See that smile on Mrs. Ava's face? Her son was getting married and that smile never left the entire time she prepared food, decorated for rehearsal dinners and receptions, cleaned up messes, etc, etc, etc!
These were strawberry vests in the making. Mrs. Ava was making them to go around the Groom's cake.
Andy and Kristen decided to get married in the mountains a couple hours away from here. They looked at all kinds of different churches and found the one they liked best at the Banner Elk Presbyterian Church. They had a small fellowship room in the basement and this is where we had their reception.
This is me cutting rice crispy treats for the chocolate fountains. There was so much food!!
Kristen and Andy showed up with McDonald's. Something everyone was appreciative of!
Mrs. Janet worked and worked on the food for the reception...and then worked some more...and then some more. She wasn't done with the food from the reception until Sunday night.
Future mom-in-law and daughter-in-law.
All hands are busy and things are coming together!!
Ironing tablecloths.
Andy and Kristen printed off pictures from when they were children and wrapped them around Hershey bars as a table favor for each guest. I thought that was a neat idea.
The sanctuary was very pretty.
It was my understanding that the podium was a rock that had been on there for over 150 years.
Mrs. Janet took a break from preparing the food to play the pipe organ.
And the stained-glass windows were so lovely!
Mrs. Janet trying to break up white chocolate out of a glass dish. That was interesting.
Andy was ringing the church bell, summoning people from the town to come watch him marry the girl of his dreams. :P
We worked all day with just enough time to freshen up for the rehearsal that evening.
They decided they wanted the mothers/parents/grandparents on the same row. So that's what we did. It was different, but I liked it, seeing the families sitting together.
I can't remember when this was during the rehearsal, but I got tickled at how he was sitting here. He reminds me of that statue "The Thinker." lol
The bride and groom practicing lighting the unity candle.
The rehearsal went very smoothly. No worries...except for the fact that the bride's attendance could not be there. So we used Mrs. Ava's sister and niece. After rehearsal, it was time for the rehearsal dinner at the hotel where we stayed. The Best Western Mountain Lodge. Which, by the way, was a very nice facility if you ever find yourself in the Banner Elk, NC area.
They had just opened a new restaurant in the hotel called Choppers and had this beautiful chopper sitting outside by the front doors.
Andy and Kristen planned a European honeymoon, traveling to different places in Europe so Mrs. Ava used the Eifel tower theme, like what we used for our Valentine Banquet. Everything looked lovely.
Kelly was there to do nails, hair, and whatever else was asked of her. And Becky was there to serve her famous punch and whatever else was asked of her as well. LOOOOOVE her punch!!
A tri-fold frame filled with pictures of the happy couple.
The groom's cake was made by Mrs. Eilene Emory, a lady in our church. This cake was PURE chocolate sin! It was soooooooo good! All you choco-holics out there...y'all would have LOVED it! And of course, Mrs. Ava's vests looked sweet around it, I thought.
We were given our choice of prime rib, chicken, or fish. Bruce chose the prime rib and I chose the chicken. We also chose the garlic mashed potatoes and steamed veggies, served with salad and yeast rolls.
After cleaning up the room from the dinner, Bruce went to bed while Janet, Becky, and I drove to the store for a few things, went to Mrs. Ava's mountain house to cook biscuits and gravy for the attendants, and picked up Kelly from doing the girl's nails. And then it was crash time. I barely remember that last hour. I was going on one hour sleep from the night before. So come midnight...chica was ready for bed!
And then the next day it was show time! Bruce played the guitar while I sang I Will Be Here by Steven Curtis Chapman.
The bride and her mom!
The mothers waiting to be seated. Oh, they were both so happy.
I was a nervous wreck directing this wedding, marking off everything as it happened. But it went really well once I got everyone down the isle...including myself so I could sing. That was a big worry for me...don't know why, it worked out just fine. Another worry for me were the stupid lighters. I was scared to death that the groomsmen would forget to leave one for the mothers.
The mothers lighting the candles.
Waiting for the bride!
And here she is!
Before announcing them as Mr. and Mrs. Andy Goodman, Pastor presented them with a beautiful new Bible with their names engraved on the front and gave some very sweet words to them.
Next were the formal wedding pics...
I thought this was sweeet!
With the parents
The new proud papa-in-law!
And the cake! Beautiful, isn't it?
My groom. :)
Moi
"The Beginning"
OK, so I actually took 387 pictures. But there was no way I was going to upload them here. If you would like to see more, feel free to click the links below.
