Today marks my 14th wedding anniversary. FOURTEEN YEARS!!! This seems impossible, even as I type it I don’t believe it. In some ways so much has happened in the past (almost) decade and a half, yet in other ways it seems like we just got married.

I still learn new things about my spouse on a regular basis. Like how his dream job as a kid was to become a tow truck driver (this one still cracks me up!). It keeps things interesting for sure, knowing that even after all this time, we still don’t know everything about each other.

My wedding anniversary always brings me back to the memory of our wedding day. With 14 years passed, I have some perspective on the whole event - it’s much easier to see what mattered most (and what didn’t), when so much time has passed.

The things that mattered most to me were:

Music - I LOVE music. All kinds of music from all periods of time. I grew up with my parents listening to Elton John, The Eagles, Michael Bolton, The Temptations, and, Aerosmith (thank you papa!). I fell in love with listening to music from the 40s-60s on vinyl (Ottis Redding, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Ella Fiztgerald & Louis Armstrong). I cheered in junior high and high school (thus entered all things 90s and early 2000s pop and hip hop). Most of my childhood was spent growing up in rural America (hello Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Trisha Yearwood, The Dixie Chicks {now The Chicks}, Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Reba McIntire). We paid for our wedding ourselves and we were young and broke, so all the music was done via an iPod (yes, you read that right) and rented speakers. I curated all the music to play in a specific order. Starting with easy listening, moving into dance party songs, sneaking in a couple slow songs. It was all timed perfectly. We still listen to our wedding playlist 14 years later and multiple people have asked for a copy of the songs for their own wedding.

*We tore up that dance floor on our first dance!*

Want help with your wedding music? Get my free guide below!

People - The people make a wedding. I have never been one to have a large group of friends, but the people I do have I know and care about deeply. Quality over quantity. The people who have helped shape my life are the people I invited to my wedding. With a few exceptions such as those of us who were on an exciting international internship and couldn’t make it due to said super awesome globe trotting…cough, cough…Emma…cough.

You can have a beautiful wedding, but if no one you care about is there, does it even matter? Our family and friends came from all over to celebrate with us in Oregon. Idaho, California, Tennessee - they all showed up, just as they have our entire lives.

Meaningful decor - I have always enjoyed design. From fashion to home decor, I love it all. I used to turn my childhood closet into a fashion house, taking faux orders on a corded telephone with my sisters and cousin, then furiously sketching out our creations for our pretend clients (note drawing shoes was NOT my strength). When it comes to design these days, I like to feel connected to what I create. If it’s a feature wall, each element will be personal or carry some sort of hidden meaning. I have to share a connection with what I create. Weddings are the perfect opportunity for this. In our wedding, I incorporated yellow butterflies in memory of my maternal grandmother who had passed away 4 years prior and told us on her deathbed she’d come back as a yellow butterfly.

I also spent a lot of time curating the centerpieces, which were made up of black and white photos relevant to each of the people assigned to sit at that table. I talk about them a lot, I know (see most recent mention here ) - it's because they just meant so much to us and so much to the people who showed up to celebrate with us…I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Something I like to do when I’m working with clients to help them design their dream wedding is to have them pick the 3 most important things to them as a couple for the event. Some people don’t care about the decor, but they do care about the food. That’s great! Others prefer to skimp on the alcohol to splurge on the flowers - perfect, lean into that!

By sitting down with your partner and agreeing on the top 3 most important wedding items to you both, it will help provide clarity on where to spend your money and your time when it comes to your wedding design.

Take it from someone who’s 14 years removed from their wedding, focus on what matters most to you both and the rest, you’ll likely forget about over time.

Stay tuned for next time to learn about the 3 things that mattered LEAST to me and the one thing my older sister (said sister pictured below) STILL won’t let me live down 14 years later.

Happy dancing, happy singing, happy wedding planning!

The 3 best things about my wedding day!