Relaxing Weekend

We had a wonderfully, relaxing weekend! It was so nice not to have anything specific to do and just enjoy the weekend. Friday night, two of our college friends came into town (Will and Amanda) and spent the night at our house. We went to dinner at the Boathouse restaurant, then to a cool restaurant downtown for a drink, then finally back home for some board games (we LOVE board games).

Amanda and I...the only picture from Friday night:Saturday morning, Michael cooked everyone homemade French toast for breakfast before our friends left. The rest of Saturday consisted of movies, a long walk with our dog, re-finishing a chair for our guest room, and cooking dinner at home.

Sunday, we went to church for the first time since we got back from our honeymoon. It was a great service and lots of young people in the congregation. Last night, some of our newly married friends cooked dinner for us...it was delicious! They started with a calamari appetizer, before a dinner of red fish, zucchini, and mashed potatoes. We had apple crisp with ice cream for dessert...it was amazing.

Also, we got a new piece of furniture in last week, finally! We are in desperate need of storage, so we ordered this console table from Wal-mart...YES, that Wal-mart. It is AWESOME and just what we wanted. The quality is really nice and it was really easy to put together. What do you think?

We have a buffet for our dining room coming this week, so hopefully we can finally unpack our crystal and the rest of our wine glasses. I will post updated pictures of our house later this week...have a great Monday!

New 'Do!

So, I got a little trim this week...

Before:

After:

What do you think!? Please ignore the dorky solo pictures...

Wedding Recap: Reception

Finally, here are pictures from our wedding reception! I have SO many more details I want to share, but I do not have the professional pictures back yet, so these will have to do for now. I'm sure y'all are getting bored with wedding pictures!

Our reception was FABULOUS (at least I thought)! We had a really nice cocktail hour after the ceremony, then the guests moved down to the topiary garden for a seated dinner reception. The menu was amazing. During the cocktail hour, we had several passed appetizers, including stuffed mushrooms, grilled shrimp, mini pimento cheese sandwiches, and beef wellington. We also had a big fruit and cheese display...I wish I had pictures of it! The seated dinner started with a Southern greens salad (with peach vinaigrette), then we had grilled chicken stuffed with artichoke, spinach, and boursin cheese. And of course, dessert was wedding cake!

Our band was SO much fun. We had an eight-piece band that played everything from classic rock to Motown hits. Everyone stayed till the end, for the most part...Michael and I left by horse and carriage at the very end. We were going to do a bubble exit, but it was raining. Anyways, here are some pictures from our reception:

More flower pictures...I LOVED them:My cake, which was PERFECT:
The groom's cake (very popular and yes, everything was edible except the beer bottles):
Our candy buffet:
Michael and I entering the reception:
My Dad and I dancing:

Some of my friends at the reception...you can kind of see the centerpieces here:

My cousins and I:

Me with my candy buffet, my masterpiece!

Alyssa, Michael, and I:

Cutting the cake:

Cutting the groom's cake:

Bridesmaids at the reception:

My friend, Kaci, did a little karaoke with our band...it was awesome:

Every detail of our wedding was perfect. And the most important part, Michael and I are now MARRIED! I am definitely loving being a wife.

That's all for now...eventually I'll have a wedding details post, but otherwise, I'll be back to my regularly scheduled blogging. I'm sure you're getting tired of my wedding posts, so I will definitely be writing about something new and different soon. I hope you have enjoyed reading as much as I have enjoyed recapping everything! Have a great day!

Wedding Recap: Wedding Ceremony

Our wedding ceremony was absolutely perfect. It has been sort of rainy all day, but right before the ceremony, the clouds opened up and it was so sunny and beautiful! Our minister was Michael's childhood pastor and he was AMAZING. He really made our ceremony more personal and meaningful for us.

The ceremony was very simple and classic. It was held in the perennial garden at the house, so we did not need too many flowers. We had flowers on the gates to enter the garden, flowers on the aisles of chairs, and rose petals on the side of the aisle, but that was it! I wish I had pictures of all of our details already. We handed out little personalized bottles of water when the guests were arriving, along with the programs. Hopefully, once I get my pro pictures back, I can post pictures of all of the details. Here are some pictures:

Me before the ceremony...The old house was great for pictures:

My brothers and I:

My family and I:
My brothers and I again:
My brothers:
Lindsey creepily peeking out of the flowers:
Waiting for me to come down the aisle:
My Dad and I walking down the aisle...it went by so fast!

Getting married!

My lovely bridesmaids:

The wedding party after the ceremony:

Wedding Recap: Getting Ready

Getting ready for our wedding was so much fun! I stayed at the hotel with my Maid of Honor on Friday night, so we ordered room service for breakfast Saturday morning...a great way to kick off my wedding day! The rest of the girls arrived around noon and my mom had ordered a delicious spread of sandwiches, salads, and desserts for us to eat while we got ready.

I had my hair and make-up done, which was so fun...I have never had my make-up done before! I usually don't wear much make-up, so I was a little nervous about how it would turn out, but I loved it! Here are some pictures...

The yummy food:

Getting my hair done:

Make-up:
Standing outside my suite! I made this little sign for the door :)
Alyssa and I:
Michelle and I:
Pretty bridesmaids:
Michael sent me a wedding gift...this is me reading the sweet letter :)
The present...David Yurman Pearl Earrings! Thanks honey...I love them!
All of my girls wearing the robes my Mother-in-law gave us:
Putting the dress on:
All dressed up and ready to go!
All of us leaving the hotel to walk over to the house:
I had so much fun hanging out with my friends and my Mom before the wedding...it was such a special time. We also indulged in some champagne, which helped loosen me up :) Up next, the wedding ceremony!

Wedding Recap: Rehearsal Dinner

I am SO sorry that I have been so absent this week....I kept putting off blogging because I don't have very many pictures from the rehearsal dinner, sadly.

Our rehearsal dinner was absolutely wonderful. Michael's parents did such a wonderful job planning the event, and even though it rained, everything was still perfect. The dinner was held on the terrace overlooking the golf course, which was so beautiful. Michael's mom really went all out with beautiful flowers, adorable menu cards, cute place cards, etc. The food was delicious...we had passed appetizers then a seated dinner. The menu was a Caesar salad, Filet Mignon with Parmesan risotto and vegetables, and a Chocolate Souffle for dessert.

About 45 minutes into the cocktail hour, we started hearing thunder and knew we'd have to move inside. BUT, we did get the most amazing picture with a rainbow in the background before we had to move inside.

We had wonderful toasts from our friends and family, which were all so special. We also had an amazing slideshow that had been Michael's special project for the past month. I absolutely LOVED it...it was so sweet. Here are some pictures...

Michael and I, with the rainbow:

Mrs. Southern Belle and I:

Some of my beautiful bridesmaids:

Michael and I:

Tara and the flowers:

My Mom and I:

Michelle and Mrs. Southern Belle:

The rain :( But it was still beautiful!

A few of y'all asked where I got my dress...it's Shoshanna, one of my favorites! Up next, getting ready for the wedding!