Charis Cross Country: B&J Wedding Recap

We pulled into the driveway after dark on a Thursday.

The neighborhood was new, we'd never been to the house before, and we were navigating using a moody GPS after a long day of driving, most of it done by T after a mid-morning speeding ticket in Texas (I wasn't speeding. Let's not discuss it).

I parked the car and detangled myself from the various things that bound me - cords, sweaters (on the arm only and twisted around my seatbelt - we disagree on optimal internal car temperature during road trips so instead of stopping for slurpees the whole way, I clothe up), fuzzy socks (same reason), ipod cords, and the like. Terry opened his door and stood to stretch.

In the next moment, the door swung open and from the cheery rectangle of light there burst Mary-Elizabeth (Bebe for short, it's a long story), lithe and graceful with impossibly long hair and a not-so-impossibly huge grin (she's a smiler). Jerry followed behind her, walking at a decidedly more sane pace with a classically Jerryish quiet smile.

I hadn't seen Bebe in over a year. She visited me late last summer, and was there the night that T and I met. In fact, I credit Bebe and her contagious goofiness as one of the reasons that T and I ended up together - we were all relaxed and good-natured that night with no room to be self-conscious or shy.

After I extracted myself from the car finally, and after a long hug from Bebe and a bear hug from Jerry, who I'd somehow never met in person although my soul had yet to be convinced otherwise, we went inside.

C: "So guys, how does it feel to be on the eve eve of your nuptuals?"
B&J: "Great!"

Friday morning we all awoke, and T and I ran out to grab breakfast fixins from a nearby farmer's market (eggs, starfruit, banana nut muffins, bananas, blueberries, grapes, and croissants, if you're curious). The next few hours were done in oldschool spa day style reminiscent of college, when I'd drive a couple of hours to spend a weekend at Bebe's apartment, giving her pedicures in her 8th and 9th months when her stomach was too round for her to do it herself, and after Denise was born and I'd come on the weekends to now give massages to her tiny "banana feet" as she'd go absolutely still on my lap (at least, I thought that meant that she liked them. Who knows?). After we'd done makeup run-throughs and corrected smudged toes and painted Denise's 4-year-old toes an approved sheer pink, the girls all packed up our stuff and headed out.

There was the rehearsal, the rehearsal dinner, both which were as fun (dinner) and obligatorily tedious (rehearsal) as they always are. The rehearsal was at Bebe's parents' house, and after a his-and-hers video slide show (tear-inducing), some delicious food (I don't remember what flavor the dessert was but I know that I ate mine AND most of T's), and toasts upon toasts, the guests left, we kissed our boys goodbye (T was sleeping over at Jerry's), and we all retired, giddy about the next day.

Saturday morning came and I begrudgingly cracked my eyes open a little after dawn. It's my curse, I wake up early if the sun's up, can't help it, don't like it, and can never live in Alaska. I tiptoed over to the window to open the slats and gaze out at the Floridian morning outside, complete with heavy dew and a watery blue sky. Seemingly the first one up, I powered up the laptop and started working on a playlist for the ride to the reception (we'd just been informed that the trolley to the reception could hook up to an ipod).

Before long, I heard rustlings in the kitchen. Soon after that, the house was up. Coffee was brewing and the family was moving and poking their heads in my opened door (which was actually Bebe's sister Lauren's opened door, to her bedroom that she'd generously donated to me for the night). Moments later Bebe stood in my doorway, with tousled hair and sleepy eyes, shining more brightly than the morning sun outside my window.

"Today's the day!"

And it was.

The rest of the day went by in a blur, but I did manage to document some of it, so I know that this stuff happened:
(a good number of these pics were done by Cassie Smith Photography - she's amazing, go check out her site!)

There was a hair appointment of course,
lots of driving,
(you gotta teach 'em young. Denise took over when we felt like being chauffeured)A gorgeous wedding. Did I mention that it was GORGEOUS? A wedding party trolley to the reception. A grand idea. I'd highly recommend it.
Then, of course, there was the reception...

Congrats guys! It was an amazing wedding and you're an amazing couple! Talk about your storybook endings ;)