Rachel & Casey | Fredericksburg Country Club Wedding

The ceremony.

It’s the most overlooked part of the wedding day, if you ask me. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the details of the wedding, that the ceremony takes a back seat. It’s a given, after all.

Of course we’re going to get up there and we’ll exchange rings and give a quick kiss, but the real question is are we going to go with the eggshell or linen white paper for the invitations?!

Which is funny, because the ceremony is the whole reason a wedding is a wedding, after all. You invited everyone on those eggshell white invitations to party with you all night because you just made a promise before God and a hundred witnesses that you will love another person until you die.

That’s big stuff.

And Rachel & Casey know that. So when Rachel wrote to me, telling me how important her church was to her, I knew her heart and mine were in the same place. It just makes telling their story that much more meaningful. 

She told me it was the church she grew up in. The church that has seen baptisms, confirmations, communions, and funerals for her family.

And now, finally, a wedding.

The day was perfect. It rained most of the morning and cleared up into brilliant sunshine by the time the Rachel and Casey had said “I do.” Friends and family came from far and wide to be with the couple, and save for a few sour jokes about traffic on I-95, everyone was in a completely joyful mood.

Rachel’s mom passed away when she was younger, but as Rachel’s sister and dad gave their heartfelt toasts at the reception, they affirmed how proud and joyful she would be to see Rachel marrying the love of her life. As Casey’s brother gave the best man’s toast, he noted how special Rachel was for getting that “unique Breslin humor.” And even though it was two separate families coming together that day, it felt like one.

When you look at these pictures, you see Rachel and Casey joining their lives together. You can see how the memories of loved ones were honored, and how  family and friends stood by them on the day they became husband and wife.

Because “I do” is just the beginning.