this is the day that rachel and nick became man and wife. it was an honor (and what. a. ride!) to be the one given the opportunity to walk through the entire day, from start to finish, with rachel, her closest girlfriends, and then nick and his men. the joining of two lives is something amazing, spiritual, and oh-so-magical.
after hairdos were complete, we gals headed out to the cedar falls rotary reserve for the rest of the wedding day.
isn't this cake gorgeous?! hyvee did the catering and blew me away with their work!
rachel's gift to her girls was matching tanks that they all wore while getting ready—such a neat idea!
these two opted to do a first look—which made me love this wedding so much more! it helped the day run so smoothly...especially with the crazy weather (more on that later;) and allowed them to spend most of the day with each other instead of just the evening. not to mention...we got some STELLAR photos!
pretty sure rachel took his breath away!
nick led them in prayer...so sweet!
is she not radiant?! such a beautiful bride. :)
a few of the fun details! the chord on the right was braided during the ceremony...I love it!
prayer inside before the ceremony. this entire day was sprinkled with prayer! and the love they showed to not only one another, but their friends and family all day long continually pointed towards Christ.
one thing I didn't mention before is that all week Rachel & I had been checking the weather—because they were planning to wed outdoors. Sunday came, and the skies were mostly clear—although it had said 70-80% chance of rain! you'd better believe we were excited. it stayed gorgeous all through their photos, wedding party photos, and even family photos. YES. we were stoked. then, about 15 minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to start, it thundered once, thundered twice, and poured. rain rain rain rain. I was outside when the downpour started and snapped a few photos of the short but day-altering rainshower as we ran for cover!
chairs & tables inside were quickly re-arranged, the guest re-seated, and soon things were rolling again as smooth as if the wedding had been planned to be indoors all along!
nick just beamed when rachel walked towards him down the aisle!
married! kissing! yay! ;)
the weather cleared up and the the sun came out to dry off the grounds just as soon as the ceremony was starting. nick and rachel shared a sweet first dance outside... and then the real party began!
nick and rachel, your wedding day was so beautiful. you two are doing it right—and it's going to be an amazing journey of life together. no doubt about it, you're going to have so many awesome adventures as the Johnsons!
xoxo,
amelia
