Honeys Do: A Snowy Trek

It took a few extra minutes and a few requests from the DJ to get the entire crowd outside...probably because moments before our ceremony, this is how it looked outside.

A few brave souls grabbed a fleece blanket or huddled under an umbrella, but the majority of guests gathered under the covered porch.

I heard the wedding party's processional song come on (1,2,3,4 by the Plain White T's) and one by one our wedding party exited the venue and made their way to our snowy ceremony site. I was peeking out of a window to see as much as I could of this part of the ceremony! The grooms are so lucky they get to see this part of the ceremony, that being said, the proscessional pictures are some of my favorite from the day.

GM/Honey Bro escorted my mom down the aisle first. She was so happy and looked beautiful in my great-grandmother's fur coat.

After Mama Honey was situated, Mr. Honey walked down with FIL Honey and Officiant Mark.

And there Mr. Honey and Officiant Mark stood under our handmade arbor, in the middle of a snow storm and watched the rest of the wedding party trek the snowy aisle.

If you remember, we had the uneven wedding party with eight bridesmaids, five groomsmen and one dog. I kind of fretted over how we would actually pair up the 'maids to 'men, and I have to say it worked out perfectly! Here's how our uneven-ness played out.

GM/Honey Bro walked BM Mae.

GM J.S. pimped, I mean walked, down the aisle with BM Candace and BM K.

BM Kel Bel had the most handsome of all...she walked Zeus down the aisle.



GM J.C. and BM Hogan walked down together.

GM Steele then walked BM Scoot and BM Fawn down.

Then it was BM Cruise who escorted MOH Stac (he later said she had a death grip on him, but hey she was 8 months pregnant!)

Our crew of little ones followed them. I have to say that I wasn't sure this would actually work. At the rehearsal, two of the flower girls were being especially shy, but I figured if they didn't make it down, so be it. Well they rocked it! Our two ring bearers (two of my cousins) held the little girls hands and helped them walk down the snowy aisle. So cute!!

I recall standing in the doorway at this moment, making eye contact with the guests on the porch with the biggest smile ever while my dad was (still) fighting back tears. I remember having this feeling of perfection as I looked down my aisle and glanced at the wedding party standing so perfectly on our ceremony site.

The song switched to my song (Everybody by Ingrid Michaelson) and it was my time. My turn on the aisle. I get chills typing this out because it was such a happy moment. The Honey wedding guests did their part by beginning to stand as I made my way down the stairs...

...and then they started clapping and cheering! It was so unexpected and if possible, it made my already huge smile bigger.

Meanwhile, this is how the wedding party was looking:

There's smiles and tears and even two groomsmen being awesomely adorable. And Mr. Honey? He's looking down because he is in fact crying, big puppy dog tears! Shhh don't tell him I told you that secret ;)

Both Mr. Honey and I gave my dad ginormous hugs...seeing two very important men in my life embrace, both while crying, was a very sincere moment for me.

My dad took Zeus, and headed back to sit next to my mom. Mr. Honey and I grabbed hands and it was time...time to become husband and wife!

*All Photos by the talented duo of Zak Fleming Photography

·         We had a busy wedding week

·         Teamwork made our Dream Work

·         We rehearsed casually

·         There was a pizza party!

·         Friday night was Princesses, Panties & Practice

·         Bridal details made me reminisce my morning  

·         I became a bride!

·         The Honey Girls took a walk in the snow

·         The Dudes got handsome

·         We did our First Look, with our doggy!

·         The Honeys posed as bride and groom

·         The Honey Dudes played in the snow

·         20 People and a Dog posed

·         I swooned over the details

Honeys Do: Pictures with 20 People and A Dog

The guys took a few minutes to warm up inside the venue and then Zak quickly gathered the whole wedding party to go back outside for a group shot. With snow accumulating very quickly, dangerous driving conditions and the early arrival of some guests, we had a record setting quick shoot with the 20 people who made up our wedding party, and of course the dog.

Zak recruited a couple brave volunteers to stand on the two corners of the road and request drivers slow down for our wedding party pictures. We got friendly honks and a few celebratory hollars from passing cars. Or, maybe people just thought we were nuts?!

The snow was coming down so hard at this point, so kudos to our wedding party (especially the little ones!) and the photographers for sticking it out with us and providing these shots!

High on our list of photo requests was pictures with Zeus, our dog-of-honor. We made it a priority to be able to have him at our wedding and it was like he knew he had a special role that weekend. He was such a good boy all weekend long. He rocked that tie proudly, he listened to anyone who requested he behave and he even posed for important pictures. We felt so lucky to have him be there with us, representing all of our pets, on our wedding day and I have no doubt the day wouldn't have been the same without his big, goofy presence. After our wedding party booked it for the warmth of the venue, we took a few special moments with Zeus and got these amazing pictures.

We got him situated and gave him lots of praise...

At which point he rewarded me with a big sloppy kiss...

All the stars aligned and insisting our big dog be a part of our wedding was all worth it when Zak captured this perfect picture.

And with that perfection, we called 'formals' a success and got to head inside to mingle with our wedding party and family before the ceremony.

*All Photos by the talented duo of Zak Fleming Photography

·         We had a busy wedding week

·         Teamwork made our Dream Work

·         We rehearsed casually

·         There was a pizza party!

·         Friday night was Princesses, Panties & Practice

·         Bridal details made me reminisce my morning  

·         I became a bride!

·         The Honey Girls took a walk in the snow

·         The Dudes got handsome

·         We did our First Look, with our doggy!

·         The Honeys posed as bride and groom

         The Honey Dudes played in the snow

Honeys Do: Dudes In Snow

After Mr. Honey and I stole a few moments to ourselves with the photographers, I headed inside to warm up. The guys took this time to get their turn in the snow. It was fun because I got to observe the playfulness of the guys shoot from inside our venue.

They trekked through the snow, that was getting super deep super quick, to an open space just down from the venue.

The guys didn't go anywhere that weekend without their mugs (I seriously nailed it with this gift!) filled with beer!

In true male fashion, a snowball fight broke out, with Mr. Honey being the target. These pictures make me laugh because I think had Mr. Honey been a groomsmen in this situation, he would have playfully gone with the snowball fight...but being the groom he tried to convince the guys not to throw snowballs at him. This is SO not Mr. Honey's style, he is usually the instigator not the stopper! He took his role as groom seriously, he's a good man!

Zak was able to refocus the dudes and get some amazing pictures of our guys. This is quite possibly the only picture of the guys without their beer.

Ah, not for long though. The mugs made their appearance once again :)

I absolutely love this next picture; all smiles on our dapper dudes, even in the midst of the hard-falling snow.

Wet and in need of a refill, the guys headed back to reunite with the ladies for a ultra-quick wedding party shoot.

*All Photos by the talented duo of Zak Fleming Photography

·         We had a busy wedding week

·         Teamwork made our Dream Work

·         We rehearsed casually

·         There was a pizza party!

·         Friday night was Princesses, Panties & Practice

·         Bridal details made me reminisce my morning  

·         I became a bride!

·         The Honey Girls took a walk in the snow

·         The Dudes got handsome

·         We did our First Look, with our doggy!         

·         The Honeys posed as bride and groom

Honeys Do: Things Dudes Do

I'm gonna take a break from all things bridesmaids-n-girls and switch to the dudes of the Honey wedding. All morning long, I was (un)selfishly basking in a bridal glow, getting pampered and pretty...all the while thinking my groom was basking in some sort of groom haze, drinking beer with his guys. When our photographers arrived at 10:30, Karlee stayed with the ladies and Zak headed over to take the guys-getting-handsome pictures. Only, he showed back up at the girls house a short hour later. I inquired as to why, but all he would say is they were busy...not getting dressed. He ensured me it was fine, but that my groom was actually working...at the venue.

Apparently, falling snow had caused my groom to shift focus from getting dressed to getting the ceremony site just perfect. Mr. Honey didn't have near the amount of visions I had for our wedding, but he did have visions of a perfectly crafted, snow-covered stage, so the morning of our wedding he was in his Dickies, leather gloves and snow boots, working up a sweat with some shovels. That's my man!

Fortunately he wasn't alone, he called on Honey Bro and Friend A.L. to help move snow, yeah boys!

Our trusty Dog of Honor, Zeus, was also right by his side...while handsome as ever, he wasn't quite ready for the aisle either, he still didn't have his tie on!

Once the ceremony site was up to Mr. Honey's standards, he finally headed to the boys cabin and began to become a groom. The guys were clearly running behind so Zak was only able to capture a few pictures of the guys getting ready (a white dress trumps a suit any day, right?!). But you know what, the pictures accurately reflect what I imagine the guys house to be like that morning.

Beer.

GM Steele pours himself a Budweiser

Kicking back.

Mr. Honey, A.L. & GM J.C .

Fussing with Shirts.

GM J.C. gets ready for his shirt...

Beer.

but then chooses a cold one over getting ready :)

Ironing Shirts.

Honey/GM Bro diligently ironed every guys shirt!

You guessed it, beer.

GM J.S. showing off his mug

And, tie tying.

GM Steele perfects the knot for his tie



I like to think the guys morning was just fun...perhaps not as sentimental as my morning, but just as memorable in that they were doing what they do best. My groom got all gussied up and not surprisingly beat me and the girls to the venue for our...first look!

*All Photos by the talented duo of Zak Fleming Photography

·         We had a busy wedding week

·         Teamwork made our Dream Work

·         We rehearsed casually

·         There was a pizza party!

·         Friday night was Princesses, Panties & Practice

·         Bridal details made me reminisce my morning  

·         I became a bride!

·         The Honey Girls took a walk in the snow