Pre wedding festivities: the day before & morning of

We drove up to Santa Barbara the day before our wedding and stayed the night. We stayed at the Montecito Inn, which we fell in love with. Zach had a room for him and his guys and I had a room for me and the girls. It was so nice having our friends all together! I decided to make all the flower arrangements, bouquets, and boutonnieres. The girls and I got to Santa Barbara around 10:00am, went out for breakfast, checked into our hotel room, and stopped by Costco to pick up the flowers. We spent the majority of the afternoon in the hotel room arranging flowers before we headed off to the park for the rehearsal. My friend, Chelsea drove down from Sacramento to be a part of the fun, which was super nice of her. 

On the morning of our wedding I woke up at 4:00am, after going to bed around 1:00am. I woke up thinking, "I am getting married today" and I felt super excited but also very nervous. I truly didn't think I would be nervous and I was surprised to find myself nervous. After lying in bed for an hour I didn't want to wake the girls so I just hung out in the spacious hotel bathroom. My mom texted me around 5:00am saying that we woke up at 4:30am full of emotion. 

Around 8:00am Zach and his friends went to the park to help set up. Thanks to Zach and his friends, our parents and my Uncle Greg & Aunt Tori they got the park looking wonderful, it was truly better than I imagined. While they were all busy setting up us girls were busy getting ready. Truthfully, I wasn't feeling the best with my stomach in knots and feeling tired I just laid on the couch for a while. Our morning went smoothly and then before we knew it it was 1:00 and we were rushing to get dressed because we had to be at the park at 2:00 to begin taking pictures. 

They really liked Santa Barbara

Making arrangements 

 We did it all pretty quickly thanks to these ladies

Our last day as single people

Leighton, Heather, & Chels on the way to the park 

Heather & Sonny 

 Rehearsing 

We both couldn't believe we were rehearsing our wedding!

The morning of...

Tori, Berna, & mom ready to help set up

Feeling kinda blah

 I was so happy Chelsea was there

 My mom looking beautiful 

 Beautiful bridesmaids!

 Couldn't have done it without them

Once I got to the park my nerves were beginning to settle and after Zach and I said "I do" I was feeling wonderful! 

Pre wedding festivities: Rehearsal Dinner

After Venice we returned to Lancaster for our rehearsal dinner, which was more like a meet and greet for our families and close friends. Zach's parents were so kind to cook and open their home to everyone. Zach and I really enjoyed ourselves and spending time with everyone. It was a fun night!
I was also very excited for this day because I got to see my sister, Amie, who I had not seen in over 2 and a half years. Her and her family drove all the way from Michigan to be a part of the festivities. It meant so much to me that they came all that way to be a part of the fun. I was so happy to finally meet my new brother-in-law and step niece. It was great being with them I just wish we would have had more time together.

Love dad & Berna 

It meant so much to us that Zach's grandma came over for dinner 

Zach's best buds! 

We love all the kiddos! 

Me & my sissy! I miss her. 

Pre Wedding Festivities: Venice Beach- a girls weekend

It had been 2 years since the 4 of us were last together. So we were all very much looking forward to being reunited in California.  The girls had been planning a fun bachelorette weekend for months and we had a great time! I was surprised when I figured out they had rented a house in Venice Beach for 2 nights. The first night we got dressed up  and went out for sushi. They wanted to take me out dancing but after dinner we were feeling tired so we headed back to the house and lounged, it was just fun to be together.

Renting a house is the way to do it. We loved it. 

I am so grateful to have them as friends! 

We have so much fun together.

Heather had never been to California before so we had to show her around.

We went to Santa Monica and she put her feet in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. 

The water was freezing. 

We spent the rest of the day & night at the house talking and making banners.

Heather & Becky cut all the fabric prior to the trip so we just had to put them together. 

{They looked awesome hanging from the trees!} 

Before we drove back to Lancaster we walked the Venice boardwalk.

Another must see for Heather. 

Heather also had her first In N Out burger. 

Pre Wedding Festivities: Part 1

We flew to California a few days before our wedding to make sure everything was in order and to have fun with friends and family. We truly had a great time and appreciated everyone taking time out of their busy schedules to spend time with us.

Since we planned our whole wedding by means of the internet it felt really good to meet with our vendors and really get a sense for how everything would come together.  When I finally saw Elings park in person I got really excited!

The first few days we were home Zach and I did a lot of running around...we were doing last minute wedding things up until the last minute...

 ...but we managed to have fun along the way.

Zach was so sweet and helped with some crafting 

and he got his hair and beard trimmed. 

These 3 amazing girls were by my side for a whole week. 

Leighton flew in from D.C., Heather flew in from Chicago, and Becky drove up from Corona.They seriously are the best friends any girl can ask for! 

 Nothing like being reunited and a late night Walmart run. 

Zach's mom, Mary threw me a bridal shower. It was so sweet and fun!

We played games, ate good food, and enjoyed everyone's company. 

I loved seeing family I had not seen in quite some time.

 The toilet paper bride winner! I love her! 

The best moms ever!

Mr & Mrs Collins

Here is a sneak peak of some of our wedding photos....we love them so much. 

Zach and I want to thank all of our friends and family who helped make our dream wedding come true. We seriously had a blast! We are so grateful for everyone who shared in on the fun of our big day. 

Stay tuned....I have so much to blog about!