from a smith in the south.

Greetings, friends! I'm writing to you as a married woman in beautiful Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Yeah, I'm not real mad about it.

I could write to you all for days about the dirty details of my wedding, but I'll save that for later. Here are some of my favorite things about our big day - and some photos to show you just how fabulous the weather was, how wonderful my mother's hard work and decorations turned out, and how beautiful the entire day was.

I cried like a baby. I held my shit together ALL day. Like, lockdown. Everyone kept asking me how I felt, and I was completely honest - I felt nothing. I did a great job at taking mental pictures of everything, and I'm still actively reviewing them all. But I didn't feel a single thing until I was walking down the aisle with my dad, and saw Rob standing up there. I think almost everyone there - including some of the most cold hearted of my friends - teared up. Tears are a good thing. I'm so happy I had them. They're proof that I was engaged.

I tried to cut our cake with the serving utensil instead of the knife. And to think I'm the good cook between the two of us.

Rob had a rip in his pants before the reception even started.

My dad did the sprinkler, the shopping cart, made everyone in the audience cry and did a kickass air guitar to Journey.

My grandpa did the Gangnam Style dance.

The night of our wedding, my new husband's main priority was jumping into a pool full of straight men in his boxers.

We're still eating leftover wedding cupcakes. Mojito was totally the way to go.

In closing, here's what you're really here for - some photos :)

Our amazing photographer participating in our hashtag fun - this was so much fun to do with her, and I couldn't have imagined a more perfect person to shoot our wedding. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook - you won't be sorry!

Our reception - at the Dunes House in Palmetto Dunes. They did such a fabulous job setting up and hosting the most perfect evening we could have ever imagined. 

My mother, unbeknownst to me, took paw prints of both our dogs with washable ink, and had the prints framed and put at our table for the reception so the dogs could be with us for the wedding. I had totally locked up the tears during pictures with our photographer, and then lost it once I saw the prints. 

Centerpieces. My dad cut up old skids into wooden planks, topped with white lanterns filled with starfish. Mason jars filled with sand and tea lights sat alongside these, and my mom tied monkeys knots with rope to hold our place cards. Tables were named with iconic places in Hilton Head important to Rob and I, rather than typical table numbers. 

The #smithberryhhi hashtag was the best thing we've ever done. It was so fun to look through Instagram photos after the big day was over, and seeing everyone's take on the entire weekend was hilarious. 

The most beautiful scene this world has ever seen. Fifty of our favorite people in the same place, under the same beautiful sky, for the same reason.  

Welcome gifts for our wedding party and officiant - girls got Kate Spade bow bangles, guys got new Leatherman knives. Everyone got monogrammed towels with their initials and a fabulously designed welcome packet with sand dollar ornament.

If you're considering a destination wedding, I'd highly consider it. We couldn't be happier, and for as frustrating as it can be planning a wedding from afar, we were so thrilled with all our vendors, I can't even tell you how thankful we are. Each and every person, from the legal officiant we had sign our license, to our cake, amazing photographer and perfect DJ/musician, we were beyond thrilled. Here are the vendors we used - and who we'd recommend to you over and over and over again.

Wedding Venue: The Dunes House, Palmetto Dunes, Hilton Head Island, SC
Photograhper: Carolina Photosmith
Music: Johnny Breeze Event Entertainment 
Cake: Sweet Carolina Cupcakes 
Flowers: Flowers By Sue
Print Design: Beach Street Creative
Decorations: My Mother. As original as they come.