Team Bride: A wedding venue that helps

Katelynn's mother, Brandy, made every flower for this wedding herself. Burgundy and green and white, matched exactly to the inspiration board Katelynn had been building for months. That's not something you can order from a florist. That's a mother, up late, making sure her daughter's day looked like the picture in her head.

Katelynn hadn't added our decor package this time, and that's more than fine here. We keep a closet full of complimentary chargers and linens for exactly this reason. So her father and her brother took it on themselves. Gold chargers, burgundy napkins, ready to set the tables. But the day ran warmer than anyone expected, and by early afternoon there was still a lot of ground left to cover.

This is the part of the job nobody sees in the ceremony photos. Maddy and I looked at each other and just started working. We set out the florals Ms. Brandy had made at the chapel ourselves, laid the chargers, folded the napkins, while Katelynn sat in the bridal suite getting ready, with no idea any of it was happening. That's what team bride means around here. It's not a line in a contract. It's just what we do when a family needs an extra set of hands and the bride and her family deserves one less thing to carry that day.

By the time Katelynn walked down that aisle, past her mother's flowers scattered in petals underfoot and her family's tables set and ready, everything was exactly the way she'd pictured it.

We are so happy for Katelynn and Dawson. And we're a little in awe of Ms Brandy, honestly.

Warmly, Loreli