The chapel where the ceremony took place was absolutely stunning. It needed little decoration as the wooden floors, benches and wooden beams looked amazing as they were. Where you stand at the altar there is a large window that overlooks the lake. The advantage of this church is that it was air conditioned and having the wedding on a hot summer day was a great bonus to keep everyone cool.

The wedding venue just put the flowers on the end pews and the red carpet on the island and it was perfect. The girls and I arrived at the chapel around 2:25 pm for a 2:30 pm start. The horse and carriage took us from the main reception to the chapel.

The horse and carriage looked like something out of a Cinderella tale. It looked like a royal carriage fit for a princess. I made sure the chapel doors were locked so no one could see me go by. I had some unhappy aunts about it, but I was really worried I’d fall off the carriage or be in tears when I got there.

For the vows, we did some research on the internet as I was not happy with what the minister normally does for the wedding. I found some vows that really touched me when I first read them and they seemed made for our wedding. The ceremony lasted about 20 minutes and while we were signing the record we had a singer who sang “From This Moment” by Shania Twain.

Once the ceremony was over, we all stood on the step and greeted our guests before the big group photo. At the wedding venue they have a tradition of climbing all the steps of the chapel and throwing rose petals into the air for a group photo.

After the ceremony we took photos of the family and the bridal party. While this was going on, we would provide our guests with snacks and drinks in the shade of the chapel near the lake. I had pink and black towels + I also found these cocktail sticks with silver hearts on the end.

My husband and I took the horse and carriage back to reception and took a few photos around the pool and on the stairwell before meeting the bridal party before the reception entrance. By the time the photos were done after the ceremony, I was exhausted from smiling and was a bit tired of taking photos since they take so many. The backdrop in all of our photos is simply unforgettable.