I have been lucky enough to be apart of countless special days over the past 5 years, and have seen many different wedding themes come to life. I have met a variety of amazing couples, worked with many talented vendors, and have even shed a few tears for others during a beautiful ceremony--but, this past weekend's wedding was different for me.

Saturday, September 26th was a picture perfect day with a partly- cloudy, tinted blue sky, and 68-degrees of crisp fall air.

Saturday, September 26th was Pat and I's vey own wedding day! 

The morning began at 7:00am with an array of breakfast snacks, pastries and of course, mimosas--as my nine bridesmaids and I got our hair and makeup done in our ombré inspired matching kimonos.

(If you loved Gossip Girl back in the day, you may love this framed saying as much as I did when I got it!)

The morning hours began to trickle away, and soon it became time for our photographers (we love you Jenni & Jess!) to snap a few getting ready photos of the girls and I before heading off to the CCB to prepare for Pat and I's first look!

If you are deciding whether or not to do a first look before your ceremony, I will forever say YES you should! Those moments are the best intimate ones you will ever have before your ceremony! We also decided to do a first look because we had a large wedding party, lots of pictures to do and had dueling pianos during the cocktail hour that we didn't want to miss!

Our day went off without a hitch and had a lot of fun surprises! The biggest surprise for me came during our ceremony. Pat had told me he was going to say "a little something" after our vows, so I wasn't surprised when he pulled out a small piece of paper that he had written on. What surprised me was how moved he was while reciting them and how everyone (including myself) was brought to tears by his words.

We did the majority of traditional wedding events (first dance, cake cutting etc) but also added a few things along the way! I did a swing dance with my father to Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely", surprised my mother by presenting my bouquet to her instead of tossing it--and even had our DJ dedicate a special song to my parents for their upcoming 30th wedding anniversary! The biggest surprise event of the night was when Pat and his twin sister Katie did a choreographed dance of a variety of songs mixed together! (I didn't even know about it!!)

Overall, our wedding was everything we hoped it would be!

One thing I've learned over the past 5 years of working in the wedding industry, is that everyone has their own story and sacred memories of their special day. Most of those stories began with, "make sure to enjoy every moment, because it will fly by!". What's funny for us, is that we both woke up the morning after our wedding and agreed that it didn't fly by. We were able to be present and enjoy every aspect of the day--from our ceremony (which was officiated by my uncle!) to our very last dance. We laughed, we cried  and we danced until we couldn't dance anymore.

If I can give any future couples any advice to take from our experience, it is to be present. Enjoy every aspect of your day, completely and fully--and to appreciate everything. (And...to do a first look!!!)

I remember a moment during our ceremony where I looked out and began to notice everyone that was there to be apart of our special day. I noticed my parents in the front row, smiling from ear to ear. I noticed my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who I am lucky enough to spend every holiday with. I noticed a few coworkers by the DJ stand. I noticed friends from middle school, high school, and from college, Pat's fraternity brothers and their wives and even a few faces of those I would soon meet.

In that very moment, I was humbled. All of these wonderful people had come together to witness Pat and I be married after 9 years of being together--and for that I couldn't be more thankful.

So to all of our amazing couples out there whose special day is approaching:

Be present, be thankful and appreciate those around you. 💜 Jillian