLY cool!

The paper stuff was all created by my INCREDIBLE best friend Rachelle. She spent countless hours making sure that everything was perfect for our wedding. She made the programs (which had games on them), cootie catchers, signs, save the dates, and invitations. Talent overload!!! :) Oh, and she and some other ladies from church created our favors and Chelle made the tags to go on them. Apples dipped in caramel and chocolate and covered in delicious goodness? SAY IT AIN'T SO!!! :)

The backdrop was created by my dad. We LOVED it! We gave him an idea, and he just ran with it. Behind the books is the most gorgeous wood you'll ever see, so after we took it down, we shortened it and created a headboard with it. It's PERFECT! :)

The guest book was a gift from my wonderful maid of honor, my sister Michaela. :) We loved it, and we can't wait to frame it and put it up in our home.

The decor...OHHHH the decor! My amazing friend Vera jumped onto the idea about decorating for our wedding the moment she found out we were engaged. See, Vera is SUPERWOMAN. She serves at her church and with a nonprofit, she is a counselor, she recently helped set up an autism center, she is the most creative person I know, AND she is beautiful. So NOT fair! LOL Lucky for me, she also has a heart of gold, and was so, so happy to decorate for our wedding. She enlisted her sweet friend Patti K who is THE most loving and wonderful woman I know, and they made MAGIC happen. Vera had been collecting for awhile, and she and Patti K just had a vision that they made come alive at our wedding. Even the man who runs the building where we got married told me that he had never seen a better decorated wedding! What a blessing to have creative and selfless friends! So...here ya go!