amanda's wedding: part two

Saturday was the big day!  Amanda and all the bridesmaids arrived at the church at 10:00 AM for a full day of hair, makeup, and pictures before the 5:00 ceremony.  We all had so much fun together just being girly and getting excited!

Here's Amanda's dress from the back, complete with 10-foot train.  Can you believe it?!?

Jessica, Emily, Amanda, and me (obviously) pre-makeup!

Miss Debbie did an amazing job with our hair and makeup!  There's a reason she was Amanda's Miss America stylist!

We did a fair amount of singing and dancing to Elizabeth Anne's Blackberry while we were getting ready, including L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole!  Here's proof:

All the bridesmaid dresses hanging from the chandelier!  Didn't Amanda do such a good job picking them out?!

Jessica getting her makeup done... she'll be a bride herself in just six months!

Last but not least... the bride!  She was reading the letter I wrote for her.

Mothers of the bride and groom!  I got a chance to talk to Nick's mom during our prep time, and I complimented her on how calm and pulled together she was (because I have seen an imposing mother of the groom before, and it ain't pretty).  When I told her that, she started to cry, which made me want to cry!

Amanda and Mallory getting all set for pictures!

I think this is a framer.

I don't have any pictures of the ceremony, but I'll be sure to pass along the link when the photographer's pictures are posted.  Here are a few from the reception at the Grand Marquise ballroom in Garner!  Don't you just love the monogrammed dance floor?

Everything was so beautifully decorated.

My sweet parents!

First dance as husband and wife!  Thanks to Mom for taking these pictures!

Singing the UNC Alma Mater, Hark the Sound!

I made sure my toast wasn't sappy... I'd rather laugh than cry!

The Cha Cha Slide... standard.

Dancing to Carolina Girls!  Even my sister and Amanda's cousin joined in!

Getting ready for the bouquet toss... Amanda threatened to kill me if I didn't catch it.

...aaaaaand I didn't.  But Nick's sister did!

Fishing for the garter...

No one actually caught it, but Michael was the first to it once it hit the ground!

My adorable parents again... almost married for 25 years!

Saying their goodbyes before heading off to Disney and St. Lucia!

That's all, folks!

Wasn't everything just lovely?  I couldn't even put all the pictures up on the blog (there were just way too many), so click here to see the full facebook album!  And if you're new to my blog, go here to read all about how they met and fell in love!  Yay weddings!

amanda's wedding: part one

Ok, so here they are!  Most of you probably saw these on facebook already, but I have been asked by countless people when pictures would be up, so I figured I'd cover both arenas.  It was seriously the most fun wedding I've ever been to, and not because I'm heavily biased.  The food was incredible, the DJ was outstanding, and the church was beautiful!  Ok, I'm just going to show you the pictures now.

These are all from the Bridesmaids' Luncheon and the Rehearsal Dinner.

All the bridesmaids and flowergirls with Amanda at the Second Empire restaurant in Downtown Raleigh!

The bride and me with the adorable Maid of Honor robe she gave me!

Amanda talking to her Aunt Frances, who hosted the luncheon with her daughter (Amanda's cousin), Tamara!

Tamara's daughter, Mallory, showing off her sweet shades...

Here's the church all decorated for Christmas!  Thanks to my sister, Leanna, for taking these!

All done with the first run!

The groom's dad and me getting instructions from the wedding planner.  Yes, I did wear a giant poinsettia on my head, and I loved every second of it.

Nick waiting on his bride...

The rehearsal dinner took place at Bogart's restaurant in Downtown Raleigh.

Groom's cake!   Go Heels!  (Nick and I were in marching band together for two years, which is why it has music notes all over it.)

Love this picture!

Amanda with Avery, her cousin and little flowergirl!

mmmmm, cake...

Come back tomorrow to see all the pre-wedding prep and the reception!  (Trust me, you don't want to miss my epic updo.)

exciting developments!

Y'all.  My little ol' blog is about to get a MAJOR facelift!  My amazing parents just went above and beyond this Christmas, and I officially have two new little contraptions in my arsenal that might change my life (and make this blog a LOT more fun to read)!

First, meet my new Singer Fashion Mate 7256!  It's Martha Stewart's favorite, and since I have a couple days until my parents can ship it from Raleigh to Arlington, I brought the instructional DVD with me so I'll be ready to go when it arrives!  I learned to sew on my mom's old Singer from the '90s, and I am just beyond thrilled to have my very own.  Stay tuned for the whole new world of craft projects this will open!

And this gift I just couldn't believe... I had been saving up for a digital SLR camera of my very own (I used to borrow my parents' for this blog), but they surprised me with a Canon Rebel T1i!  I'm already head over heels in love with it!  AND, they bought me both an 18-55mm lens and a 55-250mm telephoto lens!  I'm just way too blessed.

Here's a sneak peek at the kind of pictures you can look forward to from here on out!  I'm excited!

(Molly made that pasta from scratch.  She is so gifted.  But that's a post for another day...)

merry christmas, jibjab style!

Some of you (ok, probably all of you at this point) are aware that JibJab does the BEST holiday e-cards.  Pretty much, all you have to do is plug your family's faces in, and voila!  Instant rhythm and dance skillz.  It's really just better if I show you what I mean.

Here's my family (including Granddaddy)...

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Here are my roommates and me (if you ask me, the funniest one)...

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

And here are Bekah and me, doin' what we do best. So thug. (It's ok if you can't tell us apart... I can't, either.)

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

But, even though all of this is fun, it would be wrong of me not to mention the reason we even celebrate at all... the miraculous birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ!  Praise the Lord for the short time He spent on Earth and the eternal love and salvation we're freely given because of it.  What a beautiful thing!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

christmas card

Here's the Christmas card my roommates and I sent out to a few of our family and friends this year!  I wish I could have sent all of you one, but since I couldn't, you can all now consider yourselves recipients (click on it to make it bigger)!

It looks fancy, but I just used a pre-created template from Snapfish, plugged my own pictures in, and wrote the text at the bottom!  Then, I ordered them for only 40 cents each, and they came with envelopes, so the hardest part was just gathering addresses!  If you received one already, I hope it brightened your day a bit. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!!!

office christmas party!

So, after the winner of the office holiday decorating contest had been decided, we all had a mid-afternoon potluck lunch to celebrate!  Like a lot of offices, our holiday party has been downgraded from a swanky meal in a hotel to a potluck in a conference room, but I actually like that we were able to try each other's recipes and pass them around later.  It's so much more personal!  Here are a few pictures from that day!

Everyone's dishes...

Here are the Parmesan-Scallion Pastry Pinwheels I brought... they were tasty and got snatched up in no time!  And they were a ridiculously easy appetizer to make.  Click here for the recipe!

Everyone chowing down...

The Party Planning Committee!  Don't ask me if I'm an Angela or a Phyllis.  I'm both.  I'm also an Amazon woman.

Two of my besties in the office... Lauren and Brit!  They're on the International team, hence the costumes.

All of International!

P.S.  No one told me there was vodka in the punch until I started drinking it.  I was pretty sleepy later...