Our Backyard Wedding

I can't believe the whirlwind our wedding week was. It was everything I imagined it to be. Sometimes I have ideas in my head that just never come to fruition, or when they do, they turn out like the "Failed Pinterest" projects you see all over the place.Our wedding was absolutely everything I had envisioned in my head. Getting married in my parent's backyard was a dream of mine from when I was younger. I never actually thought it would happen - not that I wouldn't get married, but that I would get suckered in by all those gorgeous photos you see at wedding venues - no way my parent's yard could compete, right?Wrong. Everything was beyond beautiful. The weather was perfect, and thanks to two weeks of rain prior to the wedding day, everything was lush and green. My parents worked their butts off to plant flowers, clean up the hedges, paint the house, fix the pool, and more, to get ready for the day. The tent was huge, the pool was full, the bugs were gone (thanks, Shane!).I wanted the wedding to be laid back and relaxed so we had the groomsmen wear navy blue khakis and a white shirt. A tie or a suit of any kind just would not have made sense. I told the bridesmaids early on to find a champagne-pink-cream colored dress, and they delivered. We didn't even see all the girls dresses together until the day of, and it was exactly what I had in mind.My bridesmaids, by the way, were the best ever. They calmed me down, made me feel so special and loved, and went out of their way to make my wedding day so memorable. I truly am blessed with the best friends and sisters in the world!My dress was everything I envisioned it to be. Form fitting, lace, with a dramatic back. I remember trying it on and feeling like a million bucks. I couldn't stop starting at myself. I guess you really do know when you know! On top of that, I kept everything else simple. I wore the veil my mom wore on her wedding day - the vintage look was perfect! I went barefoot and found some fun foot jewelry to wear instead. I wore the jewelry my mom and sister both wore on their wedding day - except for the earrings. David surprised me with those!The thing about having the wedding at our house was that everything was our decision. That made it good and bad. We were able to make decisions on how the ceremony looked and where it took place in the yard, but that also meant all the men carrying straw bales around until the bride was happy with how it looked! On top of that, we had a crew of 15 or so the morning of the wedding setting up everything to match my "vision"... something I couldn't just spell out for someone to copy. I had to be there - hands on. No relaxation on my wedding day :)All of the people who helped out on our day were friends of ours, which meant so much to us, and made everything a lot easier, too. My mom's friend made the delicious desserts and cocktails in ball jars. Such a hit! And a perfect drink to grab before taking pictures. The pictures - the gorgeous pictures I've drooled over a million times - were taken by one of Emily's college friends, Rajaa. She is taking the bar exam at the end of the month, but I told her she should just take up photography full time! The band, Everheart, is a Rath Family tradition. They traveled all the way to Indy to play at Emily and Shane's wedding. They learned so many new songs for us! The bartender, Sarah, is a friend of my dad's. Billy, the tractor driver, who carved an adorable step with his chainsaw, is a neighbor. Even the catering company my family has known forever! I loved that everyone there was someone special to us!At the end of the day, everything went magically. Every wedding is beautiful, but I can't imagine doing anything differently for ours. David and I enjoyed our mini-moon last week. We simply hopped in the car and drove east. It was the perfect thing to do after months of planning! Plus, we get to look forward to our honeymoon in December!I'm sure my mom will laugh at this, but I don't think I ever got too stressed out over wedding planning. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I tried to keep things simple, yet meaningful. I had a few breakdowns, but I knew that at the end of the day on July 11, David and I would be married - and that's what a wedding is about, right?Now we just have to figure out the next event that all of the people David and I love can be together!Check out more of Rajaa's photos on her blog.