A HEAVENLY DAY

~We feel so loved and blessed!~

Here are some pics captured by our family and friends

We are T-PLUS 18 days in from being married, can you believe it?! August 1st goes down in the record books as the best day of our lives. We can't wait to share our wedding photos with you when we get them back!

Even though the rain kept us from having our beach wedding beside Lake Michigan, we had a beautiful and peaceful time inside the chapel at Camp Geneva. It was a last-minute decision, as the winds howled and rain came and went, but since guest were arriving and there was nothing comfortable about being outside, we decided to move everything into the chapel. Our Master and Mistress of Ceremony, Nathan and Elizabeth Bocks were AMAZING - from their immaculate preparation, to raking the beach, to not overlooking a single detail, they saved the day. Most importantly, their calm and encouraging attitudes helped set the pace for the unexpected turn of events - which helped keep me calm and centered as well. I knew our dream of a beach wedding wasn't going to happen, but I had prayed for months for a CALM SPIRIT if anything came up like this, and the Lord answered. I felt complete peace and focused on the most important aspects of the day - our friends and family were there, we were going to get married, and the scenery would just have been a bonus.

Within less than 10 minutes, all the bamboo poles were set up, music equipment was moved from the sand to the chapel and the worship compilation began to play overhead as people took their seats. The transformation was speedy and simply gorgeous! Thank you to everyone who went above and beyond to make that happen!

The atmosphere in the chapel was so serene and calm, and the breeze coming through the open windows brought the roar of Lake Michigan's waves - it was as if you were sitting along side the shore. Everything felt so spontaneous, which was kinda fun!

Mike walked our parents and grandparents down to the song "How Great Is Our God" - it's been a song that I've loved for years - I went to an outdoor Chris Tomlin concert under the stars in West Palm Beach when I lived in Florida and ever since, that song has had a special place in my heart. I play it on my iPod nearly every time I go for a run, and I dreamed someday of using it in my wedding; and we did!!

The wedding party walked down to Bart Millard's (lead singer for Mercy Me) version of "Brethren, We Have Come To Worship"...it's a'capella for the first 30 seconds, which is when Mike and Pastor Brian walked down the aisle together. Then the music suddenly picks up into a bluegrass/country fiddle that makes you want to do a little 2-steppin' - which is exactly what Mikey D, our first attendant did. I absolutely LOVED that most of 'em did a little groovin' as they walked down the aisle; it was perfect! The guys even wore their aviator shades and took them off when it was my turn to walk down. Cute.

My dad and I walked down to Patti Griffin's "Heavenly Day" - my lil' sister, Andrea, is the queen of emerging music and introduced me to Patti Griffin awhile back. It also plays often at my parent's house at the lake, and whenever my mom would listen to it, she said she thought of me and Mike. It seemed the perfect song to capture the essence of the day, and will now always be one of the songs that means the most to me as I reminisce about walking with my dad toward Mike, my heart filling up with more joy and emotion that I ever imagined.

HEAVENLY DAY

Oh heavenly day, all the clouds blew away

Got no trouble today with anyone

The smile on your face, I live only to see

It's enough for me, baby, it's enough for me

oh heavenly day, heavenly day, heavenly day

Tomorrow may rain with sorrow

Here's a little time we can borrow

Forget all our troubles in these moments so few

All we've got right now, the only thing that

All we've really got to do

Is have ourselves a heavenly day

Lay here and watch the trees sway

Oh, can't see no other way, no way, no way

Heavenly day, heavenly day, heavenly day

No one at my shoulder bringing me fear

No clouds up above bringing me tears

Got nothing to tell you, I've got nothing much to do

Only I'm glad to be here with you

On this heavenly, heavenly, heavenly, heavenly

Heavenly day, all the trouble's gone away

Oh, for awhile anyway, for awhile anyway

Heavenly day, heavenly day, heavenly day

The attendants formed a semi-circle behind us, with my Matron of Honor, twin sister Brooke, and Mike's Best Man, best friend Grant, standing in the center. So many people have told us to soak in every moment and be present during your wedding - and Mike and I both feel like we did just that. It was important for us to include our family history somewhere in the program, so we decided to take sand from the Lake Michigan beach in Racine, WI (where Mike's family roots are) and sand from the east shore of Lake Michigan (where my family roots are) and blend it together to symbolize our unity. Everything in the ceremony meant a lot to us, from my dad giving me away, to the communion, to the unity sand, to the time spent up on the stage with Pastor Brian speaking to us that felt so cozy and special; we loved it. We are blessed to have a Pastor whose heart is so real and so relatable and speaks the powerful truth of God into our lives. Thank you, Brian!

The announcement of husband and wife has to be one of the biggest Wow/Yikes! moments in a couple's lives, and it was that way for us, too. How fun! Our recessional was to Reliant K's "The Best Thing" - this was Mike's second choice, in actuality. He was set on Green Day's ""Pop Rocks and Soda" but I wasn't fully on board with that one. :) But, either way, we were husband and wife!!

Our reception was pure joy - under the pavilion at Post Family Farm. We had the tent walls up, which made things even cozier (!) but some people did get to enjoy the yard games and visit the animals outside the tent. There were lights and paper lanterns hanging from the rafters, which created a little glow to our country-themed reception. The favorites of the night, from what I'm told, were the bluegrass/folk rock band "The Last Call Band" who rocked it out, the yummy food, the incredible cupcakes and phenomenal homemade brewskies (the Vanilla Porter was my fav!) and overall, all the people who danced and celebrated with us and just had FUN!! Thank you to Steve and Charly Nienhuis, who were our Master and Mistress of Reception and kept the night rollin', and to Grant and Brookie, who gave the best toasts anyone could imagine. We love you guys!

All in all, what an incredible day for us. Thank you to all who helped us celebrate, especially our PARENTS who truly made this day one we will never forget!!!