OUR GREENHOUSE WEDDING

Our greenhouse wedding was everything I could have dreamt of and more. This blogpost should be called “How to plan your dream wedding in a month.” It’s amazing that it is possible to plan a wedding in a month, especially one with so much magic. It was truly a fairytale greenhouse wedding. I still can’t believe that we were able to get married at Riverside Nursery. I was so nervous to ask Laura Owens (the owner and my former boss), but she answered yes so quickly! We could not have picked a better place.  

We started planning our wedding 33 days before the event happened. It came as a shock to many of our family members since we decided to not tell anybody until we had officially decided to get married. We wanted to get married before my sister’s family moved to North Carolina because waiting a year for the flowers to come back just seemed like ages.

While we were trying to decide, we made pro con lists, talked about it for hours and hours, and then finally, I asked myself, why am I waiting to be happy? It was mostly anxiety about divorce and fear of being judged for rushing, but in the end, those things didn’t matter. I was just ready to be happy. We are so glad we decided to get married, and I am so happy to finally share our wedding details and photos with you. Allsen Photography really captured our day, the magic of Riverside Nursery, our wonderful friends and family, and every other detail I can think of better than we could have ever imagined.

I loved my wedding dress. It was so unique and amazing. When I walked into the store, I saw it out of the corner of my eye. After meeting with our assistant, it was the first dress I grabbed off the shelf. After I put it on, all of the white ones looked so boring. I knew it was the perfect one for me. They only had one of that dress, and it was in my size. It didn’t need any alterations, and it fit like a glove. A regular white dress just couldn’t have as much magic as my layered lace and glitter gold dress. I also wore the earrings my grandmother, mother, aunts, cousins, and sister wore for their weddings. I felt so touched when my grandmother asked me if I wanted to wear them.

I really wanted to get married in a greenhouse, and Riverside Nursery was my first choice! Since I used to work there, it is already a really special place to me. I didn’t think our chances were very good because I had never heard of anybody getting married there. We still feel so lucky to have had our wedding at such a magical venue.

Before the wedding, I spent the afternoon getting ready with my sisters and my cousins. My friend Katie James came over while I was getting ready to bring me a window marker so that my cousin could decorate our car windows! I had been so stressed about finding one, and she just showed up with a big smile, a hug, and the perfect white marker. I felt surrounded by love and support the entire weekend. I still can’t believe how many people came to help make our wedding come together.

THE FIRST LOOK

I decided that I wanted to do a first look with my dad instead of Wyatt. I wanted the first time Wyatt saw me to be when I was coming down the aisle. I was driven out to where my dad was waiting for me. I was getting so excited and nervous. He was waiting for me, and I couldn’t wait to see what he would think about my dress! I laughed so hard when he turned around and said, and I quote, “Nice.” That reply was right on brand for him. So simple. So genuine. I love that about him.

THE CEREMONY

The greenhouse looked amazing. There were twinkly lights weaved in between the grapevine as it hung over all of our closest friends and family. The enchanting arch was covered in flowers created by Rose Floral. I worked at Rose Floral right after I finished high school, so I knew I wanted my wedding flowers to be from there. I’m a little bit sentimental if you haven’t figured that out by now.

When I gave Stacy at Rose Floral the description of my bouquet I said, ”If you feel like the bouquet is pretty big, it isn’t big enough. If you feel like it’s too big, it’s probably just right.” She 100% delivered. My dad cut two roses out of the water wise garden with his pocketknife to put in my bouquet right before he walked me down the aisle. Right now, those two roses are pressing in a book in my bedroom. They were the perfect finishing touch. When I walked down the aisle, I had to take a step back after hugging my dad because I had been looking at Wyatt so much that I had forgotten to take in the flowers.

Limelight hydrangeas lined the sides of our arch. I couldn’t believe that the nursery hadn’t sold them already, but I’m so glad they were available for us to use. As soon as I saw them by the arch, I knew everything was going to look like my dream wedding. Also, my friend Melody Nathan made 80 paper cranes for us, and they added the perfect whimsical touch to the setting. The breeze blew through them and they were so light and magical. She has a special artist’s touch that not just anybody can put into such fragile creations.  

Our ceremony was performed by a church official that I have known ever since I was a little girl. We met when I was little and crying because I had gotten in a disagreement with one of my sisters. He cheered me up, and we’ve been buddies ever since. I felt like having somebody special officiate the ceremony would make it even more memorable, and I’m obviously very sentimental, so little things mean a lot to me.

Our grandmothers were our flower girls. They were one of the best parts of the whole ceremony. Their beautiful smiles lit up the aisle, and a breeze seriously blew flower petals softly through the air. I just about died when I watched it in our wedding video (Our video was created by Christa Brooks. You can watch it here).

We each had our siblings in our bridal party and one cousin. I let my bridesmaids choose their own dresses. It was really important to me that everybody was feeling comfortable and confident in the dress they were wearing. I’ll never forget when I turned to them to hand me my vows that I had been crying over as I wrote all morning. I could see their immediate remorse when they realized they had been forgotten the paper. It was sitting in my mother’s kitchen. Luckily, I was able to remember most of what I had written.

WEDDING PHOTOS

We had our wedding photos taken, just the two of us, right after the ceremony. It was crazy to not be able to stop and hug everybody like we wanted to. We were on a time crunch with just 45 minutes to get our videography session and our photos taken before our wedding dinner.

Our photos were taken in the water wise garden at Riverside Nursery. It was such a beautiful time of year to be there. The echinacea was blooming (one of my favorites), and the clematis was in full bloom over the arches in the garden (another one of my favorites). I can still remember it so vividly, and I am so grateful that Allsen Photography caught so many beautiful details around the nursery in our photos. I love that our wedding pictures have gorgeous floral details when they are hanging in our home. The flowers are a serious perk that comes with a greenhouse wedding.  

My wedding ring was made in Israel by a ring designer I actually found online by accident. Wyatt contacted her, and she created my ring in the most delightful pear shape with a gorgeous, unique band. The first time I saw it, I was immediately blown away. We were so worried it wouldn’t be finished on time. Luckily, our ring designer, Shanie got it to us just in time for our special day. It was important to me that my ring was unique and that I was in love with it. I still catch myself staring at it all the time! I just can’t help it.

THE DINNER

We only invited a few people to our wedding dinner because we really wanted it to be intimate and small. Each of us asked one of our sisters to speak, and our mutual friend Ben who introduced us to each other. We were surrounded by people that loved us, and that was so important to us. I loved looking over at the table next to us that was filled with my very best friends. They were just beaming back at us as we sat at a little table just for the two of us. I also loved looking over to see Wyatt’s little niece Ellie eating shredded cheese with her hands. Adorable, right? It was the most amazing afternoon of my life.

FAMILY PICTURES

After the dinner, we hurried back for family pictures. I forgot my bouquet on the table where we ate dinner! Because of that, I ended up using one of my bridesmaid’s bouquets. I was so happy that I even got a photo with both of my parents. That was something I really wanted. Honestly, having divorced parents is awkward at events like this. I was so worried that people would be unhappy with each other, but they weren’t. My family really put aside any differences and hard feelings to enjoy the day together. My stress was completely alleviated. I was wrapped up in feeling loved and celebrating with the people around me.

THE RECEPTION

Our reception was so fun because more people were invited. There was a dance-floor that we had strung lights across and lights we had wrapped in the trees. The greenery of Riverside Nursery was all along the fences. It was so magical, and we especially loved seeing so many special people. I only got one drink of water the whole night, but I have never laughed, smiled, or hugged as much as I did that night. I had also spent hours creating a big dream catcher that is now hanging in our home.

So many people volunteered to bring cookies, treats or decorative snacks, and my friend Melody even carved a watermelon for us! Wyatt and I didn’t actually get to eat any of it or see it until we got our pictures back because the night was so crazy. We still felt so well taken care of, and we did get one bite of our cake, so that was something, right? My sister Kaity McMullin actually decorated the cake for us. It was gorgeous. Wyatt and I both agreed that it would be a waste to smash cake all over my makeup and beautiful dress.

I decided that I wanted to sing a song for Wyatt as a surprise. My mother sang at her wedding, and I have always wanted to do something like that. Golden Hour by Kasey Musgraves was the perfect song. It matched our golden evening, my gold dress, and Wyatt really is my golden hour. The first time Wyatt took me on a real, serious date, we drove to watch the sunset while listening to it. I’ll never forget when we got up to the horizon line and my windshield had bugs all over it from driving from Logan, UT to Laramie, WY. Aside from the bugs, it was really sweet and romantic.

Wyatt surprised me after I sang because had a surprise for me too: a book full of pressed wildflowers that he had been collecting over the summer without me knowing. He really is the person for me. We danced our first dance to Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton. It was the song we danced to when we first spent time alone together. First dances are weird because you feel like a fish being stared at through an aquarium. I’d rather dance in our kitchen alone, but it was fun to see people so excited to celebrate with us. I especially loved when I was dancing with my niece and all of a sudden all of my best friends joined us on the dance floor, and the party really started.

I still catch myself going through our wedding photos. They still make me smile and feel sappy about my amazing husband. The night with a sendoff under the lights where our loved ones tossed lavender over us on our way to our painted car. We found lavender in our hair, car, and clothes for days throughout our honeymoon, but we smelled delicious, and it made for a very magical exit. I’m so glad we didn’t wait longer to get married. This has been the best six months of my whole life. Thank you so much to everybody that came and celebrated with us, or sent cards or text messages. The real greenhouse wedding magic was celebrating with all of you.

xx, Haley