Events leading up to the wedding!

It's about time I got around to blogging about my wedding, right?! I know most of you probably don't care and have already seen the photos on Facebook, but it's good for me to get my thoughts written down. My husband and father-in-law constantly tease me about my scrapbooking and need for photos. They always say that if it's not in a scrapbook, it didn't happen. And while that may seem quite the exaggeration, it's actually somewhat close to the truth for me. I have, I'm certain, the world's worst memory for details once a bit of time goes by. So I need to get this all down! :)

I want to preface the best day of my life by saying how much I love my wonderful husband. Marriage certainly isn't perfect, but neither are people. But it is most assuredly the most amazing blessing. David is such an amazing man, and I could not ask for a more loving, handsome or wise husband. He is the love of my life, and I'm so proud of him and proud to call him mine.

THURSDAY

We started off the festivities Thursday night for the bachelor and bachelorette parties! All of my bridesmaids made it to town in time! We started off at Kanki, one of my favorite restaurants. I don't have very many photos of the party, but I know some of the girls do! Here are a few cute ones I have from dinner — sadly I don't have photos of everyone!

Edith, Lindsey and me

Casey, Kelsey and Edith

After dinner we headed out into Crabtree Valley Mall for some photo games. Of course we had to stop at the Cheesecake Factory for dessert before heading out to City Limits for some dancing! It was amazing how many people paid attention to you when you're wearing a "Bachelorette" tiara and sash. I had men wanting to buy me drinks left and right, and several people gave me marital advice. Although, considering the source, I'm not too sure it was all that sound — rednecks at the local country watering hole ... ;)

I had an awesome time with my girls. They put together the perfect evening, and I could not have had a better time. I was truly lucky to have such wonderful women in my life.

FRIDAY

Friday morning was the bridesmaids' luncheon. I actually didn't take any photos at the luncheon, but my mother and Nicole did.

These were the little name cards I made for everyone.

The luncheon was at Caffe Luna in downtown Raleigh. It was so girly and perfect! The food was delicious. It was several courses, and everyone was able to choose from several different menu options. I think the best part was dessert ... some sort of chocolate cheesecake! It was such a wonderful setting, and I was able to give all of the ladies their gifts.

This is a view of some of the gifts. The bridesmaids got canvas bags filled with all sorts of things — candles, lotions, monogrammed towels, jewelry boxes with their names engraved. The flower girls each had little canvas bags with their names on them filled with treats for little girls. All of the other women in the families got the pink or orange bags filled with picture frames and candles.

I had a wonderful time honoring all of the women who had helped me through the whole planning process and who would come to be such a calming influence on the day of the wedding!

Nicole, me and Gauhara, Nicole's sister-in-law

Reagan and Bailey, my cousins who were the two flower girls, were so cute with their gifts. I'd gotten them these little fairy princess wands as part of their gift, and they were twirling around the cafe playing with the wands. There was one thing in their bags which won't mean much to them now, but I hope they will treasure it one day. I got them each a handkerchief with the following stitched into it:

"For Bailey/Reagan, my precious flower girl,

You are so very young, but the years will pass by and you too will be a bride in the blink of an eye.

You may not remember the day that I married, the part that you played or the flowers you carried.

But there will be a day that will burn bright like an ember.

The day you will wed, you will always remember.

So this is a hankie for the day that you'll say,

'I need something old for my wedding day.'

All my love, Your cousin, Ashley"

Friday evening was the rehearsal at the church ...

But that was just an excuse to have the rehearsal dinner at the Durham Bulls Ballpark!

My mother-in-law put together a spectacular evening, and we were SO blessed to have that unique setting! Everyone had such a blast. We were able to use the field ...

David and his brother and best man, Andrew

Use the batting cages ...

David shows his Major League swing

And use the jumbotron to play video slideshows I'd put together of the bridal party and David and me and also one in memory of David's grandfather, Bill Pollock.

Watching the video of David's grandfather — me, David, Andrew and one of the groomsmen, Steve

We had a wonderful evening! April Sirit, our photographer and owner of Evoke Photography, was able to come out to celebrate with us and capture all of these awesome shots. (I switched to a lower resolution on the rest of the photos, because Blogger was taking forever to load them.)

The wedding party — Back row: Andrew (best man), Eric (junior groomsman), Allison (junior bridesmaid), Andrea (bridesmaid), Kelsey (bridesmaid), Casey (bridesmaid), Lindsey (bridesmaid); Middle row: Steve R. (groomsman), Jake (groomsman), Kevin (groomsman), Nicole (maid of honor), Steve S. (groomsman); Front row: the bride and groom!

After the rehearsal dinner, several of the bridesmaids and their husbands and friends came back to the house to help put together the wedding programs! I had so much on my plate that I just hadn't had time to put them together myself. They were such a huge help, so thank you to Nicole, Edith, Kelsey and her husband Adam, Lindsey and her husband Johnathan, Casey, Andrea and Anna!

Right after they finished, they all pushed me to go to bed. I was so exhausted from such severe lack of sleep, that I don't even know how I was still conscious. I'm such a perfectionist, and I was doing so many things for the wedding that I literally got about 15 hours of sleep in the week leading up to my wedding! Not healthy, huh? I had always thought I would be awake most of the night before my wedding because I figured I'd be so excited I couldn't sleep. Not so with me! I got in bed and fell right to sleep, which is really what I needed. Of course I had to wake up early the next day, but it was so good being able to get so much more sleep than I had been getting.

**More to come!**