I am SO excited you stopped by Blush & Camo because today I’m sharing Chuck and I’s wedding pictures and wedding story! You ladies have been beyond patient waiting for all the photos, and there are so many of them that I had to break it down into a two part blog post. Today’s blog post is all about the wedding itself, and the second blog post is how I put together my beauty routine leading up to, and the day of, the wedding (I did my own makeup!).

Here’s Chuck and I’s wedding story (If you are new to Blush & Camo you can read our engagement story by clicking this link first here!).

A LITTLE BAKGROUND

I knew Chuck was “The One” after our first date. The following Monday when I went to my college swim practice and the ladies on the team asked me how the date went I replied with “I am going to marry this man”. They laughed at me because it was such a bold statement (and it truly was!), but I knew from the bottom of my heart that I was going to be with Chuck forever!

This didn’t mean that we didn’t have our share of tough times because we totally did. We went through almost two years of long distance, more months apart so he could attend his military schools, and my deployment. We handled many of the challenges given to a dual military couple with a lot of grace, and some of those situations we had to fight our way through, but the important thing is that we did it together- and we did it with a ton of love and respect for the other person. (when I was deployed I would wake up at the crack of dawn and get to work almost two hours early just so I could talk, or Skype, with Chuck for a little bit!). There wasn’t a day that went by when I didn’t know that Chuck was the one for me.

Chuck and I have been dating for almost 5 years (crazy, I know!). It’s gotten to the point where we both don’t remember how we functioned without the other person! When he proposed last November I was ecstatic because I’ve always considered Chuck “my person” and can’t imagine going through life without him!

THE WEDDING PLANNING

After the craziness of the engagement died down Chuck and I started talking about how we envisioned our wedding. I am not a person who likes to be center of attention (it’s ironic because I am always in front of a camera for blogging, but being in front of the camera was a fear that almost prevented me from starting to blog in the first place!) so I suggested we just go to the courthouse and get married that way.

Chuck was shocked by this and told me that a wedding is one of the only times that all your loved ones are at the same place and get to celebrate the relationship. I had never thought about it like this, and agreed that having a wedding was the right thing to do.

[P.S. I cannot thank you Blush Babes enough for all the wedding planning advice you gave me over the past 7 months. Through blog and Insta comments, emails, and even text messages I took all of your advice to heart! It truly helped too! Chuck and I used theknot.com as a way to plan for the wedding and started chipping away at the process! The total guest list was 75 people which was the perfect size for us!]

THE WEDDING DAY

THE CEREMONY SITE

Chuck and I got married at the Wedding Deck in Beavercreek, CO. The weather had been rainy all week and I was slightly freaking out because the weather prediction said that it was supposed to rain the hour of our wedding ceremony (totally not cool!). The Wedding Deck was a 10,000 feet in elevation and overlooked the Rockies. The view was absolutely breathtaking.

Chuck and I decided to get married on a mountain because he proposed on a mountain and we LOVE going hiking and being in this type of terrain.

GETTING READY FOR THE BIG DAY

I had butterflies all week, but when I woke up the day of the wedding I was nothing but excited! I barley slept the night before because I could barely contain my excitement:). At 7:30am all 5 of my bridesmaids met in the hotel lobby and got ready at the Allegria Spa at the Hyatt. It was so much fun getting our hair done, drinking glasses of champagne, and talking with my best friends. The women at the salon did an AMAZING job with all the ladies hair and my bridesmaids looked absolutely stunning!

For the bridesmaid dresses I knew I wanted each woman to have her own unique dress because I just love how it looks. I started with picking my sister’s dress (she is also my MOH) which was a sparkly rose gold dress. Each of the other bridesmaid dresses incorporated an aspect of my sister’s dress and that’s how I ensured all the dresses were cohesive with one another. The dresses were from Adrianna Papell, Jenny Yoo, and Jim Hjelm. I picked them out from a Seattle boutique called Bella Bridesmaid (they have boutiques all over the U.S #heckyes!).

For my wedding day accessories I splurged on a pair of dreamy Valentino Rocketed Caged Flats and the jewelry I wore was Chuck’s mom’s who passed away a few years ago. I wanted to represent her and feel like she was very much apart of the ceremony and wearing her jewelry on our big day was my way of honoring her and remembering her.

Getting into my wedding dress took all 5 bridesmaids (totally not kidding!) and was quite the event. The ladies getting ready for the day in the Hyatt changing room where taking videos of all 5 bridesmaids getting me into my dress because it was hysterical and necessary at the same time!

THE CEREMONY

Getting to the ceremony required the wedding party to get onto gondola’s that took all of us to the top of the mountain where the ceremony took place. Chuck and I did a first look prior to the ceremony, but them went our separate ways until the actual ceremony itself.

I honestly didn’t think I was going to cry as much as I did that day but I was just an emotional mess! Chuck wrote me a letter to read going up the gondola to see him for our first look, and after reading that letter I was an emotional mess!

I was shaking because I was so nervous before walking down the aisle with my dad toward Chuck. As soon as I saw Chuck all my nerves went away and I just focused on him.

We wrote our own vows and I didn’t say them out loud until the actual ceremony itself. I wanted Chuck to see my real emotion as I read them out and it was a special moment for the both of us. Hearing each other’s vows was the highlight of the wedding ceremony!

 

THE RECEPTION

The reception was held at The Charter at Beaver Creek. I don’t think I’ve ever danced so much in my life, but the DJ from A Great Time DJ was amazing and played the right mixture of music. For four hours our wedding guests celebrated and danced the night away!

Thank you SO much for reading this entire post to the end and for stopping by Blush & Camo!

Do you have any questions you want to know about Chuck and I’s wedding day?! Leave a comment below and let’s start talking:).

xx Julianna