Wedding Eve

After months of anticipation and hours upon hours of preparation, the wedding weekend finally arrived. It came and went all too quickly, and I have been dying to blog about it all week. We don’t have the photos from the professional photographer yet or Jennifer’s photos (which I’m sure are great), but I just can’t wait. People have been asking about the wedding and though it’s impossible to share every detail, blogging will help. And my 539 photos that I took over the weekend should be enough to fill this blog.

On Friday morning, Camille and I woke up at Nana’s house and immediately began getting ready for the day. On the agenda: bridal girls’ brunch at Brig’s, mani’s and pedi’s, Rehearsal, and Rehearsal Dinner at Winston’s.

Aunt Debbie, Krysti, Camille, Mom, Becky, Katharine, BK, and me all met up at Brig’s. I had pumpkin pancakes which started off my weekend of bad eating with a bang. They were delicious. Sitting there, it still had not sunk in that this weekend was in the now, not just some wonderful event in the future. Camille was really getting married tomorrow, and I wasn’t ready.

After brunch, Aunt Debbie treated all of us girls to a spa day complete with mani’s and pedi’s. Becky informed us that she had not been to get her nails done since she was pregnant with Quint. That’s 23 years! Mom joked that Becky got her nails done when he was coming and when he was going. 

When I asked them why they weren't eating the cakepops Aunt Debbie had brought, every single one of them (without saying anything) lifted up their hands. All I could do was laugh. 

 They were so yummy! Mine was chocolate peanut butter.

Camille and all the bridesmaids had purple toes.

The very last day this ring was on her hand alone. Now there is a whole other layer of diamonds. Could she get any sparklier?

Enjoying ourselves at the drying station.

Thank you Aunt Debbie!

Thanks to Aunt Debbie for a fabulous bridal day. We all felt pampered, for sure. 

From there, we checked into the hotel. Mom and Dad were in a suite and Camille, Katharine, BK, and I were in our own room. We had a little down time and then prettied ourselves, put on our dresses, and headed to rehearsal at Delightful Inspirations. The weather was perfect. A little chill in the air as the sun set but overall pleasant. We worried that such great weather on Friday would jinx us for Saturday. 

The weather was great for pictures too. Not too sunny, not too cloudy.

Bride and her bridesmaids

Groom and his brothers

Bride and Maid of Honor

A dashing Mother of the Bride - simply gorgeous!

Nana is happy to have another grandson!

Mrs. Mary Ann, the best wedding director there is, led us through the ceremony effortlessly. So thankful that she was willing to be a part of Camille’s special day.

Pastor Anthony kept us all laughing throughout the rehearsal. Gotta love him! Thanks to him, I caught my favorite picture of the entire weekend. He got all of them laughing- Dad, Camille, and Quint. I think he said something about slapping Camille on the butt. Whatever it was, it made the perfect photo moment!

Kate and Ashton did a fabulous job practicing their entrances down the aisle. I carried the little iPod docking station next to them as the danced so that they could hear the music. I would say I was surprised at how well they did but then again, I’m not surprised one bit. They are both incredibly talented, incredibly enthusiastic children who can master anything. Their willingness to dance down the aisle added a special touch to Camille and Quint’s ceremony. 

Bride with her flower girl and ring bearer

New buddies!

We were done by 6 and headed to Winston’s for the pre-wedding celebration.

At dinner, we finally had to time to talk to the Sloans who drove in from Cincinnati to attend. We haven’t seen them since December. 

Lisa and McKenna - Love this picture of them!

Neat how the glass caught our profiles. 

The crab dip appetizer was to die for and none of us could resist going back for more. And more. For my records, here is the list of rehearsal dinner attendees:

Camille* Quint* Me* Mom* Dad* BK* Katharine* Tyler* Brooks* Isaac* Elizabeth* Brian * Jake* Lori* Sherman Family* Wells Family* McKenna* Lisa* Todd* Aunt Debbie* Uncle Bob* Krysti* Ryan* Blake* Nana* Papa* Grandma* Aunt April* Vicky* Becky* Ralph* Mike

Love my Nana and Papa!

Table 1

Table 2 (I know some eyes are closed but still thought it was important to document)

Table 3

The table that I was seated at never had a picture taken of the whole table. I can't remember what Jennifer took on her camera, but maybe she has some more pictures of all the rehearsal dinner guests.

Grandma and Aunt April with their first granddaughter/niece to get married.

Before our food arrived, Camille and Quint gave out their wedding party gifts. The bridesmaids and the flower girl each got a silver clutch with a personal message sewn inside and earrings with a bracelet. The guys got NC State coolers filled with their favorite drink and Ashton received a UNC lunch box filled with candy. Funny enough, the UNC-NC State game was on their wedding day adding to the fun and excitement. Quint, a State grad, and Camille, a Carolina girl, and many family and friends on either side set up a cute twist to their wedding day.

Mom gave her toast next. She had begged not to have to do it, but both Camille and I insisted that she did. And I’m glad she did. She talked about when Camille first started hanging out with Wood Valley friends to going on their first date to whispering to Mom when she came home that he kissed her. She talked about how people said, “Why are you letting her date a guy whose 3 years older?” But she knew that Quint was (and is) a great guy, kind-hearted and good-intentioned. I guess we can all say 5 years later that we are so very happy that Mom let Camille date Quint.

Becky finished Mom’s point by talking about when Quint first noticed Camille, calling her “the red head on the swim team.” Quint wasn't a guy to talk a lot about girls, so Becky was quite curious when Quint mentioned a girl. He has fabulous taste in girls, if I do say so myself.

Then Ralph blessed the food. Time to eat. 

Camille has incredible in-laws!

I sat next to McKenna and Mrs. Jennifer, across from Brian, Isaac, and Elizabeth. Jennifer helped me think about what I should say in my toast. I had written a draft but needed some inspiration. Later, I totally forgot everything we had talked about until I had a total epiphany while laying in bed. Glad I finally remembered...

Ashton came to Charlotte over the summer, but it has been too long since we got to see the whole Wells family. We really enjoyed having them with us on Friday and Saturday. Both Ashton and Arison know how to make everyone laugh.

My favorite picture of them from the night. They really are meant to be.

The soon-to-be newlyweds and newlyweds.

After almost everyone had headed out to leave, Katharine wanted a picture with Camille. Quint, Tyler, and BK stayed in the room while I took the picture. Of course, BK and I wanted pictures with Camille too.

Then I tried to snap a quick picture of Quint and Tyler and one of the girls shouted “Do the sorority pose.” Quint did it right away just in time for me to take the pic. Somehow, Tyler had no idea what a sorority pose was and his face totally shows it. This picture has been my stress relief this week. Whenever I need to cheer up, I just look at this picture and laugh uncontrollably. It works on Mom too. Having Quint as a part of our family brings so much joy into our lives (and for many more reasons than just taking hilarious pictures).

Back at the hotel, Dad prepared a little party set up in their suite, and yes, there was more food. The Sloans, Aunt April, Troy, Uncle Kent, bridesmaids, Camille, Mom, Dad, and I all had a little more bonding. You could say that this was our last family event as a family of four.

Camille, Katharine, BK, and I headed back to our room (well, more like sprinted; the hallways were as cold as the arctic). It felt like a slumber party with all of us sleeping in one room. Camille was worried I would kick her which made me worried that I would be the one to blame for a sleep-deprived bride. I gave her more than half of the bed and put a pillow between us. And based on Mom’s report, Camille said she slept well. Success!

I'll be back on this week to post about the wedding day. So much to share that I will have to divide it up into a couple posts. 

K