Processional: Ray LaMontagne - You are the best thing (for the bridal party); Mason Jennings - Be Here Now (for the bride)

Recessional: Marvin Gay - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing

First Dance: Ben E King - This Magic Moment

For both of us this centers around the ceremony.

Jessica: My brother who has been close to both of us throughout our whole relationship was the officiant of the wedding. His heartfelt and thoughtful service was touching, funny, and unique to us. At one point during the ceremony he had us turn to look out on the crowd of our friends and family and it was the most special and overwhelming feeling (in a positive way) to see all of those you care about smiling at you and sharing in your joy. After that as a surprise my brother had all 5 of my nieces and nephews read Dr. Suess' Oh the Places You'll Go together. It was so fun for them to participate and seeing as they range in age from 11-21 they each had their unique spin on their reading. Also, each of our sister's read a reading of our choice that was special to us. All of this lead up to the pinnacle of our ceremony in which we exchanged our vows that we wrote for each other. Both of us expressed our love and commitment in our own unique way. Post wedding we have framed the papers that each of us read from that day as a reminder of this beautiful moment. On a less sentimental note- rocking out on the dance floor with everyone was awesome!

Mike: For me my most memorable moment was when Jess was walking down the aisle and I got to see her for the first time on our wedding day.

Our first piece of advice is to hire a planner - Both of us felt so fortunate not to have to worry at all on the day of the wedding. We knew we were in the best hands and that everything would be taken care of. This piece of advice goes along with working with vendors that you truly like and communicate well with. We cannot say enough about each of the vendors that we worked with and we could both gush on but we will spare you that - everything was so thorough leading up to the event that we knew there was nothing left to be concerned about! This really allowed us to enjoy our families and bridal parties leading up to the ceremony. There are a lot of beautiful emotions the day of leading up to the big event and it was great to be able to be present to experience all of them.

Which leads us to our next piece of advice which is to do your best to be present during the planning and most definitely during the wedding! We both found it so easy to get wrapped up in all the details - napkins, favors, seating arrangements, etc., that at times it almost seemed the significance of the day fell to the wayside. It was helpful to remind each other that the most important thing was our commitment to each other and our families. I had heard many brides say that the day would go by in a blink and it most definitely did! It was helpful throughout the day to pause, take a deep breath, and look around- there was nothing like having all the people you love around you at once and we will always cherish those memories. Next, we both found it super important to remember that the day was about us and what we wanted. LOTS of people will have opinions about what is right or unacceptable whether it be your food choice or maybe the size of your bridal party. It is after all your day and it should reflect the two of you.

Lastly and absolutely most importantly - let it all go and have a blast! It's your wedding day!