Wedding Weekend

Here Comes The Bride

This past weekend one of my closest friends got married! Whenever I had pictured Ashley's wedding throughout the years we've been friends, I always pictured her having a beautiful outdoor ceremony. That is exactly what she had! With the weather getting cooler this week there were a few sad moments where we thought the wedding would be moved indoors but everything worked out so well. It was chilly but thankfully Ashley adapted and we got to get bridesmaid cardigans 5 hours before the ceremony. I'm sure she was cold, but she was so beautiful that nobody could tell.

Ashley's ceremony was really so amazingly beautiful. She and her groom Jason got married at the Oakmont Country Club and it was perfect. I loved that their ceremony was such a testimony to the work Jesus has done in their lives and that it reflected their unique personalities.

 
Gettin' Our Party On!

After the couple said their I Do's we moved the party to the ballroom. Instead of a traditional cake Ashley and Jason had a selection of pies. The germane chocolate cake was definitely the best!  And when we all took a break from the dance floor, Jason seranaded Ashley. Woah. I didn't realize that Jason is equally as talented as Ashley! Mr.&Mrs Cobb - I hope your marriage always rocks :)

Friends for Life...The Hottest Date Ever...The Coolest Dudes on the Dance floor

As amazing/beautiful/enchanted/full of love as the wedding was, my absolute favorite part was hanging out with my best friends! We got to get main/pedis on Friday, visit with each other at the rehearsal dinner, and spend 10 full hours together on the big day! I LOVE my best friends so much and spending so much time together was like being back in college together. We have always had a blast together and laugh so much. I love that we've been in each other's weddings, and I love that our husbands can be nerds out on the dance floor together. Being on a hot date with my husband wasn't too bad either!

Congratulations Ashley & Jason!  Thanks for sharing your day with us.

Always a Bridesmaid

 

This weekend I helped to host a bridal shower for one of my best friends, Ashley! Our amazing, rock star friend is getting married next month so Saturday afternoon was all about her.

We planned a menu full of some of Ashley's favorite foods - spinach artichocke dips, fresh fruit and veggies, key lime pie, and cake balls. I made lots of tiny pies in cupcake wrappers so that guests could have a small taste of everything (or go back for lots more cake balls!).

The gifts. Let's be honest, it's fun to open presents at a shower that is in your honor. I'm glad that Ashley could be so spoiled by the people that love her.

We played Wedding Scategories and I pretty much rocked this game. I didn't win but I was the first one finished. This is a fun and easy shower game and could be used at a baby shower as well.

My friend Marianne made this awesome wreath and we pinned well wishes to it. I like that Ashley can hang it up with our cards on it for a while and then use the wreath somewhere else in her new home.

Marianne's home was the perfect place for the shower. I love the look of this room full of people that love Ashley.

 Bridesmaids! It's always an honor to be in a wedding for a great friend. Ashley and I have been friends for probably forever, or at least the past 8 or 9 years.

 The lone male. Pudge was crashing our party of girls but he didn't mind.

And Lola was as friendly as ever! Erica loved this sweet doggie. We all love little Lola.

 Some more great friends :)

 Ashley's family. Thanks to everyone who came out to shower Ashley with love!

Wedding on the River

Outdoor weddings are so beautiful. This weekend Ryan was a groomsman in his friend Mason's wedding. Mason and his bride Jackie chose to get married along the river in Liberty Hill, Texas just outside of Austin. 

Let me give you a million kisses!

The first step for us to get to the wedding was to say goodbye to Eva. It was my first time to leave her overnight and it was so hard to leave. I knew that her Nana and Papa would take great care of her, but who would take care of me? Seriously, she was the one laughing and smiling. I was the one crying. It didn't help that she had a little tummy bug that morning and I was still a little worried that she might be sick. After a few hours though I knew she was feeling better and decided that it would be a good thing to have a short break from being a Mama.

Bye, Eva! I love you soooo much! I promise to come back tomorrow!

Trying not to cry too much. But how could I just leave that sweet smile?

Once we were finally on the road we were excited to get there. And since we left about 3 hours later than planned we were in a bit of a rush. Of course, we still stopped in West, Texas at the Little Czech Bakery. Some things are just necessary. I love kolaches!

Finally at our destination! This was the resort where the wedding was held and where the wedding party stayed all weekend. It was the craziest place. Here is the website so you can see for yourself. Wild, but fun!

 

Our room was actually outside of the main lodge in a streamliner. The whole inside was decorated from top to bottom in a "Cowboys and Indian" theme. As in, every square inch was covered. 

The bathroom. Even the toilet cover was themed. When I walked into this place I died laughing. Some very creative person picked out all of this.

Sadly, we didn't actually end up sleeping here. There were a few unexpected critters that wanted to stay there with us. We ended up letting the scorpion stay and we found a room at a local hotel late that night. Probably a good decision ... Ryan was still able to hang out late at night and be back there in time for breakfast in the morning. 

The wedding started at noon and it was so beautiful! Mason and Jackie are some fun loving hippies so this was the perfect ceremony for them. I loved the backdrop of the river and hills behind them. Very romantic. After the ceremony and brunch reception we all changed into our swimsuits and floated in the river.

Wacky groomsmen. Since Mason and Jackie aren't so traditional, neither was the attire. Check out my handsome hubby in his orange bow tie and suspenders!

What a charming hunk! My black dress fails in comparison to his beauty.

I was so thankful to make a new friend, Kirsten. She is married to Ryan's highschool buddy, Steven. I was actually at her wedding a few years ago but didn't really know her before this weekend. We had a fun time hanging out with Kirsten and Steven and I was happy to have a friend to talk with when the guys were busy with wedding things. Plus she's a mom too, so we were both missing out little babies.

The wedding party! I made this photo larger so that you can see how the whole ensemble went together. I loved their wedding colors.

 The brunch. Creme brulee french toast, fruit, eggs, and bacon. I always enjoy breakfast foods.

And for dessert? Not traditional wedding cake ... but a whole table of pies. Oooh, I really like pie too! What a feast!

Mason and Ryan have been friends since 8th grade. Mason was actually one of the first people Ryan met in school after his family moved to Royse City. I know they have some crazy stories that I should probably never hear about.

Congratulations, Mason and Jackie! Thank you for letting us share in your wedding weekend!

Spring Break

What did our little family do over Spring Break? Umm, everything! Okay, so in reality Ryan had to work pretty much a normal week, but just for fun I decided that we would say it was our "spring break" and make extra effort to have fun in what we did. I also decided that I wouldn't work out all week long - fun for me! And I took last week off from blogging which made more time for fun but also left me with tons of photos to blog about today!

We started our fun week with family day on Monday. The weather was perfect so we enjoyed some time at the park.

Eva was too little for the slide. Ryan may have been too big. Together they were a perfect fit!

Monday night all three of us went to a rehearsal dinner at La Hacienda Ranch. Don't worry, Eva never minds being the only baby and soaking up the attention.

Tuesday meant back to work for Ryan. I made a special dinner that Ryan requested - Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole - that was supposed to be just like a recipe Ryan's mom used to make. We dined by candle light and played fun music while Eva took a little nap. Eating at 5:30 PM can be romantic. Just ask all of the old people at Luby's :)

Wednesday night we attended the wedding of our friends, Lennon and Tiffany, or as they are now called, Mr. & Mrs. Formaggini! They got married at Ashton Gardens and it was so beautiful. The chapel and reception hall have huge glass windows that look out into the wooded garden areas all around the location. If you are looking for an amazing location for your wedding I would highly recommend this place.

Ryan was a groomsman and I had the honor of being his date. Eva got to stay at our apartment with Nana and Papa.... and Aunt Amanda....and her cousin Mallory. I guess it takes 4 people to keep up with Eva! Just kidding, I was so happy that everybody wanted to come over and take care of her while we danced the night away.

Thursday night we stayed home and played games. Ryan and I played Scrabble while Eva played on the floor. My first word was "Mistaken." Not only was it a long word, I was able to play it on a triple word score. I thought that would put me on the track to win the game. I was wrong.

Friday evening we went up to Denton. We were excited to celebrate the 5 year anniversary of our first date by eating at the Denton IHOP (where we had our first date.) We were planning on celebrating on Saturday, but had a change of plans so we decided to go on Friday. It didn't really matter what day we went because we later realized that our anniversary would be this coming weekend. I guess we've never kept track of it well.

After IHOP we walked around the UNT campus for a while. We showed Eva all of the fun things you can go at college... like go to the library and play by the fountain! It's never too early to encourage a higher education!

Saturday night we celebrated St. Patrick's Day by having friends over for green desserts and games. I made Mini Key Lime Pies (another great Pinterest recipe).

The Rodemans - their little girl Avery has grown so much! She was a little toddler when we first became friends.

The McKinneys - they didn't get the memo to wear green. So we pinched them. No, we didn't really pinch them. But we could have.

And our festive family! Hope everyone enjoyed their Spring Break last week or is embracing being on Spring Break this week!

Happily Ever After... Mr. and Mrs. Cox

This posting is dedicated to my high school best friend, Kathryn. Kathryn and I became best friends in high school. We both loved theatre and musicals. We were jokingly the co-presidents of the Kool Kat Kate and Kathryn Klub (taken from the original Kool Kat Kate Klub, but that's another story...). In college we roomed together for our 1st 2 years. I have happy memories of how excited we were to decorate our very first dorm room together! So many trips to the Container Store, Super Target, and Bed, Bath, and Beyond! But we're both grown up now and this past Saturday night she became Mrs. Kathryn Cox! Her wedding was so beautiful!

Walking down the aisle with her dad. What a diva!
Up at the altar

The big kiss!

Mr. and Mrs. Cox!

Walking into the reception ballroom

Gorgeous bridal portrait

With our other high school best friend, Sarah... We're all wives now!

With my own handsome husband!

I hope Kathryn and her husband Jon have happy marriage. The wedding was perfect, but that's only the beginning. You have the rest of your lives to love each other.