My sister, Carrie, got married on Saturday, April 13, 2013! This was very exciting to me since I wasn't sure if she would ever make the trip down the aisle.
She and Mark decided to get married in the lovely city of Savannah. They were originally going to have the ceremony in the cozy courtyard of The Gastonian, the Bed and Breakfast where we stayed in Savannah. A few months before the wedding, they decided to move the ceremony to Trinity United Methodist Church. After arriving at The Gastonian and seeing the courtyard, we all agreed Carrie and Mark made the right decision. The courtyard was pretty, but it didn't suit this particular event.
Most everyone began arriving in Savannah on Friday afternoon. A couple arrived on Thursday and enjoyed an extra day in the city. As usual, Justin and I arrived barely in time to make it to the rehearsal. We just couldn't get out of Atlanta as soon as we wanted. We had to get packed, get the car loaded, drop off the dogs with the sitter, and get on the road. After making a return trip to the house, we were in the wind.
We rushed in the hotel, checked in, and ran to our room to get dressed. Everyone else was elegantly sipping wine and munching on tea cakes as Justin and I arrived rather abruptly. We ran back downstairs and jumped in the car before heading to the church. I must say the weather was lovely, but warm and humid. I couldn't stop perspiring!
We arrived at the church, walked through the ceremony and then headed to the rehearsal dinner at Carrabba's. The food was great, but the fellowship with family was even better. After dinner, we headed back to our rooms to settle in for the night.
The bride and bridesmaids had to be in the Carrie's room at 8:30 a.m. for hair and make-up. I grabbed breakfast and headed to get beautiful. The ladies worked very quickly and left before noon. By this time, most of us wanted to eat lunch. I found a delivery company and took orders before placing the order online.
Moon River Brewing Company delivered a lot of food to us around 12:15 p.m. and we dug in. My niece, the maid of honor, suggested we eat outside on the front porch. This turned out to be one of the greatest suggestions of the weekend. The weather was perfect! There was a slight breeze, low humidity, and cool temperatures. Perfect! Because several of us had up-dos and pretty make-up, we decided to just hang out at the house until time to dress for the wedding. The bride also had a tiara and veil in her hair, so going out really wasn't ideal. We saw many tour groups ride by and take photos of the lovely ladies on the porch.
We were even approached by a gentleman asking for money to help with medication costs. I have certain ideas about giving money to people on the street and just don't do it. I suggested the man visit a nearby church. He said he did and was arrested. I'm sure there is more to that story. He asked if there was anyone else inside the house and I assured him there wasn't. About that time, Justin comes walking out the door, says, "Bye, guys!" and heads off to join Mark, the groom, and the groom's brother, Matt. We all looked at each other while the man asking for money just looks at us like a bunch of liars.
We ordered dessert before time to get dressed and hung out on the porch a little more. We cleaned up the porch and headed in to get even more beautiful!
My niece and I got dressed first. All we had to do was put on our dress and then help Carrie get dressed. My mother joined us to help with this task since the bridesmaid dresses were a little snug all the way down and prevented us from bending down very far.
The bride was simply beautiful!
After dressing, the photographer arrived to take some photos at the hotel prior to heading to the church. There were several people ejoying the afternoon tea during the photos. They looked at Carrie like they were enamored. She was beautiful!
The ride to the church took two trips since there were thirteen of us to get there and the car only held eleven people. We took photos outside before the ceremony started. I tried to get the bride's ring to the best man before he headed back to the room to wait to walk out. I didn't make it in time, so I had both rings in my possession.
The ceremony started and when we got to the part of the ceremony when the pastor asked for the bride's ring, the best man shook his head and said he didn't have it. The pastor thought the best man was saying, "No" to the wedding and seemed to be preparing for how to handle this. I spoke up and said, "I have them both" before handing them over. Everyone seemed very relieved since there were lots of giggles from everyone.
The ceremony ended with the introduction of the bride and groom as Mr. and Mrs. We took a few more photos in the church and then loaded up before heading to the reception dinner.
The reception was held at Elizabeth on 37th in their private dining room. It was perfect! The room was large, but not too large, so it felt intimate, but not too cozy. We seated ourselves while we waited for the bride, groom, and maid of honor to arrive. Once they arrived, there were a few more photos taken before we began our seven course dinner. It was oh, so delicious!
Sadly, we didn't eat cake because the final course of the night was a yummy pecan almond tart. There just wasn't room for the cake! The cake was small, but very elegant. It was a perfect touch to end the night.
Because it was about ten thirty at night and the limousine was still ours until midnight, five of us decided to head out for a couple of drinks. The bride, groom, groom's brother, Justin, and I headed to Savannah Smiles Dueling Pianos. My sister and I really enjoyed the place, but Justin clearly did not have fun. He didn't like the music, the scotch selection, or the other patrons (drunk sorority girls and frat boys). We hung out there for about an hour before calling the limo driver to take us back to the hotel. Carrie and Mark had to leave for the airport at 3:15 a.m. so they really needed to go to bed.
Justin and I weren't ready to call it a night, so we walked to Pinkie Masters Lounge for a drink. He got his scotch and all was right with the world. We wandered back to our room and called it a night. I was asleep and didn't hear the room phone ring, but Justin told me the phone rang at 3:00 a.m. By the time he answered it, there was only a dial tone. We think the wake-up call for the newlyweds went to our room instead of the honeymoon suite.
My niece later told me her mother said the alarm didn't go off and the cab that was taking them to the airport almost left them. They arrived at the airport intime for their flight. While landing in Charlotte, NC, the wheels touched down and they took off again due to being too close to another plane. I'm sure this wasn't super pleasant for the passengers, but glad they eventually landed safely.
We all got up on Sunday morning and headed back home. We said our goodbyes to our relatives and Justin and I headed to Atlanta.
The weekend was lovely and perfect! I don't think my sister's wedding could have been anymore perfect!
