Our wedding day came and went entirely too quickly but we enjoyed every bliss-filled moment. I wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on the day and share our sneak peek photographs by Tara Hodges.
First off, this dress. Oh how I love my wedding dress. I want to wear it again and again so I might have to come up with an excuse. Any other brides feel that way? I told Christopher’s dad if we have a daughter I hope I can still fit in it so we can play dress up. She will be the princess and I will be the queen. I will then, of course, remind her that parliament has all the real power. Then we will rock out to “God Save the Queen” by the Sex Pistols to remind us to stay humble. I have it all planned out.
On our last dating anniversary in January Christopher got me beautiful sapphire jewelry to wear on our wedding day as my something blue. It looked exquisite and matched my engagement ring. Grandpa Lee was my something old. My wedding shoes were my something new and I think I’ve settled on my bridesmaids being my something borrowed. I got to have them all together for one day then I had to give them back to their families and their jobs on Sunday.
Baby Joe was overstimulated for most of the day. He would get lots of free loving and then would fall asleep next to me. He took a nap on my train right before we left for the ceremony. Then at the reception he had enough and hid behind a dresser refusing to come out until mommy got on the floor of the barn in her dress to hold him. Oh well, babies come first. Especially the four-legged kind who aren’t normally around that many people. He did beautifully overall and I’m so relieved that he was able to be part of our day. Also, whenever he wears a bow tie the only way he can stand it is to move it to the side with his little T-Rex arms. I think it looks darling.
I bought this perfume to wear on our wedding day so that every time I wear it I will be transported back to October 28th. I can save it for special occasions and see if Christopher remembers the fragrance. The name of the perfume is “She Knew He Was Forever” by Fictions.
The next 3 photographs have me absolutely tortured waiting to see the rest. My husband makes me weak in the knees when he wears a tux. I could stare at these all day.
In descending order please tell me which one is your favorite in the comments section. I’d like to have a large print made of one of these made before Thanksgiving and I can’t decide between the first picture and the third. I’d love to know what you think.
People can tell you how fast everything will go on your wedding day but it’s truly unbelievable. Significant life changes happened in a matter of hours. I woke up that day as Carly Barnes and I went to sleep that night as Carly Barnes Kibler. JoeJoe is no longer a bastard pup and is a stage 5 clinger since we got back from Mexico. Christopher, ever the unicorn of a man that he is, has just gotten sweeter and looks damn good wearing that wedding band.
While I admit that I had my doubts and things certainly didn’t go as planned (freezing rain, freezing rain, freezing rain) I simply stopped caring and decided to enjoy the day no matter what happened. This is huge for me. HUGE. I refused to let anyone or anything sink my battleship and it totally worked. I have that day to wear as a badge of courage from now on and I’m really proud of myself.
Now it’s time to say thanks to those people who made it all come together…
I want to extend a thank you to everyone who came to the wedding, sent us a gift, or gave us encouragement during this journey. Special thanks to Sweet Snaps by Tara Hodges as well as her sweet husband for having the most important job of capturing our day. They went above and beyond. Thank you to Star Mays and Still Hollow Farm for all their hard work creating an elegant and intimate space for us to get married. Thank you to our parents for all they contributed. I think Star said they were literally running around the property at some point on our wedding day. Thank you to Katie Hartman for being an incomparable makeup artist who I most likely infected with my sickness. So sorry, Katie! Feel better! Y’all, seriously though, I ugly cried and nothing moved. If you live in the Sevier County area and have an event to attend, look her up! Thank you to Hayley Gregory from Deluxe on Depot for giving me the bridal updo of my dreams. Thank you to Curtis Jordan for being the best DJ. We love you, Curt! Thank you to Bill and Nanette Moore from Hickory Cabin Seasoning Company for cooking dinner for everyone. Thank you to my brother John who kept running out in the rain to get things I forgot because I was drugged up on Sudafed and Azithromycin. Thank you to Aunt Jackie and my sister Katie for decorating the perfect Converse high tops to get me down the aisle. Thank you to my cousin Chelsea for standing by the guest book. You looked gorgeous and thank you for wearing pink for me. Thank you to my Uncle Terry who quite literally saved the day by driving me and my bridesmaids to the ceremony site in his minivan so we wouldn’t get wet. You were the real MVP, Uncle Terry.
I could go on and on but lastly I want to thank everyone who made this day about us and came out in the cold and rain to celebrate. We love you to the moon and back. We can’t wait to share more of our most cherished memories with you in the years to come.
Until next time,
Carly