The wedding was a week ago Saturday and I am still kind of catching my breath! I know some of you are waiting to see pictures. Both my DIL Michelle and niece Randi were taking pictures and shared albums on Facebook. My friends and family who use that platform have seen some of these already. My girlfriend Helen was taking informal photos as well but those are coming via US mail in a few days!My niece is a talented videographer and there is a video you may wish to see on You Tube HERE. It was a lovely gift for Charles and I but also a way to share our wedding weekend with family and friends who were with us in spirit.
My sister Diane was my matron of honor and honestly I don't know how I could have pulled this all off without her! She not only got my parent's flight arranged along with her own but she took over the fellowship hall decor. ( Diane is the brunette at the center of the picture above.) My sister Janet and daughter Randi also flew into ATL from Colorado on very little sleep and met up with the other three at the airport. Janet rented a car for them arriving at my house about 2 pm or so. Mom was absolutely beat and laid down to rest but the girls and my dad gathered around the table to start taping 3 dozen little hurricane vases to "bling them up" for the tables! Diane and I had consulted back and forth on the 'net and phone for about two weeks about size, colors, shapes, which combo of glitter and stones would achieve the desired effect. Then she had the boxes shipped from the vendors or packed them up and sent here.
I admit I was NOT much help and messed up the one jar I sprayed, LOL so I continued with prepping the ingredients to make Shrimp and Tofu Pad Thai for our supper! Charles had a doctor's appointment in Birmingham so was not on hand to greet the family but joined in the glitter party on the driveway on his return. We had soaked two 5 gallon buckets of aqua and clear water beads Wednesday night. The picture shows the vases being filled. (The video, a little sequence of it as well.) Diane did a suspension of teal stones and silver pearls for the three head table vases. I'll have to take a better picture of it for you as it is still holding up!
I am also missing a picture of how pretty the tables looked with the glittery runner and scattered teal stones. (Randi did this before the cleanup with some of the stones.)
FRIDAY
Friday arrived and a busy day was ahead of us. Charles drove in from his place with Abby in tow so she was keeping everyone entertained back at the house. We women took off for Ladies Lunch at Classic on Noble joining my quilting buddies. My sisters made me put on a bride to be sash and the Belles a tiara---you'll see that in the video! After lunch, I needed to run back home to get the frozen lemonade ice cubes and punch ingredients. Charles was waiting at the house and said "there are two gals down at the church who said they knew you in school". He was right! I had expected them for lunch as well when I found out they would be arriving on Thursday. My phone was messing up big time in the fellowship hall.
Charles and Dad went out to lunch with Abby while we were dining. The guys got the stuff loaded up from "Wedding Central" and unloaded at the church where everyone pitched in to get the Fellowship Hall set up. Well, me not so much---Mom and I were mixing punch base, LOL. It looked lovely! We finished up about 3 and Abby conked out in the car on the way home but did not stay down then. The trip to the church two hours later for rehearsal did the trick. Charles laid her down on the back pew and she did not stir but she also did not get to practice like the rest of us either. Somewhere on someone's phone there is video of him walking her down the aisle practicing throwing her petals. I saw it after the fact as we were trying not to see each other before the ceremony!
Rehearsal dinner was held at the nearby Top of the River. Helen and Polly my two high school pals were able to join us--finally! Also my brother Dave and godchild/niece Allison's flight got into ATL in the early afternoon so they joined us as well.
SATURDAY
I had to go get the wedding flowers first thing. The poor florist had said she would get started on them after Valentine's Day and then come to find out, had gotten a bad case of the flu making the rounds. I had called and left a message and no return call. I followed up mid week with another call and found out it was her first day back in a week. I wanted the Mother of Pearl Bible my mom had brought back from Israel for us girls to use in our weddings incorporated into my bouquet. The wedding instructions/date information and some ribbon I had picked out were with it and then it was misplaced. The date was with the Bible and not in her reminder book as it turned out. She recalled the conversation the more I mentioned about it saying it was a good thing I had called when I did!! The materials were on the shelf and she promised they would be done by Friday p.m. or I said Saturday a.m. would be okay before 11. She did a lovely job and it looked like the Bible was cascading with the roses.
Diane helped with hair and makeup and we arrived at the church in our attire. Charles waited to change at the church. People were running interference to keep us from spotting each other. Dad at one point was standing in the doorway looking "O.G" cracked me up! I was hiding in a back Sunday School classroom off the sanctuary but also greeting a few of the guests as they came in and spotted me. My brother Steve and wife Jan arrived on Saturday from Tennessee as did friend Cindy and her husband John. Charles' cousins Jim and Linda were the first to arrive with their spouses. I had met Jim and Rosemary in person recently but not Linda and Frank except online.
Araya, Emma and Abby were running around before the guests and maybe even afterwards from what my pals are telling me. Charles and Michelle walked Abby through her flower girl duties a couple times, as I said. I was told she was throwing them all willy nilly with Mama but almost perfectly placed and in a row with Gramps. If she dropped two, she picked one up, LOL! You will see a picture below. Her aisle walk in the video is adorable!
Here my DIL Melissa and SIL Brian are helping with the corsage. Charlie told me 4 people tried to get it pinned on him! He said one of my sisters finally got it in place.
All dressed up! Grandson Zeke was groomsman. Emma is the twincess on the left and Araya on the right, looking up. Abby the flower girl in front. Their daddy Jeff was home with their cousin who is staying with them this semester--strep throat, ugh! Mommy Michelle was taking pictures.
Emma coming down the aisle. She and Araya were holding hands and walking in together during rehearsal so I don't know what actually happened by time to go down the aisle. I see Araya peeking out from behind Emma's shoulder. A little story: just before they were to walk in, Araya had tossed down her bouquet in the back room announcing she was tired of playing with it! I said "now it is the time you are supposed to be holding it! Take your sister's hand. It is time to go!" Between Aunt Melissa and I, she got down there. Oh, and I was still hearing from Araya mostly---"but I want to be flower girl!" Diane, Melissa and I all had to tell them that being a bridesmaid was way better. Flower girl job is for little babies, not young ladies! I heard too that they were walking heel to toe in their boots entertaining the guests. Whatever, right?
Abby taking her job quite seriously!
Some of the posed pictures after the ceremony
We were also celebrating my parent's 66th wedding anniversary but in typical parent fashion, they deflected any attention away from that. Still quite an achievement. I am proud to share our future anniversaries with them on their day.
I felt like doing a fist pump---YES!!
The kids at the recessional with Pastor Chris
Wedding bands
Wedding Party. Paul, his best friend, was best man. He was our "cupid" and the reason Charles and I met in the first place watching those Bama games at his house.
Charles son Brian and his wife Melissa, my DIL and SIL now, provided the cakes as our wedding gift and kindly helped with the food. Here is the cake cutting (I look goofy in this shot but okay!) and showing my pretty cake along with his way cool "Dr Who" cake. Melissa baked 12 layers of cake on Thursday to do both of these! Charles is a huge Star Wars, Star Trek and Dr. Who fan so it was a perfect choice for him!
And here with our other grands Graclyn and Raleigh
After the reception my family pitched in to clean up the fellowship hall. Charles and I unloaded the vehicles and then met our family at Effina's in downtown Anniston for supper. Came home and opened wedding gifts and cards. I will be sending out "thank you notes" this week. Neither of us was expecting gifts---we just wanted folks to come celebrate with us if they could especially since that required some airfare for my family. I was missing only one sibling. Friends I did not expect to come, did. The quilt groups were represented.
The leftover food either went home with Brian and Melissa or Michelle at cleanup time. On Sunday morning when I had time to sort through what we might use at home, we ended up taking most of the leftover wedding cake (not the topper though!), leftover disposable plates, cups, napkins and the transportable punch, veggies, cheese cubes, nuts and mints out to Michelle and Jeff on Sunday afternoon. 7 people in the household would make far better use of all that than the two of us. None of us had had lunch yet so we had an impromptu buffet thing on their kitchen table. Groom's cake AND bride's cake? No problem!
I was resisting going through all this traditional ceremony stuff when we first started talking about this marriage thing, setting a date and such. Charles insisted that I didn't have to do what I did the first go-round (in a church but almost eloping) He wanted me to have the memories, my family close, an engagement ring, all of that. I am happy that he did convince me. It was an almost magical time and I felt so completely loved by not only him but our families and friends. Every girl needs to feel like a princess for one day, anyway??
Meanwhile, it is back to reality. There is stuff laying around in the sewing room looking for a place to be put away--decoration stuff mostly that Diane didn't need or want back. Melissa does wedding planning and the like so I think I am going to see if she has any need for something like 36 octagonal mirrors. Also we cannot use the gift until the giver is properly thanked so things are still sitting on the fireplace hearth. In the intervening week, Abby has stayed over one week night and the twincesses this past Friday evening/Saturday morning. I had put a moratorium on kids' overnight stays until after the wedding--my only bridezilla-like request. I have a feeling Abby might be back again on Tuesday night as Charles thinks I will be gone all day quilting and that worked last week, LOL. Household tasks don't end just because you got married either, rather increase I am finding. Not complaining, just a fact. Belles is having a sewing day next week and I've got to send out cutting directions or the web link head of that. That and get the ball rolling on this name change thing!
Thanks for stopping by and the well wishes that were sent to us along with prayers on our behalf. We appreciate all your many kindnesses----
