It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...Wedding Season!

May 15, 2013

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...Wedding Season!

For those of you 20 somethings out there...wedding season is upon us!

If you are like me, then all of your friends are either getting engaged or married. So far I have been the maid of honor for two weddings and am getting ready for a third and will be attending three additional weddings...talk about wedding overload! Weddings mean a few things: good friends, good food, and SO much dancing. I love it. Most recently I was the Maid of Honor in a country farm wedding. There are no words to describe how beautiful this wedding was. It was in the little town of LaGrange, TN. We live about 40 minutes away in Germantown, so we stayed at a friends house out in the country to be available for all of the wedding events. Here was the breakdown of the festivities:

Thursday Night: Low Country Broil & BBQ

I flew in Thursday to surprise the bride, Kirsten, for this first party. I actually ended up missing my flight from Virginia and had to take a later one. They tried to re-book me for a night flight, but I told them my friend was having a baby and I needed to be their for the birth...I called Kirsten and told her that if TSA called to cover for me ;-) A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do right?! Anyways, we had so much fun at the party and Kirsten was SO surprised to see me there. Mission Accomplished.

Finger Lickin' Good

Flower Girls at the BBQ

Low Country Broil

BBQ Chicken...Amazing!

Friday: The Marathon Day

Friday came faster than I was ready for! We had so much to do and so little time. My mother and I were hosting the Bridal Luncheon for Kirsten and the women in the wedding party. Historically, the purpose of the bridal luncheon is for the bride to thank the women in the wedding party and allow all of the ladies to spend some time together to de-stress the day before the wedding. However, in our case we thought it would be a nice treat for us to host the luncheon and therefore relieve some stress from the bride. The invitations were adorable and we stuck with a pink theme that matched the wedding colors, pink & green. The menu consisted of an assortment of casseroles, honey baked ham, breakfast desserts, and of course a mimosa bar. We were so blessed to have my wonderful Daddy there to help us set up and play with the babies that attended.

The best florist I know - Dad!

My mother didn't want to play games, but I couldn't help myself! We did three cute games that I would highly recommend! First, was the secret present game. We had cute little bags with gifts in each bag. The bags were handed around the room where everyone had a chance to guess what was in the bag...no peeking! We then had the bride open all the bags and had a prize for the person who had the most correct guesses. Another game was Jenga. You may have heard of the traditional Jenga game with the little wooden blocks. Everyone was given a few Jenga blocks to write date ideas or wedding advice for Kirsten and her future hubby. Now when they play the game together in their married life they can read and appreciate all the advice! The last is my favorite Swiss tradition. We have Swiss family friends that did this at their wedding party and I think it is a great idea! Each guest draws a month of the year, and for their month the task is to send the bride and groom a sweet gift or thoughtful card to wish them a happy month during their first year of marriage...how sweet right?!

Mimosa Bar

Me & Baby Harper

After the luncheon we headed off to get our nails done! We had mimosa's at the nail salon, which was a blast and the little flower girls were so cute getting their nails done.

Turner's first pedicure!

Once we were looking prim and proper it was off to our cocktail party to have a little bit of fun before the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. LaGrange is a very small town and so many friends were excited to host something for the bride and groom. A sweet family friend had the most beautiful cocktail party. They had Kirsten & Derek's "signature pink drink", which consisted of vodka and lemonade, along with several finger foods. After the cocktail party we were off to the rehearsal. Thanks to their amazing wedding planner over at WED Memphis, the rehearsal went flawlessly. For anyone in the West Tennessee area getting married, I would highly recommend this mother and daughter pair, they are amazing!! You can read more about them here: http://www.wedmemphis.com/

Finally, the Rehearsal Dinner. Talk about a barn being transformed and the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen. Y'all. These pictures will blow your mind! And these are just on my iPhone...I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. The dinner was hosted by the Commissary BBQ and was delicious...none of us were bothered about having to get our fingers a little dirty to enjoy these scrumptious ribs.

Ribs, Pulled Pork, Beans, Slaw, & Taters

Cute Groomsmen Gift

How gorgeous right?

Table Place Setting

History of the Barn

Saturday: The prep, the pictures, the WEDDING!

Needless to say this entire experience was gorgeous from start to finish...here is the day in pictures. I prayed for Kirsten before the wedding and the pastor did a great job. From the ceremony to the reception, it was an amazing day and night...definitely took notes for all of my other bestie's weddings!

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
- 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7