I woke up at 6:15 Saturday morning and couldn't go back to sleep; blerg. Mary Anne woke up a few hours later. Maggie awoke and came to play in our room. Soon, Courtney and Shannon followed. It was fun to sit around and watch the Food Network and such. Mary Anne and I got showered, packed, and dressed to head to Winder for the day.
At some point, I called the hotel lobby to see if they offered free breakfast.
Bobbi: Hilton Garden Inn, this is Bobbi.
Me: Hi Bobbi. I was calling to see what your breakfast options are.
Bobbi: Ok. ..............................
Me: Well, do you have a continental breakfast? A buffet?
She then proceeded to tell me about the breakfast options. Like I said, they don't have the sharpest tools running their show.
Brooke, Mary Anne, and I headed to Susie's house at 11 am to start getting ready. We all got our hair did. Some of us were pickier than others. Maybe one of us had to get it done twice. Maybe that someone was me? But we all looked great. Then we got our make up done. I'd never had make up professionally applied and I have to say: I loved it. The girl was great and really fun and did a fantastic job. We all looked quite pretty, but Mary Alice looked absolutely stunning. Such a gorgeous bride! And with the bobby pins and hairspray, and high pigment make up, we looked good until the wee hours of the morning.
Susie's garage is carpeted with indoor/outdoor carpeting so she can park her car in it and also use it for entertaining. Such a cool idea! She had some ficus trees in there w/ white lights and has a fancy space heater awesome fireplace thing in there as well. She had round tables and chairs set up, flowers on the table, and a spread of food. Fruit trays, brocoli coleslaw/salad, other goodies, and yummy chicken fingers. When tasting her first chicken finger,
Mary Anne: These are really good! I wonder where they are from? Maybe Publix?!
Mary Alice (from another room): THEY WERE CATERED!
Note: some things, like Mary Alice's crazy good hearing, never change.
We all headed to the church at 2:00 to change clothes and start taking pictures. Robert hired a limo for Mary Alice all day -- so she traveled to the church in style! Y'all, I told you the weekend was emotional for me, but when I saw Mary Alice put on her wedding dress, my eyes reflected how gorgeous she looked. I don't think I've ever cried seeing a bride before? The flowers in the church were beautiful. McGinnis snapped tons of photos of all of us with Mary Alice and then we headed back to the parlor to hang out while the men hung out with McGinnis.
We wore chocolate brown dresses. Strapless, low backed, a few covered buttons, floor legnth, flaired a smidge. Really pretty. We carried an asortment of white flowers -- from roses to hydrangeas, and lots of things in between. Mary Alice really picked out some good stuff! My shoes were pretty high and too big. So I was a bit nervous about walking down the aisle in them, but I made it!
The ceremony was short and sweet. I kept my cool and didn't cry then. Wayne did an awesome job of walking Mary Alice down the aisle and keeping his cool. Y'all, he even had these fancy pants tux shoes. They're actually called a "pump" and only he can pull them off! After the ceremony, guests flooded out to head to Athens. We hung around for some more quality time with McGinnis and then did the same. Mary Alice and Steven rode to Athens in a stylish old Rolls Royce.
Upon entering the Athens Country Club, we were greated by Maggie, Courtney, and Shannon. I headed to the bar for a vodka martini and found some friends to see. We hung out for a bit until we were seated for supper. We started off with a delicious salad of spinach, bacon, goat cheese, orange, and a balsamic reduction. Bread and butter were on the table. During the salad course, the bar shut down and wine was served to you at your table. Mary Alice and Steven danced; they also had a mini table for two in the center of the ballroom. Then later on Mary Alice and Wayne danced. So sweet to watch!
Y'all, the ballroom looked incredible. Tables to seet the just shy of 300 of us. White table cloths. Fully set tablesettins. Beautiful center peices -- some tables had these awesome super tall vases with gorgeous white flowers and others had low set flowers. It looked like a fairytale wedding.
At some point, Mary Anne and I (who were at the same table) decided it would be worth a shot to see if the bar would give us another cocktail before the main course was served. So we darted out of the ballroom, where we spotted Robert. He wanted to join us on the cocktail hunt. We finally found some help and they (very reluctantly) made us a few drinks. More than the drink, the adventure was super fun!
Heading back into the ballroom, I stopped by Mary Alice and Steven's table. They were playing our song. That's right. Back in college, Mary Alice and I decided that when we got married, we would have a special song played just for us. And she followed through! It was so fun to be dancing with the bride all alone on the dance floor! Thanks, MAP! Such a special treat!
Afer that, we sat back down for the main course. Filet cooked perfectly: medium rare. A piece of chicken that was marinated really well, was super moist and delicious. Potatoes au gratin. Fresh green beans. And some things like beets that I steared clear of. Mary Anne and I moseyed over to our friends at another table and sat with them when the cake was served. I missed seeing it whole/being cut. But it was so good! Light cake, with super delicious icing and a layer of fresh strawberries in it!
After the food was cleared, the party got started. The bars re-opened and people hit the dance floor. I should have mentioned that the band consisted of three middle aged white men. Upon seeing them, I wasn't sure how much soul they had. But they proved me wrong! During the meal, they sang fun oldies songs that were low key. But after the meal, they pumped up the volume and played all your favorites to dance to so you could really shake your tail feathers. I think I've said it on here before, but I LOVE to dance! I was on the floor as much as I could be.
It would be hard to pick a favorite dance partner, so I'll give a couple. In the 50 and under category: Andrew, Brad, and Weston. Andrew spun me around in the air and I was glad to be wearing underpants. Brad was a new partner that was fun and silly on the dance floor. Weston, a seasoned partner of mine, even said, "EA. I think that was our best. Ever." In the over 50 crowd, I have to go with Robert and Wayne. Wayne may or may not have picked me up in straddle formation? Either way, he rocked it. I think it was his fancy shoes.
We saw the new Lathems off in style, as they headed to ATL in the Rolls. Mary Alice donned a suit which only she could do. They stayed in ATL that night before heading to St. Lucia. I can't wait to hear all about it!
We were going to take the limo out. Maggie and I had high hopes for this and probably would have waived through the sunroof, but logistically it worked out better to ride in regular cars back to the hotel. We changed and headed out. We went to Allgood(s) and had a lovely time until it was time for our 4th meal. To the Grille we headed. Y'all they had an awesome chocolate milkshake. Some of us headed home right after this; some of us stayed out a bit longer. PS -- did you know ALL bars in Athens close at 2 pm? No exceptions. I headed in just shy of 3 am and tried to sway Courtney to hang out; she wasn't up for it. I took out all the bobby pins and scrubbed my face. My head hit the pillow around 3:15. Where it would remain...until 6:30ish when I awoke and couldn't go back to sleep. What is up with that this weekend? I can't get up that early for work!
Sunday morning the gang piled in our room again. We are so fun! Shannon and Courtney had to leave early. Maggie, Mary Anne, and I joined up with a few buds to hit up the Waffle House for brunch. Can I tell you that Diet Coke with vanilla, a patty melt, and hashbrowns, covered have never tasted so good. Oh, how I love the WaHo! Mary Anne and I then headed back to SC. We took the scenic route home and it was lovely this time of year.
All in all, it was one hell of a weekend. Mary Alice and Steven, thanks for getting married! You sure know how to do it in style and great fun! It was so good to be with you all this weekned and feel like we really got good time together. B5, you know I love you. Mary Alice's family and close friends, thanks for making us feel so welcome. I should also mention that I made a new friend this weekend: Leigh Barrow, you're awesome!
Looking forward to McGinnis putting the photos online and waiting in anticipation until another B5'er is ready to get hitched!
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