Wedding Weekend, Part 2

Friday afternoon, we all gathered down at the lake and got some last minute running around completed. The caterers were already setting up out on the front lawn and the tables looked beautiful. They did a really nice beach theme and we all dressed in our best luau garb. All the tables had bright colors and flowered napkin holders, plus pictures on them of Doug and Morgan from infants to about high school age. It added a very sweet, sentimental touch. Then the caterer added white sand and sea shells in the middle of the tables that added a really cute flare.
The rehearsal went pretty well, no major issues, and then the guests began to arrive.
We had a really nice time and it was great getting to see and catch up with all the family.
Doug and Morgan were glowing and smiling the whole time. Dad stood up and gave a small speach/toast, as well and Garris, who was the best man, and Autumn and Rachel, the matrons of honor. Check out Andi's post for more recap and some cute pics.

Friday morning, all the ladies got up and drove over to a fancy golf community and resort for the Bridesmaid luncheon. Aunt Kathy, Mema, and Tina were our hosts, and the brunch really was delicious! The desserts were even better!

We got back to the lakehouse with about 2 hours of free time before we needed to start getting ready for pictures and whatnot. Daniel and Doug had been working on the wedding and reception music all morning and continued to work throughout the afternoon. Eventually, Doug put a post-it note up on the bedroom door saying that the groom was napping and was not to be disturbed until 4:00! :)

Andi began to get a migraine that afternoon and tried to sleep it off as best she could, but it ended up catching up with her pretty hard just before we were supposed to be dressed and outside taking pictures. She pushed through it like a champ, but had to go lay down after the ceremony for an hour or so. She joined us later in the evening feeling much better after her meds started kicking in...thank goodness!

Morgan looked fabulous of course, and the pictures are finally up on their photographer's website!! The ceremony was beautiful and really short and sweet kind of like ours. The wedding party filed back into the house while all the guests grabbed their chairs and headed over to the tables for appetizers and drinks. The cocktail hour went by fast except that the catering company totally dropped the ball and didn't have the music system set up! Then, when they finally got everything together, they realized they had forgotten the wires to connect the speakers so there was no way to play the music that Doug and Daniel had spent so many hours putting together. Daniel and I were running around trying to set up the lakehouse speakers and eventually he got the porch speakers to work and Doug and Morgan were able to do their first dance out on the dance floor in the yard.

They had THREE! delicious cakes from Cecelia's in Athens, which is the same people we used for our wedding cake, and they were excellent! My personal favorite was the spanish lemon, but the mocha chocolate took a close second and everyone raved about the Hummingbird spiced cake, too.

After an couple hours, Daniel, Garris, and I pulled out the fireworks to the dock. Garris and Daniel were trying to light two festival balls (the one's you drop down into the tube and light the wick, that shoot way up in the air and explode into a huge, colorful flower of light) at the same time. Garris got his going first, so Daniel had to turn and run before he could get his lit. In his haste to get out of the way of the exploding firecracker, he thought he'd just jump on the boat for safety. He went to step on the corner of the dock only to realize that the dock was cut at a 45 degree angle there and he stepped right off into the lake! Garris and I heard the boom of the festival ball and then a clumbsy sounding splash and kurplunk! I was so confused, it took me a second to realize what had happened and by the time I could get over to were I thought Daniel may have fallen in, he was climbing out of the water back onto the dock. He said that when he fell, he looked back up out of the water just in time to see the bloom of the firework exploding in the sky! :) He stuck it out though, and stayed to help light the rest of the fireworks soaking wet before going inside to change!

All in all, we had a really fabulous night and Doug and Morgan were some of the last people to leave. They did their “official” going away, with the bubbles and people lined up, but then they stuck around to enjoy the party into the wee hours of the night. Eventually, we were able to scoot them out the door and I drove them over to the Ritz Carlton at Lake Oconee to drop them off for their long weekend of comfort, pampering, and relaxation.

Sunday morning, we all woke up leisurely at the lake and reminisced about the night before. It was a great weekend, and a very happy occasion to be celebrating.

Congratulations again to Doug and Morgan, and best wishes for a long and wonderful life together!!