Hello everyone!
We finally got our wedding photos back and we wanted to share them with all of you. We are very pleased with the outcome. Each photo so beautifully describes our day-from getting ready to our first dance to the moment when we left our reception. If you weren't able to make it to our wedding, we hope that these pictures allow you to capture the joyful essence of such a wonderful day. ENJOY!
The wedding ceremony was held at Oakleaf Christian Fellowship in Orange Park, Florida. The setting wasn't exactly traditional. OCF meets in a renovated warehouse with concrete floors and stage lighting. On paper, the church doesn't sound like an ideal venue for wedding, but don't be deceived. The church was set up so beautifully and the pictures emphasize that. The intimacy created by the lighting, stage design, flowers, and music made our ceremony personal and special for each of our guests. Clay Tillman from Anything with Plants and Flowers designed the flower arrangements and added the trees to the stage. I love stargazer lilies because David gave me a bouquet of them for my 21st birthday. Clay made these lilies the centerpiece of every floral arrangement-from the bouquets to the urns placed on either side of the kneeling
bench. Candles adorned the modern screens set up on stage. The groomsmen lit them just before the ceremony began. Brian Wages, the worship leader from OCF performed the song "Take My Life" as our grandparents, our mothers, and bridal party entered the sanctuary. Stephanie Ayres, who also created the wedding day up-dos, sang "Be Thou My Vision," accompanied by Brian Wages, as I was escorted down the aisle by my dad. It was such a wonderful moment!
The ceremony progressed through a scripture reading from the book of Colossians, the ministers homily and our vows. David and I decided that as our first act of marriage we would take communion together. As David and I knelt on the bench, David's cousin Benjamin sang "How Beautiful" and our guests began roaring in laughter. Why you may ask. Well, the groomsmen decided to write "HELP ME" on the bottom of David's shoes with white out.
It was so funny. Everyone thought I'd be upset, but every wedding needs a little comic relief, of some variety. Thank goodness my dress wasn't tucked in my slip! After communion and still while Benjamin sang, we performed the Unity Sand Ceremony. Then it was official. With a blessing from the book of Romans and a kiss, we were pronounced husband and wife.
Then came the party. As some of you may know, planning this wedding wasn't exactly smooth sailing. We decided to move the reception just eight days before the wedding from the church to the Winterbourne at Club Continental.
This historic house, set on the St. Johns River, was a gorgeous backdrop for our reception. David and I arrived at the reception in a limo-termed "the Land Yacht." We greeted some of our guests and then took pictures by the river with our bridal party and by ourselves. Soon after, we made our way inside to introduced and share our first dance. We danced to "You are so Beautiful" by Joe Cocker. After eating, it was time to dance- songs including, "Dancing Queen," "The Cha-Cha Slide," "Jump" and an interesting rendition of "Beat It."
Our wedding day was special for more than one reason. It was my grandmother's 75th birthday. After the best man and maid of honor offered their toasts, David asked all of our guests to join and sing Happy Birthday to a very special lady. Granny was so surprised and I'm glad that we could bless her as much as she's blessed us. Following the cutting of our cake and a classy cake fight, there was more dancing including a personal favorite, "The Chicken Dance," "The Electric Slide," and the "YMCA." Alli, our emcee called all the couples in the room to the dance floor for a special dance- the Couple's Dance-to the song "Unforgettable." David's grandparents won. They've been married over 50 years. Next, the bouquet toss and garter toss... David went "diving" for the garter. My former roommate, Shailyn caught the bouquet and our good friend, Mike caught the garter. It was a great reception and a fun way to lead up to our grand exit. A shower of bubbles sent us on our way as we climbed into the limo.
July 19, 2008 was an amazing day! It was more than we could ever ask for. We are so happy that we moved our reception. We were able to spend more time with our family and friends and the charm of the late-1800s house proved to be the special element we wanted our wedding day to include. We hope if your weren't able to make it to our wedding that this description made you feel like you were there. Thank you to everyone for all of your love and support. David and I are so blessed to have each of you in our lives.
We've posted a slideshow with some of the wedding photos. If you are interested in seeing more visit
www.labranchephotography.com. Click on "Clients," then "Weddings." Look for "Sarah and David." The password is "Senn."
Grace and Peace to everyone!
Mrs. Sarah Senn
