Went To A Wedding And A Broadway Show Broke Out

Seeing how "musical-y" my mom, my sister and I are and see how much my dad loves to embarass his daughters with musical comedy routines like he did at my sister's rehearsal dinner, I can totally see this happening at my reception (especially since Fiddler On The Roof is my dad's go-to reference show). Only my dad would be singing "If I Were A Rich Man" instead of "To Life."

This is Tony Award-winning writer Lin-Manuel Miranda's wedding, most famous for In The Heights.

Enjoy.

The Weekend That Was - Part 2

Alternate title for this post: Four Warnings and A Wedding

I know it's been about three weeks since I talked about The Weekend That Was, but now it's time to get back to the story-telling.

Saturday (April 24) was Kelly and Raymond's wedding. Every kind of severe weather warning you could think of what covering the state of Alabama. And did I mention it was an outside wedding? Yeah.

Nicole and I packed up and headed south to the 4H Center where the wedding was being held. The sky seemed to get better and better the further south we went, and an hour later, we ended up in the middle of nowhere at the site of the wedding.

At one point, driving through Small Town USA and passing deserted pastures, we kept our eyes on the sky for stray flying bovine.

All was well as we got to the wedding. The rain had subsided, if only for a few minutes, and we made our way under the chapel pavillion to take our seats. Meanwhile, we passed Kelly who was fully prepared with her yellow galoshes.

It was a small ceremony of her closest family and friends. Everything was so personal. All of her friends pitched in. Every decoration, invitation, snack, finishing touch, etc., was done by a family member of friend.

Here's what I contributed:

Instead of printing programs, she had me just do one big program and had it framed. Kelly's is a lover of all things rustic wood so this was perfect for her. Her colors were baby blue and chocolate and her flowers were daisies so I added that into the design.

Besides the funfetti wedding cake and the groom's cake made of Betty Crocker brownies made by small group members, the ceremony really was my favorite part of the day. Although it starting pouring halfway through the ceremony, it really was a testament to God's faithfulness to us and his persistence in his pursuit of an intimate relationship with him.

The moms walked to the great praise and worship song, "In Christ Alone" and when they were in place, the congregation stood and we sang the remainder of the song. Then the bridesmaids processed in to Third Day's "Offering" followed by Kelly who was escorted by her sweet daddy. The song is one that Kelly has always said that she wanted to walk down the aisle to and it was such a sweet moment to see that finally happen for her.

Kelly and Raymond's love story is such an earthly representation of God's pursuit of his people. The couple met at Lakeshore Foundation where Kelly works and were Raymond became a member after his motorcycle accident. They became great friends and have remained friend for a number of years.

Probably since he's known her, Raymond has pursue a romantic relationship with Kelly, but Kelly, being a Christian, stuck to her guns and wouldn't date a nonbeliever. Kelly had always been very open about her faith with Raymond, as she is with everyone she meets. She invited him to church and small group and about two years ago, he finally caved and started coming to small group with her.

For the first little while, he was just going to spend time with her. But after a while, Raymond really started to respond to what he was learning and going even when Kelly couldn't go.

Through a series of events last spring, Raymond decided that he was tired of running from the God that was actively pursuing him. He stopped and turned and allowed God to take control of his life.

Shortly after, Raymond confessed his feelings for Kelly again and Kelly finally knew that God's timing had finally worked itself out. About three months later, in January, he Kelly's dad for her hand in marriage on a trip home to Miami to visit her family. A week later, he proposed and four months later, they are husband and wife.

It's really been amazing to see God's plan for both Raymond and Kelly unfold. It's a true testament to his faithfulness in two respects. One - his faithfulness to Kelly (over 30) to provide a mate after wondering if she would ever meet him. And two - his faithful pursuit of Raymond's heart, year after year after year.

God's awesome, isn't he?!

Small Group Photo Op

So, that's the story of Saturday.

Maybe in a month, I'll be back with the story of Part 3.

Whirlwind Tour Down 20/59

People. I think I spent more time in my car in the past 48 hours than I did on land. It was all for great things though. Promise.

Sunday, I woke up 45 minutes later than I had planned and booked it to Jackson for my sweet Julie's wedding. And yes, I still got there with 22 minutes to spare, in one piece and without a speeding ticket. Folks, I've learned my lesson about the speeding. Seven tickets later. At least, I think that's the count.
Anyhoo.

Yes. You heard me right. Julie got married on a Sunday. And it was fantastic. It was at the Fairview Inn in Jackson and it was the most glorious outside wedding I've ever been to or had the privilege to be a part of. It was out on the patio where the gazebo was and the area was shaded just enough and the wind blew every so lightly that it was not hellaciously (I think I just made that word up) hot like we thought we would all be in our own little black dresses. Yes, you heard me again. No expensive bridesmaid dress to buy. Just told up all to go buy a black dress, gave us a few parameters, and sent us on our way.
I love low-maintenance friends!

Julie's dress was perfectly classic and fit her style and personality so well. Tall and slender with the classic birdcage veil to match.

It was a great ceremony and the Lord was definitely glorified through it. There's no doubt about that.

The best thing about it though, was that I got to see my friends! 

From left to right: Casey, Me, Jules and Hollye

Great food, great friends, great fun.

Although I somewhat got the day off, I still had to work on Sunday as well. My softball team was back in Birmingham playing their final conference game and my track team was at the conference championships so I had some major writing looming in the distance for me for the night.

FBC Jackson's choir, of which my mom is in, was recording a CD and DVD Sunday night so I decided to head on over and enjoy some great music all the while praising the Lord. And let me tell you, I did not regret that decision one bit. It was AMAZING! 

However, after I left the Julie and Marshall's reception, I stopped by the Walgreen's to change clothes because I didn't think about changing clothes at the reception. It just didn't cross my mind.

After I changed, I headed down the street to church and with computer in tow, I snuck up to the rafters and set up my own little personal work station. I wrote my softball story as it couldn't be put off any longer. Those folks needed to know about the big win. So I'd write a paragraph, stand and sing, and then write another paragraph and the stand and sing. 

And y'all, that was the most PERFECT place to watch that service. Because our sanctuary is so enormously massive, it's kind of fun to go sit at the very top and watch instead of sitting in our front section eighth row seats like usual. 

I saw people praising the Lord in ways I didn't know FBCJ knew how to praise the Lord. It was so neat. Plus, up there, you really do feel closer than the Lord. And you know what, I had no inhibitions about standing up and raising my hands and clapping like I do in my church here in Birmingham. It's a such a great worship experience. 

And I got finished with my work just in time to fully enjoy Derek singing "I'm Amazed." Y'all, that man just makes my want to cry every time he opens his mouth. 

So after leaving church, I went home and got back to business as usual, only saddened to find out that my track team didn't do as well as I had hoped. 

I got up Monday morning and headed back to Birmingham to get to work by noon only to turn around and leave at 2 p.m., just in time to start getting ready for the SAMSPY's. It's Samford's version of the ESPY's and it was the first edition. And it was fabulous. We handed out 23 awards and I couldn't have been more proud of all of our award winners. They were completely deserving. 

I wish there had been more though.

If I could've handed out my own awards, I would've. But nevertheless, there is next year. 

It was so exciting to see how much the student-athletes enjoyed it and how excited they are about next year even now. 

Here are few pics from the night.

Here are my precious, beautiful volleyball captains on the red carpet (or the step and repeat, as the professionals call it) after accepting their award for Most Outstanding Team (and y'all? They for real deserved it. 28-5. Regular-season division champs!)

This is what the awards looked like. They are really cool.

And then me and my girls - Jessica, Lauren and Hollie (Yay! Hollie is feeling better! She doesn't have the Swine Flu, only Walking Pneumonia!)

To see more photos from the inaugural SAMSPY's go here and here.

So, needless to say, I did not want to go back to work today for a WHOLE day. I have serious Spring Fever. And it's not just because the weather is rockin' my socks off right now and all I want to do is be outside. I'm am totally just...over...work right now. I really just don't care.

I know that sounds bad. But ya know what? It totally gets me through the day. Instead of stressing, I just say, "The heck with it," and do what I can do at the moment. 

I am so ready for May 12th. That is when softball is over with. For good. Hopefully. 

Now that my marathon post is done, I think I will go sleep now. 

The Hitching Post

This weekend was fantastic. Everything went off without a hitch...or with a hitch. Depends on what part of the country you're from.

Although it rained most of the day, it stopped by the time the wedding started and not a drop fell for the rest of the night.

It was a beautiful ceremony with a beautiful bride and a most handsome groom. I'm so excited for them. As a matter of fact, as I type, the happy couple is on their way to Jamaica. The land of opportunity. Or not.

My favorite part was when Mark Coon said, "You may now kiss the bride," and Dane returned with, "Bring it."

Of course he would.

I've never seen Dane so serious about something though. And if there's something to be serious about, this is it. Because he knows the damage I can do, not to mention the half-dozen football players, most of whom are in the NFL, that would come to Casey's rescue if anything were to ever happen to her.

I kid.

Kinda.

Anyway, I created a little montage/slideshow of pictures from the festivities. Enjoy!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Vicarious Freak Out

I completely forgot to include this in my last post, but now that I think of it, it just didn't tie in with the Reading Rainbow theme. Reading Rainbow. That should have totally been my post title. Eh. We live. We learn.

Anyway, I'm totally freaking out because my bfry (I'm totally stealing this from Annie because I HATE writing out B-E-S-T F-R-I-E-N-D) Casey is getting married on Saturday! Yikes! I told her the other day that I was freaking out for her and she told me that it was cool because she's completely calm in a totally weird way.

I'm so excited. Dane was one of those people that comes along at just the right time and sweeps you off your feet. He totally did that with Casey. He swept her off her feet. Right there in GAP. And then later, he swept everyone else of their feet. Even her parents, hence the upcoming nuptials.

Anyway, when you first look at him, he's totally not Casey's type, but the minute he opens his mouth, you know they were meant to be. And he's a die-hard Bulldog fan. Which is a must in our realm of friendship and family.

So needless to say, the first time I met and hung out with Mr. Dane, I knew he wasn't going anywhere.

Stay tuned for pictures of the glorious day. I'm so excited. I hope I remember to take pictures.

My Most Favorite Reading Material

The day after Christmas, my mom presented to me my most favorite magazine (and probably the only magazine I read cover to cover), the Mississippi Magazine 2009 Wedding Register. I absolutely love this magazine because I love seeing people I know (and people I don't know) and just how their special day went down. This year was really fun because a fellow Kappa Delta sister Lindsey (Swedenburg) Pond and her cute beau were on the front with a most fantastic picture (The picture to the right is obviously not this year's cover).

I love reading where the events take place and about the dresses and who was in whose wedding. Seeing the pictures of the dresses and such is so fun too. Casey and I met at Pepper's that night to eat dinner and what to my surprise, she brought the same magazine with her. It was kind of funny. It made talk of her fast approaching nuptials even more exciting.

My mom and I were talking today, and I looked at a picture of her wedding day that is on the wall and commented how fantastic her wedding dress was and how that style is coming back in a major way. Then I remembered an advertisement I ran across the other day in the magazine of this company that restores/updates vintage (mom and grandmom's) wedding dresses. I've mentioned before how I would love to wear her dress if I ever were to get married, and then we started talking about what could be done to it while still keeping the original look to it.

I realized we were a million steps ahead of ourselves but said if I were to ever find someone to marry me, he wouldn't have to wait very long because I'd have the whole thing planned out already.

There's no harm in planning ahead, right?

Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend was so great. It did my heart good.

I took the day off on Friday and drove home to go to Carols By Candlelight at church. This is something I loved doing when I was a kid and I know my mom loves participating in it. Usually she has a solo but this year, she just decided to forego the solo and enjoy just being up there.

She sang in an ensemble at the beginning and it was incredible. The sound was so great and the acoustics of the church made it even better.

This was one of my favorite shows in a while. Usually I can pick out my favorite parts but this year there were too many...

I loved when it snowed inside.
I love when the "brothas" come out and play the neat trumpets.
I loved the presentation of "Shine On Us" with the sign language and the lighting was incredible.
I always love when the ballet dancers dance. I can't believe Kathy Thibadeoux is 50 and she can still take my breath away.
I love hearing Joel sing.
I love watching Bonnie show everyone up in the dance parts.
I love seeing my mom's smiling face on the screen.
I love hearing and watching Derek sing. It's so soulful.
And most of all, I love how worshipful every part was. It wasn't a Christmas program. It was a time of worship and that's the best part.

Saturday, I got up and headed to New Orleans with Casey, Julie, Hollie, Allie and Teri for Casey's Bachelorette Weekend. It was so much fun and we have realized how old we really are. We were back at the hotel by midnight! Sheesh! And once our heads hit the pillow we were out!

We arrived at about 1:30 or 2 p.m. and headed to the mall to eat and browse a little bit. After a couple of hours, we headed to our hotel, the Dauphine Orleans. It's a beautiful hotel and I was surprised to realize that I had stayed in the same hotel about 15 years ago.

The Woman of the Night

The beautiful view from our cute little balcony at the hotel

Teri, me and Casey at the hotel

After doing the whole bachelorette shower thing, we got ready to head out on the town.

We got a parking attendant to take our picture by the pool
(L to R: Me, Julie, Casey, Allie, Teri and Hollye)

We ate a great place that Casey and I love to eat at and I, of course, got the friend shrimp. Yum!

We then headed to Pat O'Briens to hear the dualing pianos and spent most of our time there enjoying the entertainment.

Me and Julie at Pat O's. By the way, congratulations to Julie. She got engaged right before Thanksgiving and we couldn't say anything until all her family knew. So Congrats Julie and Marshall!

When we finally decided to leave, we walked down to Bourban Cowboy so Julie could ride the mechanical bull, just so she could say she did it. But, the line was too long so we left.

No one could decide what to do next, so we went to Cafe' Du Monde and got some beignets. As we were sitting around the table, the majority of us looked like we could fall asleep right there. We were exhausted. So we headed back to the hotel and went to bed.

It was a whirlwind trip, but it was worth it.

I hope everyone else had a great weekend!

Long Time Gone

Ok, so I must catch up. Work has been crazy busy the last few weeks and I can't believe I have NOT ONE sport to cover this week, that is, unless I choose to go score a little baseball on Saturday, which I may do just because. Anyway, I must recap what's been going on.

Two weekends ago, my best childhood friend, Lauren Brown, or as I like to call her, LB, married another good childhood friend, Joey Pape. It's amazing how you can sit next to someone in your first and second grade class picture and then end up marrying them almost 20 years later. It was a beautiful ceremony. Of course, my mom sang. I wish LB's mon, Mrs. Madonna, could have been there but I know she was looking down on the whole shindig, smiling as she always did.

Here a pic of me and the couple at the reception:

Last weekend I got to go to the OVC Tennis Tournament with my tennis teams in Nashville. Fun times. I wish I could've done a little bit more in Nashville because it's one of my favorite cities but I had fun getting to actually cheer for my team this time. It was fun because I've actually built relationships with the coaches and some of the girls and a few parents.

Both of my teams won the championship! The girls pretty much manhandled everybody and the guys' final match came down to one of our best players. He had to go to the hospital after the match, if that tells you anything. It was so fun to see it happen though. The guys have gotten so close to a championship for the past three years and finally got it this year. Fourth time is a charm! They were very close to winning the regular season title this year too but lost their last match to the other team that was undefeated too.

Our girls one the regular season again this year and then won the tournament title this time. They were close last year but lost in the finals. However, they did win the tournament title two years ago. But this one was special because there are only two seniors on the team and they have been doubles partners for the last four years. There rest of the team is freshmen so I'm excited to see how they will be next year. We did have the conference freshman of the year.

So now we are going to the NCAAs. Well, I say we...I hope I get to go. It's Mother's Day weekend so that's a bummer but it depends on where they go on if I get to go or not. If they go somewhere close, then I'll get to go but if they have to fly, I won't go. I'm excited either way. We will find out Tuesday when the selection show airs.

Here's a slideshow of all the pictures I took during the finals.