Yesterday I was going through old files on my computer and ended up stumbling across our wedding video. We got married the summer following my college graduation and my husband’s completion of his master’s degree. When I planned our wedding I didn’t have nearly as much experience and knowledge as I do now, so I turned to my family and close friends to find out the items that were most important to them on their wedding day, as well as any items they forgot.

The one thing my sister wished she had from her wedding was a wedding video. When we talked about it, I honestly hadn’t even thought about a wedding video (even though I went to film school!). I promptly reached out to some close friends to see if they would be willing to film the ceremony and anything else was a plus! What ensued was more than I could have ever asked for. After the wedding when I was editing the highlight video, I discovered moments that I totally missed on our wedding day! It was such a wonderful surprise to have so much footage to be able to cherish.

As I watched our wedding video again, it was bittersweet. Since the wedding, we’ve lost my grandfather, but having the memory of him on our wedding day and seeing him in the video was the most satisfying. :)

Wedding days can be really stressful, but I was so surprised at how calm I was the morning of our wedding. There were really only three moments in the entire day that I felt my heart drop (in a good way!) at the magnitude of the commitment I was finally making.

Now, I’m not a cryer (at least I didn’t think I was), but about twenty minutes before the ceremony I sat down and finally had a chance to read Benjamin’s letter to me. I think I got through “To My Loving Brittani” before the tears started welling up. I have no clue how I held them back, but I took a deep breath and somehow finished the letter. :)

The second moment was when my dad and I exited the farmhouse to start the walk down the aisle. We paused at the edge of the doorway and the realization struck… I was finally getting married! I was finally starting life as a committed and married woman. In the moment I realized I had absolutely no idea what I was committing to, which was terrifying but also super exciting.

The third moment was as Benjamin and I were getting ready to enter the reception. We had picked a song with a weird beat as our first dance and had every intention of practicing. In that moment just before we were announce, I realized we FORGOT to rehearse! It ended up in the best first dance with tons of spins and dips.

I would love for you to experience a little snippet of our day, so if you want to as well, feel free to watch our highlight film!

The McFaddens from Brittani McFadden on Vimeo.