It’s been a hot minute since I blogged! And for that I’m incredibly sorry. Can we claim the nuttiness of 2020 and a packed Fall wedding season as the blame? ;) But I’m back on it, and I have a beautiful love story to share with y’all! Sherri and Nick’s elopement at Oak Hollow Farm was as private and personal as you dream an elopement should be. It was actually PERFECT. I asked Sherri to tell you their love story below, as I could never do it justice as she does!
When Nick and I got engaged back in November of 2018 I immediately began creating a picture in my mind of what our wedding day would look like. I agonized over what the date should be and wanted an outdoor spring wedding, but I was so worried about bad weather messing up my perfect vision. I finally settled on May 17th, 2020 and the countdown began!
Over the year and a half we were engaged I poured so much of my heart, time, and energy into the plans for our big day and we were only 2 months away from FINALLY seeing it all come together…then the pandemic hit.
To say I was crushed is an understatement, and I definitely went through all 5 stages of grief as I tried to cope with my perfect vision being altered…and to think I was most worried about bad weather! I would have given anything at that point to have just had some rain on my wedding day. Throughout quarantine and my grieving, however, Nick remained strong, steady, and patient only confirming to me that I had truly picked the right man to spend the rest of my life with. Slowly I began to pick up the pieces and come up with a plan B!
While our wedding day and the days leading up to it were nothing like I had pictured them to be…they held so many special moments for Nick and I that I don’t think could have happened if we had been surrounded by the hustle and bustle of our full wedding plan. We were actually able to slow down and really enjoy everything and keep the focus on each other!
Nick didn’t get to have the bachelor party he had planned, but he and I hung out and played video games, drank whiskey, smoked cigars, grilled burgers…and I may have gotten a second use out of an old sexy cop costume I wore for Halloween a few years back. I didn’t get to have my bachelorette beach trip, but Nick did surprise me with a spa day where we had couple’s facials, massages, pedicures, and relaxed on the beach afterward!
Then on our wedding day, after our ceremony was over, it began to rain. Nick and I went into the barn on the property where we got married and shared our first dance as husband and wife! Not played on a professional sound system by our DJ or surrounded by friends and family having conversation in the background. But to the sound of our song playing on a little bluetooth speaker and rain hitting the tin roof. Then on our way out to our car, we didn’t run through a tunnel of sparklers and people cheering…but we danced and kissed in the parking lot in the pouring rain!
While we ate dinner, we didn’t have wedding guests coming up to talk to us or take pictures as we tried to scarf down a catered meal. But we shared a romantic candlelight dinner back at our cottage talking and laughing with each other without any distractions! We didn’t get to party on the dance floor late into the night, but we did dance in our bathrobes and sing into hairbrushes to the Backstreet Boys. It truly was the most amazing day of my life even without all the perfectly laid plans I thought I needed for my wedding day to be special!
I guess if 2020 and this whole experience has taught me anything it’s to keep your eyes on what matters the most which is your faith, your health, and the people you love! Nick and I have been through so much together over the years that we dated…I think that God had a better plan for us to be able to share some truly special moments on our first day as husband and wife that we couldn’t have had if we had been surrounded by so many distractions.
We still plan to enjoy the big celebration we had planned out with friends and family in the future as a vow renewal, and maybe we will be able to relax and enjoy that day even more! But for now we are just enjoying being married in spite of the curveballs that 2020 has thrown our way. In sickness and in health, for better or for worse…LOVE never fails!
