I don't think these pictures even need any lead in but I feel like I should write something anyway. There are over 1000 pictures…. I've chosen my favorites that tell the best story of the day.  Y'all, I can't even get over how special and amazing these are.  It literally was the best day of my life and I am so thankful for every single moment that these pictures capture.  God has truly blessed Luke and me.

  

 

 

Officially husband and wife!!

 

Venue: Bolling Haxall House

Flowers: The Green Flamingo

Cake: The Buttercream Bee

Photography: Lauryn Galloway Photography

Band: Three Sheets to the Wind

Catering: A Sharper Palate

Rentals: Classic Party Rentals of VA

Wedding Weekend: Girls getting ready

The day of the wedding the girls were up and at 'em by 10 am. I, however, was up at 7 because it felt like Christmas morning for some reason and I couldn't fall back asleep.  It was a very strange feeling! Everyone got ready at my parents' house so we didn't have very far to go.  Mom made us a wonderful breakfast of egg casserole, grits and fruit and it was the most yummy!  Seriously though, this along with an easy-to-eat lunch, was definitely key to setting the day and night off right.  Since we were all probably (maybe, possibly) going to be drinking a bit the rest of the day and not have much other time to eat, it was key to take advantage of the slow time in the morning to eat what we could.

So we started with breakfast and coffee and before long everyone who wasn't able to spend the night started showing up. The makeup artist and hair stylist arrived a little later and we all got to work!  We had music playing, everyone was chatting and getting ready.  It was such a wonderful time to get to spend with just the girls.

Everyone kept asking me if I was nervous and I really wasn’t.  You know the feeling you get on Christmas morning right when you wake up and you remember it’s FINALLY Christmas morning? It felt like that.  I had been waiting for this day for 9 months.  I planned the crap out of it and was so ready to see it all come together.  And really, as corny as it sounds, I wasn’t nervous because after Luke and my second date I knew I didn’t want to not be with him.  So marriage was bound to happen sometime!

So anyway, corny tangent aside, here are the pictures of my beautiful bridesmaids getting ready.  Some are very goofy (sorry mom) but just wait until next week when you see how nice they look all dressed up! I am so lucky to have these ladies in my life.  

Here is the set up:

Taylor painting her nails.  How cute is she?

Missy getting her hair done by Annmarie

Sandy Lynn waiting her turn.

The best maid of honor ever being very helpful and handing Annmarie bobby pins.

Britt beautifying SL

My beautiful mother!

 Liv getting her makeup done!

Jr. Bridesmaid, Kate, getting her hair curled

Micah definitely looked the best out of all of us before hair and make up.  Look at how gorgeous she looks!

...and the lovely bride.  Stuffing my face while getting my hair done! haha

Wedding Weekend: Rehearsal Dinner

The rehearsal dinner! Oh my goodness where do I begin??

Sage and Louis (Luke's parents) hosted the rehearsal dinner at Hardywood Brewery and it was SO MUCH FUN.  We danced, ate, toasted, drank beer, exchanged gifts, and just had a really awesome time. It was the perfect way to kick off our wedding weekend and we are so thankful for the memories made! Here is the only picture I ended up with of the brewery:

 

When we started planning the rehearsal dinner with Luke’s parents there were many, many [MANY] ideas passed around about what to do.  In all the ideas two things were the same: 1) beer had to be part of the theme. 2) it had to be casual and fun.  For Louis and Sage’s rehearsal dinner they rented a school bus and drove their bridal party out to the best BBQ joint in Austin.  After stuffing themselves full of amazing BBQ they went to a hole-in-the-wall bar and celebrated.  They both remember that night as one of the best nights of their lives and were so sweet in wanting to recreate it for us (and let’s be honest, so they could relive that awesome night again themselves!!) 

So to honor Louis and Sage’s wonderful rehearsal dinner [not so ;)] many years ago, we decided to go the beer and BBQ route and it was FABULOUS! We had Texas beef brisket, smoked turkey, green beans, baked beans, corn bread and, oh my, bread pudding that was to die for.  I promised myself I wouldn’t eat too much the night before the wedding (I had a terrible fear I wouldn’t fit into my dress) but I didn’t work very well once I saw the bread pudding. 

So anyway, we ate a wonderful dinner, then had a tour of the brewery so we could learn a little about how they make beer!  After we were sufficiently stuffed, we had toasts from Luke’s dad, my dad, Luke’s sister, my cousin- Jeb, Luke’s friend- Jake, and my friends- Olivia and Britt.  As you can see from our faces below (ok, mainly my face) they were hilarious, heartfelt, and absolutely perfect.  We are so thankful to have such a wonderful group of people in our lives that surrounded us with love and support all weekend (and all our lives!)

 After toasts….we DANCED and oh lawd was it fun.  It was the absolutely perfect way to end the night. Here are a couple of the dancing :)

Luke and I snuck off to exchange gifts with each other and our families in the middle of everything.  It was a really special time to steal and I recommend anyone planning a wedding doing the same thing.  It is so important to thank the people who raised both of you.  It was a very special moment for us. 

Here are a couple extra pictures with Luke and me with our minister and his wife and my bridesmaids (minus Micah) and me.  

So that is the rehearsal dinner.  Thank you, thank you, to the best parents-in-law for throwing such a wonderful party for us!  We had a blast and I am fairly certain everyone else did as well.