How did you meet?
We met on Christian Mingle. We connected immediately and didn’t miss a single day of talking. We met in person for the first time a month after we started talking. We knew early on that what we had was special. Early in our relationship, we found out Brandi’s dad was sick. He was diagnosed with Acute Leukemia. He passed away two months later. That brought us closer together as we were processing the sudden loss. We realized life was short and we were engaged 5 months after we met and planned our wedding in 6 months. So we had a bit of a whirlwind romance.
What is your proposal story?
We went on a date to a local museum and afterward, we did an escape room. He proposed to me in the parking lot.
Tell us about your wedding vision.
I wanted a romantic and simple style. We chose burgundy, navy, and blush for our colors. Our wedding venue was the local church I have attended since I was a child. We also took special pictures of just Isaac and I in a nearby nature preserve.
Tell us about your attire choices.
The guys had navy suits. The girls had burgundy-colored dresses that we got on Amazon and a silver jeweled belt to accent the bridal dress. The bridal dress had lace and rhinestones that were sewn into the fabric so it sparkled the whole day.
Tell us about your flowers.
We purchased wood flowers from Sola Wood Flowers which was a fun process because we were able to dye each flower ourselves and choose how we wanted each piece to go together. I had an amazing bridal party and team of people who helped me put it all together!
We made pew decorations, an arch, window decorations, centerpieces for our tables, the bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres.
Describe your wedding cake.
Our cake came from a local grocery store bakery. It was delicious! We chose a very simple white frosting that we used flowers to accent and then our cake topper was Scrabble tiles that spelled out “our adventure continues” to show the next chapter of our story.
We had a small issue with it at first, they had added greenery to the cake that was too busy for the simple look but thankfully it was able to be removed before the ceremony started! We had a three-tiered cake and we also offered cupcakes in our three flavors. We had a white cake with caramel, a chocolate cake with raspberry, and a lemon cake with lemon curd. The cake was delicious and perfect for our wedding
Did you do any DIY projects or create any handmade items for your weddings?
All of our flower decorations were put together by my bridal party and my amazing friends and family. We added scrabble tiles to our table decorations because one of our first ways of getting to know each other was playing scrabble together. And our favors were designed because we love chocolate and popcorn. Plus the cups they put them in were mini coffee cups because I am a barista.
There were also pictures throughout the reception of us as we were growing up. We did a cord of three strands for the symbol of unity and it was personalized with our name and wedding date. Brandi’s mom and sister added a special piece of jewelry to her bouquet with a picture of her dad on it so he could walk with her down the aisle.
What did you do for favors?
For our favors, we purchased a variety of chocolates and candies from Albanese chocolate and popcorn from a local store to us. We gave each person a small cup with a lid and they were able to fill those up with candy and popcorn.
What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?
It is easy to get caught up in bigger and better. But it is one day in your life. Maintain a budget and stick with it.
What was your biggest splurge?
The most important thing to us was joining our lives together. Our big splurge was our amazing photographer. We skipped a videographer because we didn’t need one.
What was your favorite detail?
Getting to celebrate with our families. Our niece was born 5 weeks early and just 12 days before the wedding. So having them be a part of the day was extremely special to us.
We also did a first look before the ceremony which we enjoyed because then we could do some pictures and see each other before the ceremony and it helped with some of the nerves.
