A Private Estate Wedding in Clovis, California
From the bride, Emily:
Austin and I didn’t meet in the usual way. Our moms set us up and we got to know each other initially through writing via e-mail. On August 31st, 2012 I flew out to Oklahoma to meet Austin for the very first time. Our whole relationship was long distance and full of many hours of skyping! Every time we were apart I counted down the days until we would be together again. Exactly a year later from the day when we met face to face we got married!
My inspiration for the wedding was that I wanted it to reflect Austin and I. He and I are very different but one thing that we have in common is our love of Jesus Christ so it was important that this love be the focus of our day. As for me, I love Tangled and country so we had lanterns, flowers in my hair, and I wore my cowgirl boots along with my bridesmaids. Austin is in the Air Force so he wore his uniform as well as the other military members. We also had a saber arch as we left the church and cut the cake with a saber, which are both military wedding traditions.
One of the most beautiful parts of my wedding was that I did almost nothing. There was so much help from family friends that overwhelmed us! My favorite detail was the “Just Married” banner that hung in front of us at our table (which was made by Christin’s mom :)). I also loved the chalkboards and the yarned “K”. You could just tell that every single detail had so much love in it and made our day even more blessed.
There were so many moments during my wedding that I loved but I would say that my favorite was when we sung In Christ Alone at the ceremony. There was just something amazing about worshipping the Lord right before saying “I do”. I also loved when the DJ called us out onto the dance floor for a last song and played “God Gave Me You” which was not originally planned. Austin would say that his favorite part about the reception was when I smashed cake into his face :)
Advice that I would give to other brides would be to just make the most out of the whole process. Everything FLIES BY SO FAST so just enjoy it while it lasts. Don’t stress. And have fun. At the end of the day what really matters is the commitment that you make to the man standing next to you.
Our processional song was “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”. I walked out to “Canon in D – Pachelbel”. Our worship song was “In Christ Alone”. Our unity candle song was “This Day” by Jadon Lavik. Our Recessional song was “Lemonade” by Chris Rice. And lastly our first dance song was “Two is Better than One” by Boys Like Girls ft Taylor Swift.
Picking a favorite photo is a little difficult but I will narrow it down to three… The first one is of Austin when I was walking down the isle. I love his face and I love that this moment is captured on camera because I don’t remember that part at all! The second is when Austin and I were singing In Christ Alone (Aka My favorite moment). And the third is when Austin and I are facing each other with our foreheads touching. I love the pink flowers in the picture and it was just such a sweet moment for Austin and I.
Venue: Family Friend’s Private Residence | Catering: Pardini’s | Florist: Fresno State | Cake: Erin Easley
