We woke up on wedding day with great plans of being very productive.  Daddy told us that he wanted to leave for the church no later than noon and Mogie and I considered that plenty of time to go find some jewelry for her and some dress “sticky stuff” for me.  We ventured out into Irondale and who should we see strolling through Wal-Mart’s parking lot but J and E!  J had left the hotel some time earlier to take her shopping for a ring pillow.  As we waved and drove past Mogie said, “They look so normal!”  They definitely seemed very relaxed for a couple on their wedding day.  

On the other hand, Mogie and I were not so relaxed as leaving time crept closer and we still had not found any jewelry that she liked.  We waited at the jewelry counter in KMart for an eternity only to decide that the necklace and earrings she liked were too expensive.  So we quickly grabbed some other jewelry and rushed back to the hotel where I went straight to Aunt Mera’s room to have my hair and makeup done by my ever helpful cousins Megan and Tirzah.  I then went to our room where all the guys were basically ready and looking dapper.  Mogie was wearing her pretty cranberry dress and putting on her finishing touches.  I got dressed in record time and we all headed out to the church.  I rode with J and held the ring pillow in my lap.

We were the first to arrive and spent about a half an hour just hanging out in the sanctuary.  Finally at about 1:00 the receptionist told me that E had arrived so I went to check on her.  There she sitting in a chair with her wedding dress spread out on a table in the middle of the room.  She was waiting for an aunt to come and do her makeup but it turned out that that aunt was also the one who had made the wedding cakes and she was not to be torn away from them.  So I found somebody else to help and returned to E who for the first time showed signs of stress and said she was afraid she might turn into “bridezilla.”  But as soon as she got into her dress she became more relaxed.  I kept busy buzzing around finding one of her sisters to do her hair, giving people their corsages and other little things.  (If you can’t tell, I enjoyed the wedding planning bit.:))  Finally (about 20 min late) we were ready and I left E standing in the hall and scurried off to find my seat.  Things went pretty smoothly.  All the grandparents and parents were seated without incident and E’s sister, Miracle started singing, “I Believe in You and Me” which was taking the place of the wedding march.  It was then that I looked back and saw Boo and Wayne (E’s brother) the ushers searching through the back pews of the church.  I realized that they had no clue that the white cloth for the bride to walk on was in the front of the church.  So I had to get up (from my seat in the 3^rd row) and run back and tell them where it was.  Then I hurried to sit back down got there in time to watch E walk by.  

The wedding was very sweet and the music was the best I’ve ever heard at a wedding.  (I’ve been to 10 or 11)  But the high point was definitely J reading a letter he wrote to E.  You could almost feel the change in atmosphere as people realized how deeply committed he is to her and that their love is so strong and mature.  J and E didn’t cry but Mogie, Daddy and I did.  Asia (E’s niece) nearly stole the show as she ran up to give J the ring pillow.  

E’s dad preformed the ceremony and he forgot to say, “You may kiss the bride.”  J and E had already walked off the stage before he remembered to say it.  Yes, the audience was waiting for it and I think I actually yelled, “Kiss her!” out loud.  Mogie and Daddy say that they were making signs and gestures to remind them.  So J lifted her veil gave her the world’s fastest kiss and then pulled her veil back down again.  It was very cute.  They were halfway up the aisle when E must have told him that the veil was supposed to have been left up so then he pulled it up and fixed it.  

The wedding reception was pretty awesome.  E’s dad did the catering and there was a lot of food and some really pretty fruit platters.  After the reception we went back into the sanctuary and took pictures.  It was almost 7:00 by the time we all left.  J and E headed off on their two day honeymoon and the rest of the KY contingent went back to the hotel to change into something more comfortable.  

We all (with the exception of Grandmother and Granddaddy) ended up going out to eat at Olive Garden which was a nice way to close out the weekend and also a bit of a celebration in honor of Mogie and Daddy’s 29^th anniversary.  

We all arrived home safely and J and E got here in time for Christmas supper on the 25^th.  

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and I look forward to seeing most of you before too long. 

Quote of the Day:
"Merry Christmas, movie house! Merry Christmas, Emporium! Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan!"- what movie could this possibly be from?;)

 

While December is always a busy month for our family this year it is especially so with J and E’s wedding.  E bought some blank invitations off line and we printed them out last weekend and put them together ourselves while watching “Ratatouille.”  I’m so thankful to be home in time for all of this excitement. 

I have so many stories to tell but I’m not going to try to start tonight.  I just wanted to write something to let you all know I am still committed to this blog and that you can expect plenty of stories about my life on this side of the ocean.

Quote of the Day:

When God made time, he made enough of it.- Celtic Saying