Anna and Jim are quite the match. When a perfectly sunny week turned tropical storm first at their rehearsal, then again the moment the wedding ceremony was to begin, they were not phased. With the help of Melissa, their coordinator, they simply danced around it. First with changing up ceremony locations multiple times and finally with pushing back the start time 45 minutes to catch the clear weather window before it started raining again. In every decision they were together and ready to face it.

While they live in Kentucky, they held their ceremony in her dad’s back yard in Chapel Hill.

They both adore their pup Kit and worked several parts of the wedding around him, starting with a first look. (technically, starting with their engagement shoot) When the biggest decision of the day (to push back the ceremony) was upon them, they each did a first look with Kit and the stress just melted away. His happy demeanor calmed them right down. (Kit has a super cute instagram account by the way, @kitthegoldenretriever) He preceded Anna down the aisle, and also appeared in both their vows and the wedding speeches. He is well loved indeed.

They decided to throw confetti after the ceremony (as opposed to sparklers after the reception) which was super fun and could include all their guests. I highly recommend this option!

Bourbon was a theme throughout the day as well, from Jim’s morning details to their first drinks to a classy line up at the reception and even mini bourbon bottles as favors to the guests, along with super adorable matches with their date and “Stolen from the Hallahans” written on the back.

Kit, of course had his own space at the reception complete with a dessert made by a local dog bakery to look just like the cinnamon roll the adults received! He was so cute all night, bringing his ball to all the guests to throw for him, and everyone was happy to oblige. Even during the first dances he made sure his parents were having fun with the ball too.

It was such a wonderful and happy day, thank you guys for inviting me to be a part of it!

The Vendors who made the day possible:

Photographer: Cynthia Viola

Coordinator: Melissa Hayes

Venue: Dowsett Home

Bridesmaids Hair and Make Up: The MakeUp Addict

Wedding Attire: Show me your Mumu

Rings: Jared

Florist: English Garden

Officiant: Mike Hallahan, Father of the Groom

Musicians: Duo Licht

DJ: DJG