McKenzie and Matthew McPherson Wedding Story
Wedding Date
Saturday, November 17, 2018
November 17, 2018 was a cold, snowy and icy weekend. The snow freshly covered the ground and all the trees. It looked beautiful.
Our wedding day was quite perfect. We felt like everything went smoothly and we truly enjoyed our entire day/evening.
The day started with the girls getting ready at 7 AM at the Radisson Hotel in Bismarck, ND. Here we had a room filled with food and visiting. It was relaxing and fun to spend this time with my favorite girls!
Matt and I had our first look at the Heritage Center at 11 am. We took some photos here and some outside on the Bismarck Capitol grounds. Again, it was chilly, but the fresh snowfall was gorgeous! My sister and my personal attendant drove me there to meet him.
We then met our families and wedding party at a beautiful warehouse known as Co Studio to take photos.
After this, the wedding party took a Nightlife Limousine bus to the Century Baptist Church for our 3 pm wedding. Our photographer took a few more photos and then our pastor said a prayer before it began.
Soon, I walked down the aisle to enjoy our beautiful ceremony and vows.
Following the ceremony, the wedding party took a limousine to the Luft rooftop for a celebratory drink! Meanwhile, our guests filled our reception venue.
We arrived at Sixteen03 Main Events where we had our social hour, dinner and dance. The venue was everything we envisioned and was filled with many of our loved ones waiting for us.
We had one hour to visit with guests before our wedding party was introduced and dinner was served.
After dinner, Matt and I cut into our wedding cake from Sweet Treats. My father and I danced and then Matt and I followed. I felt so special and loved during both dances.
The night carried on with a lot dancing. Matt and I participated in almost every song and had a blast!
How We Met
Matt had recently moved to Breckenridge, Colorado to live with some high school friends and enjoy mountain life for one year. At the same time, I was in my freshman year at Jamestown College and as spring break approached, I decided to go visit my cousin, Brook, who just happened to be a childhood friend and current roommate of Matt's. As it turned out, the day I was to fly in to Denver, Brook was departing for a quick trip to Las Vegas. By default, I was forced to spend the first couple of days of my trip with Matt and the other roommates. A few months after this trip, we began dating.
Planning for Our Day
An important first step is to decide on the type of wedding you want to have. Formal or casual? Sit-down dinner/reception? Church ceremony or other? We had thirteen months to plan our wedding which was about a perfect timeframe. Here are a few ideas that helped us in our planning process.
-We were both very much involved in the planning. We each thought about what we wanted individually as far as the ceremony, the venue, our reception, our attire, etc. We then talked it through and came to an agreement about each of these.
-We decided to use multiple North Dakota vendors which provided a variety of style and personality. We were pleased with the results!
-Manage your time so that you don't take on too much too fast or end up stressing over too many details last minute.
-We learned to depend on other people for some of the details. That’s important because others have strengths and talents that you can utilize and can save you stress!
Hint for Brides
Compose a “day of” timeline. It is a necessity to keep you on-time and organized!
Get your rest the night before your wedding, as well as the week leading up to it.
As many people say, the day goes by so fast. Be present and enjoy each moment.
Do it together. Visit guests together and dance together. As exciting as it is to have everyone you care about it in one place, it is important to remember this day is about you and your spouse.