I want to say a special thanks to two people: My husband, Paul, and his mom, Judy. They had the extra special responsibility of keeping Kaleb while I did my Matron-of-honor/only bridesmaid duties! I really appreciate both of you stepping up and keeping an out-of-control two year old!
Another thing I love about weddings is that I get to see all my extended family that I love so much but never have the time to visit with during our two-day trips home! It really makes me miss living so close to everyone. I hate that there were some family that couldn't make it, but things happen, and you move on.
One thing that did happen that was a little nerve racking for us, was we witnessed a wreck the day before the wedding after getting mani/pedi's. I turned out to be Melodie's old neighbor from when she lived in Memphis. Everyone was OK, thank goodness, but we had to stay and give a statement to the police because the guy that caused the wreck was trying to say it wasn't his fault (FYI: you can't turn left in front of a car, just because you have a green light... the oncoming car has a green light too, idiot!). The scary thing was that they were behind us right before the wreck. We were behind a bus that decided to slow down to turn and they went around us before we had the chance to change lanes... It could have been us in the wreck! Like I said, thank goodness everyone was OK.
We had the rehearsal Friday night, with the rehearsal dinner at The Arcade in downtown Memphis. This is pretty cool seeing that The Arcade is just a breakfast/lunch place, but will host parties in the evening! All out-of-town guests as well as immediate family were invited, which ended up being about 100 people! But what a great time it was! Everyone stood up and congratulated the cute couple and also told stories, lots of funny stories! Afterwards, the younger crowd decided to hit up Beale Street, ending up at Silky Sullivans. It was a great time had by all. And to my surprise, the Bride and Groom decided to turn in early (11:00), so they could be fresh and ready to go for the big day!
After a restless night for everyone, we headed over to the museum to help set up and just make sure everything was going smoothly. The flowers were there and looked gorgeous! It was just such a beautiful day, when we headed back to the hotel to start getting ready, we looked up Carrie Underwood's 'How Great Thou Art' on my phone and praised God for the weather. After getting ready, we headed back to the museum to take pictures with the family. I can't wait to see all the pictures! The wedding and reception were wonderful and everyone mentioned how beautiful everything was and how much fun they had! Melodie and Chad decided to make an early exit (about 10:30), so we decided to break down the reception equipment and head over to the hotel for an after party, which was just as fun as the reception!
One memorable and very emotional thing did happen right before the ceremony. Me, my sister, and my dad were waiting in a room for the ceremony to start and my mom comes running into the room. She assured us everything was ok, but my Great-Aunt Patricia had brought something that she thought my sister would want to carry with her down the aisle. It was a handkerchief that my great-aunt Sally had when she was alive. Me, my sister, and my mom all burst into tears, trying not to ruin our makeup. You see, my Aunt Sally was a hoot-and-a-half when she was with us. She was my maternal grandfather's sister. I remember, growing up, she would come over to babysit us, and we would have the best time. Friends would beg to sleep over when we knew she was keeping us. She would dance, play hide and seek (like hide in cabinets, or on top of the fridge, things like that!), etc. I thought she was AWESOME! It wasn't until I was older that I really realized how old she was when she was doing this (in her mid to late 60's), which made her even more awesome! She would always tell us, straight up, if our new hairstyle was good looking or not, if we were dressed cute or not, if our new boyfriends were good looking or not...! She was just the most incredible person I have ever known! Her favorite saying was "If you see a silly card, send it to Silly Sally!" She was there for my brother's wedding in 2004, my wedding in 2005, but got very sick shortly after, and eventually passed away. It was very hard to see her go, and very hard for her not to be there physically with us for Melodie's wedding. We had her listed along with other grandparents that have already passed away at the register's table, but to have something of hers there for Melodie to wrap around her bouquet and carry down the aisle with her meant SO much! We love you Sally and know you were watching from above!
So, in summary, it was a great weekend, spent with great people, celebrating a great love between two people!
Here is the link for Wedding Pics! that I have uploaded to my facebook!
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