A {handmade} Vintage Wedding...Part 1

Waking up at the crack of dawn the day before David and Laurissa's wedding felt like waking up on Christmas morning.
Friends and family were arriving from from out of town and wedding preparations for the BIG DAY were in full swing.
No matter how organized you are, you simply can NOT avoid last minute errands and details...you can however decide that perfectionism has no place and sweating the little stuff is not worth ruining the joy of whatever occasion you may be celebrating.

It was still dark outside and the birdies were just waking up and were the perfect little cheerleaders for the morning.  I thought to myself that they might just be just as happy as we were for the beginning of the festivities.  I started with clipping all the boxwood greens and fresh rosemary herbs and wrapping them in moist paper towels and placing them in gallon sized Ziploc bags to keep them nice and green.  Then I clipped all of the LITTLE LAMB hydrangea's that were grown specifically for Laurissa's bouquet along with the white roses we planted for her bouquet as well.

My momma always referred to us as her "lambie pies" and we called our babes "lambie pies" as babies, too.  It was a term of endearment.  So, when I was looking for white hydrangeas awhile ago...I found one called "Little Lamb" and knew it would be perfect.  Laurissa had already decided that she wanted to use hydrangeas for her wedding flowers, so the plant was purchased and planted in our back yard in the early Spring. We had a mojor heat wave and lost quite a few hydrangeas...but thanks to my friends, Kristen, Kristi, Kathryn and Sarita, we had plenty!!!  Kristen even planted some specifically for the wedding.  There is not a day that goes by where I do not feel blessed by the generosity of dear friends who are so willing to always help and share.

 My friend Kathy hosted a bouquet making work day at her home. Laurissa's friend Mari organized the day and taught them all how to make the corsages and boutonniers.  Mari's brother, Matt even helped! While they were hard at work doing all of that, Caleb was the errand boy and was such a great help to run around town purchasing and picking things up that were needed...including picking up the buckets of fresh lavender and hydrangeas from Krisen's home!  Her lavender was absolutely incredible! Nana and Grandma Judi were the errand girls taking care of the detailed errands! :}

I was at home decorating the wedding cake for the bridal party and making 20 batches of vodka vanilla buttercream frosting.  OH.MY.GOODNESS!  I know I am a messy cook, but I should not be trusted with bags and bags of powdered sugar.EVER!  The kitchen windows are still sticky and need a major vinegar/water bath!

As I was whipping up vats of frosting, the phone was ringing off the hook, sweet e-mails and texts were coming in and sheer bliss seemed to be building by the second!

Clothes and tablecloths were picked up from the dry cleaners, coolers and buckets were crammed with more roses and hydrangeas, 100's of lights were strung across the church lawn and carefully centered over where the dance floor would be. {THANK YOU, Byron, Bunny and honey!!!}
My parent's suburban was filled to the gills with 2 vintage school easels, outdoor candle chandeliers, votive holders, glass crocks, garden trellis signs, HUGE boxes of Mason jars, shepherd hooks and a plethora of storage containers housing ribbons, decorating supplies, tags and paper banners, bottles of water and so.much.more!
After the various work parties came to a close...Nana, Grandma Judi, Laurissa and I met at a salon for manicures and pedicures.  It was so special...especially since it was a first for my momma and I.  Saving something special like that for right before a wedding was totally worth it!  I think we all felt pampered and relaxed.  From there, we had minutes to arrive to the church for the rehearsal.
The groom, who had to work that day arrived just as the rehearsal was about to start.  Talking about cutting it close!  AGAIN, no sense in worrying...we had to laugh and just accept the fact that he may not show up until the rehearsal dinner, if even then!!!
The rehearsal was quick and flawless {thanks to Debbie who was calm, cool, and collected and oh.so.sweet}...with plenty of time to drive down to the Old Spaghetti Factory in Portland!

{photo credit:  Kim Harris}

 The weather was warm and beautiful and we had so much fun sitting at a large window with a view of the RIVER!
As dinner drew to a close, David's Dad spoke a bit about David and Laurissa and opened it up to anybody who wanted to speak.  After my hubby spoke a bit and was choked up...the rest of the evening was filled with what I would call...BLESSINGS.  One of my favorites being Caleb leaving his table and standing behind his sissy with his arms on her shoulders and speaking to her and to us affirming his love for her and for her new hubby-to-be.  There is no way I can do justice to what was said that evening.  All I can say is that if a heart could possibly explode from gratitude...mine would have exploded into a million and one pieces!
As we drove home with the city lights twinkling over the bridges and reflecting off of the calm water that night...we reflected and reminded each other that God was sooo good  in directing us to make some MAJOR changes with our children many years ago.  We are thankful that God spoke very clearly to us and more than anything that God gave gave us strength and broken hearts to act in faith and to trust that He did have a plan for our life and a plan for the life of our children. A life that has been blessed with incredible friends and family who have stood in the gap many times and for those who have prayed for our children.  We are beyond grateful for how God provided our daughter with a man who fears God and LOVES her beyond measure...

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