Nearly four years ago, two full-grown adults were forced to move desks because they were flirting too much at work.
Lynn and Jim met while working at a local credit union—their desks originally faced one another before they got in trouble and Jim’s desk was moved. But that didn’t stop them, as they moved their long conversations to happy hours and soon started dating.
“Lynn is quite a bit younger than I am, so I figured there wouldn’t be any romantic leanings and that we would just be good friends. Over the course of three months of spending time together, we became more than friends and an extraordinary romance blossomed,” Jim explains.
On Valentine’s Day, he took her out to a local restaurant and proposed, but without a ring. He wanted her to be able to pick out exactly what she wanted—something Lynn loves (almost) as much as she loves him.
For their wedding ceremony, the bride and groom shared not only traditional vows, but also their own personal retelling of their love story in front of friends and family before being pronounced husband and wife.
Guests were then whisked away for cocktail hour while the ceremony site was transformed for the reception, which (despite Jim’s initial trepidation) included an incredibly popular photo booth. “Jim teased me when I suggested it and asked if I also wanted to rent some clowns and a little clown car,” Lynn remembers. “He thought it was too informal for a wedding, but it ended up being the hit of the party. Everyone took turns putting on funny hats and making faces at the camera.”
As opposed to a traditional “sign-here” guestbook, they had guests put their photo booth shots (crazy props and all) next to their congratulations. Another highlight of the evening was their swoon-worthy cake by Something Sweet Bakery, in delicate blush and soft ivory petals with a whimsical “As You Wish” topper—a nod to The Princess Bride, a film Lynn watched many times growing up.
With the wedding day over, the newlyweds are looking forward to the rest of their own fairy tale romance and, as Lynn puts it, “a lifetime of adventures with my best friend.”
—Jennifer Resnicke
First Dance Song
"Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran
Father/Daughter Dance Song
"My Wish" by Rascal Flatts
Mother/Son Dance Song
"My Wish" by Rascal Flatts
Cake Cutting Song
"How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" by James Taylor
Last Dance Song
"Come Away With Me" by Nora Jones
Details about the flowers
Since we were getting married at “Wine & Roses”, I chose to decorate primarily with blush and ivory roses. I used white hydrangeas and white veronica to accompany the roses. I was a bit scared to do the flowers myself, but a few family members helped me put the arrangements together and I was so pleased with the result. They flowers exceeded my expectations and I received many compliments from my guests. I ordered the roses and veronica from Fifty Flowers. I ordered the hydrangeas from Sams Club.
Details about the favors
Little silver picture frames purchased from The Knot. I also used them as the place settings.
Anything else you’d like to share about your wedding?
My favorite part of the wedding was the vows. The wedding theme was fairy-tale romance, and Reverend Tim captured that sentiment perfectly when he read our love story to our guests. I think everyone liked hearing how we met and came together from our different perspectives, and that by witnessing our marriage it made them feel like they were all a part of the story now.
Any tips you’d give brides and grooms planning their wedding today?
Book your venue before you do anything else. I thought I wanted a black and white formal wedding, but when I found Wine & Roses I fell in love with the romantic feel of the space and changed to a blush and ivory color scheme. I’m glad I did so before I got too far along in the planning process. It also helped to have lots of photos of the venue to refer back to and be able to visualize what it would all look like when the tables, linens, and décor all came together in the space.
Try to organize things so you don’t have any responsibilities on the day of the wedding. You don’t want to spend your wedding day running around coordinating people or making sure everything is in the right place, find people you trust to do things and know that they will. The day will go by in a blink and it’s much better to relax and enjoy it. I really liked that the venue coordinated the food, service, bar, table, chairs, linens, set-up and take-down all in one place. I didn’t have to shop around for these things or worry about them on the day of the wedding. I knew these things were all being taken care of by the venue and could just relax and enjoy getting ready with my bridesmaids.
