Rustic Ceremony with Sweet Personal Details

Wedding: June 30, 2018

Ceremony & reception: Gatherings on the Ridge, Eastman

Honeymoon: Costa Rica

On the day of their wedding, Candice Fritz and Ethan Lee had a secret: They had actually gotten married exactly one year before. Candice’s grandmother, who was a big part of her and Ethan’s lives, fell ill shortly after the couple became engaged. Since the couple knew they wanted her to witness their “I do’s,” they decided to have a small ceremony in Ethan’s parents’ backyard—exactly one year before their wedding date. Though her grandma’s health took a sudden turn and she passed away a week before the ceremony, “we know she was watching over us from heaven,” says Candice. The couple kept their marriage a secret until the ceremony one year later, when Ethan announced it in his speech at dinner. The couple’s rustic ceremony at the Gatherings on the Ridge was presided over by Ethan’s uncle, a comedian; on their first date, they went to see him perform. The couple each wrote five things they love about each other, which they shared with friends and family. “When we went through our wedding pictures with our photographer, we both commented on the fact that neither of us stopped laughing the entire day,” says Candice. “We wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”