Miraculously, we both held it together.

We had to move the ceremony indoors, which made me very nervous because the space was so small. By moving a few tables around and asking a couple of guests to stand, we pulled it off. While it wasn’t what we had planned, many people told us after the ceremony they loved how intimate it made the ceremony feel.

Seeing James’ face at the end of the aisle made my stress about everything going as planned quickly fade away. I couldn’t stop smiling knowing in a matter of minutes we would be married.

We hired a cellist to play during the ceremony and I surprised James by walking down the aisle to Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight.” Shortly after we started dating, James told me the song reminded him of me. It’s been our song ever since. Although, James said he was so caught up in the moment he wasn’t paying attention to the music.

My sister officiated the ceremony, which I wrote and tweaked up until the week of the wedding. I also asked her to write some of her own words of wisdom to us. What she wrote was beautiful and played off of the theme of riding in tandem, which made our tandem bike backdrop all the more perfect.

About halfway through the ceremony, my sister told us to join hands. We were both on the verge of tears and James kept rubbing my hands the whole time. It made it feel like we were the only ones in the room. I will always remember that moment.

We both wrote our own vows, which we heard for the first time during the ceremony. This was my favorite part. It was so meaningful to be able to make promises about our life together in front of our family and friends. Here’s what I wrote to James:

James, from the moment we met, you just got me.

Fresh off a trip to Nashville, I’d returned to South Bend disappointed I didn’t find the cowboy of my dreams.

One of the first things you did when we met was pull out a picture of yourself dressed in a cowboy hat and a giant belt buckle at the Wyoming rodeo.

It didn’t take me long to figure out you definitely weren’t a cowboy — you were taking their pictures.

But, it didn’t matter. By then, you’d already lassoed my heart.

Life with you since that day has been such an incredible adventure.

Every moment I spend with you is a moment I want to last forever.

You’ve opened my eyes to new experiences and my heart to endless possibilities.

I promise to try my best to do the same for you over the course of the rest of our lives.
I promise to make you laugh loudly and often.
I promise to be your biggest cheerleader — even when you’ve lost faith in yourself.
I promise to always make you a birthday cake.
I promise to be a great listener — to really hear what you’re saying.
I promise to always support you and do what I can to help you achieve your dreams.
I promise to never let you drink bad beer.
I promise to put you and our relationship first.
I promise to do everything in my power to make you ridiculously happy.
I promise to always be your ally.

And, most of all, I promise to be your best friend, your partner in crime and your partner in life.

I look at these promises more as privileges — I get to laugh with you and cry with you, care for you and share with you, build a life with you and live with you forever by my side.

I love you more than I thought possible and I still can’t believe I’m lucky enough to be standing here today, marrying a man better than anyone I ever could have dreamed up.

James’ vows were the perfect balance of funny and sentimental. I’ve printed them off and displayed them in our wedding shadow box so I can read them everyday:

Barbara, you are my best friend, my inspiration, my one true love. I am inspired by your kindness, your love, your beauty inside and out. Your smile can brighten the gloomiest of days. You make me laugh, you make me banana crepes, you make me happy. You stole my heart and I want you to keep it. I love you.

I promise to love you, hold you and honor you.
I promise to grow old with you and never stop growing with you.
I promise to be honest, kind, patient and forgiving.
I promise to love you through sunshine and storms.
I promise to love you forever and always.

After exchanging rings, it was time to seal our marriage with a kiss! The ceremony only lasted about ten minutes, which was the perfect length to me. Standing there in a room surrounded by everyone we love is the happiest I’ve ever been.

My sister pronounced us husband and wife and we walked out on cloud nine, ready to celebrate with a night on the dance floor.

The post Our Wedding: The Ceremony appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

Happy hump day, friends! I hope your week is going well. I’ve decided to bring back my Wedding Wednesday posts for the next few weeks — mainly because I never finished my series of wedding recap posts I started in September. I got so caught up in work and the honeymoon that I completely forgot. Better late than never, right?

The day of our wedding I got up bright and early (after hardly any sleep) to head out and get my hair and makeup done. I looked outside and saw clouds hovering and rain steadily coming down. I knew then we would have to move the ceremony inside. I tried not to dwell too much on the weather and a sweet package from my friend Molly helped take my mind off what was beyond my control. Molls gave me the package and instructed me to open it the day of the wedding. Inside was a beautiful, heartfelt card, as well as a bicycle scarf and a large makeup pouch that says “Today is going to be the best day ever.” It was the sweetest gesture and reminded me what really mattered on such a special day.

After a quick breakfast with my parents, brother and maids of honor, I headed out for my first appointment of the day. In hindsight, I wish I would have taken my maids of honor along. I went alone, thinking some solo time first thing in the morning would allow me to clear my head and start the day stress-free. That wasn’t the case. My makeup artist was more than 20 minutes late, which pushed the rest of the day back. I was so stressed by the time I left I nearly called James and told him I needed to see him before the ceremony in order to make it through the day without having a breakdown.

Luckily, my hairstylist had a mimosa waiting for me at my second appointment and made sure I made it out of the salon in plenty of time to relax a bit before the ceremony with my best girls. We rented the gorgeous Julie Vrooman Suite at the Vrooman Mansion in Bloomington for the girls to get ready in. They’d been there for about an hour doing their hair and makeup by the time I arrived, so we had some time to snap a few photos in our matching rompers and enjoy some celebratory champagne before getting dressed.

I also opened a card and gifts from James at that point, which helped calm my nerves. He knows how much I love all things Kate Spade and got me a stunning bracelet to wear in the wedding and an adorable “Mrs” necklace to wear afterward. I cherish them both, but not as much as the beautiful card he wrote.

As I stepped into my dress, each of my bridesmaids played a different role in helping me get dressed — whether it was tying the bow in my sash or helping me get my shoes on. My mom also helped get me ready to go. I wanted to make sure they all felt included and knew how important it was to have them stand by my side on my big day.

Once I was all ready, everyone left the room and the photographer helped guide my dad inside with his eyes closed. James and I didn’t want to see each other before the ceremony, but I wanted to do a “First Look” with my dad. The series of photos our photographer snapped of the big reveal is something I will treasure forever.

After that, I invited my mom in and gave both of my parents their gifts of personalized handkerchiefs. We exchanged several hugs before they headed off to the venue to help the guys get ready for the ceremony. James and the groomsmen spent most of the day at my parents’ house relaxing before getting dressed and heading out to the venue early.

The girls and I spent a little more time with the photographer at the mansion taking photos on the beautiful porch before heading out to the Davis Lodge for the ceremony. My amazing Uncle Bill chauffeured us out in his van, pulling us right up to the side door of the venue to shelter us from the rain. The one good thing about almost everything running behind early in the day was I barely had time to think before I got into my dress. If there was more down time, I’m sure I would have spent it worrying about the weather or the logistics of the ceremony.

By the time we got inside the venue, we only had about two minutes before the ceremony started. Before I knew it, I was walking down the aisle, getting ready to marry a man who is more amazing than I ever dreamed.

You can read more about our wedding: 
The Rehearsal
Setting Up The Venue
Bridal Party Gifts
My Favorite Wedding Etsy Finds

The post Our Wedding: Getting Ready appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

After spending all day the Friday before our wedding getting the venue setup, I was absolutely exhausted. I had about an hour of downtime to shower and get ready for the rehearsal and dinner and I was starting to silently panic. The weather was awful on Friday and the forecast for Saturday wasn’t looking much better — nonstop rain.

The one thing I kept saying leading up to the wedding is that as long as Mother Nature cooperated, everything would go smoothly.

Boy, did I jinx myself.

As our friends and family started to arrive to the venue Friday night, it became clear we needed to come up with a plan to hold the ceremony inside. We knew this was a possibility, but we really hadn’t thought about the logistics. We decided the mantel with the tandem bike on it would serve as the best backdrop. It would require us to push some tables off into one of the separate rooms and ask some guests to stand. It wasn’t ideal, but it was the only way to make it work in the small space.

As soon as we came up with a plan, the rehearsal got underway. While we didn’t hire a wedding planner, we did hire my mom’s friend to serve as a wedding coordinator for our big day — and we couldn’t have done it without her! I ran the rehearsal, but she watched closely so she could help make sure the ceremony went as planned on our wedding day.

I was pretty flustered throughout the rehearsal because I was so hung up on the weather. I just couldn’t help it — the one thing I couldn’t control was going wrong. We ran through the ceremony and headed over to Swinger’s Grille for our rehearsal dinner. We’d originally planned on holding the dinner at a local brewery, but had major issues with service during the planning process. Swinger’s ended up being perfect.

We had a BBQ buffet (one of James’ and my father-in-law’s favorite foods) and cocktails for guests. It was great to be surrounded by all of the people we love the night before the wedding, when my nerves were running high.

Between eating and mingling we handed out gifts for those in the bridal party and the people who played a role in our ceremony. We decided to hold off and give our parents their gifts on the day of the wedding.

One of my favorite moments of the whole weekend happened after the rehearsal dinner, when my parents opened their home to anyone who was in town to come over for wine and homebrew. The night ended with a large group of our friends down in the basement, sampling my dad’s beer. We toasted to our upcoming nuptials with everyone before saying our goodbyes.

Being in the basement surrounded by love helped put things in perspective for me — who cared if it rained? We had everything we needed. Not even Mother Nature could ruin our day.

The post Our Wedding: The Rehearsal appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

So when it came time to choose the booze for our wedding, we knew exactly what we wanted: good beer and good wine. We served Bell’s Two Hearted and Oberon and Oliver Winery Shiraz and Creekbend Vignoles. All of our choices were hits with our guests, but especially the beer. At one point during the reception we almost ran out! But, our amazing bartenders (if you’re in Central Illinois, I highly recommend Redbird Catering) ran out to refill our supply. They brought back some Not Your Father’s Root Beer, which ended up being the most popular beverage of the night. Who knew?!

Liquor will be one of your biggest wedding expenses, so I highly recommend deciding on drinks as early as possible in the wedding planning process. Here are a few tips to help guide you through the process of selecting the right option for your budget and making sure your guests are well-hydrated when they hit the dance floor!

(Photo by Stephen Haas Photography)

1. Set a budget. 
Because liquor will be one of your largest wedding planning expenses, you need to decide early on how much you’re willing to spend. This will help you determine whether you can afford a cash bar, open bar or limited open bar. And don’t worry about what other people will think if they have to pay for their own drinks. This is your wedding and it’s all about what you want and feel comfortable spending.

2. Prioritize.
Decide what’s most important to you — quality or variety? You may be able to afford a full open bar, but one that only includes well liquor. Or, you may decide you’d rather spend your money on higher quality beer and wine. Do you really want champagne for the toast, or are you OK with guests drinking whatever they already have in their glasses?

3. Consider connivence.
We knew a good portion of our guests would spend a lot of their time on the dance floor, so we decided against having real wine glasses for the reception. We used clear plastic cups, which worked so much better. We also decided to have the bartenders serve bottled beer. Although it was slightly more expensive than a keg, it was much faster and less messy. Plus, someone started a spontaneous spin-the-bottle dance off — so much fun!

4. Calculate.
In my opinion, this is the hardest part. My calculations were a little off for our wedding since we ended up running out of our initial beer supply. I read several different guides online that said to count on guests having one drink per hour at the reception. I knew some of our guests would barely finish a glass of wine and others would down several bottles. I went through our guest list and labeled the non-drinkers, light drinkers and heavy drinkers. I figured three drinks for light drinkers and five drinks for heavy drinkers. That worked out perfectly when it came to calculating the overall amount of alcohol we would need. Where I messed up was in the beer to wine ratio — we ordered 60 percent wine and 40 percent beer. I should have adjusted that ratio based on the preferences of our guests. You can use an online wedding alcohol calculator to help you ballpark the costs.

The post Wedding Wednesday: Choosing The Booze appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

The costs can be overwhelming at times — and  not just for the bride and groom. Being in the wedding party is an honor, but it comes at a cost. Many of our friends traveled so far to be part of our wedding day. Knowing that, we tried hard to make everything as easy as possible for the people who stood by our sides. One of the ways we did that was by giving them some of the clothing and accessories they would need for the big day as gifts. And, we were able to do it in a way that was affordable for us, too!

Because the girls were all picking out their own, unique bridesmaid dresses, I wanted to get them jewelry they could wear during the wedding that fit their personalities and style. I  bought all of the girls necklaces or a bracelet and earrings from JCrew Factory, which has a great selection of beautiful, high-quality jewelry that won’t break the bank.

All of the girls sent me pictures of their dresses ahead of time, so I had some idea of what type of jewelry to get for each of them. I was still a little nervous about everything looking OK together, but the necklaces worked perfectly. Could the girls look anymore stunning?!

I also wanted to get something fun and comfy for us to wear while we got ready for the wedding. I initially planned on buying lightweight, floral robes for us to wear — until I saw the cost. Nearly $400?! YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.

Instead, I went on a hunt for cute, plain rompers that I could have embroidered with the girls’ first initials. I went to just about every store I could think of and finally tracked down these great rompers at H&M. They’re so soft and under $15. My mom had a local quilt shop take care of the embroidery work and the rompers ended up being adorable. They allowed us to get ready without getting overheated and will serve as great pjs or swimsuit coverups!

Picking out gifts for the guys was even easier.

Early on in the wedding planning process, we decided we wanted the guys to wear khakis, shirts and ties instead of renting suits. It was a cheaper option for the groomsmen and we hoped they would be able to wear the clothes again after the wedding. The only item we had them purchase were the pants. We bought navy, gingham shirts from JCrew Factory as part of their gift, but sent them to the guys early so they could make sure they fit (they did, thank goodness!).

We waited until the night of the rehearsal dinner to give the groomsmen the rest of their goodies — Ralph Lauren ties and ridiculously fun socks. Their outfits came together exactly how we envisioned them and we’re so happy to know a couple of the guys have already worn their entire ensembles again!

We included handwritten cards with all of the gifts that explained how important each person was to us. That seemed to be everyone’s favorite touch — proof you don’t have to spend a fortune to show your gratitude.

The post Wedding Wednesday: Bridal Party Gifts appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

I am so, so glad I planned a wedding in the age of Pinterest and Etsy. How did people do it before?!

Both sites were invaluable when it came to finding inspiration for our big day. We knew we wanted to go with a tandem bike theme, but looking through pins from other weddings and custom decor on Etsy helped us incorporate that theme so much better than we originally planned. While my mom and I DIYed many of the details, there were some projects that were way above our skill level. We turned to Etsy shops for help with some of our wedding day details. Etsy also proved to be extremely helpful when it came to buying gifts for people who were playing a role in our wedding. We wanted the gifts to be personal and show people just how much their love and support means to us; the options on Etsy were endless.

Whether you’re a bride-to-be or have a good friend getting married, here are some of my favorite Etsy wedding finds.

(Photo by Stephen Hass Photography)

1. Personalized wedding dress hanger
James is a photographer and has shot several weddings over the years. He’s mentioned several times how awful it is to get “the shot” of the wedding dress when it’s on an ugly, plastic hanger. Buying a personalized hanger with your new last name makes for beautiful pictures and a treasured keepsake. These hangers make great engagement party or bridal shower gifts!

(Photo by Stephen Hass Photography)

2. Custom cake topper
We got so many comments from people who loved our custom tandem bike cake topper. I found it on Etsy via Pinterest and it was one of the first things I bought for our wedding. If you decide to have a traditional wedding cake with a topper, there are hundreds of unique options to choose from. Now that the wedding’s over, we have ours displayed on our dining room buffet. I smile every time I see it.

3. Birthstone necklace
We bought this necklace as a gift for my sister, who officiated our wedding. It has the birthstones of her two children and her husband. This would also make for a great gift for the Mother of the Bride or Mother of the Groom!

4. Flower girl necklace
We wanted to get my niece, Hope, something she could wear in the wedding. This adorable flower girl necklace stole my heart. It’s simple enough that it’s easy for little girls to wear and hard for them to break. It looked absolutely adorable on her.

5. Personalized keepsake box
When this keepsake box arrived at my parent’s house, my mom and dad couldn’t stop talking about how sweet it was. We got this as a gift for my wonderful Aunt Dawn, who did a  reading in our wedding. Susabellas had several different box shapes with different messages on them to choose from. We were so pleased with this purchase that I’ve bookmarked the shop for future gifts!

6. Embroidered handkerchiefs 
I apologize for the awful iPhone photos, but I had to take these on the fly so I could wrap these gifts up for our parents before they discovered them. We bought a set of four personalized handkerchiefs to give to my parents and James’ parents. They’re all old school and still use cloth handkerchiefs, so we knew they’d love these antique embroidered ones. I learned the hard way that you should always double check to see where items are shipping from on Etsy. These handkerchiefs came all the way from Turkey! I was a little worried about them arriving on time, but they came shortly before we headed home for the wedding. We chose different messages for each of our parents, who surprisingly didn’t even need them during the ceremony!

Brides, what are you favorite Etsy wedding finds?

The post Wedding Wednesday: My Favorite Etsy Finds appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

Earlier tonight, James and I were talking about how it hasn’t really hit us yet that we’re finally going to be married. We’ve been talking about and planning a wedding for so long that we don’t feel any different with the big day rapidly approaching. I think that means it will hit us both pretty hard when we wake up on May 30. That day can’t come quickly enough!

We’re finishing up the last few projects we have to check off our to-do lists before heading back to Illinois next week. We are so thankful to both have jobs that allow us to take most of next week off so we can go home and prepare.

Over the past few days, I put the final touches on our table numbers, some personalized wedding seating cards and garage sale picture frames. Chalk paint has been a lifesaver for many of our DIY wedding projects because it requires no prep and dries quickly. It’s also meant to look more rustic, so you don’t have to be a skilled painter to apply a coat!

James has been busy designing a few signs that will be displayed at our reception. Thank goodness he has some graphic design skills — I would probably be stuck trying to use WordArt to make something look pretty!

As we approach the final stretch, I’m trying to take some time to focus on myself and relax. This is really hard for me, because I’m a control freak. The past couple of weeks I’ve been neglecting my own health because of all the stress I’m dealing with between the wedding and work. My goal for the next ten days is to try to make myself more of a priority — to take time to workout and eat clean and step away from wedding and work duties a bit.

Yoga has been a godsend for me the past month, so I hope to focus on my practice a lot over the next few days. If everything goes to hell, I’ll just escape into a very deep child’s pose

The post Wedding Wednesday: The Final Countdown appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

I can’t tell you how excited I am for the big day to get here. James and I have been engaged for about a year and a half. It’s been great because we’ve been able to spread the planning process out and really enjoy every moment. But, it also feels like we’ve been engaged for an eternity at this point. We’re beyond ready to celebrate with our family and friends!

With that said, I’m also getting to the point where I’m ready for the planning process to be over. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so glad we’re having a DIY wedding that will feature so much of our personalities. We’ve worked hard on little details that we hope our guests will appreciate. But, it’s crunch time and it seems like we still have several projects to complete.

At this point, we just have to let some plans go and accept that they’re not going to happen before the big day. That’s really hard for me to do because I’m a perfectionist and a total people pleaser. But, when it comes down to it, our guests won’t care whether or not there’s a custom photo backdrop for them to Instagram or personalized favors for them to take home.

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the details of the wedding rather than the reason behind it. Over these next two weeks, I’m trying to take some time to breathe and remind myself that no matter what happens on our big day and no matter what projects do or do not get finished, it’s about the love James and I have for one another and the people who are supporting us along the way.

Friends, family and each other — that’s all we need for a perfect wedding day.

The post Wedding Wednesday: Letting It Go appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

We went home to finalize some details with vendors, finish up some DIY projects and do a little much-needed relaxing. One of the many things on our to-do list was reviewing the final menu for the reception.

When we started planning our wedding, there was one thing I knew I didn’t want: dried-out chicken.

I’ve been to so many weddings where this is standard fare and guests end up leaving hungry and tired as a result. We are both foodies, so we wanted to make sure whatever dishes we served at our wedding were things our guests actually wanted to eat. We also knew we’d have several vegetarians attending the wedding, so we’d need to have several options for our guests.

It didn’t take us long to settle on the type of cuisine: Italian. It’s always a crowd pleaser, so we knew all of our guests would be able to find a dish or two they like. My mom’s side of the family is from Italy, so it’s also a small nod to my family’s heritage.

While we have a handful of good Italian restaurants in town, the one we’re using is a place I’d never tried until the wedding planning process. My mother stumbled across Rosati’s at a wedding expo she attended and was blown away by their food. While the restaurant is well-known for its pizza, the pastas and meats they offer on their catering menus are delicious.

We went to do a tasting at the restaurant last year and left wanting more! Everything was delicious. We were also impressed by the affordability. We knew food and alcohol were two areas where we wanted to spend extra money in order to have the best quality possible, but Rosati’s allowed us to have great food without having to spend an excessive amount. We settled on a menu including chicken parmesan, eggplant parmesan, mostaccioli, tortellini, bread and salad. There will also be some light appetizers served during cocktail hour.

Once we decided on the menu, we had to figure out how we wanted the meal to be served: individually, buffet-style, or family-style. When it came to this decision, we made it based on our own experiences as wedding guests. The best meals we’ve had have always been served buffet-style. This is a great option because it ensures everyone gets served quickly and the food stays warm. I’ve been to a few weddings where we were served multi-course meals that arrived cold or at completely different times than the rest of the tables’ meals. It all depends on your venue and what works for YOU!

One thing to keep in mind when you’re planning a menu is how easy the food is to eat. We knew pasta had the potential to get messy, so we chose noodles that don’t require people to spin them around their forks. Nothing is worse than a bride covered in spaghetti!

As with every wedding planning decision, you should also keep your budget in mind. I was amazed by how quickly food costs added up when we met with several possible vendors for catering quotes. Most caterers will give you a quote that’s a cost-per-head. Be prepared for your meeting by going in with an idea of how much you can realistically afford to spend per person on food. Throughout the process, don’t back down on these numbers. Most vendors are happy to get creative in order to make your dream wedding day work within your budget.

Happy planning!

The post Wedding Wednesday: The Food appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

That meant we got to sample twice as much, with the help of our niece and nephew. Is that what heaven’s like?

Picking the right cake was extremely important to me because I’m such a baking fanatic. We knew we could count on my hometown bakery, Janet’s Cakes and Catering, which my family has been using for years.

They did not disappoint.

We tried several combinations of cake, filling and frosting, which I would highly recommend. We were surprised by what worked well together and what didn’t. For example, we thought we would love the classic chocolate cake, but it ended up being our least favorite. It all depends on what the bakery you’re using specializes in.

After sampling far too many slices (is there such a thing?), it didn’t take us long to narrow down our choices to three combinations: banana cake with banana creme filling and cream cheese frosting, strawberry cake with strawberry mousse filling and vanilla buttercream, and lemon cake with lemon curd filling and vanilla buttercream.

That’s when the woman helping us with our tasting made a great suggestion: why not have them all?

She explained we could do a simple, two-tiered wedding cake with one flavor, then have sheet cakes made of the other two flavors. Not only would it mean guests could choose from a variety of options, it’s also cheaper and makes the cake easier to serve. Yes, please!

As for the design of the cake, that was one of the first things we decided on when planning the wedding. We’re incorporating a tandem bike theme into many aspects of our big day and loved the details of this rustic backyard wedding featured on Wedding Chicks. Our cake will look very similar to theirs, just slightly smaller.

Now, I’ll go to bed dreaming of my wedding day … and the wedding cake.

The post Wedding Wednesday: CAKE! appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.