something old, something new, something crafty, something blue

Today {8.12} is the perfect day for a little reminiscing, because 3 (count them, three action-packed, wonderful, happy) years ago today, Jeff & I tied the blessed knot. Happy Anniversary, darling husband! God is so good for merging our lives. You are nothing short of perfect for me. I love loving you. And looking back, this is still the happiest day! Oh, to have everyone together again...
I am beefing up this post with a few extra pictures of our day to help celebrate my sweet blogging friend, KT's recent engagement. You see, she is hosting a *something crafty* giveaway before she is given away. She's searching for ideas and inspiration to bring personal, handmade touches to her upcoming wedding and has asked the blog world to chime in with photos and stories from their wedding experiences. So check it out and join the fun!

Planning our wedding was one of the most joyful experiences of my entire life. That year we were engaged, I felt so passionate about making our day a memorable, beautiful reflection of our love for each other, and more importantly, God's love for us. I wanted our event to be very elegant and classic--a pink + green sorta French country marries English garden theme emerged. The summer of 2006, I spent every spare moment cutting paper, hot glue gunning, and tying ribbons. Looking back, I am so grateful for the extra time and love I could pour into our day. To me, it was a simple dream wedding and there are few things I'd change if I could do it all over again.
It has always bothered me that we do not have the original photo jpegs from our photographer. He was a bit old school and we could only order physical prints. So forgive me...All of these pics are just snapshots from our family and friends! We decorated the church pews with 100-something paper cones tied with ribbon and filled with fresh flowers from my grandma's garden. I loved seeing them as I walked down the aisle.
Since our ceremony and reception were a long distance apart, we wanted to serve quick refreshments in between. We held our receiving line in the backyard of the church and set up an icecream social: a pretty table with raspberry lemonade, lime & raspberry sherbet. {Wishing I had more pictures!}Our favors: pretty green pears tied with the phrase "The Perfect Pair : Jeff + Jessica"To dress up the banquet tables, my mom and I made these runners out of pink toille.The cake, glorious cake! White cake with raspberry filling and buttercream and piled with roses to be exact...It was a work of art and made by my friend/bridesmaid Becca in her mom's kitchen just days before our wedding.And ah yes, the cupcake tree. We opted to serve cupcakes in lieu of traditional cake slices. I was a bit disappointed with how the bakery decorated them (gotta love your options in small town Minnesota!), but I think the display turned out lovely, just the same. I can't tell you how much time, doiley pieces, and hot glue my friend Sarah and I invested in that giant piece of cardboard!Our friends+family sent us off through a row of sparklers! {This picture is embarrassing for two reasons: 1. It is smoky and blurry and normally I don't post such horrible pictures. And 2. I am bending over b/c my shoe fell off in front of everyone. Thankfully, Cinderella's story helped me save face. But it was such a great memory, I had to share it anyway!}