f o u r. y e a r s.

 This week we celebrated four years of marriage.  A few years ago we came up with the idea to try to have an anniversry dinner in our wedding clothes each year.  Last year I was quite pregnant so this was the first chance we had to make good on that idea.  Yesterday I called John on his way home from work and told him to get ready for a suprise.  Evaleigh was enchanted with seeing me in my wedding gown and kept asking me to spin.  When he drove up the driveway I was standing in front of the house in my wedding dress.  I had Johns clothes laid out in the kitchen.  He slipped on his suit coat and we spent a little time outside.  We watched our baby roll around on the quilt I made out of the fabric from our reception table clothes.  Evaleigh played under the lace tablecloth we bought in Mexico on our honeymoon.  John put his arms around my waist and we took in the scene.  I said, "Look at what we've done in four years."  We both agreed that our babies are the best things we've done.  We had pizza for dinner and played music under the "blah-blah" tree for a few minutes after we got the babies to bed.  I love passing the time with my John.

DIY Wedding

Our family began on May 27th last year.  

We had a DIY wedding reception.

Here are a few of our favorite things from that day.

Paper flowers Center Pieces

Guitar guestbook

Boylan's Soda in an antique Utility Sink

Antique Window Chalk Board Menus

"What love means to you"

"Two Love Birds" Pinwheels

Thread Spool Cake Topper

Photo Booth

Handmade Wedding Dress and Veil

Sparklers

We made over 300 paper flowers and glued them to branches to make the center piece arrangements.  We filled large mason jars with bird seed to secure the branches.

We put vintage records underneath each of the large flower arrangements.

My sister and her husband made our home made "Peg Board Games" using golf tees and then dressed them up by gluing buttons to the top of the tees.

We also decorated the tables with antique books tied together with string and teacups and saucers.

We left the guitar case open for wedding cards and any other money!  It was surprising how many people just walked by and would throw in a $20. Score!

Instead of having a wedding guest book we had a "guitar guestbook".  (Because let's be honest, who really goes back and looks at that book time and time again?)

For our table setting we used my great grandmother's silver and napkins from my parents wedding.  This added a really sentimental and personal touch to the decor.

I wanted to save all of the bottle caps so I could do (this) project.

We used an antique utility sink for the drinks.  It looked fantastic and kept the drinks pretty cold.  Now I use it in our bedroom to separate laundry!

I bought some old windows from an antique shop in Roswell.  I got some spray chalk board and then we made these.  It made for a unique way to share the menu.

The live jazz band made for such a classic atmosphere. 

Our first dance to "Embraceable You".

This lovely little idea came from my sister.  She is the one who did all of the paper signs by the way.  We loved going back through and reading the responses we got.  Its amazing how love is something different for everyone.

The cake was made by my best friend's mother.  It was an almond pound-cake with butter-cream frosting.

My aunt made all of the cake table decorations.  She made these pinwheels to go on top of the windows.  She made the cake toppers out of vintage thread spools and some of our paper flowers.  She also made two clay birds to go on top of the main cake.  My little bird had a veil on and John's was holding a guitar that said, "Murphy Rocks" on it.

Our friend Taylor did a photo booth for us.  One of my biggest regrets of the night is that John and I never even got to go get in it!!  It was such a busy night that we never even got to eat!

(My mother and I designed and handmade my dress and my veil.)

We left to the flair of sparklers and fireworks.  It was such a magical evening and I want to do it all over again!

And that was part of the beginning of forever...