JoJo and Melissa's Wedding

I lifted this photo from Jo's Facebook page!

Bob's sister, Joye, was married LAST Labor Day weekend.  Yes, that's right... 2011.  

(I told you I was going to be playing some major blog catch-up!!!)

Anyhow, it was a fun-filled weekend, filled with family and friends.  It really was one of the funnest weddings I have ever been to.  Sadly though, I was pregnant, and couldn't partake in the bubbly!  But, 

I had a great time watching everyone else partake. :)

It was a Quaker ceremony, which was quite unique, and intimate.  The reception was a blast, and I am pretty sure the dance floor was packed the entire time.

Here's to many more!  

It's Like Rain on Your Wedding Day...

A few weekends ago, we headed down to Destin, FL for Bob's BFF's wedding. We arrived late Friday night, searching for the condo in what I would call hurricane-like weather! The rain was pelting the windows sideways, and coming down hard. Unfortunately, this was a preview of things to come...

Mike (Bob's brother from another mother), and his now-wife, Brandi planned a beautiful wedding. While the guest list was small, at under 20 people, the wedding incorporated everything you'd see at a large-scale wedding and reception.

A beautiful beach ceremony, at sunset was planned. But, this was what the weather looked like...

It looks like there were waves of water on the condo/resort's terrace. Sadly, it basically got to that point.

So, in an effort to get those nuptials ON, the ceremony was moved indoors.

The groom watching his bride walk down the aisle:

The bride and her daughter, Ryen, walking down the aisle. (Notice Bob in the background. Bobby was not on his best behavior at this point, and we had to take turns holding him outside, or in the back.)

All the kiddo's in attendance:

So, this picture pretty much sums up how the reception went. It was hellishly windy, rainy, and storming. Everyone was a good sport, and grinned and beared it. (Side note: the reception was outside, under a tent).

The floor started to flood.

Umbrellas were opened.

Pants were rolled up.

Eek!!! Look at the bride's gown!

Finally, after dinner, and during the first dances, lighting struck just a little too close to home. The party was moved indoors, with the cutting of the cake and toasts.

The bride with Bobby:

With the torrential downpour these two experienced on their wedding day; they are going to have the best luck in their marriage.

Congrats to Mike and Brandi!

Flashback Friday - Wedding Edition

I had the bright idea of adding a little spin to my Flashback Friday posts. For the next several months, I will be devoting my FF posts to my wedding. I actually thought of this recently; the night we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. You see... I have nearly 700 photographs from our wedding day, courtesy of our awesome wedding photographers. Yet, just a *snippet* of these photos are in our actual album, and in our home. So, I thought it would be fun to showcase them on my blog.

This week's theme?

Our Engagement

Unfortunately, we do not have any pictures of the proposal. However, I do have a couple of pictures that were used pertaining to our engagement.

This picture was my favorite one taken during our engagement picture session. We framed it, and used it as our guest "book" during the wedding. It hangs in our home today.

August 2007

This picture was taken by Bob's dad. We used it for our engagement announcement in our local newspaper.

December 2006

Want to play along? Just leave me a comment saying so, and make sure to link to my blog during your post.

Next week's theme: Bridal Luncheon (or something of that equivalent) Pictures

I know you don't want all of those pictures to go to waste, right? :)

Our 1 Year Anniversary

We spent our first anniversary at the infamous Grove Park Inn in Asheville. We actually celebrated our dinner on the 14th, because we were tired from sightseeing all day on the 13th. We did however, enjoy our top layer of the wedding cake on the 13th!

Here is the view we had from our table at dinner. Notice the hot-air balloon.

The four of us at dinner...the steaks were amazing! I, of course, was stuck drinking water, just being newly pregnant here.

Bob and I, with the beautiful view behind us.

Eating our top layer of our wedding cake, which, was actually pretty good!

The cake. This cake traveled with us from Orlando to Birmingham, and then from Birmingham to Asheville. Thankfully, my mom did an amazing job of saran wrapping it! The three apples on top were long gone.

Mary and Ryan's Wedding

My cousin Mary got married on Saturday, October 4th. She is the cousin that is closest to me on both sides, being just 7 months older than me. I have so many fun memories of us growing up together. We would spend summers at her house, or mine. And, don't even get me started on the memories at Grandma's house! Anyhow, I wouldn't have missed this wedding for anything. It was held in Gainesville, FL. The drive was about 6 hours for us. We were only there for a night, as the wedding was in the morning. I would have liked to have hung out longer, but with that drive, we had to get back on the road.

Here is Mary being walked down the aisle by my Uncle Mike.

First Dance with new groom, Ryan Cooke.

Us.

The cake.

My grandmother with her children. From left to right, my Uncle Mike, Dad, Grandma, Aunt Susan, and Uncle Frank. They all look so much alike!

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Dale McCrystal!

Bob and I headed down to Orlando September 12 - 17th. The reason for this trip was to see my best friend Lisa get married! She had a beautiful wedding, and it was so "them." We had a great time, and wish nothing but marital bliss ;) for them :)

Here they are, heading to the altar. They got married outdoors, in a park in Orlando.

Lisa's oldest sister Ann, married them.

Here's the bride and groom posing after the ceremony!

The reception was held at Luma on Park Avenue in their wine cellar. Here is a pic of the room, before most of the guests arrived.

Groom's cake....Go Gators!!!

Bob and Dale actually knew one another at UF. We introduced these two love-birds...xoxoxo.

Cutting the cake...

The happy Bride and Groom!

Bob and I (yes, this is my favorite dress, and I wear it ALL the time) :)

Dennis and Michelle Early

Dennis is Dale's best friend.

The cake, with an "M" monogram for McCrystal!

Our Reception

Our reception was a blast! I cannot wait to see our wedding video, to relive it! And, I think everyone had a great time too. As everyone warned me, the night flew by. But, I do admit, by the time it was over, I was ready for some R&R. My feet were killing me. I don't think I've ever danced so much in one night... Everything was wonderful!

I think besides stating our vows, I was most nervous over the first dance. I like to dance, but I wouldn't consider myself that great. Yeah sure, I can dance when there's a crowd, or if it's fast, and for fun. But, slow dancing, in front of 200 people is quite a different story. And, we had some turns and twirls in our dance, to top it all off. We had practiced our dance too. I know that I 'messed' up during the dance, but I don't know if it was noticeable to others. Anyhow, we (or me) opted to not do the turns the second time around.

The toasts were all special, and all hilarious in each way. My sister was so nervous, yet she did great. Her toast was perfect - emotional, funny, and full of memories. Jeremy had the room rolling on the floor with laughter. And, his too, was emotional for Bob. Jo's, of course was great too! The key joke was awesome; especially with Bonnie Burton!

The cake cutting was a lot of fun too. We never did get around to discussing what we would do with the cake, meaning, if we were going to smother it all over our faces or not. With that being said, I totally smothered cake all over Bob! And, then I licked it off his face - ha ha! Just one lick though!

The tossing of the bouquet was pretty funny. I had two surprises up my sleeve. The first was my garter. My sister had the idea of getting a Florida Gator garter. Bob was surprised when he pulled it off my leg. We pulled the ol' switcharoo, and kept the Gator garter. I instead, handed him another garter to throw. Oh, and poor Bob! I made him work to get that garter off my leg. My other surprise was for my sister. I had planned beforehand to "toss" my bouquet to her. But, I didn't actually toss it, I ran it over to her, and gave it to her. Why not? She's next in line in the Lee household! Anyhow, Bob and I had concocted a plan to make sure Kathy caught the bouquet, and Phil caught the garter. Phil was very close to catching it, but instead, Bob's cousin, Michael, swept in for it. Luckily, he was willing to give it to Phil.

Overall, the reception was full of fun memories for us. I hope it was the same for everyone else too! I have attached one of my favorite pictures. It's a picture of us leaving Heathrow, at the end of the night. We look so happy, and I just loved all the bubbles. We both felt like the line of our family and friends was never-ending. It was the best way to end a perfect day.

The Ceremony

The ceremony was absolutely beautiful! I honestly could not have asked for the moment to be more perfect. As we arrived at Heathrow, we were whisked away immediately for some pre-ceremony pictures. It was a lot of fun, but wow, the wind was blowing! We did manage to sneak some good pictures in. But, then, people starting showing up - early!!! I wanted to hide pronto, not only from the early-arrivers, but also from Bob.

The girls were taken to the Women's Locker Room, inside the country club. The locker room was on the bottom floor of the club, about two flights down. I felt like we were in a basement. And, I felt like we were trapped in this tiny space (it really wasn't tiny, but I did feel like the room was shrinking in on me) forever!!! I found out afterwards, that the ceremony started a little late for a reason. What was this reason, you might ask? The best man, Jeremy left the rings in the limo! Oddly enough, I didn't put two and two together when Lisa asked me what the limo company's name was. Instead, I was at this point, focusing on my breathing (thanks JoJo). Actually, I have a lot to thank JoJo for, in regards to the anxiety I was feeling before the ceremony. She was great at calming the girls down, because they were hyper. I think she might have introduced them to some Yoga Breathing techniques for the first time in their young lives.

Finally, and I mean, finally, the ceremony was ready to begin. We all lined up, and were ready to go. At this point, (well, I admit, it was earlier than this point), I started getting really nervous. I watched as my bridesmaids walked down the aisle. Then, I saw my flower girl leave my side. Everyone was leaving me! But, then I saw him. I know what you're thinking...you're thinking - Bob, right? No, it was my dad, ready to walk his oldest daughter down the aisle. I was shaking pretty badly by this point. My dad sensed my nervousness, and held me pretty tightly. Or, rather, he held me up!

As I walked down the aisle, I took notice of all the guests. I wanted to absorb everything in. I was just about half-way down the aisle, when my eyes met Bob's. And, that's when I lost it. I just started crying. They were tears of anxiety, tears of love, and tears of happiness. As soon as I was by Bob's side, I felt comfortable again. The ceremony was emotional for us, and our family and friends. People later told us, that they could just tell how much in love we were with one another. The ceremony was magical, in a sense for me. I was looking deep into Bob's eyes. I felt completely at ease. I didn't even stutter a word during our vows. I was strong, because of him. We stated our vows, and everything went smoothly. I felt relaxed and at ease, and it was sincerely because of my husband!

Overall, and before I just keep blabbing, the ceremony was everything and more, than I had imagined. It was the best way to entwine our love together for eternity. We are blessed, very, very blessed...

Getting Ready for the Big Day!

The day of the wedding seemed to have dragged for me. I awoke that morning around 9am or so. Unfortunately, I slept pretty horribly the night before. I was pretty tired most of the morning, but as the afternoon approached my adrenaline took over.

Lisa and Nicole were the first bridesmaids to arrive that day. Lisa brought over champagne and OJ for mimosas. She brought over so much champagne (it was a big joke), we ended up with plenty for the family brunch on Sunday. Joye and Jo Jo got the house around noon, as things were starting to get into full swing. Jamie arrived at the house around 1pm. The rest of the bridal party (Victoria, Meagan, and Ashley) arrived around 2pm, after Meagan's soccer game.

Overall, the day was just weird for me. I was happy, excited, and feeling all sorts of emotions. But, I was also nervous, tense, and a bit overwhelmed. The women we hired to do our hair and make-up did a great job! And, they were so nice. Larri kept me calm and level-headed, along with everyone else.

Once everyone started getting dressed, I started to get really excited. I was extremely happy with the outcome of the dresses from Aria. And, I just felt that everything came together perfectly! The earrings I picked out were perfect too! I was a bit nervous over that, because I had thought that they would be too big. Overall, everyone looked stunning! My friends can sure clean up well ;-).

Here are some pics of us getting ready.