Real weddings are extremely inspiring! To get you in the mood to plan, we asked real brides to spill the facts from getting engaged to finding their wedding gowns to the special touches and surprising moments that made their celebrations completely one-of-a-kind. Read on for Sarah and Rachel’s outdoor micro wedding at Lake Michigan

We met on Tinder. We matched after which Sarah messaged Rachel first and informed her how cool her dog was! We met for brunch about fourteen days later and within a couple of weeks, I was spending the majority of our spare time together!

Rachel: I knew Sarah was the main one when she explained that she loved to experience chess and wanted a chess partner!

Sarah: I knew Rachel was the main one when I was watching her practice her cello eventually and it just hit me from nowhere!

The proposal happened on our back patio on April 22, within the middle of the COVID-19 shutdown. It was always dependent on when we would get married, not if. We were referring to the future and Rachel first raised getting married come July 1st at her parent’s lake house in Michigan. Sarah had always told Rachel that they would say yes whenever Rachel asked. So Rachel formally got recorded on one knee and proposed. And Sarah said yes!

Sarah knew she wanted a feeltimes outfit and Rachel knew she wanted a white suit! The clothes you'll look the very best in would be the clothes that you simply feel comfortable wearing. Also, most probably to options which may be different than that which you initially wanted. Sarah didn’t desire a strapless dress or princess wedding dresses and that’s what wound up looking the very best. Rachel didn’t want anything sparkly or flashy but wound up wearing a sequined camisole under her suit jacket.

Rachel: It am nerve-wracking because I was walking backward toward Sarah. She looked amazing. She always looks amazing, however, it was a different kind of amazing for any special day!

Sarah: I am nervous because she had never witnessed me that fancy before! I was amazed by how beautiful she was (and tried to be!) so when I saw her, my nerves disappeared and I am excited to marry her!

It was this kind of amazing day. There were great people there — just 6 people, not including us or Sarah’s son. There am much food, we had a lot of fun! We held the ceremony on the neighborhood deck, overlooking a bluff resulting in Lake Michigan. It would be a bit cloudy and breezy, that was nice therefore we didn’t swelter in the July heat. We had a little reception with these 6 guests at Rachel’s parents’ lake house. Rachel is really a professional cellist and serenaded guests by having an impromptu chamber music recital with a couple of her friends, who have been also our wedding violinists!

Yes, a few funny things happened. We forgot to create our marriage certificate to complete on the deck after our ceremony, so we had to assure our officiant we had actually been with them and we'd to rush to have it to her afterward. Also, we had our pictures taken at sunset on Lake Michigan. We carefully waded to a rock from the shore. As I was getting down, we slipped from the rock and fell into the water. Oops!

Really take time to remember and revel in every detail of the day. When you marry the best person, your wedding reception is amazing and excellent and you'll want those memories seared to your brain.