June 30, 2012 | The Wedding and other adventures

How is it already July? I seem to be losing a track of time very quickly here, don't I? Guess that's what happens when life gets so busy. I am making a bigger effort to upload pictures and then document the stories behind those images. Hopefully I can keep it up!

June 30. The day that one of our closest friends was getting married. Again, it was really hot and we had to be up early because all of the groomsmen were going to shoot skeet and then eat lunch together before they had to get ready for pictures. For some reason, Nathan woke up reallllly early; I don't remember what time he said (maybe 4:30) but the alarm wasn't going to go off until 7:30 or so and consequently, he was exhausted the whole day. We got up, got some breakfast - continental style - and then went back to the room. Sometime that morning, Mr. husband realized that he had forgotten his dress belt at home. Guess what that meant? Yep. I had to go on a search for a belt in Fairhope otherwise we'd probably gotten a skivvy show that nobody wanted or had paid for. LOL.  I didn't have a car to go anywhere because Nathan was driving to the guys event, which meant that I had to walk around town in search of a belt. Oh also, remember how hot I said it was? Hubs also didn't pack enough shirts so he needed something else to wear home the next day. I didn't mind the walking so much as how suffocating the heat was.

After we ate breakfast, the two of us walked around town for a little bit thinking that some of the shops would be open. Nathan also wanted to pick up some earplugs for all of the guys. Much to our dismay, nothing was open! Evidence below:

A really neat mural that covered the length of the building, which was almost as long as the street!

The cutest little "house" ever!

Its bigger neighbor

Look at these empty streets! The little blue shop was where I eventually found a belt.

This gate was next to an alley that cut right through to our hotel, which you can see in the background.

The most amazing mosaic tile murals/signs

The crab was mosaic too, like the birds (above) but you can' t see it so well from this angle. 

I didn't think it was that early but evidently in a small quaint town, people open up their shops at their leisure. We went back to the room to escape the morning sun. The clock read 8:40 and Nathan left for the outing. I stayed in the room a little bit longer until at least 11ish, when I just knew that the shops had to be open. I went in to one shop and asked the girl where I could find any store that sold belts. She told me to head back up to the next town over. Um, hello....no car here... needed walking distance, sister! I thanked her and went to the next shop which happened to be a surf shop. Not the first place I'd go looking for a dress belt, however they happened to have the only belts in town (within walking distance...). The girls in the shop were very helpful and nice, happily pulling out any kind of belt that might pass as "dressy". I found one I liked but it had a bottle opener on the belt buckle. Yeah, that probably wouldn't have gone over so well. I opted for another one that I thought would work, paid for it and started out of the shop. Just as I was leaving, I remembered that Nathan needed a t-shirt, so I turned around and looked through until I found one that wasn't outrageously expensive. I paid again. I think the shop girls must have thought I was crazy. I wasn't exactly looking my best either, with jeans and an over-sized t-shirt on, hair everywhere and no makeup. Scaryyyyy. I was so glad to have knocked out both things fairly easily and went back to the room.

Sitting area facing Section St. 

Entrance to our hotel

I'm not sure how long I'd been out, but sometime after the clothing hunt and Nathan leaving, my phone rang. It was Nathan telling me that they were done shooting and were going to eat lunch. He also told me that his mom decided to come to the wedding. (Long story, but she was in Florida, 7 hours away and wasn't sure if she was going to make it due to some family circumstances). I blubbered out something, most likely unintelligible and fell back to sleep. A little while later he came back to the room, showered and had some time to take a short nap before needing to be at the church for pictures at 3:45.

At 3:30 we headed over to the church, I dropped him off and went back to the hotel to get ready. Thankfully the church was extremely close to where we were staying. I could have walked there but probably would have looked like something out of a Halloween horror movie, had I tried. I was ready with plenty of time to spare and was planning on getting to the church at 5pm (the ceremony started at 6) but I got a text from Nathan's mom that they had arrived and were in their room, did I have any water or food? LOL. I grabbed the thermos of water and lunchbox that had some stuff in it and met them in their room. Nathan's grandmother came with his mom so it was nice to catch up, even if it was short. They freshened up, got ready and we left to go to the church.

Nathan greeted us at the door and escorted us to our seats. We sat pretty close to the front and had a good view of the ceremony. Before the ceremony started, we visited with friends that had also traveled from NC. The ceremony began! :)

Exchanging rings

It was my understanding that after the ceremony, the wedding party was sticking around for some pictures in the church. The wedding director was very adamant and forceful about there being no flash photography and that no cell phones went off during the ceremony. I get it, I do but I was terrified that my phone would go off so I turned it on silent and unbeknownst to me, the picture plans had changed. Poor Nathan, who was already exhausted and hot was standing by the car waiting for me to come get him, and I was sitting in the sanctuary thinking that they were coming back in. He was calling and calling and I didn't answer! Ahh. We finally reunited and headed off to the reception that was about 10-15 min away at a nearby farm.

Inside of the barn

The wedding cake! Made from Rice Krispies -- Stephanie's favorite :)

Cake topper- so stinking cute.

cheese & fruit -- so yummy 

"We'd like to thank our family & friends for their love and guidance throughout our lives. We are so grateful to have you share this special day with us. <3 d&s"

Groomsman, Nathan. :) 

Bride & Groom

Oak Hollow Farm 

La Luna...

Mason jars with chalk labels :)

Table decorations

All of the desserts were made by family members

Dwight, Stephanie, Katie & Nathan

 I had to get a picture of the 4 of us before they disappeared and we didn't get to do it!!! Thanks Tevy for taking this great picture despite my terrible instructions!

 Our friend Nathan, who was also a groomsman decided to roast a marshmallow over the tea light centerpiece. Turned out pretty well as far as I could see.

"Smores and Kisses from the Mr. & Mrs."

Packaged Graham Crackers, Marshmallows & Hershey bars

Coffee and different flavor add-ins

"Happily ever after starts Here"

Dinner commenced, followed by dancing and more dancing. After a while, they stopped to throw the bouquet and garter. The many guests that stayed late, helped send the bride and groom off among waving ribbon. It was so beautiful. Hopefully we didn't stop traffic too much on our way out, but I had to get a picture of the sign.

Congratulations, Dwight & Stephanie! We're so happy for you and pray that God blesses you with many, many happy years together.