Within the first week of knowing each other, Portugal and I knew we were going to get married. It certainly seems crazy, but neither of us had any doubts about it. We were engaged after 6 months of dating and 9 months of knowing each other, and then married the following year. We knew we wanted our wedding to be a huge celebration including EVERYBODY we loved. We didn’t pare down the guest list at all, it was an open invite to everyone/anyone in our lives who wanted to come party with us. We’ve experienced enough weddings to know that decorations, flowers, and decor can be beautiful and fun, what makes a wedding day memorable is the people who are there.

Throughout our engagement, we intentionally focused on continuing to grow in love. Wedding planning was definitely stressful at times, but simply being reminded of the true meaning of our wedding day was brought me back to a peaceful mindset. I had to continually remind myself that having “that dress” or “those candles” or “those flower arrangements” weren’t what we were gathering on March 11th for. We were gathering for a public expression of our commitment and love, and we knew it would be beautiful no matter what.

We kicked off our wedding celebration with a joint bachelor/bachelorette party, inviting all of our closest friends join us at a cabin in Nashville for two days. Those days were packed with dance parties, pizza, hammocking, and good talks. We also gave all of our wedding party disposable cameras to use throughout the week, all pictured in this post!

Portugal and his groomsmen’s bachelor party consisted of a hike to Cummins Falls (where things got pretty weird in TJ Maxx bags), while the girls took me to a “Booty Werk” dance class (if you know me, you know this was the most on-brand activity they could have planned.) We also went on a field trip to pick up the flowers for the wedding at the wholesale florist.

The day before the wedding, we all caravanned up to Bowling Green, my hometown, to prepare for the festivities. With the help of some incredibly talented and selfless friends, we were able to deck out the church and the reception barn with simple, yet beautiful natural decor. Shoutout to my incredible bridesmaids for making ALL the arrangements! We were also blessed to receive a gorgeous wedding cake from a dear friend (we shot her daughter’s wedding AND her niece’s weddings and just adore the entire family). We are still overwhelmed by how much love was shown to us on our wedding day. :’)

The morning of the wedding, we all got ready and headed to Historic Potter Farm for photos. Portugal and I got to see each other for the first time in the garden and it gave me a newfound perspective on first looks, because WOW it was so emotional for the both of us. The cloudy March sky made for some beautiful photos — literally unbelievable that it didn’t rain/storm at all that day, because the day before was a  torrential downpour!

We got married in the church I grew up in, which was very sentimental to me. We were both UGLY crying when I came down the aisle, and I love the photos Portugal took (below) on his film camera. We danced out of the ceremony to “Take On Me” as an homage to our mutual love for 80’s music, and then continued the party back at Historic Potter Farm. We were truly so honored to have the company of family and friends from Brazil, Florida, Missouri, and beyond! After the wedding, we couldn’t stop talking about how amazing it was to be surrounded by so many amazing friends. That was what we wanted all along, and it was so worth it.

Also shoutout to my bestie bridesmaids who made sure to snap LOTS of Instax film for us. The pre-ceremony toilet pic is a personal fave.