Guest Post : Notes from the Nelsens

Today is the day of Love- February 14th! I hope everyone has a happy and safe day whether it be with your best friends, family, or the love of your life! Today I have Heather stopping by to share some insight on her and her hubby's magical wedding day:

Hey there! I'm Heather Nelsen, and I write a lifestyle and foodie blog over at Notes from the Nelsens.

That cute guy in the picture with me is my hubby, Matt. We started dating in high school and got married six years later after graduating from Clemson (Go TIGERS!) and Furman. Six must be our lucky number because this year, on our sixth wedding anniversary, we found out we are expecting our first baby!



Just a little more about us- we're Atlanta natives who moved back to the city after college. We bought our first house in 2010 and flipped the entire thing before moving in. You can check out the whole-house renovation here, learn more about us (including goofy pictures of our high school dating years) here, and see a list of places we have traveled here.



Thanks to Lisa for inviting me to share about our wedding day! If you have any questions about anything I share, please feel free to contact me!

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Wedding Day: November 17, 2007

It's hard to believe this picture was taken over six years ago. So it only feels right to start off by saying- TIME FLIES! If you're currently planning a wedding or getting ready to enter this exciting stage of life, I encourage you to soak up every minute.

Don't sweat the small stuff. Invest in preparing for the marriage that will follow your big day, because the day AFTER your wedding is when the fun really begins.

How We Met: 

I'm actually sharing this oh-so-cheesy story on my blog today! You can check it out here.



Engagement Story:

Matt and I got engaged on January 12, 2007 at the Cliff's at Glassy Chapel in SC.

 Matt told me we were going to a birthday party for one of his friends whose parents had a place at the Cliffs. He had it all planned out- down to involving our friends who set up the chapel and hid in the bushes to take pictures, and his other friends who had scripted responses for when Matt called to say we were on our way to "the party". As we were driving up the mountain, Matt called one of his buddies and asked if many people were at the party yet and if we would have time to swing by the chapel. His friend, of course, said we had plenty of time since there were only a couple people there. ;) And "swinging by the chapel" was honestly not strange at all- Matt had told me about the view and said before that he really wanted to take me there. I was excited we were going to see it!

I was so clueless, in fact, that when Matt opened the doors and I saw the way the chapel was set up, I thought we were intruding on someone else's event. 

And then he told me it was for me. Swoon. ;)

So that's where the next chapter of our lives started.

Now to the Wedding Day:

How many bridesmaids did you have?

Ten! My sister, Matt's sister, 4 of my college roommates, and 2 of my best friends from high school and college. Matt had 10 groomsmen also- his dad as the best man, plus 9 of his best friends from childhood through college.

What was your color scheme?

Brown/aqua- I have a feeling this color scheme has the potential to turn into the shoulder pads of the 80s, but I loved it at the time, and I guess that's all that matters.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding day?

Honestly, having all of our closest family and friends there to celebrate with us made the day so incredibly fun. I realized within the last thirty minutes of the reception that this same group of people would likely not be together again until our funerals- which we would obviously not be there for. (Great end-of-the-Big-Day thought, right?!)

What was the most stressful thing about your wedding day?

Well, it's funny really, because the little stretch of stress occurred because my bridesmaids and I were having such a fun just relaxing that morning. All of the girls spent the night at the apartment that Matt and I would be living in, and the whole morning of the wedding was spent in our pajamas, cooking breakfast, singing and dancing, and losing track of time. Before we knew it, we were supposed to be at the church and had to frantically grab all of our stuff and GO! Once we got there, I realized I didn't have my bag with all of the shoes for our honeymoon, and also realized that I didn't have earrings. And by that I mean, I never actually bought earrings to wear on my wedding day. Oops! Thankfully, one of my sweet bridesmaids, Stephanie, gave me the ones she was wearing, which she happened to wear on her wedding day. What a friend!

That's Stephanie on the right. Pretty earrings, right?!

...Oh, and both of our wedding bands were delivered at the church because they had just finished them the day before. Close call- but it all worked out!

If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?

I would make our reception at least an hour longer! Time just flew by way too quickly!

What is one thing you did that you would recommend to other brides?

While our friends and family were eating, Matt and I walked around to each table to greet our guests and thank them for coming. It gave us a chance to connect with each person, even if for just a minute, and helped us to soak in the importance of the day and appreciate the people who had supported each of us throughout our lives to that point.

This is one of my favorite shots that a friends captured as we were walking back down the isle- that face is pure joy :)

What's your best piece of advice for future brides out there?

As I mentioned at the beginning- don't sweat the small stuff. Try hard to remember that the best part about the wedding day is that you'll be married after it's over! No matter what doesn't go exactly according to plan, no matter who has to cancel at the last minute, no matter if it rains or pours- at the end of the day, you get to start a new life with the person you love. And look forward to the honeymoon of course. ;)

Thanks again to Lisa for inviting me over today!

You can keep up with us daily on Instagram @hmnelsen or follow us here:

Is her wedding super adorable or what?  She got married on my birthday :) Her dress is stunning!  Love that red carpet! The couple is seriously the cutest right?  What is your favorite part of their wedding day? I'd love to hear what you think!