About last weekend...the details
Just in case anyone thinks I did this wedding all by myself, I want to clarify...it took a village. From the olive greens the bride chose (no we do not live in sunny California or the Italian countryside) to the breathtaking white flowers...we had help. One of my oldest and dearest (we started marriage and baby raising together in Texas) cut limbs from her Olive trees and sent them overnight from California to us...aren't friends fab?! I did finally locate a source (wholesalegarland.com and tell Brandon I said "hey") for every green under the sun so olive wreaths weren't out of the question.
Did I mention breathtaking white flowers? Yep, they were. From an amazingly talented artist (her medium is flowers) in Gate City, Virginia, Casey owns Made by Hands Floral and is a dream to work with. (find her on Facebook) Oh, FYI, the antlers were collected gently in Texas years ago and all wedding chalkboards are by the bride herself. (#artbyhannahlee)
I'd be leaving a huge piece of this puzzle out if I didn't mention my friend, Tommy Speight. He's from Hot Springs, NC and can do more with rocks and plants than most anyone. Just take a look at this fireplace in the backyard. Sweet, huh? When I turned up lame he came through in a big way. Bless him.
Now, lemme talk a minute about my genius friend, Todd. To say he is talented is one of the world's biggest understatements. He's frickin' amazing. Besides being a fab friend, he's a graphic designer, web designer, and videographer extraordinare. He can tell a story without words better than anyone. I'm not sure there's anything he CAN'T do. Just check out this video and you'll see.
Our sweetie pie photographer is the up and coming Kayla Moffitt. She is a dream...as a friend, coworker and talented artist. We're grateful for her. Look her up on Facebook.
I didn't have to look far for wedding music. Having a sister who can play the piano comes in handy. She's amazing really, and combine her talent with my sweet Venezuelan violinist surrogate son, Euclides, and you've got a concert people would play plenty to hear.
Food was a breeze (if that can be said about anything wedding related). We learned from the last wedding rodeo that prime rib and steamed shrimp are kinda hard to beat so we again went to the best folks around. Phil Dangel at The Shrimp Dock in Knoxville is just the nicest man...and knows his seafood. He throws in funny as a bonus. Ordered the prime rib roasts from The Fresh Market in Bearden (Logan is the bomb) and The Chop House at exit 407 on I-40 roasted them for us (thanks Junior). As I said in my previous post "About Last Weekend" my girl gang filled in with finishing off maple roasted sweet potatoes, steamed green beans with butter, and Hunter made the most amazing Kale Strawberry Salad ever. Besides our house-made desserts I was directed to a cookie crafter (Vickie Blaylock of New Market) who made the prettiest, most detailed wedding cookies ever. Just take a look.
It was an exhausting and invigorating weekend. Full of joy...we love our new son...and a twinge of sadness...our daughter will no longer be 5 seconds away. But life rolls on and new adventures await.
All you need is LOVE...and a little chocolate.
