Ten of my favorite things from the Zimmerman/Blaniar Wedding:

Ten. Dollar “Dance”

The new tradition of doing the dollar dance but for a photo with the newlyweds is by far one of my favorite changed traditions, as it is. Add in the adorable little bench that they brought to it, and that they did it in the middle of the dancefloor with all of their guests dancing in the background and it made for such a great addition to the evening. Everyone lined up, did their shots, and got their pictures. They were clearly having a blast during it, which was proven by the laughing and so much dancing that took place during the photos. A super fun twist on the dollar “dance.”

Nine. The Welcome

Jendi’s dad was the perfect person to do the welcome at the beginning of the reception. This speech included plenty of tears, smiles, laughs, and so much love for both of the newlyweds. My favorite quote from it, though, was when he said what the one bad thing about Tyler is, which is that when they’re all out to eat and Jendi doesn’t finish her meal, he no longer gets the leftovers.. Tyler does. It was the sweetest.

Eight. Ceremony  

There were SO many parts of the ceremony that stood out, but I’ll just name a few. The officiant adding in jokes on a whim added a good amount of humor to the script, but Tyler and Jendi were equal parts precious and hilarious and truly stole the show. Jendi was giggling the entire time, including when she was speaking, and especially when she missed the vows and had to ask “Can I have that again” before she repeated them. My favorite though was when Tyler whispered “Talk loud, because I have the mic” to Jendi before she read her vows. It was such a sweet sentiment and he was certainly close enough to the mic that we all got to enjoy that moment as well.

Seven. T-Shirt Toss

The Roost has a beautiful balcony that has been used in several ways that I’ve seen both in person and in photos, but this was the first time that I saw it used for a t-shirt toss. The Mother of the Bride was a hoot up there throwing t-shirts down to the dance floor and the crowd, as expected, absolutely loved it!

Six. Baby Layla

This puppy is just precious! Not only did I get to see her via Zoom weekly during or meetings, but I made a point to note on my timeline when the pet sitters were sneaking her over for a quick picture so I could run out and meet her. Watching her see her parents was adorable – her tail was wagging like crazy and she was just so happy in the photos that they took. She only got to be there for a few minutes, but she certainly made the most of it. Don’t worry though, she was noted in their programs and on the bar napkins that said “drinks are on me” so she was still plenty involved!

Five. Simplicity

The set up and décor of this space was absolutely stunning. Jendi chose to not use tablecloths, allowing the natural wood tables to be accompanied only by greenery, baby’s breath, and a couple of vases. It was such a clean and classic look that brought so much beauty to the already incredible space.

Four. MOH Speech

Having known Jendi and her Maid of Honor since they were small children, I knew that this speech would be a good one, but Erica even outshined my high expectations. Anyone who didn’t even know them would have been able to tell how close they are based on this speech. My two favorite parts were when she talked about going from helping Jendi get ready for their first date to helping her get ready for their wedding to, and of course, her ending.. “Tyler, I hope you have as good of a time growing old with her as I have growing up with her.” 😭😭😭

Three. Ring Bearer’s Entrance

I was already a pretty big fan of the number of references that were made towards Tyler being a policeman – he and his coworker friends were making jokes left and right, but my favorite reference by far was absolutely the reception entrance for the ring bearer. The DJ helped hype everyone up, insisting on applause before we opened the curtains to Jendi’s nephew rolling into the reception driving a toy cop car. It was both adorable and pretty badass all at once and really set the energy for the grand entrance.

Two. Quilt

Their guestbook was absolutely one of my favorites that I’ve ever seen. Pre-cut quilting squares for all of the guests to sign or write a note on. These squares will be turned into a quilt by her grandma Betty and she’ll have a memory of this perfect day that she can not only have but use, for the rest of their marriage.

One. Mother/Daughter Dance

During one of our first meetings, Jendi mentioned how she really wanted to surprise her mom with a mother/daughter dance to the song “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” – imagine my surprise when her mom calls me one night and tells me how she really wants to do a surprise mother/daughter dance to the song “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” … I’m sorry, did I just have déjà vu? It was one heck of a secret to keep, but with the vendors aware of it, and a conversation with Tyler during the reception, he was able to tell the story that they’d both been planning for the same surprise and invited them both to the dancefloor for their moment. It was absolutely beautiful and they both had so much fun and it kicked off the night wonderfully – from that moment on, the dance floor was never empty!

Honorable Mentions:

– The DJs – When the planned DJ had something come up, Brad and Pat stepped

in and went above and beyond to make the day perfect. Their energy was

incredible and I can’t wait to work with them again.

– The Food!

• Deb’s Cheesecakes – Boy was I excited when I saw that they had chosen these for their dessert table. 😍😍😍
• Catering by Paulette – I have been waiting to have this crab dip for months and it certainly did not disappoint. All of their food was incredible, per usual!

– Dawn Powerwash – the real MVP when stains ended up on two of the dresses!