Our Wedding!

Though I don't have pictures to post yet, I wanted to write about all the details - the good, the bad, and the hilarious - before I forget!

The week started out a little insane with the 11 of us (plus a dog) flying out of Nashville. It was a very hectic experience at the airport at 4:45 a.m. on Saturday morning. But, we made it safe and sound to Norfolk, Va. where we retrieved our rental cars for the weekend - and, as I predicted, we ended up having to rent a third vehicle. :)

Once in the Outer Banks, we hung out until we could check into our beach houses. It was typical beach weather - hot and sticky.   It was uber-hot for the first couple of days, and then mid-week it cooled down a bit - which was nice.

The first debacle I faced was having a little 24-hour stomach bug. Sunday afternoon I started feeling badly, and by that night I was sick as a dog. The next day I began feeling better, but it took a couple of days to get completely over it (apparently, my new brother-in-law John had had this "bug" the night before we left). A few days later, my maid of honor (and only bridesmaid) came down with the bug and was in bed sick for a couple of days). But, at least everyone got it out of their system before the wedding festivities began.

Other than being sick, the week was fantastic. We hung out in our pools and hot tubs, ate seafood, played cards, went to the beach, and my uncle Paul and his girlfriend Zoe even got engaged at Jockey's Ridge!

By Wednesday, I was so exhausted from not sleeping well because of my sickness and Amy's sickness and the 5 kids in the house waking me up at the crack of dawn, I decided to check in to The Sanderling that evening to get a good night's sleep. I had an amazing suite - it was two floors. The living room was downstairs and the bedroom was upstairs - like a loft. I also had a beachfront porch off the back of the room! I slept like a baby that night, waking up refreshed on Thursday for my hair consultation and manicure/pedicure at The Sanderling Spa at noon.

After finishing at the Spa, I met everyone for the rehearsal at The Sanderling at 3 p.m.. We had to walk through several times to get the kids ready for their duties the next day as flower girls and ring bearer, but everything went smoothly. That night, we had our beach side BBQ rehearsal dinner - so much fun! It was so great seeing several of my friends and catching up with them. I'm so glad we went the informal route for this - it was awesome.

After almost everyone had left for the evening - and I'd given Dusty a hug and kiss goodbye, since I wouldn't see him until the ceremony! - my healthy as a horse 85-year-old grandma passed out! It was so scary, and we're still not sure exactly what happened. She was talking to my parents' friend David, and started feeling dizzy. He caught her by her arms, and she came to almost immediately. I think it was a combination of things: she took a melatonin to go to sleep; she hadn't eaten much; she was dehydrated. She ended up being fine, but we made her eat and drink a lot of water the next day. But, thank goodness, she's fine now.

Later that night, Christin and Mike came back to my suite with me and helped me alphabetize the name cards, put them in holders, etc. They were my helpers the next day and waited for the florist in my room, placed the name cards, guest book, and parent's wedding albums in the pavilion for the reception. Thank you guys!!

As expected, the next day pretty much flew by - but, it was AMAZING. I wouldn't change a thing! All the ladies got their hair done, and my mom and I had our makeup done at the Spa. Afterwards, it was time to get dressed. My photographer came to my suite, and from there it was a blur of putting my dress on, getting the girls ready with their pails of rose petals, and taking lots of pictures!

Now, the ceremony. My dad did a wonderful job getting me down the aisle - without many tears! However, after he "gave me away," he turned and completely tripped over my dress. It was hilarious. The setup was beautiful - you'll see pictures later - but I did forget to mention - IT WAS WINDY THAT DAY! And I don't just mean a slight breeze that is typical of the beach, I'm talking WINDY. So windy, in fact, my veil flew right out of my hair during the ceremony! Yes, really. However, my "aunt" Zoe ran and got it before it disappeared. Also, my officiant, who was wonderful, really, did call me Elizabeth once during the ceremony. Speaking of my officiant, he is really relaxed and informal - one of the reasons I picked him - and does not wear shoes. Now, Alex - my nephew and ring bearer - has a major problem with bare feet. While he was coming down the aisle with his little rose petal stuffed pillow, he stopped and asked Jay, "What happened to your shoes?" Needless to say, my ceremony had several memorable moments.

Now, on to the reception. After the wedding party and family had taken a few pictures, we headed to the beautiful reception. I could not have been more pleased with the way the reception looked. It was absolutely flawless! (Again, you'll see pictures later!) After the cocktail hour and dinner, everyone began dancing their hearts out. Earlier, the girls had been sprinkling rose petals - which were probably a bit wet - on the dance floor, and my mom slipped and fell while she was dancing. She was fine and got right up. However, Nancy Kidder (a friend of my parents), was not so lucky. She was dancing and fell and landed on her wrist; the ambulance ended up having to come pick her up and take her to The Outer Banks Hospital. Turns out, she broke the radius in her arm/wrist and dislocated another bone in her arm. She is now in a cast, and we wish her the best and hope she has a speedy recovery.  We know it's no one's fault, but we feel awful that it happened at our wedding...but then again, how many people can say someone left in an ambulance from their wedding?

After we danced the night away and had an amazing time, we headed over to The Swan Bar at The Sanderling. They stayed open just for us, and we were even playing our own CD in the bar - thanks to Kurt. Several drinks later, a little after midnight, we all headed home - Dusty and I to our suite where he carried me over the threshold into our room. (Hehe, corny!)  We had a bottle of champagne, two pieces of our DELICIOUS wedding cake, and a fruit and cheese plate waiting for us. We ate our cake, and then slept like babies that night. We were exhausted!

Meanwhile, everyone found their way home - except our friends Steven and Lindsay. It's a long story, but let's just say Steven had to file a missing person's report on Lindsay to the police.  Yes, there is a missing person's report in the books in OBX.  Wow.  They called everyone that had been at the wedding, went to both our parent's beach houses, etc. interviewing them.  Again, long story, but everyone's fine now and accounted for!  :)

So, no one can say our wedding was uneventful, right? It was a crazy, fun, amazing week and weekend. Thank you to everyone that was there and for everyone's support - it would not have been the same without you! We love you all!

Don't worry, I'll be posting pictures as soon as I can!