Wedding Wednesday: Joe & Aimee's Sweet Wedding Day

"Our wedding was...way too quick!"

-Joe & Aimee

Joe & Aimee got married in early March and you sort of got the feeling that you were in a sunny snow globe after the snow had settled. Everything was beautiful, and had that cozy wintry feel without the messy driving conditions! Thank goodness, as many guests traveled to get to the wedding, and everybody had a little trek from the ceremony in Harrisburg to the reception in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We were honored to attend as guests, as Joe is one of our good Penn State friends, and we were so happy for the two of them to start their forever as husband and wife after being close friends since high school. Read on to hear about the wedding in Joe's words (in blue).

What made this celebration unique and you-nique? 
   The celebration was unique because almost all of the closest people in our lives were gathered together for one awesome night. What made it "you-nique" were our surprises for each other: Aimee got me an oreo cake, and I made her a video. 

Why did you choose Grace United Methodist Church for the ceremony? What made The Cork Factory your ideal spot for the reception? 
   The church was where Aimee's parents, aunts and uncle, and cousin all got married, and we love the space. Plus, the Pastor was very accommodating to our multi-faith background.  The Cork Factory topped our list because it was the full package. It had so many things we wanted, and was an awesome looking space. 

Advice for Future Brides & Grooms-
   Wedding planning stress is more likely to come from other people than your significant other.

Favorite Wedding Moment?
   Everyone singing together at the reception.

 
Some of our Penn State best + Aimee!

Honeymoon-  Where did you go? What did you do? What recommendations do you have?
   Our main honeymoon was to London. Having never been to Europe, our biggest concern was making sure we weren't over-paying for anything.  
   We went all over London and parts of England in true tourist fashion; the Tower of London, various museums, Stone Henge, the city of Bath, the Cotswolds, Windsor Castle and more. We found that keeping it simple for several meals saved a lot of money (e.g. we bought cereal to keep in our room for breakfast several of the days). 
   The Tower of London tour by Billy the Beefeater was informative, funny and a must-see. To paraphrase Billy, "For all  you Americans in the tour group, today is going to be a bit of a history lesson as I fill in what happened between the end of the Bible and 1776". 
   Aimee really liked the Cotswolds bus tour (think countryside/Downton Abbey) and all the classic houses, churches and neat little shops. We stopped by the city of Bath during a tour, and ended up taking a train to spend the day on our own later that week. It has beautiful parks and scenery, great stone buildings, a super old Roman bathhouse (hence the name) and a great mix of modern shops and markets. 
   Also while in London, we recommend eating at The Abingdon. We would never have come across it without someone recommending it, as it's tucked away off the main streets. The food was delicious, well-priced, and you could dress casually while still feeling like you were at a place more upscale than a pub. 

Reviews-
  Our DJ, Matt from Central PA DJ's, was awesome. He found some excellent music to match our theme, and took the time to learn the SNL intro to use for our wedding party's introduction. 

Also, Ed Koester, our videographer, was flipping fantastic! Having someone with his talent and experience was a big help on our big day. If you'd like to contact Ed for more information, his email address is ejk1981@gmail.com and his phone number is (717) 830-4350. This is shared with permission from Ed himself. 

Hampton Popcorn Factory  made our favors (Aimee's brother works there) and were awesome about customizing everything down to to the last sprinkle (or jimmy, depending on where you're from). We gave our guests little plastic containers of either chocolate-covered pretzels, kettle corn or Twix popcorn. (They were AMAZING, and tied with the most adorable blue & white and grey bows with a little Thank You note)!

Thanks so much to Joe & Aimee for sharing some of the details of your beautiful wedding with us! Congratulations and best of luck in marriage and in your life together! We wish you all of the sweetness and happiness that you deserve now and forever.

Note: Joe & Aimee have all of the rights to their wedding photos. Their photographer was a family friend who does not usually photograph weddings, but took some beautiful shots for them. <3