Hickman House

I am a horrible blogger- I write posts and then never publish them. Here is one I wrote a few days ago on surviving your wedding day.

With quite a bit of friends getting married this year, and next, I have been asked many questions about wedding planning do's and don'ts. When it comes down to it, there are a BILLION different websites, books, and blogs telling you what to do on your wedding day. Some of them true,  some of them pretty silly. So with that being said I have compiled my own list of tips to surviving your wedding day. Hopefully this will help someone on their big day!

1. Get PLENTY of sleep. You are going to be exhausted at the end of the day. Don't plan to spend the night before your big day out. You want to be well rested to enjoy your day, call it a night pretty early.

2. Have a coordinator. I can't stress this enough. I literally have no clue how I would have survived without mine. She kept us on time, on task, and organized the whole day (the whole year, really). Thanks a million, Jami!

3. Surround yourself with energetic people. My girls kept me upbeat, hydrated, and fed all day long. Every few minutes one would ask me how I was feeling.

4. Have a buffer. This might seem silly, but it really will help your stress level. The bride doesn't need to know what is wrong, or who is late. The buffer is usually the coordinator. Let them deal with the issues, that is what they are pros at.

5. Find quite time in your day. I sat down with my bible, and my computer. I enjoyed the calm moments before the festivities started.

6. Do NOT, I repeat do not try to do anything on your wedding day. Hire people to do it for you, or ask super awesome family members that are willing to help. Wake up, eat breakfast, and get ready. That is ALL you need to be doing that day. You do not want to get overwhelmed.

7. Ask your friends and family to kindly wait to post pictures until after the ceremony. Of anything wedding related, not just you in your dress. That probably goes without saying, but you never know!

8. Have a wedding day survival kit ready. You just never know who will need a safety pin, lip gloss, or an old credit card to break into the house that you're getting ready in..hehe.

9. Be comfortable. You don't want to put your dress on until you are about to head out, so wear something that will be comfortable while you're getting ready. Also- reception shoes are a must. Heels will kill your feet all night long.

10. Last but not least- leave your phone in your bag. You have everyone you need there with you, use your phone as less as possible. Be in the moment.

You want to really be present in the day, remember every moment, and enjoy it!

Today marks three whole months of sweet, sweet marriage for Sam and I. What better way to celebrate another month down that to wrap up our wedding with the final recap. I have to say I thought I would be much more sad now that everything is over- but I am really not. I am just so happy to finally be married. I can't wait to see the plans that God has for us unfold! I can't wait to share with you how newlywed life is! So here is the very last wedding post for us Hickmans: The details. This will probably be my favorite post since the details was my favorite part. I am a believer that a wedding should reflect who you are as people, and as a couple. I think our wedding did just that!

When it came to planning our reception we wanted only one thing- GOOD food. I wasn't fussy about the venue, the center pieces, or anything of that sort. I mean obviously I wanted it to look nice, but we really wanted our guest to enjoy a good meal. We went back and forth with the menu a couple of times, changed it a few more, but I think in the end it was perfect. We picked roasted carved beef, served with au jus and horseradish sauce, BBQ Chicken, collard greens, mac and cheese, a mashed potato bar, and rolls. Sam and I both enjoyed it so much. We mad ourselves sit for a minute and take in our special day. I am so glad we did. I am hoping our guests enjoyed their dinner as much as we did. It was even more delicious knowing that some of our favorite people help prepare our wedding meal for us. (We're looking at you Mom and Jon!)



Back to the reception- When we first arrived the bridal party and ourselves came in to Crazy Train by Ozzy. We tried to incorporate some Braves elements into our day, and if you're a real braves fan you know that Crazy Train was Chippers walk out song. So it was perfect- and we had fun with it.



After dinner then came the Daddy/Daughter dance and the Mother/Son dance. My dad and I decided to dance to Daughters by John Mayer. We both really loved the song even before I got engaged- we are also not very sappy people so it was the perfect amount of sap for us. Sam and his mom decided to dance to the Bee Gees Wedding Day. Those were really special moments that Sam or I will never forget. Then it was on to our toasts. Both of Sam's brothers, my cousin Danette, and friend Blair made our toasts. They were all so special to us. We laughed with them, and even shed a few tears. It was so sweet.

After the special dances and toasts it was time to cut the cake. Our amazing cake was made by my Aunt Lorie (and her hubby, Uncle Jay!) who is the glue behind Cottage Café and Crumb de la Crumb in Nashville. Seriously, check them out. Our cake design was far better than anything I could have imagined. We picked the flavors Red Velvet and Tennessee Whiskey for our cake. I didn't have an actual piece of my wedding cake until last week- but it was heavenly.


After cake is was time to party. We had the pleasure of having our family play some music for us. As most of you know, Sams brother, my dad, my brother, and a few of our close friends are in a band called Jaded Mayberry. Well they played, and we had a few guest appearances by my mom, Turner and my uncle Ricky. It was so much fun! We had a blast.