Our Wedding - Grandview Vineyard 2022

Grace Gotwalt
Oct 16, 2023
14 min read

Updated: May 20

Good day, friends!

It's October, and in just under a week my hubby and I will be celebrating our first anniversary. I can't believe it! I thought what a perfect time to finally blog OUR wedding day. All of these photos are by the fabulous Brianna Wilbur Photography. She was such a treat to work with, and exceeded our expectations!

As a wedding professional, I found it a bit more overwhelming than I had expected to plan our wedding. The biggest thing was that we were working with an 8 month time frame. We personally chose not to live together prior to getting married, and we were eager to start our life together!

That created the biggest challenge, I would say. A lot of the vendors that I would have wanted to work with, or inquired with, were already booked. That said, we chose our wedding date based on Bri's availability, and we are thrilled with the vendor team we ended up with! Everyone was wonderful! They really made our day run so smoothly.

Once we had Bri booked, the next thing we booked was Lancaster Cupcake's cupcake truck! At that point I was relieved. I thought, if we only have photography and cupcakes at least we'll have photos and dessert for our wedding day. Next we needed to book the venue since caterers wouldn't even give me prices without having a venue officially booked. We ended up touring a couple of places and then booked Grandview Vineyard. I was thrilled they were available since I was very fond of the property and space there!

After all of our major vendors were booked (which I did within 2 weeks of being engaged lol), I had a LOT more fun with the wedding plans. I was so happy we could have such a beautiful day without waiting over a year to plan it.

I seriously underhyped our wedding day. I kept telling myself it was just one day, it doesn't have to be the best day ever. Which in some ways was a gift. I let myself off the hook and decided that I didn't need to be the thinnest, most beautiful version of myself I'll ever be. I didn't need to be the most together. It's okay to go on a low-key honeymoon if you think traveling far will stress you out more. It's okay to believe that the best is yet to come. You will have fabulous vacations some day when you aren't saving to buy a house, and planning the biggest party ever.

I prepared myself for things to go wrong, and for it not to be exactly what I was expecting. Boy, was I wrong! Our wedding day was absolutely flawless. It was the most peaceful beautiful day I've ever experienced. All of the plans came together and it far exceeded my expectations. It was a privilege and an honor to be a part of. It was humbling to be receiving of so much love. It was a gorgeous 70 degree day in October, with a breeze and yellow leaves fluttering on the wind. I'll never ever forget it, and I'm so glad I have these photos and video to remember it!

McKenzie, my MOH, and I drove to the wedding venue together in the morning. The first thing I did was take a walk with my fiancé around the perimeter of the venue. Non-traditional, I know. But my goal was minimal anxiety for me, which meant I got to see him. We walked around, surveyed and took it all in. I wonder now if this contributed to my calm - I acclimated and took in my surroundings before getting started. We stopped at the arch where we would take our vows later that day, read a passage of scripture, and prayed over our day and our marriage. It was one of many highlights of my day. Oh, and he brought me a protein smoothie since I knew I wasn't gonna try solid food on a nervous stomach but didn't want to pass out. lol

Then it was time to get ready! We parted ways until our first look.

Full disclosure, I only ordered a few save the dates for just this photo. We didn't send out save the dates. haha My friend Jacquie custom designed these library card book marks for us! I'm obsessed with them. She turned our family crest (by Ashlyn Puller) into a stamp for the bottom and the reverse side has one of our engagement photos on it. They were our favors and one of my favorite details.

Our invitations are from theknot. My perfume I made with my bridesmaids at my bachelorette party. It's made from essential oils of Hawaiian Sandalwood, Blue Tansy, and Vanilla. It was also my something blue! The wax seals we used the glue gun trick for, and the seal itself I bought traveling in England when I was 20.

Our rings: My engagement ring Gus had designed specifically for me. He had some ideas from me, but I wanted the final ring to be a surprise. It has an oval diamond in the center, the diamond is my birthstone. And then it has three emeralds on each side, in the shape of leaves to symbolize our love for the outdoors, and to stand for Gus' birthstone. We used Gem Boutique in York to design and make it. We also used sold + melted down family jewelry for my ring. My wedding band is my grandmother's that was resized. Gus' ring is from Rustic and Main. It has a Jade and Rosewood inlay.

Our vow books that have special notes to each other are from The Keeper Co. And I found this marriage vow book from my grandparents wedding. They stayed married their whole lives together, so that was special to me.

I decided to wear TOMS on my wedding day because I wanted to be comfortable! And let me tell you, these fleece lined Classics were SO perfect. They were comfortable all day and kept my feet warm. It basically felt like I was wearing slippers.

The dress. This was surprisingly the detail I cared least about. lol All I wanted was something white, pretty, that looked good on me. I found the dress at Dream Bridal Resale in Wrightsville. It was actually the first one that I tried on! None of my bridesmaids were able to accompany me to my fitting so Gina and Lori were crucial in helping me make a decision. I had a topper made for my dress to add sleeves to it. It's from Etsy. I would definitely not recommend the seller. She eventually got it right, but initially ignored all of my requests, even though I messaged her to confirm she got them, but in the end we got it just right! I appreciated that she kept working on it, but she also charged me extra to fix her mistake, so not my favorite experience. But I loved how it turned out! I felt beautiful in it and loved the sleeves! It was also very comfortable. The brand that my dress is is Torrid. I had Shelly Brain alter it for me from a personal recommendation and it was just right!

My girls. I had bridesmaids come from PA, MD, IL, NC, and New Zealand. What treasures they are! Since we would only all be together on the wedding day, I didn't want to try matchy matchy and have it be slightly off once all together. I gave them each a color, either Sage or Emerald, and they picked a dress that suited their body type. We had the perfect mix of casual, dressy, texture, length, and color. I love it!! They did so well and I've already see a few of them re-wear these.

For their gifts I gave them these hangers from Etsy, steel emerald cups with their names on them that I customized myself, scrunchies from Etsy, and sweatshirts that I customized myself that I'll explain below.

My hair was by Silver Girl Hair (Aka Lilya Gay). It turned out so pretty! My favorite part is the flowers in the back and the braid. My friend Kiersten Kowalski, Mary Kay director, did my makeup. It stayed in place flawlessly!

All of our flowers were by Pam's Petals! She had a vision for our florals that I couldn't have imagined for myself!! All I cared was that we had white and green. I wanted white roses, baby's breath, eucalyptus, and other greenery. I didn't much care after that. And she just blew it out of the park! They were gorgeous and romantic! They also lasted forever. I took my bouquet on our honeymoon and some of the flowers lasted well into our second and third week of marriage.

I custom made sweatshirts for my girlies. I got the idea from an Etsy shop. I really wanted to give them something that had more than just "bride tribe" (although those are super cute!). I didn't want it to be wasteful, and it was important to me that they were special to them and could be worn more than once. The first flower is for their birth month, the second is a marigold for October - the month we got married in, the third flower is a Daisy for my birth month of April, and finally one more marigold. I'm obsessed with them and a little jealous I didn't make one for myself. haha I made my hubby and I matching Mr and Mrs hoodies with our last name on the back for our honeymoon.

These shirts I got for me and mama because I just HAD to have something that said bride, and something special for just me and mom. Besides, look how flawlessly they match my pants!! Shirts are from Etsy as well. Lots of Etsy shopping for me, haha.

I ended up having just my Matron of Honor, Maid of Honor and my mom in the room to help me get into the dress. Mostly because there was just not a whole lot of space in there for 9-10 people and a wedding dress. hahaha Also this shot of my hair. Just love!

Sweet Rachael. Our friendship grew a lot closer once her oldest daughter (one of our flower girls) was born. She was kind enough to ask me to shoot her details and getting ready portion of her wedding 9 years ago when I was just branching out into wedding photography. Then I attended the ceremony and reception as a guest. As I was about to leave to go get myself ready for the evening, I noticed she was about to put on her OWN shoes on her wedding day. To which I was like, no you're a bride!! And I put her shoes on her. Her wedding photographer was kind enough to snap a photo of that, so it was extra sweet to be on this side of this moment so many years later.

Groom's details.

One of my personal pet peeves at weddings is when the bride and bridesmaids have been on site all morning and the boys just stroll in at 30 minutes to ceremony, half drunk and having played a round of golf, run a comb through their hair and call it a day. Without even having announced this feeling, our best man Michael had the idea that he'd love to hire a barber! I didn't personally get to meet him but the men all raved about him! They made sure they were all trimmed and set for the day. Which is probably a great thing since one of my brothers graciously stepped in for a groomsman who had to miss the wedding due to illness. If you're looking to spice up your men getting ready time, a barber is a great option! (also makes sure that their hair and facial hair is definitely photo ready. They all looked fantastic!)

First look with daddy first!

His gift from me - a handkerchief. Much to my disappointment he didn't cry that much. hahaha He held it together and only got choked up a few times.

So happy and in love! A note about my jewelry, my necklace is my great aunts that looks identical to the one my mother wore on her wedding day, my earrings are pearls from my mom and diamond studs that my grandma gave me when I graduated from high school. They were the first diamonds my grandpa Nevin ever gave her. I decided to go sans bracelet cause I don't really wear them and they would get in the way!

The pearl details on my dress were my favorite part. It has this pearl belt, and pearl buttons down the back.

A moment for these sleeves.

That bouquet! I mean come on!!! It smelled incredible too.

Daisies, roses, lilies, snap dragons.

Yeah, I was a pretty happy bride! My mom and my best friend both commented on how calm I was. It's the calmest they've ever seen me -a pleasant surprise to everyone!

A moment for a man in uniform. Hellloooo handsome!!!

First look time! Personally, I always wanted a traditional first look down the isle. But the more I thought about it, the more I was leaning towards a first look. For one, it's more time I get to spend with my husband on our wedding day. For another, I thought it would help ease anxiety if I didn't have to wait around all day to see him (it did!). And finally, I knew from a photo stand point we would have a much more relaxed time with photos if we did the bulk of them beforehand, especially considering the time of year. I did request for the photos of just him and I to be following the ceremony, because I wanted to be actually freshly married in those. But we took all family and bridal party photos beforehand.

Then we exchanged gifts. He got me this beautiful hand drawn map of Ireland, in the LOTR style. It's gorgeous and I had no idea what he would come up with. It really meant a lot to me, since I always wanted to go to Ireland for my honeymoon, but we decided against it due to the effects of stress on my health. He also got me really fantastic hiking boots that he had given to me early to break in for our actual honeymoon in Shenandoah.

I gave him a journal of letters to my future husband. I wrote in it off and on for 12 years. The last 52 or so were written specifically with him in mind, and after we were engaged to him by name. I wrote them as I prayed over our future and our marriage. I recovered it in green, his favorite color. I also got him a really cool mug that he uses nearly every day, despite having a ton of other mugs at home.

I actually LOVE the smiling and looking photos. They'll be the ones we get to look back on over the years to see how we've changed and grown together. They'll also be the ones on mantles and refrigerators. I think they are super special and important to have for your family legacy.

These photos by the gate with the afternoon sun are some of my most favorite. This one in black and white is on a canvas in our home.

Pro of getting married when you're older: I've known all but one of these girls for 10+ years. And the other is coming in close at 9 years, my sister-in-law. Having 5 of their children at the wedding was also a huge plus.

I'm so obsessed with how the mismatched look turned out! Which honestly surprised me cause I always thought I would be a matchy matchy bride.

I gave the option to be barefoot, all of which took this advantage except my MOHs who were in delightfully coordinating clogs.

We had two flower girls, Aurora who is the daughter of one of my best friends, and Carolyn our niece.

My MOHs. I'm so amazed and thankful that Kenzie came all the way from New Zealand. The only job I gave her was to please come if she could manage it. Kristin did the best job as acting Matron of Honor, all while her baby was under a year old. I really have the most generous friends.

Our ring bearer was my Matron of Honor's middle son, Foster.

My brother and sis-in-law were also heroes of the day. I asked Shannon to be a stand in in case Kenzie couldn't make the wedding so we would still have even numbers during the ceremony. Luke stood in for a groomsman that was sick last minute. We were so glad to have them hang out with us all day.

This is an idea from my teenage Pinterest board, yes it is. The bride and groom and the mini us, I just love it.

Our cute frame is from Shutterfly.

Our handsome gentlemen! Our only request was black pants, white shirts, and we got them coordinating ties/suspenders with the woman they walked with. I love how the mix of colors and textures turned out.

Ceremony time! The cove at Grandview turned out so magically. There were yellow leaves fluttering. It was 70 degrees with a slight breeze. I looked around and saw all of our closest friends and family. Absolute heaven!

How precious are they!?

One of my bridesmaids led us in a time of worship to open. We sang Great Are You Lord, which is a song we sang at a Worship Night when we were first dating.

Brian, our pastor, had us face the guests the whole ceremony, which I loved! I think the guests appreciated it too! And it made for some really lovely moments.

We exchanged traditional vows (we had more personal letters to each other earlier in the day), and opted out of a unity symbol. Instead we shared communion. A wonderful friend from church handmade us gluten free rolls for communion and for our guests at dinner who needed it.

We were surrounded by our bridal party and parents for prayer.

And just like that - husband and wife! Eee!

Highly recommend playing something super fun for walking up the isle. We chose "It's a Jungle Out There" aka the Monk theme song. We had watched the whole series while dating. It was the perfect mood after the seriousness and sacredness of the ceremony. Time to party!

I had such a vision for our reception. I was really excited to put it all together. It's something I've spent literally a decade planning!

I always wanted stacks of books for centerpieces and bud vases with white roses. It turned out so well! We used antique books that were from both sides of the family mixed with newer pretty hardbacks.

The reception was right inside this lovely space. It has screens all the way around so it really integrates the outdoors well!

Our wedding photographers captured so many beautiful photos of our guests during cocktail hour! It really made my day looking at them! Less people than I expected asked to take photos with us, so they are some of the only photos we got of some of our guests!

Another Pinterest favorite is a family tree (photos literally tied up around a tree!). Bittersweet since I had two deaths in my family the year we married. A con of getting married older was definitely the lack of family still living. Neither of us had grandparents attend. Although it was more of a lively atmosphere since the oldest attendee was in her 70's.

Some of my favorite details - instax guestbook, our family crest, and bookmark favors.

We had table names instead of table numbers. All either literary or historic couples. I'll put a list at the bottom and I'd love to see if you can guess them all!

My mom helped me put together little goodie bags for the little ones. They had a wedding coloring book, crayons, some jacks, a little stack of cards, ring pops. I wanted to be sure everyone had a good time and we had lots of children there! Probably 15 or so.

I did request that the bulk of the photos of just the two of us be taken after the ceremony. I wanted that fresh married look. I'm so glad, because the light was absolute perfection! And it gave us some down time between the ceremony and reception. We also snuck out for some golden hour shots in the vineyard so lots of photos of us!

First dances! We danced to Kiss Me by Sixpense None The Richer. My dad and I danced to the Father of the Bride version of The Way You Look Tonight. And hubby and his mom danced to a mix of Sweet Child of Mine and You'll Be In My Heart.

The youth pastor I had growing up prayed over our meal. We had The Festive Board cater and we couldn't have been happier with them! It was the hardest part to find a caterer, especially with all of my needs. We were thrilled with them and they sent us home with so many leftovers! We took a lot on our honeymoon. Our cake was salted caramel from Lancaster Cupcake. Our topper is from Etsy.

The Lancaster Cupcake truck was one of my (and our guests) favorite parts! We chose 5 yummy flavors, two of which were GF/V. It was such a hit!

We love Bri! Thank you for the most beautiful wedding photos ever! The only thing I would change photo wise is that I wish we had the budget for even MORE coverage. You just can never have enough! My other thought is I wish I had taken more photos WITH my guest. We had Bri's coverage end shortly after sunset so that we could be free to enjoy the rest of our evening and be with our guests! It was just lovely. This last shot is of us watching my parents dance (and win) the anniversary dance.