Omaha! Blue 42! Hike!

I'll be totally honest. From here on out, my emotional stability decided to check itself at the door. I went from laughing hysterically one moment to sobbing uncontrollably the next. Wedding day jitters, coupled with generally being a crybaby anyway, made for some pretty unpredictable mood swings. After all the finishing touches were completed, my photographer ushered me out onto the balcony at the Oscar for our first look.

I stood there thinking about how excited I was to see my handsome groom, then suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and instantly burst into tears. Face-to-face with the love of my life, I felt so calm, so happy, and so excited. My mom couldn't help but share the moment with us, too.

Once I'd somewhat composed myself, we joined our bridal party downstairs for transportation to Winton Woods, a nearby park where we took our outdoor photos. In hindsight, the van we hired for transportation was one of my biggest regrets of the day. In an effort to save money, we opted with a small passenger van over a comfortable limo or bus...and I assure you, it made a difference. Somehow, we all crammed into the bus and made our way to Parky's Farm, a beautiful educational farm within Winton Woods.

Wheat gave those personalized Louisville Slugger bats to his groomsmen as gifts.

As can often be expected in Ohio in late October, it was a bit chilly that day. It also started to sprinkle rain on us during the outdoor shoot, so our photographer decided to close up shop a little early. I know the bridal party was relieved, but these are honestly my favorite shots of the entire day.

I especially love these pictures with the white picket fence in the background. I'm not country by any means, but I did grow up in rural Ohio, so these pictures really remind me of home. Plus, that type of posing (in the picture below) reminds me of a Kardashian Christmas card, which I count as a major victory.

With time ticking away and rain starting to fall, the photographers decided to head back to the Oscar early to start our bridal portraits. This would have been absolutely fine had the van driver not abandoned us. Cue my first real panic of the day. Wheat and I hopped in our photographers' car while the rest of the bridal party waited in the cold rain for our MIA van driver. I. Felt. Awful. As I tried my hardest not to cry, we set up shop in Jungle Jim's gorgeous, private wine cellar for photos.

Thoughts: Don't touch anything. How does a bottle of wine cost $3,000?

Once those pictures were done, the bridal party arrived at the Oscar and since we have amazing, supportive friends, they even acted as though that wasn't the most annoying inconvenience in the history of weddings. Relief. For good measure, we took some more group shots on the staircase and in the bar before heading in for formal pictures. Yes, my face was beginning to hurt.

Next Up: Family Photos and Portraits