I was honored to be Maid of Honor at my BFF's wedding. It was stunning, and I am so excited to share the stunning photos along with Courtney's words. Enjoy!

I have always dreamed of having my wedding at the home where I grew up. To this day, it remains one of my most favorite places in the whole world. As a little girl, I envisioned getting married in our church (conveniently located less than a mi… — I have always dreamed of having my wedding at the home where I grew up. To this day, it remains one of my most favorite places in the whole world. As a little girl, I envisioned getting married in our church (conveniently located less than a mile away) and having the reception under a tent on the lake at my parents’ home.

I dreamed that the day would be full of laughter and dancing and great food and love! This was truly a dream come true for me.

When it came to a theme for the wedding, I allowed the location to dictate the direction we would take. Since we were getting married in central Florida, “Rustic Orange Grove” took over as the obvious choice! As a little girl, I had envisioned all o… — When it came to a theme for the wedding, I allowed the location to dictate the direction we would take. Since we were getting married in central Florida, “Rustic Orange Grove” took over as the obvious choice! As a little girl, I had envisioned all of the pictures I would want to take to document the day and this place. My photographer, Dustin Prickett from Sunglow Photography, toured the property and instantly saw my vision! It was truly a match made in heaven! He even thanked me for picking him to shoot our big day. What a great guy, right!?!?

For details, my mom was incredible! She worked tirelessly for a year making all of the accents that truly brought my visions to life. She created ceramic heart napkin rings, decorated hundreds of mason jars, cooked homemade dog biscuits, and became an expert in all things burlap!

We worked with a local florist, Philip Burkhart, to rent mismatched china and silverware for the place settings, and he utilized the idea book we created for him to make flower arrangements that were exactly to my specifications.

If there is any advice I could give a bride for her big day, this would be it! If you know exactly what you want, be sure to communicate that with your vendors. Thanks to dreaming of this day for my whole life, I had very specific ideas of what I wanted. Delivering pictures, outlines, descriptions, and having pre-event meetings with vendors made a huge difference in the dream becoming a reality.”

Having the wedding of my dreams was truly incredible. I could not be more grateful to the friends, family, and vendors who helped make it a reality. If you have the opportunity to get married at home, consider it. Our wedding had more of a feeling of love and community than any other wedding I have ever attended. All of our friends pitched in and were able to feel like this was something that they helped create.

What better way to start a marriage than with the full support of all of the ones that you love? A wedding is a day, but a marriage is a lifetime; and Jon and I are grateful to have such an incredible support system to take the journey with us!