The venue Sarah and Alex chose was a local country club. The ceremony was on the back stone patio, which overlooked the golf course. They suspended tiny flower-filled vases from the wooden beams overhead. Al that was beautiful, but the true piece de resistance was a rustic wooden cross that the florist had twined with vines and white blooms. It stood as a stunning aesthetic and symbolic centerpiece at the altar. We bridesmaids wore a combination of dresses in David's Bridal Peacock Blue and carried bouquets of yellow and white, showcasing ranunculus and fragrant freesias.
After Carlie and Austin's wedding, I taught my very first last week of school [which will have its own post]. After the chaos of eating watermelon, passing out farewell presents and all manner of dramatic speeches and entreaties, I filled my arms with school supply remains. I staggered out the front door with an over the shoulder farewell and half tumbled into my dad's XTerra. He dropped me off at the airport to catch my 3:50 to Little Rock via DFW. Wedding #2, here we go.
Well, I made it to DFW... eventually. As we neared the airport, the captain came on air and uttered the traveler's death sentence: holding pattern. Apparently there was a Texas sized downpour over Dallas, and the airport wasn't accepting any incoming flights. We flew in circles for a while, but the weather didn't get our hint. The pilot came on again and said we were down to our reserve tank of fuel, so we were going to Austin to refuel and wait out the storm. I thought that would have been a pretty good idea, except that Austin is in the opposite direction of Sarah's wedding. Much to my chagrin, we made it back to Dallas around 1AM. Hasta la never, connection to Little Rock. Thankfully, I have the best friends in the whole wide world, and one of them (thanks, Chris!) picked me up from the airport.
The bride and groom for wedding #2 are Sarah and Alex. I met Sarah my freshman year of college. She was also my travel buddy to Australia the year after we graduated. Suffice it to say, she's one of my nearest and dearest and knows me better than most people on this planet. Her fiancee, Alex, fell in love with her in 8th, wait for it, grade. Yes, ladies and gents, they've been dating for roughly a decade. Alex popped the question with a sparkling solitaire, and Sarah's yes was out before you could say Jimminy Cricket.
Sarah walked in on her dad's arm to Pachelbel's Canon in D played by a string quartet. Her dress was a simple A-line, strapless gown with delicate ruching on the bodice, sweetheart neckline and shimmering silvery gem-studded belt. [I know, I could totally work for Say Yes to the Dress.] The bride and groom, both adept writers, crafted their own vows in addition to the traditional "I do" and "with this ring". They took Communion together and invited family members to the front to pray together for Sarah and Alex. Yep, you caught me, I was crying.
After we all, uh, recessed, the bride and groom took a few photos with their families before we kicked off the party that was the reception. As luck may have it, Sarah and Alex weren't into wedding chicken and green beans either, so they opted for fun hors d'oeuvres [what is it with French words having a million vowels?!] like chicken tenders, fruit, veggies, chips and guacamole! Note - just serve food you like at your wedding! Chances are, unless your taste is just weird, your guests will like it too.
The groom's aunt had crafted a scrapbook for the couple. On the table were glue sticks, pens and pieces of cardstock with writing prompts like "What should Sarah and Alex name their children?" and "A word I would use to describe Alex is _______" and "My favorite part of today was ________" for guests to fill out and glue into the book. What a fun way to engage your guests! Speaking of guest engagement, they also had a photo booth with fabulous props and a canvas tree thumbprint guestbook. And, no surprise, the cake was adorable.
Sarah made me promise not to let the dance floor become a barren wasteland of awkwardness, so I tore it up with Ian, my 76 year old Australian host dad [both sets of our host parents flew in for the wedding AND we live streamed it to our church in Australia - satellite wedding, anyone?], my friend Nate who taught me how to two step, my good natured groomsman, and random wedding guest guy. Needless to say, the dance floor was well looked after. Can you say Cupid Shuffle?
All in all, it was a fantastic wedding!
Much love,
Little Miss Sunshine
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