Real Life Wedding: Falling in Love is BEST Packaged by Family Fun

October 27, 2011

The gorgeous bride and her handsome groom. (courtesy of photosbyjennifer.com)

Recently I had the distinct pleasure of not only attending but also rockin’ it out as a bridesmaid at my cousin Kimberly Lynn’s wedding.  Marrying the man of her dreams, the former Ms. Kidwell wed Brian Mitchell during a b.e.a.uuuutiful fall fiesta ceremony in the heartland of the Midwest.  Surrounded by their closest 450 - give or take – family and friends, the duo said “I do” at Kim’s childhood parish, St. Barnabus Catholic Church on October 15, 2011.

It was a celebration for the ages, sprinkled with all things fabulous, and to say it was a joy to be a part of it all would merely be the tip of the excitement iceberg!  As many weddings as I’ve attended (Kim and Brian’s marking the 50th the Mister and I have attended together alone!), it never ceases to amaze me at how original each one is… how the individuality of the bride, her groom and their families seem to take the same occasion and mark it with something genuinely unique, something uniquely them… I’m telling you, it’s something nothing short of amazeballs.

And because it’s always such an honor to be included in a celebration, I like to glorify the creativity of each by sharing it with the masses (you’re welcome, haha!) and posting it for all to see!  Below are some of my favorite parts… feel free to be inspired:

Post Rehearsal / Pre-Wedding Slumber Party.  Kim had all the girls over for a final Girl’s Night In after the rehearsal, and in a word, it was fantastic.  Giving one of the best attendant gifts ever, we celebrated the evening by watching one part of the gift,  Bridesmaids and secretly “ooh’ing and aww’ing” the other… unique bridesmaids’ jewelry – picked out by the bride herself – for us to where on the occasion.  Love love love!

How much do you la-Louvre those colors together? (courtesy of Google Images)

Killer Color Combo.  As sampled above with the bracelets, the colors were purple, orange and green.  The mother of the bride, my fabulous Aunt Gail, is a DIVA when it comes to decor; so, there was no doubt that the wedding would be nothing short of F.I.E.R.C.E. when it came to its overall layout… and I have to admit, just looking at the floral arrangements alone, you can see just how fierce it was… Tyra Banks, eat your heart out!

And yes, that would be my bouquet barely peaking in on the right and me totally cut out. Yep, haha! (courtesy of photosbyjennifer.com)

The Bride wore Purple Pumps.  Keeping in theme with the wedding day and the trendy modern bride, Kimmi sported her best plum pumps for the occasion, and showed off her boogie shoes in style!

I wanna put on, my my my my my Boogie Shoes, and boogie with you! (courtesy of photosbyjennifer.com)

Crowd Pleasing Priest, personalized by friendship.  Being graduates of the local Catholic high school (Roncalli, what?), Kim and I had the pleasure of seeing one of our former classmates (and prom kings!), Dustin Boehm, reach the high honor of joining the priesthood.  Kimmi decided no other priest would do, and Dustin, errr, cough cough, Father Boehm was the one chosen to oversee the whole newlywed nuptials!  He did such a Tony the Tiger GRRREEEAAAT job!

Father Boehm in person and in action! (courtesy of yours truly and photosbyjennifer.com)

Father of the Bride Speech, marked with Love.  So, being a complete sentimental nut, one of my favorite parts of a wedding day is always the time honored father of the bride speech, and my Uncle Rich did not disappoint!  One of the best parts was when he totaled to the years of marriage Kim and Brian had backing them between the families, and because the Kidwell side is such a force to be reckoned with… he had all of us stand up and officially welcome Brian to the fam… all 900 and couting.  Haha! 

Kim giving her Papa a hug after his speech, so sweet! (courtesy of yours truly!)

Ceremony Shoes + Reception Runners.  Kim’s nephews, Jackson and Austin, rocked it out as ring bearers and were both equipped with wedding shoes for the ceremony and running shoes for the reception.  Genius.  I also like how they took it upon themselves to ditch their jackets, ties and tuxedo shirts as well.  Ahhh, boys :)

Work it out, Jackson! (courtesy of yours truly)

Glorious Groom’s Cake.  Vastly becoming one of my favorite parts of the reception, their Groom’s Cake was one of the best I’ve ever seen!  Courtesy of Cheryl Blessing of thecakestandindy.com, K+B’s groom’s cake was representative of their hometown pride and their fanatical love for the NFL.  Kim, being a born and raised Indy girl, loves the Colts, and go figure, she falls in love with a Illinois native / Chicago Bear extremist.  Yep.  I can hope their kids are smart enough to make the right choice ;)

Touchdown perfection! (courtesy of photosbyjennifer.com)

Epically assembled with dance circles, laughter and all kinds of greatness, I could go on and on (and ON!) about Kim and Brian’s wedding, but sadly, like all good things, this post has to have an ending.  So, here’s to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell…

As you sit side by side on the roller coaster of life, remember to scream at the peaks, hold hands through the dips, laugh through the loops and enjoy every twist and turn!  We love love love you and cheers to many years of happiness!

Filed under: All About Me,Wedding Planning 101

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