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Here we are, half a month past our first anniversary and I’m finally posting some wedding pictures! I’m not quite sure where the time goes now, but after getting married last year I’ve had a hard time staying on top of blog stuff. Better late than never, I suppose! In this post I tried to give a brief overview of the day while respecting the privacy of most of the people who celebrated with us (sorry, family – you just got used as illustrations again). I hope you enjoy it!
‘Twas a rather dreary day for taking pictures, but thankfully it didn’t pour down rain!
Photo credit | Creatively Captured Photography by Abigail + Abigail Faith Photos (those are two separate Abigails)
My two bridesmaids and me…
Yes, I routinely stand around holding my sister’s hand like this.
This pose is far more realistic, minus the hand-hold.
Ryan and his groomsmen…
Our bridal party. We kept it small, even though there were so many people I would’ve loved to include. My sister Katelyn was my maid of honor and my friend Shavonn was my other bridesmaid. Ryan’s cousin and brother rounded out his side of the equation.
My beautiful mom. She did so much to help me with all the wedding planning.
Me and my two moms…
My siblings and me…
My family…I’ve been able to see them a few times since the wedding, including flying back home and spending a week there in January while Ryan was on night shift. If I start thinking about them too much I’ll miss them. 😉
Ryan’s family…including Charles (Ryan’s brother) and Missy, who got married 5 months after we did! I’m SO thankful that I married into a family who has quickly become a real family to me. I just wish we could see them more often! (They live in Ontario, Canada, where Ryan grew up. It’s a long way from Louisiana, but we’re heading up to see them in a few weeks on one of Ryan’s vacations!)
The Ceremony
Above: My brother Josh, my sister Nicole, and Ryan’s sister Alyssa passed out wedding bulletins before the service.
Below: My bridesmaids and I carried single roses. Ryan gave me a single rose the first weekend he came to see me when we started dating, and I love the simplicity.
Groom + sidekicks waiting for us to walk down the aisle…
My dad walked me down the aisle before heading up to the pulpit to greet the congregation and open the service.
We had several congregational songs as well as a sermon, then the singers (who also sang a processional and recessional from the back of the church) came up to the front where I joined them in singing my favorite choral song: “Entreat Me Not to Leave You” (Dan Forrest).
My dad performed the ceremony, which made it extra emotional.
Our parents came up and prayed with us to close the service.
The Reception
We kept things pretty simple where décor was concerned. I’m not into a lot of fuss and nonsense. For years before knowing that Ryan Burkholder existed I was hoping to be able to get away with having a wedding ceremony tacked onto the end of a Sunday morning church service with a carry-in dinner afterwards. My dad was in favor of my idea, but few other people were.
On all the guest tables we just used dollar store plastic tablecloths, royal blue napkins from a party store, Andes mints at each place, and centerpieces made with quart-sized Mason jars (which I am now using) filled with roses and baby’s breath (ordered online from Sam’s Club and delivered to my house two days before the wedding).
Ryan made the bridal table trellis you see above out of some old barn boards he found through Craigslist. It turned out very nicely, I think. (The tulle, lights, and ivy now hang in our living room and bedroom, but the trellis remains in my dad’s workshop waiting for one of my sisters to get married. You’re welcome.)
To decorate the bridal table my mom sewed a table runner out of leftover fabric from the bridesmaids’ dresses. I banged together the wooden box out of 2×4 scraps and stained it, then filled it with pint-sized Mason jars filled with flowers. We bought random glassware from a thrift store, filled them with water, and floated tea light candles in them.
Some little owls that my sister Nicole carved for us as “cake toppers.” They were supposed to go on the carrot cake I was making for our bridal table to enjoy at the reception, but the cake was “structurally unsound” so we ate it on Friday while setting up the reception hall instead.
The hot drink bar…with plenty of hot tea options, of course.
Initially I was planning to make my own wedding cake, but thankfully my mother was horrified at the idea. (Looking back, it really was a terrible idea. Maybe not for everyone, but for me it would not have gone well.) I wanted a traditional wedding cake but they were freakishly expensive so we went with cupcakes instead. If I had it to do over again I would’ve figured something else out because the cupcakes didn’t quite have the “it” factor, but we also had high quality ice cream cups and a nice fresh fruit bowl that my grandma put together.
For the meal we served barbecue pulled pork (catered by James, a man from our church who makes excellent barbecue) with the option of having it on a bun or in a cup. My mom mixed up great big vats of a baked bean medley ahead of time and prepped shredded cabbage and dressing for coleslaw to be mixed together right before serving. We also had chips and pickle trays and cheese plates. Nope, it wasn’t all THM-friendly, but it was easy, the cooks didn’t have to do a lot of prep work, and there were options for people who wanted to stay pretty healthy, so I thought we hit the best of all worlds.
For those wondering, there were around 300 people at our wedding and reception (despite the lack of pictures of them…haha). We did a fairly informal food setup where people just filed through and filled their plates, potluck style, then found seats at the tables in the gym. Our wonderful cooks kept everything filled up. Instead of having bridal table servers, Ryan and I along with our bridal party just went through the line after everyone else had gone through. (They came straight to the reception hall after filing through a receiving line where Ryan and I greeted them (or they greeted us and gave their congratulations) on their way out of the sanctuary after the service.)
We sat at the bridal table, and since we were the last ones to get our plates other people were already done eating and took great delight in coming up to take pictures of us – with our mouths full.
After most people were finished eating, a steady stream of people trickled to the microphone set up near the bridal table and gave their well wishes and told embarrassing and funny stories from the bride and groom’s respective childhoods (as well as a few anecdotes from the not so distant past). There were also quite a few musical endeavors (which pleased Briana greatly), including a few songs by the Aspire Ensemble that went to South Africa in 2017.
Click here to see videos of the singing at our reception!
PS | If you watched Myron’s vlogs about our trip to South Africa and felt like you got to know the group personally, you might be interested to know that I was the first to tie the knot but was quickly followed by Vlad and Shavonn. Yuriy married another friend of mine (not on the SA trip) last fall, and Myron and Valonna are engaged!
Since so many people attending the wedding had been to Shenandoah Christian Music Camp in years past, I had asked Yuriy to invite all alumni up to sing “Prayer of Thankful Praise,” the song with which every SCMC Virginia program is closed. They crowded around our bridal table and we filled the gym with the gloriously full sound that comes from a large group of people singing in 4 – and in this case 7 – part harmony.
Ryan along with his dad, 4 brothers, and cousin sang a song as well.
My dad told everyone about how Ryan was going to have his hands full keeping me in line because of my stubborn and strong-willed personality. 😛 (partially joking)
To close the reception, Ryan gave a speech. A very good speech, according to all accounts later received. Briana listened in silence after claiming the mic for a brief wisecrack about her mini van that nobody understood.
We drove about two hours north to a cabin right outside of Asheville, NC, for our honeymoon, where we stayed for three days before flying to Louisiana the Wednesday after our Saturday wedding so Ryan could go back to work on Thursday. Ah, such is life as a doctor’s wife! 😉
You can CLICK HERE to pin this post!
Update: Thank you all so much for the kind comments! I read each and every one and appreciate them so much. I also want to add that if this post looks idyllic to you, keep in mind that it is and it isn’t. Marriage is definitely not always easy, and we’ve had our rough spots just like any other set of fallen human beings learning how to live together unselfishly, but we always have the bedrock of our covenant before God to fall back on. There is safety and security in believing that marriage is permanent.
Want to go back and read the rest of the story?
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The Love Story (Part 1)
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The Love Story (Part 2)
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Pre-Wedding Life Update
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Setting up House!
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A Change of Identity
My cookbooks Necessary Food and Convenient Food contain about 400 low-glycemic recipes each, separated by carbs and fats and free of refined sugar and flour (like all the recipes here on my website). I grew up on my momma’s good cooking, and the recipes in these books are mostly just old family favorites made healthy! Now that I’m married, I’m gravitating even more toward quick and easy, and my newest cookbook definitely reflects that! CLICK HERE to check out my cookbooks in more detail and purchase. (I actually wrote Convenient Food last year after getting married, so lots of the recipes in it have been husband-approved.)
Beautiful pictures! I , too am a mennonite by culture! Bless you & your hubby & family!
I am just reading this post again. My husband and I celebrated our 38th anniversary on February 12! We met on the mission field, and through a series of circumstances, we did get married in my husband’s sending church after Sunday morning worship, and the ladies of the church put on our reception! We worked with our mission organization five more years. During that time our two daughters were born. I enjoy your recipes so much and have both of your cookbooks. Happy Anniversary to you and Ryan!
What a beautiful wedding. Thank you for sharing the pictures and the ceremony with us.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos, Briana. You bless me in the way the Lord shines so bright in you.
One thing that brought a big smile to my face is your brother Joshua. He reminds me ever so much of my son Joshua (10). Precious!
I also really enjoyed your post with the music links. I listened to and enjoyed them all.
And I can never write without saying over and over again how greatly I appreciate your recipes. You are gifted in creating delicious and nutritious dishes of all kinds. I’m cooking my way through Convenient Food and enjoying it so.
May you and Ryan be blessed in every way. Love, Beth
Beautiful and May God Bless you Both
I enjoyed the pictures and stories tremendously. I have a Mennonite heritage on my dad’s side of the family. I so enjoy hearing all of my cousins sing acapella. I am also a doctor’s wife, so I can somewhat appreciate the ‘rushed’ honeymoon! We got married after my husband’s first year of medical school. My options were to have a July or August wedding date because that’s when medical students were ‘off’. I chose July, but still had the fall colors that I had always wanted for my wedding. We have been married for almost 36 years now, and a doctor’s schedule is not always easy. I would encourage you to ‘give thanks’ in all things, even when plans go awry. I didn’t always do so well with that. My husband is a family doctor, and used to deliver babies, too. Plans were often changed, literally, at the last minute. I wish you and your husband well!
Very good advice – thank you, Carol! One of the biggest things that has helped me is learning that even if our lives don’t always look like those of our peers, we’re not necessarily doing it “wrong.” We can still have a good marriage even if our schedule looks different and we don’t have as much time together. Accepting this is still a conscious effort on a daily basis and I don’t always do well at it, but I think it’ll get easier the longer we’re married if I start the habit now. 🙂
Briana, your wedding looks like it was absolutely stunning! I pray our Lords blessing over you and your husband, that He bless you in your going out and lying down, that as you seek Him you find Him as He is good and faithful, fulfilling all His promises to those who love Him! I hope our Louisiana has been good to you this year.
Enjoyed your wedding pictures and comments very much! Thank you for sharing with everyone!!
Thank you for sharing your photos as I’ve been eagerly waiting to see them. Your wedding was beautiful and I love the simplicity, the rustic touches, and how you did your reception. The picture of you and your bridesmaids with the roses is just so pretty. The only thing missing was your horses. I was expecting the both of you to ride away on horseback or in a carriage.
You had a story-book courtship and a story-book wedding and I’m thrilled that you are happy. May God bless your years together and may they be pleasing to Him.
Love and shalom,
Gail Golden
Thank you, Gail! My grandpa actually offered to bring his Haflinger and carriage, but I really wanted to keep things simple and introducing horses to the equation aren’t really conducive to that. =P Haha…
What, you too!! This is the first time I’ve heard of anyone else who shared my dream of getting married at the end of a normal Sunday morning church service. Sadly, neither my husband nor anyone in my family would even consider it, so I had a more or less traditional Amish- Mennonite wedding.
YES! Oh well, we both got married at the end of it all, and that’s what counts. 😉
I love all the pictures. You made such a beautiful bride! And you have a very handsome husband! I am so happy for you. And I am enjoy both of your cookbooks. My favorite recipe right now is the strawberry iced kefir.
Many, many congratulations again – and thank you for sharing the pictures! I think of you and Ryan often and wonder how you are doing in your new life!
I enjoyed your answer to the wedding ring question. I haven’t worn my wedding ring in almost ten years – not because we’re part of a church that doesn’t use them, but because it stopped fitting during my second pregnancy and I am the world’s greatest procrastinator regarding running errands (i.e. to get it re-sized!!). Hopefully people can tell by my comportment as well that I’m a married woman! (Though I don’t have the benefit of your lovely Mennonite clothing to signal my convictions, *sob!*)
Many congratulations again!! What lovely pictures!
Thank you, Diana! Your comment made me smile. You don’t have to be Mennonite to wear dresses like this, by the way. 😛 We don’t claim that corner of the market for ourselves only…haha. If you’re ever in PA or OH and can visit some thrift stores, you could find lots of dress options if you don’t sew!
Your wedding pictures were great. Thank you for sharing them with us. Yes, a marriage is not always fun and easy but if both of you have the Lord in your hearts, He will get you through the good times and the not so good ones. A good marriage takes a lot of working together as well as helping your spouse work through issues. A good marriage takes two people who want the marriage to work. That is the Lord helping you. Thank you also for sharing part of your lives with us. I enjoy your emails and look forward to them. May the Lord bless you both.
Yep, you said it well, Susan!
Hi! Thanks for sharing the beautiful wedding photos! The reception llooked gorgeous and the stained glass in the church is amazing. I had a question : curiosity set in : do you exchange rings at wedding ceremonies?
I’m glad you enjoyed the pictures! No, we didn’t exchange rings. I don’t necessarily have a problem with a simple wedding band as a means of identification, but I personally feel that it’s unnecessary because I want people to be able to tell by the way I comport myself that I’m happily married and very much taken. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your photos. God bless you both as you serve him together!!!!
I love the cupcake idea!! Beautiful!
Very beautiful! Simple and elegant!
I enjoyed seeing your wedding pictures! Lots of sweet pictures. Lots of friends and family to celebrate with. Your cupcakes is “The Style” now! Everything looked wonderful. Your roses and baby’sbreath were especially beautiful! Co gratulations!
Lovely and perfect. ♥️♥️♥️
Such a radiant bride! You looked happy and beautiful! Forever memories!
Thank you so much for shading these pictures and memories. I am a new subscriber (one of the aforementioned middle aged women) i lo e your wise cracking sense of humor. God bless you both.
*sharing lol! Truly middle-aged woman!
It makes me so happy to see these. Your wedding was beautiful. Thank you for sharing. Many many years of happiness to you both.
Aw..
I really enjoyed seeing your photos and seeing your happiness! Beautiful Bride and Wedding!
Time goes by so fast! Enjoy and Happy “Early” Anniversary to you both.
Beautiful wedding. Congratulations to Briana and Ryan. Love your recipes.You are an amazing cook.Thank you for the THM recipes.
Grateful you made time to put your wedding photos and memories together, for us. “Entreat Me Not to Leave,” is very moving, no wonder you love it. So thrilled for you & Ryan. Your “love story,” truly shows God’s involvement. Thank you again for writing this wonderful blog.
xoxo’s
A couple at our church is being married on March 31st, 2019 and it is going to be a part of the regular church service. I’ve never been to a wedding like that. It will be interesting to see how our pastor does it. The bride’s family will then provide lunch at the reception afterward.
Well good for them! I think that’s a wonderful idea!
When I found the first post by you I thought you must be a thirty-something homeschooling mom, perhaps because the other bloggers that you follow and that follow you were. Imagine my surprise to find that you were still a teenager just out of high school. But I enjoyed your humor, your horses, your stories, the love and devotion of your family and friends, your cooking smarts, your recipes, and your cookbooks. I feel honored that you shared so much of your courtship and wedding with us and I even like the fact that you shared it after the fact so that you retained the intimacy of it while it was happening. I for one agree with your ideal wedding and even though you say others didn’t agree, your wedding looks as if it was beautiful and sincere with such an outpouring of love for the two of you. Thank you for giving us a glimpse. May God ever bless your union.
Thank you so much for your well-written, thoughtful comment. I can tell you understand my thought processes behind my posts and that means a lot!
Your wedding pictures are beautiful. Thank you for sharing with us. I love your site and have your cookbooks. May your marriage continue to grow in much love for each other.
P.S. Just a question…..did you exchange rings?
Thank you so much, Sue! No, we didn’t exchange rings. I don’t necessarily have a problem with a simple wedding band as a means of identification, but I personally feel that it’s unnecessary because I want people to be able to tell by the way I comport myself that I’m happily married and very much taken. 🙂
A Happy Belated 1st Anniversary you two. I’m sure the Lord has many blessings and adventures in store as you walk in His light and love.
Thanks for sharing the pictures.
God bless you both, Ryan and Briana?❤. Carol Lukaszewicz
Love loved loved the wedding pictures. What a beautiful wedding.
Thank you for sharing these pictures and memories with us. Your wedding was just beautiful and you were a radiant bride! Many blessings to you and Ryan!
Thanks for sharing your wedding pictures. Everything and everyone was just beautiful. I have your first cookbook and I have really enjoyed using it. May God keep blessing your family.
Loved looking at everything! The decorations were very pretty; so elegant in their simplicity. Looks like it was a lovely wedding, and I’m so glad you two are… well, a thing. XD Not that I’d know, but y’all seem perfect for each other (obviously. -_-), and I’m quite happy for you. 😉
Thank you so much, Emma! I’m glad we’re a thing too. 😉 We definitely have our differences, but we also have a lot of similarities in really important areas and our differences were God-ordained to teach each other things we really needed to know!
Amen! That’s the way a relationship should work, and with God as the foundation it’s the best. I know I wouldn’t be able to do any relationship well, no matter how similar or different we were, without God in the middle. And I appreciate you two’s example. 😉
Beautiful! Simple yet elegant. Relaxed yet reverent. Perfect!
Thank you for sharing your wedding pictures. Awesome, so happy for you both. Life is great when God is first.
Blessings,
Betty
This was such a fun blog post! I have been following your blog almost since you started blogging – it has been so much fun seeing you as a “Trim Healthy Teen” and now a doctor’s wife. You are an encouragement to all of us teen girls/young women who are striving to live for Jesus. <3
So beautiful, Briana! I applaud you for keeping it simple and allowing others to help with the details – rather than spending (tens of) thousands of dollars as many brides do. Looks like it was a special and God-honoring day.
Love the beautiful simplicity!
Congratulations
Thank-you so much for sharing your wedding photos. It’s nice to see your family. It looked like it was an Amazing day for everyone! And can I just say the owl cake toppers your sister made are so adorable!
I think it’s so neat that you had Vlad sit with Shavonn at the head table and honored their marriage in that way. It bothers me sometimes when married people are in a bridal party and get separated from their own spouse.
I just realized that they weren’t married yet, but still, very nice gesture, honoring their upcoming marriage.
Yes, that’s really weird! That actually weren’t even married yet (they got married in May and our wedding was in February) but I didn’t want to make them sit separately.
You have proven without a doubt a wedding does not have to be over the top to be beautiful ~ Your love of God and family makes it perfect… even the cupcake tower?. Thank you for sharing and may God Bless You & Ryan with a lifetime of happiness.
Love your pictures! Thanks for sharing them with us. May God richly bless your marriage!
I totally love the simplicity and feel the intimacy of family and friends flowing through all these pics. What a beautiful bride and handsome groom! The rustic and elegant decor is so my style as well. Briana and Ryan, I pray God’s bountiful blessings will be showered upon you all the days of your lives. Thank you so much for all you share with us readers. Someday, somehow, I truly hope to sit with you and just ‘be’.
Dear Briana, thank you so much for posting your beautiful wedding photos. I have noticed that some couples somehow look alike as if they belonged together. that is how I see you and Ryan. How special it it that you have your perfect mate and he does too. God bless you and keep you both well looked after. Love from Diane in New Zealand. PS I love your recipes x No need to reply to this as I know I’m one of many who will be thank ing you and wishing you well xx
Well just because you said that, I’m replying. 😛 Thank you, Diane! I’m smiling big at the fact that you think we just look like we belong together, because I completely agree. God’s way is perfect! Marriage is definitely not always easy, and we’ve had our rough spots just like any other set of fallen human beings learning how to live together unselfishly, but we always have the bedrock of our covenant before God to fall back on.
I love that you shared this. Looks like everything was lovely.
Lovely, all around! Congratulations!
Thank you for sharing your day and how you went about it! It looked beautiful. I love the simplicity. May the Lord bless you with many wonderful years together!
Thank you so much for sharing your photos (with great commentary, by the way). They were lovely and you and Ryan look so happy together. May your marriage be blessed with many many years of mutual love and laughter.
Thanks for sharing these! What a lovely day!! I’m thoroughly enjoying Convenient Food!!
Beautiful! Love the Wooden Arch behind the table. May the Good Lord Bless you and keep you
What a Beauriful wedding and you were a gorgeous bride. I loved your decorations at the reception. I don’t follow THM real strict but I enjoy recipes in your book.
Congratulations to you both! Beautiful pictures!
Loved ❤️ The wedding pictures thanks for sharing.
It was worth the wait — great photos! Is Ryan one of 5 boys? No girls? I loved those little owls. 🙂 I made my groom’s cake and froze it and it worked beautifully. We frosted it the day before. That was 26 years ago — I was also a February bride! (with a blizzard to make it more interesting!) Congrats on your first anniversary!
He’s the oldest of 5 boys…but he does have a little sister who came along last! If you check out the Burkholder family picture you can see her standing in front of her mom and me. She’s just a lot shorter than the rest of us. 😉
I enjoyed reading about your day. The photos are wonderful. I love the floral centerpieces…so simple yet so pretty. And the menu sounded delicious. I wish you lots of love and joy!
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful wedding with us♥️
Thank you for sharing your wonderful wedding pictures with us. They were all beautiful!!! Many blessings to you and Ryan.
Wow! I feel like I just watched my own daughter get married! I’m on your site constantly and love YOU! (Love your recipes too)!! Congratulations and pray you have a wonderful, blessed life with Ryan.
Aw, that’s neat! Thanks so much for your sweet comment, Deb. <3 We have truly been so blessed.
I love your site! ? Love your recipes. Congratulations on your marriage…Blessings! Julie
Thank you so much, Julie!