Wedding Post. (Be prepared for the most pictures you have ever seen).

The wedding.

I sat here for about 7 minutes staring at the screen having zero idea what to say to start this off.  I guess I just don’t know how to express the gratitude I have for being able to be married to Andrew into typed out words.  I honestly don’t know where the heck he came from.  It’s like we both had to go through the things we went through and have Brooke and Knox and learn and grow and figure out what really is important in this world before we could meet.  I can sincerely say, God’s plan is amazing.  I look back over the years of pain and heartache and loneliness and wondering why things happened the way they did and now I know why, Andrew is my person and it just took some time and growth to get to the part where I got him in my life.

So when I first met Andrew I kind of knew right away he was something different.  It felt like I already knew him during our first date at Outback.  I feel like within the first few of our many late night conversations I was able to actually be fully myself.  What a strange concept for me that I had never experienced.  Someone I could be completely vulnerable with but feel secure no matter what I said or did.  Someone I could tell absolutely every thought I’ve ever had to.  I didn’t feel like I had to be somebody else, and I fell hard for every ounce of him.  Communicating with each other was a piece of cake, which was a first time thing for me.  Over time I knew that this man loved me for me and wanted to do whatever he could to make me happy. And I knew I wanted my job in life to be to love him to pieces.  I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I could trust him with everything, he would be my best friend through it all and the absolute most amazing dad.  His kindness to everyone he comes in contact with and his commitment to family and God meant everything to me.

Let’s start from the beginning of the wedding day!  Katie (Bangs Friend) flew in from California and little did I know this was going to happen, but she was my personal assistant for the day—>  aka she did everything for me from making breakfast for Brooke to making sure I packed everything I needed to cleaning out my purse:)  She is a good one.  The two of us ran on treadmills (I think 5 miles:) next to each other that morning and just talked about everything.  She was the one running with me and helping me through the mess of life a few years previously and there she was again running next to me during a really beautiful part of life.  We grabbed some fresh mex salads afterwards and ate them before we all took a short nap (Brooke included ha).  I then showered and went over to my sister’s house.  My amazing sis did the whole beauty routine for me and we talked and laughed the whole time.  She has been my rock (my whole family has been… I lucked out in that department) for decades and was so beyond happy that I found Andrew and Knox.

Katie then brought me an ice cream cone from Chick-Fil-A and I jumped in my car and drove up to where the wedding was held (Alpine Art Center).  At this point Brooke was with my mom so the drive included listening to some songs that reminded me of Andrew and calling my grandma and aunt (the one I was with all the time in N. Cali when I lived there).  When I pulled up pretty much my entire family was there with all of their little kiddos running around, one of the best sights to see.  I went upstairs to the brides room and my good friend Heather did Brooke’s hair, my sister-in-laws and Bangs helped me put my dress on and then my sister came and touched up my makeup.  Megan brought me a drink and we all just relaxed for a few minutes before it was time to take some family pictures.  We wanted to take a few pictures before the ceremony because we knew that the two toddlers only had a certain amount of really happy time left in them;)

LINDSEY ORTON (aka the best photographer there ever was.  Thank you so so much Lindsey)!

I could literally stare at this picture of the two of them all day long.

Andrewjanaewedding 0011

Oh, and this one too:)

Andrewjanaewedding 0083

Me with my Maid of Honor and Flower Girl.

Andrewjanaewedding 0059

Me and my man.  I always thought I would be really nervous if I got married again (actually the thought alone gave me quite the increase in my heart rate) but I had zero nerves with Andrew.  I just couldn’t wait to start this whole family thing with him and have my best friend to be my husband.

Andrewjanaewedding 0094

Andrewjanaewedding 0089

Their faces, I just can’t believe

Andrewjanaewedding 0041

Andrewjanaewedding 0031

I do have to do a shoutout to my mom for all of the help she did for the wedding (aka planning it.. she is way better at this stuff than I am;)  One of the many things she did was the flowers—>  I showed her a few pictures of what I loved and gave her my card;)

She went to Bed of Roses and I was beyond thrilled with how they all turned out.  My mom said they were the absolute best/most helpful to work with too.  If you are in Utah, you definitely should check them out!

Andrewjanaewedding 0100

They turned out exactly the way that I wanted them to.

Andrewjanaewedding 0104

Sissy just putting on some lip stuff for me and I wore earrings for the first time in like a decade.

Andrewjanaewedding 0102

And then it was go time.  Little Knox went down the aisle first towards Andrew and he was a man on a mission.  He took his job quite seriously and he even finished with some intense speed walking to get to Andrew.

Andrewjanaewedding 0123

I wish I could have seen this part in real life but I’ve watched the video at least 50 times so it kind of feels like I did;)  All of my family was there and all of Andrew’s family was there (thanks everyone for flying in).  We also had our very closest friends but kept it extremely small which was perfect for us.

Andrewjanaewedding 0127

And then I had little Brookie there to walk me down the aisle.  Having her by my side meant the world to me.

Andrewjanaewedding 0128

Brooke has a shy little spirit about her sometimes and once she saw everyone she tucked her head into me as we walked to the end of the aisle.

Andrewjanaewedding 0138

We had one of our church leaders marry us (my bishop) that has always been so amazing to me.  He gave a beautiful message about marriage and love and it was perfect.

Andrewjanaewedding 0143

Andrewjanaewedding 0146

Andrewjanaewedding 0153

Andrewjanaewedding 0167

Knox brought up the rings…  He did the ring bearer job absolutely perfect:)

Andrewjanaewedding 0196

And then before you knew it, we were man and wife:)   PS about 2 years ago I saw a wedding dress on Instagram that I absolutely loved and sent it to my sister and told her that I needed that dress… fast forward a few years and I found one that was pretty darn close.  I loved the lace and the longer sleeves.

Andrewjanaewedding 0200

Andrewjanaewedding 0206

After we walked back down the aisle Brooke set off to chase us down (ps Bed of Roses made her gorgeous flower crown too:)

Andrewjanaewedding 0209

She is a fast one.

Andrewjanaewedding 0213

Andrewjanaewedding 0215 2

After the ceremony we took a few pictures with family and friends!

My mom and dad… don’t know what I would do without them.  Love these two so much.

Andrewjanaewedding 0225

Andrew’s sweet parents… They are amazing!

Andrewjanaewedding 0276

Andrew with his siblings:

Andrewjanaewedding 0281

And then with my siblings.

Andrewjanaewedding 0250

My sissy and incredible sister-in-laws!!  My brothers married the best of the best:)

Andrewjanaewedding 0253

And then the girls that I’ve known and loved for ages now.  I lucked out with this crew.

Andrewjanaewedding 0301

All of my family (my parents have just a few grandkids)

Andrewjanaewedding 0238

And all of Andrew’s family!

Andrewjanaewedding 0268

We then walked right into the building next to where the ceremony was held and had a small dinner (the air conditioning sure felt nice at this point).

Andrewjanaewedding 0461

At this point we had all of our siblings and parents go up and take a few minutes to say some things.   We kept it short and simple but having this time to hear what they had to say about us and everything meant the world to us.

Andrewjanaewedding 0400

And then Andrew and I got up and I of course rambled on for way too long.  Andrew said the sweetest things and I remember just standing there thinking, ‘how the heck did I get this lucky… that is my HUSBAND.’

Andrewjanaewedding 0426

And then it was time for the cake!  I went to Cupcake Chic (where I always go to get bday cakes or cupcakes for parties) and it was so fun to work with them for my wedding cake after all of these years:)  The cake tasted amazing and it turned out exactly how I wanted it to!

Andrewjanaewedding 0353

Andrew was pretty excited that the base of the cake was funfetti.

Andrewjanaewedding 0436

Yep, of course he got me.

Andrewjanaewedding 0450

So I attempted (and failed) to get him back.

Andrewjanaewedding 0457

And as far as other food goes—>  my mom put together a candy bar with my favorite treats.  The kids (ehhh… adults) were pretty excited about it.

Andrewjanaewedding 0336

Once we finished with cake, we did a lot of talking with everyone and then we were off for a week in Mexico!  The kiddos missed us like crazy and Brooke kept telling people while we were gone that we just went to dinner and then we would be back;)  I don’t think either of them will ever let us leave for that long again!

Thanks for joining along and letting me share all of this with you.  You guys have been there through it all and I’m so excited to share this next adventure with you!

Andrewjanaewedding 0097

Screen Shot 2016 08 24 at 1 52 46 PMThat’s the way we became the ‘Baron/Brooke Jacobs’ bunch.Screen Shot 2016 08 24 at 1 52 46 PM (imagine the Brady Bunch tune going on while you read this post)

Andrewjanaewedding 0056

————————————————————–

If you are married… tell me what your ceremony, reception, everything was like? I want the details because you just had to sit through an hour of mine;)

Have a favorite flower?

What was the biggest highlight of your weekend?

You May Also Like

113 comments

Reply

Janae, congrats to you and your family. Those photos are absolutely stunning and you guys look beautiful. Wishing you all the happiness in the world.

Next year I’m marrying my best friend in the whole world and will become a stepmom to his two amazing daughters. Watching your grace and the amazing family you’ve built for yourself with Andrew really gives me hope that everything will turn out ok for us too. xoxo

Reply

LOVE these pictures and LOVE this love story you now have. I am seriously so incredibly happy for y’all and truly touched by how faithful you’ve been in waiting for a man like Andrew. It’s quite obvious that you two are absolutely perfect for one another. :)

Reply

Awwww what a perfect day! I’m so happy for you, Janae!

I know exactly what you mean when you say you just knew right away. The night I met Adam I didn’t think in my head “this is the one” but I felt so comfortable with him. We didn’t just instantly hit it off and have great conversation, but beyond that we were just so comfortable together. I remember, maybe an hour after we met, I rested my head on his shoulder (we met at a party, and it was late) and just felt so comfortable. When it’s right, it just feels that way!

Reply

GORGEOUS. Not going to lie, the first couple paragraphs gave me chills. The last two pictures are my favorite :) Happy Monday!

Reply

the pictures are BEAUTIFUL!!! And the flowers make the event. they’re drop dead gorgeous. I’m in love with Brooke’s flower crown. my favorite flowers are roses and peonies. and I love wildflowers as well. really any flower haha! huge congrats to you and andrew, it seems like you really have a wonderful thing going here.

Reply

Absolutely beautiful pictures! Everything looks so perfect. I love hearing about your relationship and first date with Andrew because I can relate to that feeling so well! It was like that for Dan as well :)

We had a just-the-two-of-us ceremony in Belize! In the morning we went horseback riding, then our hotel brought breakfast to our little hut, we got ready, and drove over to a trail head. Hiked about 1/2 hour to the most beautiful waterfall I’ve ever seen in my life, did the ceremony (where I proceeded to cry the entire time..first time Dan’s ever seen me cry!) and had some traditional Belizean carrot cake and some champagne! It was the most perfect day ever.

Reply

I was married back in 1998 but my husband died 5 months later from cancer. Our ceremony was a partial elopement. It was in between treatments and we were just going to hit up city hall but he planned a special trip out west and we were married in Red Rock Canyon in Nevada about 40 minutes outside of Vegas. It was the most beautiful setting and so spiritual and amazing. It was planned in about 30 days. My parents and brother and sister-in-law came out. Also, my best friend and his best friend flew out and were our best man and maid of honor. I’m so grateful for that ceremony and the photos. I miss him dearly. It’s been 18 years. I’m in a relationship now with a wonderful guy (2 years and going strong). We know we’ll eventually live together and forever but not sure if we’ll tie the knot. I hope so but I will just have to see how it pans out.

Favorite flower is actually hydrangea followed by carnations. Cheap old carnations. They last forever.

Biggest highlight of my weekend was my boyfriend returning from vacation with his daughters. It just felt so good to have him in my arms again.
Wow ….sappy post monday!

Reply

Beautiful photos of a magical day! Thanks for sharing! I eloped 15 years ago. It was just perfect for us. I have two favorite flowers, sunflowers and daisies. Biggest highlight of the weekend was just having a little down time with the hubby to do nothing and float in the pool!

Reply

This just makes me so incredibly happy! You look beyond gorgeous and happy and it’s just so wonderful! I’ve been a long time reader (like most of your readers) so seeing you this happy has just been the best thing! Congrats again on your beautiful day and beautiful life!!

Reply

So so beautiful! Congrats again on becoming such a lovely family!

Favorite flower – Sunflowers!

Reply

Love all these pictures!!! You all looked amazing and it looks like it was the perfect day! My favorite is Brooke and you walking down the aisle. Hope you get one or two prints of these :P

Reply

Such beautiful pictures and an even more beautiful love story. Congratulations and best wishes for 70 more years.
My wedding was all planned around the most important people in my (and our lives). My dad had just lost his battle with cancer 6 weeks prior and we had all hoped that he would see one of his kids married. The reception was to be in our backyard and family and friends reached out to help with getting that part ready. The altar flowers came from my great-aunt’s garden (pink calla-lilies!) and my mom made the wedding cake. Weddings are beautiful and having your beloved family and friends there makes it absolutely perfect.

Reply

Such a beautiful family you have, Janae!

Also, please send your sister to DC so that she can do my makeup every day.

Reply

Absolutuely love all of these pictures! I am sure you will treasure these forever. So happy for you & your family!

Reply

Congratulations, and thank you so much for sharing this with all of us!!

Reply

These photos are incredible! Thank you for sharing them and your day with us! So happy for you all.

Reply

What a gorgeous family! I too joined families with the most wonderful man. We each have 2 children (our kids are 20, 18, 15 and 13) and I finally got my girl :-). Our kids act as though they have been siblings forever and my two boys (mine are the oldest) are fiercely protective of her and love the 15 year old with all of their hearts too!! We had a very low key event, wedding in our backyard and reception at our friends who live on a bunch of land. Our reception was completely casual, with KC BBQ prepared by a good friend, yummy sides made by me and my in-laws, my homemade cookies which I am known for, and bags of my dad’s amazing cinnamon, peanut butter and caramel popcorn.

It could not have been more perfect and I am so happy to find the most amazing man who took my kids on as his own. We fit together perfectly. We knew really quickly we were “it” for each other and talked marriage after a couple months of dating. We didn’t actually tie the knot until we had been together 1 1/2 years, but we knew it was going to happen!

Good luck to you and lots of hugs!

Reply

Beautiful pictures!!! Love the flowers and the cake. So pretty. My flowers were roses and hydrangeas for my wedding and I would choose them all over again. :).

Reply

Reading this post made for a great start to the week. Your pictures turned out so great! Beautiful dress & gorgeous flowers. Enjoy your beautiful family!!

Reply

“…But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”

One of my favorite C.S. Lewis quotes and it kept coming to my mind as I read through this post and looked at all the beautiful pictures :)

So, so, so happy for you <3

Reply

what stunning pictures! Congrats on your beautiful new family!

Reply

We got married on June 2, 2007. It was kind of a crazy time because I was graduating college, we were putting Todd’s house on the market, moving to Cincinnati, buying a house there, and starting new jobs. This all happened within 3 weeks! We had a very simple church wedding and then a reception at Todd’s parents’ house.

Your flowers are gorgeous! I don’t really have a favorite flower. I am typically not that into flowers, but I do like orchids.

My favorite part of the weekend was relaxing and catching Todd snoozing while holding his book. I have a pic on our post today.

Reply

I love the story of what you did leading up to your ceremony! I think that was the most surprising/my favorite thing about my wedding, my bridesmaids and I had a huge brunch before our hair and makeup, ate delicious food (and treats) and just laughed and talked all morning. It made the whole thing incredibly less stressful! We had a red/white/blue themed wedding 4th of July weekend and I actually got my flowers at Whole Foods. Our wedding was 100% a destination–for literally everyone–and every flower place I tried was booked that weekend. Whole foods did an amazing job with those three colors, they looked completely professional. I love Brooke’s flower crown! And the pictures are magical. And your dress is seriously gorgeous.

Reply

Congratulations Janae! While reading this post (at work ;) I kept finding myself smiling! I’m so happy for y’all. Did you guys have a special first dance/song at your reception?

Reply

I loved seeing your photos-thank you so much for sharing them and reading about the details of your special day. Our wedding was almost 14 years ago but it was still the best party we’ve ever thrown-so much fun having our family and friends there, so many good memories.
Best part of my weekend was getting the email from the Big Sur International Marathon telling me I won a lottery spot for the race in April 2017. So excited!!!

Reply

Congrats! What a sweet post. You can definitely see that you are happy. I hope that you guys had a wonderful time away and are getting settled in with your sweet family.

Reply

These pictures are absolutely beautiful!

Reply

Since I was a 16 I wanted to get married at an old farm in our town. They turned it into a venue for weddings, parties, and whatever else someone would want to throw there. I used to work for the city as a teenager and after working at the venue I absolutely fell in love. Fast forward to 2012 and the man I fell in love with asked me to marry him! I told him about a venue I loved growing up and after we took the tour he loved it too. We didn’t even have to look anywhere else. (We ended up buying a house 1 block from the venue the Wednesday after the wedding)
Another thing I always wanted was a wedding with Kilts. My now husband’s family has Scottish/Irish in their blood so a Scottish wedding wasn’t totally out of the question. Ever since we started dating I told him we could have kilts in our wedding and he kept saying no. Well after he proposed he suggested the kilts. I was floored! All the guys looked so handsome and a large handful of our guests showed up in full kilts.
Since we were having a Scottish wedding, instead of the candle ceremony, we did a handfasting as our unity part of the ceremony. My mom was worried that it would sound paganish (grew up Catholic), but we had it all worked out. Our officiant knew we wanted to keep God in the ceremony so he was able to do that here very well. Our handfasting was mostly about holding hands with your best friend, ie “These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow, and forever.” There are a handful of lines and the vows were in there while we had our hands tied together. We literally got to tie the knot, because as you pull your arms away a knot forms in the middle of the ribbons! It was super emotional and makes me cry every time I read the words.
I also cried the instant I walked out of the farm house to the aisle, which made me start laughing uncontrollably. My dad was supposed to be telling me dirty jokes on the way down the aisle like my grandfather did for my mom, but he couldn’t get a word in edge wise. He kept telling me that he didn’t even start telling the joke yet. So I cried and laughed the whole way down the aisle and the first 3 minutes of the ceremony. Our officiant had to wait to start because I couldn’t control it and he said, “Well I have never had this happen before.” My grandfather (dad’s side) who I rarely see and who is usually a bit of a grump said he had never seen a happier bride which made me super happy.
Everything was exactly how I wanted! I didn’t get to see the finished product on my flowers until that morning and they turned out perfect! There are days where I would LOVE to relive the whole thing, but the video one of our friends shot during the ceremony & reeption will have to do. =) I got him to marry me a second time at a camp event we do. (We do re-enactment camping. American-Indian War era) I tried to get him to get married again while we were in the Domincan Republic for our honeymoon a year later, but he said 2 times was enough. When we hit 10 years of marriage I think I can convince him to renew our vows! =)
Sorry that was so long. My wedding day was literally my all time favorite day and I still left out a handful of awesome things!

Reply

All the pictures are just perfect. Did Andrew’s family plan to dress alike? Khaki’s and blue shirts…and the full family pic even looks like they all coordinate. (Nicely done if it wasn’t planned ;-)

My fav=the last family photo and Brooke all relaxed and snuggly.

My wedding will be 21 years ago on Sept. 9th. Kind of funny but I wasn’t into planning it at all…I actually wanted to elope but hubs wanted the wedding/dance party. My mom and my oldest sister made most of the decisions~ I picked out my dress but the rest was left to them. I think its funny how some ladies dream/think about what their wedding will be like for years…not me. ha!

Reply

These pictures say it all: “a beautiful day for a beautiful couple (and family)!”

Our wedding was on a Thursday, to save money and get my dream venue, a beautiful, renovated barn. We had 80 guests, perfect size for us. We said our vows, walked down the aisle to “another one bites the dust”, so cliche but I loved it!. We enjoyed dinner, cocktails and huge, yummy cupcakes! The DJ was spectacular, I never left the dance floor. Except for the “late night” (9pm) grilled cheese we served which were my favorite part! I would live that day a 1000 times over again if I could.

Reply

My heart is seriously bursting with happiness for you girl! So glad you found your happily ever after. Beautiful wedding photos!

Reply

Looks like you two had a beautiful wedding. The photos are gorgeous.

My favorite flowers are definitely calalilies. They’re just so darn pretty.

Reply

I am so happy for you! I wish you the very best!

Reply

Beautiful! What a testimony to God’s goodness!

Reply

Beautiful wedding! That cake looks soooooo good.

Since you were married by a bishop does that mean you guys are “sealed” now? Or is that separate? Sorry I don’t know much about Mormonism!

Reply

Oh my these pictures are just so beautiful!!!! So happy your wedding went like a dream!!!!! Brooke and Knox are so cute! Very smart to make sure they got a nap in before!

Reply

I loved your photos, so thank you for sharing. I’ve enjoyed following your story as I see parallels with myself. I, too, have a husband who is my best friend and we are a blended family too. His son and my daughter were both 5 years when met, and my son was 2. Fast forward 20 years and we have another son, they are all adults (the youngest is 18) and we are looking forward to the next stage of our lives.

Reply

What a perfect day! You guys look so happy and beautiful! I think every wedding needs a candy bar!

Reply

Yeeeyyyy!! I was creepily waiting for more photos, ha ha. Thanks so much for sharing your gorgeous pictures (how awesome to have an amazing photographer for a friend!) and memories of your special day. Everyone is sooooo photogenic and smiley! Looks like a wonderful start to a wonderful life together. And you look super radiant and happy :-) You two are very lucky to have such great families who can be a part of that happy occasion and enhance your celebration. We will probably elope in the end… What a great dress too.

I love roses too, and wild flowers and peonies… and I’m sure my wedding flowers will be a total hotch potch.

Reply

Janae, you and Andrew are adorable but Knox and Brooke take the cake! Those two are darling :)

We just celebrated our 16th anniversary! It was outside and crazy hot (107!!) My mom made a beautiful cake for pictures and we ate chocolate cake from our favorite restaurant where we also had our first date. We also kept it pretty small (and cheap – we were young, in love, and poor!). Love your pics!

I love tulips and gerber daisies, but we had roses at the wedding because we were able to get the perfect light purple color.

The biggest highlight of the weekend was visiting our friends that we haven’t seen in almost 2 months at their beach house. It was sunny and beautiful and our kiddos had a blast!

Reply

Cue all the tears reading this. So happy for you guys <3

Reply

I’ve said it many time so far, but I’ll say it again…I’m so happy for you and Andrew. What a blessing to find someone who is so good for you and your family.

Your wedding day photos are amazingly beautiful. Thanks for sharing them with us!

Reply

Love love love all of this!! So crazy happy for you and your family. I also love how in so many pictures , Brooke and Knox are holding hands. It’s the cutest.
Love you guys! xoxoxoxo

Reply

Beautiful story and photos……..I teared up………wedding stories always make me cry and yours is especially sweet! I married my best friend almost 2 years ago, and it was everything we wanted. We found a beautiful chapel on the local college campus (it made me think of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast with the grand ceilings) and we found a steal on a relatively new wedding photographer (she charges more now…….I like to think that because of our photos she got more business! Our photos are all over her site! I found a poofy princess dress (did not think that was the kind I would love but it was) and it was in January so when I wore it there were no sports bra running tanlines!! Ha! We walked down the aisle to “Forever” (the John Stamos song from Full House) and our exit song was “You really got me” by the Kinks (my husband’s favorite band). It was everything we wanted it to be: Beautiful, no stress, and so much fun! My friend’s daughter Lillie was the flower girl………..I used to babysit her when I lived with them, and she has been a flower girl lots so she knew the routine. I love tulips and originally planned to have red and yellow tulips, but changed my mind to red and yellow roses. They were perfect! A friend brought us a hankerchief from Bulgaria when they visited and it was wrapped around my bouquet………..actually the florist forgot, but came back down after delivering the flowers and put it on! I had curls for my hair (a big deal and took 1/2 bottle of hairspray to keep them in place……….I have fine hair that doesn’t hold a curl). I got my something borrowed from a friend (clips I wore in my hair). I wore crazy high royal blue heels (I looked EVERYWHERE for the perfect blue high heels, found them randomly at Payless in the mall…………$10!). We had our reception in a building at the aquarium where we work, and my dear co workers decorated the place beautifully! Photos of us, slide show with photos of us as little kids, string lights, and we had coffee, soda, krispy kreme, strawberry wedding cake and chocolate cupcakes from Publix (very good for a grocery store!, I was beyond impressed), and a few deli trays some kind friends brought. We probably had too much food…………we sent everyone home with doughnuts!!!!! The only thing I would change is we forgot about the speeches……….we never asked anyone to give one, but the best man had one ready, I feel bad we didn’t think of it, but he sent it to us a week later and we loved it! I look at our wedding photos and just think about how wonderful that day was! We spent a night at a bed and breakfast, but postponed the honeymoon until April of that year so we could go on a Disney cruise!!!!!! Another thing I did was put my wedding dress on in October and took some more photos at an old farm outside of Nashville. It was amazing! And I have a few more places I want to take wedding dress photos, too……….I like the look of wedding dresses against old builidngs……………whether it is a barn or old factory…………..going to have my photographer sister take some for me! I rambled a lot, but I love weddings!!!!!!!

Reply

Beautiful, my friend! Congratulations again!!

Reply

Love love love these photos! They are beautiful and I’m so happy for you. I love that you shared your wedding day- it truly looked beauriful.

My husband and I got married just over a year ago (August 23). We had a huge wedding (we know lots of people!) with over 400 hundred guests. Even though our wedding was large, we kept it simple with a dessert bar: pie and cookies served along side coffee.

There were so many special moments, but my favorite times were the speeches that my family shared. My sister also wrote a song and sang it for me there. Of course, I balled. ;)

Reply

Janae, thank you so much for sharing your beautiful day with us!!! I LOVED this post! I loved that you broke the pictures down to let us know how the day transpired! :) I have been reading for forever here…and I can see the difference with Andrew in your life and it’s so heartwarming! The things you mentioned about him, that’s how I feel about my husband and we’ve been married for 12 years now and our love has grown to be even more special through the years. He’s my best friend as well and there really is nothing like it! :) Add kids to the mix and it’s even more magical. It’s amazing to be with someone who puts you and the kids first. You deserve this so much. I have always loved your blog but I love it even more now with Andrew and Knox included. You guys have a beautiful family!

Reply

What a wonderful post!!! This just brought tears to my eyes. I am so happy for you that you found the one for you. Those kiddos of yours sure are adorable!!! Thanks for sharing all those pictures!!

My husband and I got married about a year ago and we had a beautiful ceremony in his parents backyard and a big reception in downtown Indianapolis. His mother’s garden is absolutely stunning and it is a day I will never forget.

Reply

These pictures are beautiful. It was such a perfect evening. It was relaxed, simple and elegant. I loved how incorporated your kids and made it all about family. Thanks so much for letting us be a part of your day.

Highlight of the weekend was backpacking and hiking Ben Lomond with Rossario.

Favorite flower are calla lilies and peonies.

But mostly now I can’t stop thinking about your delicious cake and how I want another slice right now. Eggs, flour, milk…I mean, it sounds like a pretty healthy second breakfast to me.

Reply

Thanks for sharing the day with us! It looks like it was beautiful and perfect for you!
My husband and I got married almost a year ago (September 19) and I know what you mean about not being nervous. Everyone told me I’d have prewedding jitters but I never did. I think when you know you’re with the right person, it just feels right. We had about 100 guests. The ceremony was in an enclosed gazebo and the reception was in a ballroom. It was perfect for us. We spent the night dancing (me) and drinking (my husband haha) with our friends and family. Everything came together perfectly and I couldn’t have asked for a better day.

Reply

Absolutely beautiful!! Congratulations!

Reply

I got sick the day before my wedding, with a pretty bad head cold. I don’t suggest that. Luckily, I felt really good for the ceremony, went home and slept for 3 hours, and then got up to get ready for the reception. The good thing is, it all went pretty smoothly, and it was still a beautiful day.

I love your pictures!

Reply

What a beautiful wedding – everything looked absolutely perfect. I love how elegant it was, and how much you and Andrew focused on family. So happy that you are so happy! Everything really does happen for a reason.

Also, Brooke and Knox are too cute for words!

Reply

Beautiful photos! So happy for you! I got married almost ten years ago, it was a big wedding (more like a big party!) in New Orleans. We were married at the church then the reception was at a plantation. It was a blast!

Reply

So, so gorgeous! All of it! I got married 10 years ago outside at the Botanical Gardens in Omaha. It rained a little so good luck, right? Cheese and fruit and wine after. Favorite flower is peony and I was so bummed I couldn’t have them in my wedding. Apparently you can’t get them year round.

Reply

Loved hearing all about your special day! Thanks for sharing all the beautiful photos. Congratulations!!

Reply

Wow, kudos to Lindsey, these photos are amazing . The first pic and last pic are my faves!

Kudos to your mom too, the flowers are beautiful. I remember tearing up when I saw how beautiful the flowers were at our wedding.

So glad you had all your special people there!

Reply

Beautiful photos! And the kids – OMG just so incredibly adorable <3

My anniversary is this weekend – 21 years – crazy how it goes so fast. My husband is still my very best friend – the one I love to do things with more than anyone. He is Lebanese Christian so we had a pretty traditional Catholic wedding (both Catholic) but our reception was interesting with an American DJ, Lebanese band and a belly dancer! People still remember the belly dancer :)

Reply

Great pictures! Absolutely beautiful wedding, you look amazing, Brooke is adorable! So great!

Reply

YAY! such pretty pictures. So happy for you and Brooke to find such a great fit!

Reply

Gorgeous wedding! I am so happy for you, Andrew, Brooke and Knox!

Congratulations and tons of Gods love to you all : )

Reply

Beautiful shots and your crew all look so happy! Congrats!!!

Reply

Stunning, Janae. So much love comes through these photos…and the smiles on everyone’s faces just shows how truly blessed you all are.

Such an amazing feeling when you *just know* and everything feels right and you are so at ease with each other.

And ohemgee Knox and Brooke are so adorable!!!

Reply

Tears of happiness for you! Thank you for sharing your wedding pictures. Gorgeous and kudos to your mom for putting together a beautiful wedding. I can’t wait to see your family grow.

Reply

Congratulations. Very lovely pictures.

Reply

Congratulations! Beautiful ceremony and you all deserve much happiness. I love how similar Brooke and Knox look – you’d never guess they were related by love rather than by blood.

Reply

Love your photos and your story!! A great Monday post. It definitely gives me some inspiration, as I’m starting to plan my own wedding now!

This weekend was great! Highlights: celebrating my birthday with my family and starting to look at some venues for the wedding! (We are looking at some local vineyards :)

Have a great day!

Reply

Oh Janae, I’m so happy for you!!
I admit I teared up…I don’t know if you remember me but when you were dealing with the end of your marriage I was going through the same thing. I’ll never forget the kind messages you sent me during that tough time. And I can totally relate when you talk about finally getting to be yourself with Andrew because I’m also now in a relationship that lets me see how things should really be!
Huge hugs!

Reply

Janae… I’m sitting in the car between carpool and park play date- bawling. I am beyond happy for you. You deserve the very very best. Enjoy it! ??

Reply

So so beautiful!! Love your dress as well. I am so happy for you guys!

Reply

You all look so happy and it makes me heart swell with joy for you and your family – many congratulations, Janae! Thank you for letting us have a peek into your life and share in your happiness! I am DYING over your dress. May I ask where you found it?!

I married my best friend and the love of my life last summer in a small ceremony on the beach. It was beyond perfect. We got to go barefoot (win!), my uncle married us, and we got to truly cherish the day together celebrating with those closest to us. We also did a morning wedding, so our ‘cake’ was DIY (by me the morning of!) with powdered sugar and plain donuts. #noshame :)

If you want to see the photos and read the longer version, I posted about it here: https://taylornewlove.wordpress.com/2015/09/09/best-day-ever-part-2/

Again, many many many congratulations!!! Best wishes for many years of love, laughter, and happily ever after!

Reply

What a beautiful wedding! Love all the pictures. The one of Andrew and Knox is so cute – they both have the same head title. Really, really happy for you Janae! Many happy years to you and your sweet family!

We had our 25th anniversary this year so I’ve done a lot of reminiscing. Highlights from our wedding included my mom making our cake, his mom playing a piano solo, my brother singing, and a surprise kiss at the end. If you’re curious, read all about it here: http://mcmomentsandmemories.blogspot.com/2009/05/saturday-may-25-1991.html

Favorite flower is the one my husband brings to me. Doesn’t matter what kind, if he brings it or sends it, I am thrilled!

Reply

Congrats !!! I’ve been following you for q few years now and I’m sooo happy for you and your family xx

Reply

Thanks for sharing your beautiful wedding photos. I love your dress!

My husband and I got married just over 5 years ago at a winery in the Russian River Valley. Everything was perfect
except for the weather. Fortunately, we got through most of the ceremony before it started raining. I noticed, but
I really didn’t care much at that point….

Reply

Talk about happy tears….jeez! These pic’s are gorgeous, this is such a great love story, the kids are precious and perfect. It’s all so perfect. I don’t even know you, except via blog posts, and I’m just so happy for you both. I’m a sap for good lovey happy people though. My current husband and I both crashed and burned on our first marriages as well. I can’t account for his, but mine was a cheating issue on his behalf, and I just can’t forgive, forget or get past it. But we both did the big huge wedding the first time around. I was torn between having a small only us wedding, my longed for beach wedding, or immediate family wedding. My husband has no family….so we did the just me and him wedding. We bumped it up by 3 months as a last minute decision, and went to Vegas (last minute decision) so we could do a motorcycle ride all through the mountains after the ceremony. We’ve heard incredible things about the ride through the mountains. Soooooo all that last minute decision making failed us miserably. It just happened to be “Spring Break”, which adds an extra 30,000 people to Vegas, MTV was there and all wedding dates and times got overruled by MTV (but we still got in). And during our ride it stormed and hailed !!!!! Black rolling clouds, big huge hail. Thank God for helmet laws!! But….we somehow made the best of it all…got them rings on our fingers……and that was 16 1/2 years ago. I so agree with what you said, I think we were brought through the bad times, the hardest time, in order to enjoy the good so much more the 2nd time around. Things sure do happen for a reason. I have to believe that, because I can’t come up with any other reason why God would have hailed on me that bad otherwise. Wishing you all many years of happiness.

Reply

Teary eyed. Oh my goodness, what a simply God sent love story! The ceremony was gorgeous, the lace dress is amazing and all the photos. Crying again. Ooodles and oodles of congrats to your new family, thank you so much for sharing!

Reply

Congratulations! What a beautiful wedding and an even more beautiful family! I got married 2 1/2 years ago in Hawaii right near Waikiki. It’s a day that I wish I could relive over and over again!

Reply

Beautiful post! I’m so happy for you! It sure takes a special man to step in and mend broken hearts and deal with all our crazy insecurities. Haha. Ok I’m taking about me there!

My favorite wedding part was when I was walking down the aisle- I had my two boys in front of me and my youngest (3 at the time so Brooke’s age) he also got a little shy like Brooke and just ran up into James arms. Burst into tears about how lucky I was to have such an amazing guy that my kid found comfort in him over grandparents or even me. It’s my favorite picture of our whole day!

Congrats again!

Reply

I seriously just choked up reading this post!! So precious!!! I am so happy for you all and know Brooke and Knox are so blessed to have you as parents!

Reply

Oh this is SO special! I think this may be my first time commenting! My husband and I had our son young, unplanned, while in college. We didn’t get married till he was 3, so having him in our wedding was the most amazing thing! And my mom totally planned like 95 percent of our wedding also, moms are the BEST

And my all time favorite flower is lily of the valley!

Darlene
http://www.thewanderlustmoms.com

Oh and we just got back from a caribbean cruise and stopped in mexico, you weren’t kidding. its pretty fantastic!

Reply

Great pics and the bride is lovely. You done good!

I got married to my lovely wife nearly 20 years ago (next May is 20th). We were traveling from my previous assignment in Germany where we met and she did me the honor of getting married at my alma mater. Everyone from the wedding party had to fly in – so I guess it was a destination wedding. But so worth it.

We got married here: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Interior_of_West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.JPG with the world’s largest church organ playing. http://www.usma.edu/chaplain/SiteAssets/SitePages/Cadet%20Chapel/cadet_chapel.png

We had a lovely rehearsal dinner the night before and a great reception at the Hotel Thayer overlooking the Hudson River.

https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/the-thayer-hotel-at-west-point-west-point-ny-877987

Shortly after we took a short honeymoon in St Lucia and then drove from NY to KY to drop off my car. Then we flew out to California to pick up her stuff and U-Haul truck and trailer with her car back to KY again. So Germany to NY, NY to St Lucia and back, then NY to KY, then CA to KY. It was some 3-4 weeks.

Reply

Yay! Thanks for sharing your perfect day with us! You all look fabulous and the photos are lovely!!

Reply

I love these pictures! Lindsey captured all of your personalities so well, especially those two adorable kiddos. Congratulations again for finding such happiness :)
Found my guy right away, and have been married over 14 years! He’s still my best friend.
Favorite flower is definitely a gardenia. We have them growing all over town and I’m constantly stopping to smell them.

Reply

Another congratulations to your gorgeous little family :) Each and every photo made me smile big – especially the one of Brooke and Knox! Looks like you had the most WONDERFUL day and the photos turned out amazing!!

Reply

This was so beautiful!! The pictures, your dress. I’m in love with how perfect little Brooke is! I have a soft spot for little girls. I wish I looked half as good as you on my wedding day.

I got married 5 years ago to my best friend whom I met while he was dating another girl. I was about to graduate from BYU, and since I was from Peru, my student visa would expire and I’d have to go home and I was okay with that. Of course, 9 months before that happened, I met my husband, we became best friends and went on friend dates, it took him a while to break up with his girlfriend (who, ironically, got sent on a mission to Peru), we started dating 3 weeks after she left, got engaged 4 months later and married 3 months after that in the Bountiful temple. We have a 3 1/2 year old girl named Savannah and she’s all kinds of perfect. :) Marriage has been all I’ve expected it to be, it’s been wonderful, but also very challenging and hard at times. Both my husband and I have flaws, but both of us are willing to put the effort to make our marriage last for eternity. He’s my person. I’m so glad you have found your person too! And thanks for giving me a chance to have my little love story here.

Reply

Congrats!! This makes me so excited for my wedding!! I’m so happy for you guys and everyone looked amazing!! Lovely to have a nice big loving family too!! I love the pics girl!!

Reply

What a beautiful dress, what a wonderful wedding. Congratulations again, Janae and Andrew. Wishing you a life time of happiness together.

Reply

I know I am in tears now! Thank you for sharing this happiness with the world. May God bless y both.

Reply

What a beautiful post! You truly reminded me of all the incredible moments from my wedding and why I chose to marry the man that I did. Thank you for that, as it can sometimes be forgotten in the daily grind of life!!

Reply

I love Brooke in all these photos!

What a cutie!

My fav flower is definitely the lily. I love white lilies, water lilies, and pink lilies — Easter is my favorite because of the Easter lilies my church gets filled with. Bonus – they smell bomb!

Reply

Beautiful!!!!!❤️❤️❤️

Reply

That was SO much fun to read! Thanks for sharing! Congrats, I am so glad you found your person!

Reply

i LOVED THIS SO MUCH!!! hugs and love to you all!

Reply

Congrats Janae!! So happy for you!!

Reply

Thank you for sharing this precious day with us! I loved everything you wrote about your feelings and the ceremony.

Seems like we have a lot in common apart from running – many details of your wedding resemble mine (tomorrow is our 4th anniversary) :)

Reply

Thanks for sharing such wonderful memories!!! My heart is filled with Joy for you <3

Reply

Aw, I absolutely love this post!! You and your family are so beautiful, inside and out! I’m so glad you had a wonderful day and loved reading through this post! Congratulations to you and your family, and all the best! <3

Reply

I just got married in May and we actually ELOPED!! Planned it in two weeks. I rented my dress from Rent the Runway, he flew into California from Germany (where he’s stationed) the day before. The day of, we ordered his rental tux..yes, the same day! While he got a haircut, I got my hair done, and then we drove to Big Sur, CA where we got married in the woods. We only had my parents there, and our Pastor friend do the ceremony and it was perfect in every way; and we couldn’t imagine doing it differently. I still can’t believe we did it. Needless to say, everyone was pretty shocked to hear the news.
The next day we returned our attire, hopped on a plane, and did an Alaskan cruise for our honeymoon, only to return and immediately fly to Germany where we now live as husband and wife. <== I don't think that'll ever get old to say!

Reply

LOVED this update…and the pics! So stunning. What a special day. Thanks for sharing with us!

Reply

Absolutely beautiful! I am so happy for you!

I read your blog and it gives me hope. Everything happens as it should and in Divine timing. I went through a difficult breakup a few months ago and my heart is still hurting pretty badly. Reading your story makes me feel that trusting everything to work out as it should is the best plan. Thank you for always being so open and honest. And most of all for sharing your wonderful faith!

Gratefully,
Amanda

Reply

So beautiful. I love how you talk about your husband and family. People and relationships are the absolute most prized possessions anyone can have in my opinion as well, so hearing this warms my heart. Everything just looks so wonderful for you and I love how happy you all are. <3

Reply

This made me tear up. I am so, so happy for you. Having followed this blog for years and years, I feel like I know you, so I am super happy you have found such happiness. It clearly shows in these photos! :)

Reply

My husband and I got married in April 2009. We were both 29 and not terribly traditional. We decided we’d have a BBQ for all of our friends, co-workers, and family (about 500 people!!!) the night before our sealing in the Mt. Timp temple. Then we’d let our parents do whatever additional celebrations they wanted because we didn’t care about the details. Our BBQ was casual, fun, held at a park, and a lot of people said it was the best because it was just a big party and not fussy. We then had a formal reception (completely done by my parents) at my hometown and another reception (done by my in-laws) at my husband’s hometown. All the “events” were great and indicative of our philosophy that weddings are not the important thing. Marriage is. I’ve never regretted letting our moms go to town and do whatever they wanted for our receptions because it made them so happy and so proud and at the end of the day I was hanging out with my best friend. Nothing better than that.

Reply

I am getting married in a month and a half… I can’t wait! I have done 99% of the planning myself so I am stoked to see how it all comes together. We are getting married in a botanical garden in the fall :)

My favorite flowers are peonies… and lilacs… neither of which will be in my wedding since they are super seasonal!

Reply

These pictures are absolutely incredible! Your flowers were so gorgeous and I just love how in love and happy you and Andrew look! :)

Reply

Gorgeous pictures! This made me so excited for my wedding next May! My fiance and I have been together for 8 years, and I can’t wait to be surrounded my family and our closest friends to embark on the next chapter of our lives.

My favorite flower is a sunflower, so it won’t be in season for my wedding.

Reply

Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos with us. I am so happy for you. You deserve all the happiness in the world.

Reply

Janae this is so amazing to see and hear about after all these years. You deserve all of this and more. Congratulations!

Reply

Congratulations Janae, Andrew, Brook and Knox! You can just see the love flowing out of you in these pictures. I am so happy that you found the happiness you deserve. As a woman who is considering her marriage and if she can stay much longer, I find relief in that there is another person out there for us; we all deserve happiness.

Reply

Where did this take place? It’s just gorgeous!

Reply

These photos are BEAUTIFUL!!! Seriously, all of them! Thank you for showing us your special day. And look at that family you have now – you are one blessed lady! Wishing you decades of happiness <3

Reply

Absolutely gorgeous!! Thank you so much for sharing the moments of your life with us…big and small. We absolutely love you. Sending you all hugs from Michigan!

Reply

What a beautiful family and a lovely selection of photos to remember the day by! Many congratulations to you both.

Leave a Reply to Blaire E Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *