THE FIRST & OUR WEDDING {part two}

megan brendan gielow wedding

When Brendan and I were engaged, I had a Personal Friday countdown everyday on the blog with some tidbit about us.  I miss sharing a regular personal post, so in honor of actually attempting to accomplish my resolutions this year {woot!}, I’m bringing it back!

I’ve been waiting and waiting and WAITING to share our wedding photos because I wanted to make sure I had the time to invest in a full, descriptive blog post.  And, to be honest, it’s been a really rough week in the Gielow household because we’ve been dealing with some catastrophic house issues.  It cheered me up to look through our wedding pictures, reminisce, and now share!

I have some exciting things to share in the near future on Personal Friday posts {nothing that starts with “b” and ends with a “y”}.  Y’all will find out soon enough! :)

 

{All photos in this post © Sean Flanigan}

gielow wedding photosbagdley mischka shoes

I spent MONTHS looking for the perfect shoes.  I wanted them to be our wedding color {sea glass}, which was not an easy find.  These Badgley Mischka shoes were perfect!  And, comfortable!

strapless, sweetheart, trumpet wedding dress

I bought my dress at J. Major’s Bridal Boutique in Charlotte, and I couldn’t be more pleased!  The ladies are absolutely wonderful to work with, and there is a great collection of dresses to choose from.

wedding on the beach

We had the most indecisiveness and conflict about where we wanted to have our ceremony and reception.  Brendan and I are such sentimental people that we wanted our venues to have personal meaning to us and our relationship.  We considered hosting the wedding in Charlotte, but 95% of our guest list was native to Michigan {where we both lived until we left for college}.  We ended up deciding to have the ceremony at my family’s cottage on Lake Michigan.  It was the house that I grew up in, the place where Brendan and I had our first kiss & first date, and the home that my family & friends have shared so many memories in.  Not to mention, the venue is incredibly beautiful and unique.

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I was extremely calm all morning until I put my dress on.  Then, the butterflies came.

bride putting on garter

Choosing bridesmaid dresses was a little bit of a headache!  I had originally envisioned my girls wearing different light turquoise and sea glass dresses…not from a bridal shop.  However, the majority of our time spent searching was in the winter, and that color was not in season and not easy to find!  My friends did a wonderful job of finding dresses in different shades that looked fabulous.  I was so happy with the result!

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Erin Quaine at Provence Salon has done my hair since I was 15, and she was the only person I would trust for our wedding day. I loved the waterfall braid and curls.

megan gielow lange weddingemotional dad seeing bride first time

This moment always makes me tear up a little bit. When my dad saw me for the first time, he had been raking leaves around the house.  I remember him saying, “I’m not dressed!”  I replied, “I don’t care!  Give me a hug!” :)  I love that Sean captured the rakes falling just out of my dad’s hand.

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After much deliberation, Brendan and I decided to do a first look.  We were convinced by some friends who had recently been married.  I had also seen numerous clients of my own have such intimate, emotional first looks.

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^ My giddy face!

megan and brendan wedding pictures

I was SO SO SO glad that we did a first look. We had much more time to delegate for photos during the day, and I loved getting to see Brendan all afternoon, rather than only in the evening.  It didn’t take away from the ceremony…not even in the least.  In fact, I think I was able to enjoy the processional more because we had seen each other before.

dad taking photos with iphone

My dad was SHOCKED that we took photos by the rusty shed.  I loved the rustic texture {thanks Sean for choosing it!}.  My dad and brother snuck over after we did our first look to grab a couple of photos…with his iPhone!! My dad barely knows how to use his phone, so it shocked me that he was able to take photos with it!

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We did a mini-shoot before family photos.

grandfather with bride

This is me showing my grandfather my grandmother’s pin that I had put on my bouquet in her memory.  I was sad that she wasn’t able to live to see me get married, but I’m so thankful to have him around.

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Brendan’s grandpa.

grandfather in tux

These two photos just make me giggle and smile.  My grandfather with his “friend” June.

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Our entire family together :)  Langes on the left, Gielows on the right.

Me with my grandpa, Brendan with his best woman and sister, Britni.

boat shoes

My grandpa rocked out his boat shoes all morning with the tux.  He’s just that awesome. :)

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Our gorgeous bridal party.

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My in-laws did a fabulous job rigging up the Jeep for our getaway car.

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Be sure to check back next Friday because I’ll be sharing photos from the ceremony!

 

{special thanks to Sean & Phil for taking such beautiful photos that we can share}

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  1. Martha Swann says:

    Megan, you look absolutely stunning in these! I wanted to cry!! Sean did such a sweet job photographing you as a bride :) Can’t wait to see the rest! XOXO

  2. ROXANNE says:

    Megan, Beautiful pictures! You should be a writer your picture discriptions are beautiful! You nailed your grandpas shoe pic perfectly! Pretty brave of you to let DR. Mark make your parking signs, It took me 20 years to be able to read his handwriting! LOL …..I love your site….You were a beautiful little girl and now a GORGEOUS women!

  3. Nicole says:

    I am trying to go for the same theme and am also having the same difficultly trying to find bridesmaid dresses. Where are yours from and what color? Thanks!!

  4. Megan says:

    Nicole, my bridesmaids bought them at different stores from different designers. I’m not 100% sure where they are all from! Sorry!