November 20, 2010 will forever be the day my life really started. It is the day I married my best friend. I am not just saying saying that because people think that their spouse "should" be their best friend, I am saying that because he actually is my best friend. There is no one in the world I would rather hang out with, noone I feel more comfortable around, and noone who treats me the way he does. I do feel like I am the luckiest girl I know.
Justin and I got married in a catholic church. Justin is not catholic, however, I was raised catholic and it was very important for me to be married in the church. It is not something you can go back and do-over and Justin was completely supportive. The church was St. Joan of Arc in Phoenix, AZ.
It really is a beautful church. Although it is not our local parish, it was the church I grew up going to with my parents when we moved to AZ. Justin and his groomsmen took some pictures there before the ceremony. The photos were taken by two very talented ladies, Crissy and Meghan from Creative Motion Photography. Crissy and I went to high school together and her and her wife took these pictures as well as the ceremony and reception photos. We love how they turned out. 
While Justin was getting ready at the church, I was getting ready with my girls at the Wyndham in Downtown Phoenix. We have loved this super modern hotel since Justin's cousin stayed there on a visit from Utah and since our reception was downtown it was perfect. The photos of me getting ready were taken by Jamie from Making Memories, LLC. Jamie is one of the awesome girls I play soccer with and have become friends with. She is very talented and also provided day-of wedding planning services for me. You will see later how beautifully the reception was set up and it could not have been done without her!
The ceremony at the church went very well. As soon as I got into the church I started crying. It just hit me! My dad walked me down the aisle and I was so happy to see Justin. All of the readings went well and it really went by fast, despite what people think about Catholic ceremonies. We didn't have a full catholic mass so it was only like 35 minutes. Here are some pics during the ceremony...
After the ceremony we took some family photos on the alter...
The Thornton's- Justin's Mom's side
Justin and I with his siblings
The Norris Family- My Mom's side
The Yancone's- My Dad's side
Justin and I with my parents and siblings
The entire wedding party
Before heading to the reception the entire wedding party packed into a limo and headed to downtown Phoenix to take some photos. It was fun and they turned out great!
After group photos we headed to the monOrchid studio in downtown Phoenix for our cocktail hour and reception. Justin and I put a lot of effort into planning the decor and details. We wanted our reception to be different than anything we had seen before, and I think we were successful. It was a very modern venue and we loved it! Our bartending and catering were provided by Dad's Catering which is owned by Justin's uncle. They were awesome! Honestly, there is really not much I would have changed looking back on that night. We paid for the wedding ourselves, but were so lucky to have the help of family and friends in making sure everything went smoothly. It was an amazing night!
For those people who weren't done at 10 PM when the reception ended, we headed over to Lucky Strike Bowling which was walking distance from the Wyndham where most of our guests were staying that night. I was shocked at how nice everyone was to me because I was in a wedding dress. It was really fun and I am glad we went! It was a great ending to a great night!
If you have any questions about any of the vendors or resources used in the wedding feel free to email me at kayleighlarkins@gmail.com!
