Becoming Mr. + Mrs. Winkelmann
I'll admit, I'm prone to using hyperboles in my everyday talk. A lot of my sentences sound like, "that's the (enter extreme adjective) I've ever seen in my whole entire life!" or "I'm starving," etc. Usually of which, I don't mean to be taken literally, obviously.
But believe me when I say this, March 4, 2018 was truly the best day of my life. Marrying my best friend surrounded by the best group of people was the sweetest gift from the Lord. It's hard to believe that we've been Mr. and Mrs. Winkelmann for over a month (!!!) so I felt like it was time to share the pictures and details of the best day of my entire life.
The week leading up to the wedding was memorable to say the least, and I mean that in the best way possible. It was all of the emotions + stress + butterflies + wondering how the heck everything was going to come together + soaking up time with my friends. But during this week, I have never felt so loved. It felt like the Lord was whispering to all my insecurities telling me, "see how much I love you, see these people I've put in your life— they care about you."
My girls rallied behind me, they cried with me, laughed with me, became florists for me, ran errands for me, brought me coffee, went to Whataburger with me at midnight, and made me feel so incredibly celebrated. To say I could not have done it without them is an understatement.
Halfway through wedding week Grant came into town, with buckets and buckets of the most colorful flowers I had ever seen (again, not a hyperbole). When I saw him and all of the flowers he had grown for the wedding, my heart melted. I was as smitten as ever.
The morning of the wedding I woke up in my little white house with a red door in College Station, Texas with all of my best friends. We ate quiches, drank mimosas, and got dressed in our sweats and fuzzy socks before heading out to Peach Creek.
The hours before the ceremony were the sweetest combination of coffee and dancing and tacos and friendship and lots and lots of hairspray. I wanted so bad to slow time down and just soak up that moment. All my girls in one place.
As we got ready, our friends and family served their tails off helping to decorate the venue. They laid and ironed all the linens, set out candles and picture frames and coffee cups, and made the place look better than I could have imagined. Bobbi Padgett from Unforgettable Floral came and simply knocked it out of the park. She took all of the flowers Grant grew and made all my flower dreams come true. When I saw my bouquet, I got a little misty-eyed. I was over the moon.
Our ceremony was held under the pavilion at Peach Creek, and although that was our backup rain plan, I wouldn't have wanted it anywhere else. The string lights, the beautiful floral arch, and all our favorite people nestled under the same roof made for the coziest ceremony. No feeling matches that of walking down the aisle to the love of your life looking right at you, knowing moments later you will be husband and wife. We shared our vows, exchanged rings, and took communion before we finally got to be pronounced Mr. and Mrs. Winkelmann. Walking away hand in hand with my HUSBAND was the best feeling in the world.
As the invitation said, there was dancing, gelato and pizza to follow! The reception was the best party of my life. I wish I could throw yearly parties with all of our closest friends and family in one place because it was just that fun. Between the kindest toasts from Grant's best man and my maid of honor to hugging the necks of loved ones we hadn't seen in awhile, we did our best to soak in everything around us. And we danced amidst confetti and bubbles and glowsticks with all of our friends.
I share this with you because when I think about our wedding, I think about how sweet our Jesus is. Nothing about this day was because of us- it was all Him. He gave us the gift of marriage and He gave us these friendships. By His grace, He joined two broken people together for His Kingdom's purposes, not our own. We feel so undeserving, because we are. We don't deserve this grace he's given, but that's just who He is. He lavishes good gifts on us because He loves His children.
When I think about the feelings of excitement and longing leading up to the wedding, knowing now how much joy is on the other side, I think about how marriage is a picture of the gospel. As believers, we are all in this season of excitement and longing for our Jesus to return. We are Christ's bride, anxiously awaiting his triumphant arrival. And man, I can only imagine how much joy is on the other side.
Marriage— what a thing to celebrate.
xoxo,
Mrs. Winkelmann;)
venue: Peach creek ranch
photographer: audrey spiars photography
videographer: sarah stiponavich
florist: unforgettable floral
Flowers: Texas specialty cut flowers
day-of coordination: all things planned
specialty linens: Ashley & Co.
bride cake: Kate Newberry
groom cake: carly cakes sweets
bridal gown: brickhouse brial
suits: joseph a bank
ties: dazi
bridesmaids dresses: azazie