"Ready for my close-up!"
Riley felt left out and wanted to do some practicing of his own. Of course we let him. He's good comic relief....
Simply ravishing my dear
Not only were we stoked about being in Enid for the pre-wedding festivities but we also had some very important family who had flown in from New Jersey for the week. Cousin Ashley made her second trip to Okie and brought her mom, cousin Marion, along with her this time. They'd flown in Wednesday and had spent the previous day getting settled in. They took a trip out to Shattuck on Thursday with Uncel David and Garrett to visit Meme. Hallie and I got to Enid around the time they were getting back from their trip. Lisa and Dara were excitedly waiting for Hal to show up (what am I? Chopped liver? lol). Lisa had picked up some Papa Murphys pizzas (yum, mommy like!) for everyone and pretty soon four very hungry people walked through the door. It was finally time to meet Marion whom we've sent Christmas cards, graduation announcements, pictures, etc to for as long as I can remember...but I've never actually met her in person. The Jersey girls got big hugs from this girl and I couldn't help but laugh when Marion hesitated to hug me because she stopped to say "wow, I thought you were tall, you are so short!!" We were soon joined by Aunt Lana, Gman and Bailey. Hallie was loving the attention as usual. I'm sure she probably thought it was her birthday because of all the gifts she had waiting for her! Aunt Lisa and Dara had picked out an adorable green and white bathing suit for summer and some new Nike gear which is always well received by my gal and I (we may have a slight obsession). David had picked out a Minnie Mouse lawn chair which she was super excited about and pulled around the house all night with her. Ashley had gone shopping for the little diva back when she made plans to fly in for the wedding. What ca-ute clothes!!!!!!!!!
Hal contemplated testing out the pool water but as you can see the plan was short-lived. She'll wait for it to warm up a bit I guess....
We had an awesome night. Very relaxing family time. Hal learned how to play catch with Aunt Lisa and Dara....
She bummed plenty of "cookeys" from the cookie jar....
We pondered the possibility of Lana and Marion (first cousins) being twins separated at birth....
Hal lounged in her Minnie chair sipping from her favorite cup with Gman by her side....
All in all she was a funny and happy-go-lucky lady that evening....with a lil bit of 'tude thrown in of course....
Sassy sweetheart
I went home around 9:30 to put Hallie Grace to bed. Her and Gman hit the hay very easily while I snuck back over to Dave and Lisa's for an absurd game of Apples to Apples. We've been known to cause a lot of ruckus with that ridiculous game....and Thursday night was no exception. Tons of laughs and sore cheek muscles from smiling so much. That's always good for the soul....
And so is hanging out with some of your most favorite people without a care in the world....
I stayed up way too late but I just couldn't help myself. I didn't want to miss out on a second of the fun! Lil Red slept until 8:45 as a wonderful gift to her momma. Gman had left for work very early that morning so it was just us girls and the three pooches. Hallie spent the morning keeping the canines in line and watching cartoons. Oh yeah, and playing me some of her baby Mozart music....
"Would you like to request a song momma?"
I was feeling giddy about the day ahead and very blessed to have the day off to spend with my family. Hallie got all fancied up and we headed over to Dave and Lisa's for some pancakes and fun. Hal and Enzi went outside for a quick swing when we got there....
Lisa and Marion were my saviors and managed Hal (who was napping most of the time) while Ashley and I took a trip to get our nails done with the bride-to-be. The two and a half hours spent with the girls getting pampered but nothing short of A-mazing!!!
We did plenty of planning and scheming while getting our nails prettied up. By the time we were done it left us just enough time to run a few last minute wedding errands. We divided and conquered to get more accomplished. I picked up Hal from Lisa's and by that time Riley had arrived in Enid and was waiting at my Gman's house. He had been at a work conference Thursday and Friday in OKC and we had been missing our main man. He was my chaffeur (not by choice) as I raced around town to cross everything off of my list. Check. Check. Check. Everything was accomplished. Well sorta. Hallie Grace stayed busy while I hurried around and got ready for the rehearsal and dinner that night. This was a shot of the little toot right before she planted her face in the dog water bowl.....
The anticipation was rising and excitement was in the air. That's the only way I know how to put it! We were stoked for a night with nothing but family, friends, food and fun! Presley and Pauline had driven in from Missouri that afternoon and she came over to follow us out to rehearsal. Heather showed up to ride with us too!!
Hallie and I love a good excuse to get dolled up and wear dresses! She even got a new dress for the occasion and was looking smashing in pink standing out my Gman's pretty pink bush.....
We had a little bit of time for play out in the backyard before we left....
It was HOT outside. Pretty toasty and SUNNY I might add....
"You aren't gonna make me wear that stupid dress tonight, are you?!"
The trip to the winery was about thirty minutes. It was my first time to see it in person and I was in awe. It was gorgeous. How I'd never known about such a place right along the highway I'll never know. It was so picturesque and perfect for a wedding ceremony. A small white chapel sat beside the gorgeous bed and breakfast. The reception hall complete with a huge patio with plenty of tables sat right beside the chapel. We took a quick look around inside and found that they had already set up the tables and chairs, placed the tablecloths on and had begun decorating the room. Lisa and her friend Loretta (who was my wedding planner as well) had spent part of the afternoon getting a jump start on wedding prep.
Here are a few pictures that were taken prior to the rehearsal madness.....
As you can tell Hallie was in the mood to explore and did not have any plans to rehearse her part in the wedding. In fact we had to make some very last minute decisions which ended in us deciding to put her in a wagon to go down the aisle. We were also worried about her dress, of course, and most importantly if she would leave it on. The actual rehearsal was not the most relaxing experience but it ended with a definite plan and everyone seemed content. The main issue was the temperature and the fact that the sun would be shining right on the ceremony come Saturday evening. I think Bailey was just a tad bit stressed and on the verge of tears mid-rehearsal so I was glad when the preacher made a few jokes to lighten the mood. Hallie was still unsure about how she would perform her duties and seemed to be pondering this very hard.....
"To be good or not to be good..that is the question."
Sun or no sun, slanted chairs or no slanted chairs, wagon or no wagon....one thing was for sure.....us bridesmaids were READY to do our bridesmaidy things!
Keith kept everyone laughing....
But it was easy to see that everyone had one thing on their mind during rehearsal....
'Where's the beer?"
My sister was looking mighty gorgeous Friday night. Can't deny that!
And dad was looking mighty stressed at certain points throughout the rehearsal. Can't deny that....
Probably pondering how much he'd spent on the wedding ;)
The pretend vows and rings were exchanged....the stage was set....it was time for a little R&R...and we were ready to PARTY!!!
The rehearsal dinner was hosted by Spencer's parents who pulled out all the stops. These adorable glasses were the perfect wedding souvenir for the party-goers.....
Dara was enjoying the glasses AND the sangria....
There was a huge crowd of relatives, cousins, friends, "plus ones", and the wedding party. We ate, drank and were more than merry....
Stinker doodle enjoyed her dinner so much that we had to strip her down
Hallie was in her usual form and kept the crowd entertained with her non-stop shenanigans. I was the embarrassing sister who insisted on Bailey and Spencer pose for a picture with their friends....
And of course more group pics followed.....
And finally a few of my two sweeties (one of them was very, very tired...but I'll let you guess which one).....
"I'm not tired...I've got at least two more hours of partyin' in me..."
Momma or Cousin It?
That's better!
Mark and Kim have a beautiful home that was perfect for entertaining everyone. A good time was had by all. I know one girl in particular who could not stop smiling. I'll give you a hint: she was going to get married in the morning....
Kisses for the bride
Stay tuned for my chronicles of Bailey and Spencer's big day.....
No comments:
Post a Comment