Our Wedding Part 2

Grace Gotwalt
Oct 16, 2023
3 min read

Once again, all photos are by the amazing Brianna Wilbur Photography!

This was essentially my face all day. 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. Cheesy, I know. 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.