How we met:

We first met in the military. We met in Student Flight, a military prep program for basic training. So, we were 18 years old and we had our minds focused on other things like trying to figure out right from left while marching (Amber still struggles with this). We didn’t talk when we first met, but knew of each other. Amber really wasn’t happy when she saw him later when they were both doing training in Texas and she waved and he didn’t wave back (she still hasn’t let this go). Years later (6 to be exact), we finally had our first real conversation, it was a group conversation, but one nonetheless. That was while we were waiting to get a plane for a work trip to Key West.  It took sometime for Eric to realize how interested I was but once he figured it out we were set.

bride getting ready for wedding  madison wigroom getting ready for wedding Where we got hitched, and how we chose the venue: 

Our wedding reception was at Lake Windsor Golf Course. We chose it because of the wonderful onsite coordinator, gorgeous windows with a great view and ease of access (parking was one of our biggest concerns).

Personal touches we added to make the wedding ours:

There were so many! We cut down a branch from a tree in our front yard to make the table numbers and name holders. We had an untraditional reading at our ceremony that meant a lot to the both of us (we love dogs), “How Falling in Love is like Owning a Dog” by Taylor Mali. We opted to have the officiant create a personalized message for us. He asked each of us questions separately and then incorporated them into this message, neither of us knew what the other had said until the ceremony.
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wedding details cake table settings wibride wearing dress in field first look natural outdoor photo wi Our favorite part of the whole dang wedding: 

Eric– Amber walking down the aisle.

Amber- The First Look. It calmed my nerves for the rest of the day!

Our personal vows:
Neither of us are fans of public speaking, but we really wanted personal vows. We decided on a set of our officiant’s prewritten vows that felt right for us.
“From this moment,
I, Eric, take you, Amber,
as my wife forever and always
I pledge to honor you
encourage you, and support you
through our walk together.
When our way becomes difficult,
I promise to stand by you
and uplift you,
so that through our union
we accomplish more
than we could alone,
I promise to work at our love
and always make you
a priority in my life.
With every beat of my heart,
I will love you.
This is my solemn vow.”

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Most enjoyable part of planning the wedding:

Eric- all the food! (ie. food testings, bridal shows, cake testing).

Amber- I enjoyed how involved Eric was in all the planning. We did about 95% of the planning together and by ourselves.

Greatest challenge planning the wedding: 

Dealing with all the options! For every little decision there were hundreds of options or more. Once we made a decision about one thing we HAD to stop looking or we’d change our minds again.
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Resources that helped us along the way: 

Pinterest, Etsy and Google. We actually found our amazing officiant from a Google search!

Advice to others planning their wedding: 

Prioritize what is important to the both of you and spend more time and energy on those things. A day-of coordinator really helps make things run smoothly. She took care of all the little hiccups. As far as we know everything went as planned and perfect, and that’s how we want to remember our wedding day. At the reception, step back, just the two of you and admire all your hard work and that everyone is there for you. Take it all it, it goes by so fast! 

The wedding photos we’re most excited to see: 

Eric- Amber walking down the aisle and our photos right after the ceremony just the two of us.
Amber- All of them! Especially the sunset pictures, all the pressure was off and I could relax.
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We chose Maureen Cassidy Photography because: 

We first met her at a bridal show before we even had a wedding date. Months later we had picked a date and attended a few more bridal shows. We met many more photographers, but we kept thinking back to Maureen. Her energy and positive attitude were so memorable and contagious. Our decision was made, we had to pick Maureen otherwise we knew we’d regret it.

Vendors!

Ceremony Venue: Holy Wisdom Monastery

Reception Venue: Lake Windsor Golf Course

Hair: Kim Kucksdorf from Allure Hair Design (Stevens Point, WI) 

Make up: Colleen Feucht from About Face

Wedding Dress: Brides Across America (A wonderful organization that gives a military bride a free wedding dress. My dress will be donated back to them, so another bride can enjoy her special day in it!)

Bridesmaids Dresses: Nordstrom

Groom & Groomsmen Attire: Nedrobo’s

Officiant: Chris Truitt from You had me at I Do

Wedding planner: Kayla Ann Coordinates 

Flowers/Florist: Prairie Flowers and Gifts

Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas

Dessert: Carl’s Cakes

Photography: Maureen Cassidy Photography, 2nd shooter: Patricia at ReJoy Photography

DJ: Music For You

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Maureen Cassidy is a Madison wedding photographer, Madison family photographer & Madison boudoir photographer who loves capturing connections, love and beauty in Wisconsin and around the world. If you would like to send her a message contact her {here}.