Out of Town Brunch

Well, all my impatient blog and facebook friends, I'm finally getting to the wedding day. Remember these posts are for me and my family and I'm trying to rehash every moment that I want to remember. It may take a while. Keep being patient, and enjoy each post as it comes. Ha!

The day finally came! The wedding day. Don't get too excited. The wedding pictures are not here yet. Because Saturday, some more wonderful friends of our family hosted a lovely brunch for the wedding party and out of town guests. This was one of my favorite parties on my wedding day. The excitement is there. And everyone is in town for YOUR wedding. It's such fun!

I was in charge of picking up the family: Coons at the hotel and Maw Maw at her apartment. I also had run by the house to help with last minute things. I painted a sign and needed to put ribbons on it and we had a picture that needed to be framed. Thankfully, Cynthia was there. She and I ran to the frame shop to find a frame. No one was there to frame it, so we taped it in ourselves with matte board on the back. Hey! You gotta do what you gotta do. We arrived home to frame the picture, and I began trying to figure out what to do with this ribbon. I had run by Sanctuary and gotten some ribbon to use. But, my time was running low. Kristin was upstairs with about five other girls, and they were almost ready. I was still in my pajamas, no teeth brushed, and my hair wasn't even brushed. Yes, I went around town like that! Get over it. Ha! So, Cynthia offered to finish the sign and hang the picture. Thank goodness for good friends! I ran back to the Johnsons' for yet another shower and to get ready. The lunch started at 11:00. At 10:45 I still had wet hair. Russ's sister was there, and offered to help me with family. So, she picked up the hotel group, and I picked up Maw Maw. We still did pretty good on time. Maw Maw and I arrived around 11:15.

Everything was SO nice. The food was yummy and the decorations were precious. Kristin and the girls were already seated eating and visiting.

Emily Anne, Leann, Kristin, Ally, Marley, and Mary Anne (Charli is there...somewhere! Ha!)

The Coon family had made it also and were feasting on this wonderful food.

Pops and Aunt Patsy

Everyone was enjoying themselves, just keeping one eye on the clouds and one eye on the food. Hoping for no rain!

When it did start sprinkling for a minute, no one said a word. No one even mentioned it to the person sitting next to them. I think everyone was just hoping it would pass quickly. And it did. It was a beautiful, warm day.

Jenny and Grace

Mark and Sheila Gardner hosted the lunch at their home. Everything looked SO nice! Their home is lovely, and the back yard was perfect for this party!

Kristin and Sheila

We are so thankful for such loyal friends who helped to host this lunch. In fact, I remember several of these faces as hostesses for mine and Russ's Out of Town Brunch!

For the rest of the 11:00 hour, we sat around and visited with the bride and her girls in our presence.

Some of the Tull family and friends

Russ and Uncle Howard

The engagement pictures Russ took were hanging on this old window frame. So cute!

The family table

Sisters


Kristin and her bridesmaids

Kristin and Lee couldn't see each other before the wedding, so Kristin left around noon. Lee planned to come at 12:00 with all his family and guys. My parents, as you can imagine, were still working at the house until close to noon and saw Kristin as she was leaving.

Daddy and Kristin

Not long after Kristin left, Lee's parents began to trickle in. Then, the boys came in a big herd. Ha! We spent the rest of the 12:00 hour visiting with the groom and his guys.

Lee's Sissy, Rhonda, and Sheila

Lee's grandmother and Joe

Some of the guys chowing down

My parents put on thier relaxed faces and hid the to-do list going through their heads as they mingled with everyone. You could certainly tell when they arrived, because the hostess came over to our table and jokingly asked us to "calm down." Ha ha! Yep. The Smiths tend to have a party everywhere we go!

Mama and Daddy

Russ and me with the Coons

Mary and Dustin

Daddy and Maw Maw

Daddy and Mark Gardner

Melinda, Daddy, and Mama

Dustin and Lee

me and Russ

I loved the cute bride and groom chairs made just for Kristin and Lee. But, I loved even more when I saw Heath sitting in the bride's chair!

Heath and Lee

Neeley used to babysit us when we were younger. Let me take that back. She did a lot more than babysit us. She took me to get my ears pierced and pretended to be my aunt. She went on family vacations with us. She taught me how to shave. I'm pretty sure she was in my parents' will to be our guardian if something had happened. She was a little more than a babysitter. When Neeley first got married, she moved to Miami. Secretly, I always held a grudge at the husband for taking her so far away. Neeley brought letters that Kristin had written her when she lived in Miami. So, we sat around and read some of them.

Melinda, Neeley, and Mama

One of the letters

It was such a nice afternoon catching up with everyone right before the wedding. When the time neared 1:00, I realized that it was time to go! The girls were to be at the church at 2:00 to get ready for pictures! So, I took some Tull family pictures before I left.

Lee's mom, Lee, his aunt, and his grandmother

Lee, his grandparents, and his dad

Lee and his parents

Jenny helped with the Coon family. She led them back to the hotel and took Clancy to Walmart for some last minute things. I, on the other hand, forgot Maw Maw at the lunch. Yep. Didn't realize it until I got back to the Johnsons' for one last shower and run. Oops! Don't worry. Russ was still there, and I called him to give her a ride. All was well.

And, it was time for the real thing!