A real life fairytale

It was finally here! The week of our wedding, the week we had been counting down to. It was torture working Monday and Tuesday, but fortunately my family made up for it by flying in Wednesday, along with one of my fantastic bridesmaids Sarah Swanson. We had some fun girl time Wednesday night (watching the "Last Song" at the theater ;)) and began the festivities Thursday morning. We started with a bridesmaids luncheon at Mimi's Cafe. LOVE this place! 

After brunch, we headed to Baldwin park to get manicures and pedicures. Mom deemed the experience "so nice it feels sinful" :) We did thoroughly enjoy the hot rock pedicures we got, all while sitting in the massage chairs. Just what we needed to relax and rest up for an eventful next two days!

Jessie, Darcy and Melanie made their way into town as us girls continued to run a few errands before heading to frostproof tomorrow (who knows what the boys were doing at this point, most likely sleeping ;)) We had a practice run with make up, and then it was time to get ready for the evening's festivities of the bachelor/bachelorette party. Anthony and Jodye had arranged for Kyle and I to basically have the same party, just reversed, ha. Us girls headed to cowboys first for some line dancing, then downtown, while the boyswent downtown then out to cowboys.

Friday morning, the girls rose bright and early (while the boys slept) and packed up all we needed to head to frostproof, to start setting up the reception site and getting ready for the rehearsal dinner. I am so blessed to have such good girlfriends who did so much work to help make this wedding amazing :) Once we got to Noah's ark, we set about our task of getting things just right. 

Once things were set up the way we wanted, we went and checked out "spook hill". Much to our dismay, we were not "spooked". After checking into our hotel, and   meeting up with the boys, parents and family, we headed over to the church for the rehearsal. The theme of the evening was a more relaxed, country feel, with the girls wearing dresses and cowboy boots, the guys in jeans. 

After running through things a few times, we were all ready to eat and head over to Leslie's for our rehearsal dinner. I was so excited to finally see how it was decorated! I had been hearing for a few weeks about how much time and effort was being put into this dinner, and couldn't wait to experience it for myself. I was not disappointed! Everything looked like an ad straight out of Southern Living, from the mason jar candle lights, to the covered picnic tables, right down to the name card place settings. Thank you so much to everyone who pitched in and made the rehearsal dinner so wonderful! And let's not forget Uncle Rick's amazing cooking! The food was delicious, with the mac 'n cheese being a bit hit :)

 Another big hit of the evening was the armadillo cake, straight out of Steel Magnolias. Red velvet cake inside, just like the movie! Rylee was enamoured with the cake, although requesting to eat the head :)

After dinner, we headed out to the corral for a bonfire and a little line dancing :) Ever since Jessie got married two years ago, and had her bridal party perform a line dance to "here for the party", it has been a staple at all wedding receptions. Our wedding was no exception, so Jessie set about to the task of teaching everyone the dance, even our flower girl Cheyenne, who eagerly learned the steps. 

We ended the night by heading back to our hotel and trying to get a good nights rest for the big day tomorrow! :)

The day started with breakfast and heading over to the Smith building to get our hair and make up done. Our photographer, Sean Wells, came bright and early to start on the photos, and asked if he could take my dress out of the bag to take some pictures...and it's a good thing he did, because it was a wrinkly mess! Tracey Brock did an amazing job of calling around to find some way to get the dress steamed. Fortunately, Tiffany, the hairstylist, actually had an aunt in town who owned a steamer, and brought it over...crisis averted :) 

It was finally time...and I think I speak for Kyle and myself when i say we had a few butterflies in our stomachs (but definitely the good kind :)) Everything was perfect, from my Dad walking me down the aisle, to Kyle looking incredibly handsome at the front of the church, the music sung by Josh, the ceremony by Danny, and promising the rest of our lives to each other in front of our family and friends. 

After the ceremony, we took our family pictures at the church. Then the wedding party headed to the nearest orange grove to take a few fun pics before going on to the reception. 

At the reception, we had a wonderful time celebrating with family and friends. We ate, we danced, we cut the cake, we threw garters and boquets, and we left a married couple :)

It was the best day of our lives. :) Just the beginning...