Dual State Wedding

Since I am born and raised a Washington State girl and John was born and raised in Louisiana, we had to decide how we were going to plan a wedding that involved both cultures, both families, and all of our friends. John is a true Southern man and told me we should have the wedding in the church I grew up in and then have a party down in Lousiana for all our friends and family here.

One of the first things we had to decide was our budget and how much we were willing to spend for each state. It brings a new complication to the "budget",

When your planning for two states or two wedding celebrations keep in mind that you don't have every reception and wedding tradition at both. For example, John and I decided to have the wedding ceremony in Washington with a desert church reception with toasts and the cake cutting. We then decided to have a reception or "party" for our friends and family in Louisiana with our first dance, father/daughter dance, mother/son dance and the money dance.

Some things we are doing at both events such as the family photographs, bride and groom photographs, two cakes, and I am wearing my dress at both. We are also doing engagement pictures in both states. Below is one of ours from one of the best photographers in the Lake Charles Louisiana area. greyarea.photography did our first set and we had a blast!