Wedding Bells: It's Shiner Time! Edition

Yesterday we celebrated the marriage of Hilary and John in Shiner, Texas with a beautiful Latin Mass. 

Hilary was beyond stunning in her lace dress that she wore so gracefully.  Unlike a Novus Ordo mass... they exchanged vows immediately after Hilary met her groom at the altar. Straight down to business!

The mass was beautiful, incense-ful, and reverent.  And two hours later... this happened!

ISN'T SHE AMAZING?!

The reception was literally 3 seconds away at the Knights of Columbus Hall.  It was decorated so pretty.... and there were even these little battery operated tea lights that immediately led us to do this...

Amanda became St. Jude....

and I, not so much...

Lumiere anyone?

It was clearly a natural progression.



We grand marched once again and it was awesome! I didn't happen upon the video man as much as at J&M's wedding so I might not be on there an obnoxious amount of times.  I see it as a lose/lose.  I'll go into training and come June 30th, IT IS ON!  We also kept the circle going while they danced to their first dance song... which led to these photos...

I LOVE THIS ONE

It was a really beautiful moment and I was honored to get to share in it.

Moving on...

Their cake was beautiful, buttercream on buttercream so you know it tasted like angels blowing kisses into your belly. Mmm... Hilary was so beautiful and animated and lovely I wanted to take a million photos of her... She was adorable as they cut the cake but hey what's new?

Since the wedding was in Shiner, there was of course tons of Shiner to go around. I believe our table even procured a pitcher of it.HA.  To add to the booze count, they did something I had never seen before.  For the dollar dance, you paid at a table and got a shot of whiskey (or gum for non drinkers) before dancing. TOTALLY. BRILLIANT.

Hilary made her way over to visit with us and we took advantage by barrading her with questions about her dress ( SO BEAUTIFUL, and all the lace on the arms and neckline was added by her aunt... jealous?).  Here's where she was hiding her something BLUE ....

 She pinned a crucifix and miraculous medal to her dress with blue ribbon! How smart was that?

and I stole a picture.  Her dress is eating mine.  Because its bigger and better.

The dancing went on all night. Seriously.  The band, Los Kolaches, played until it the newlyweds made a break for it... someone around 11... or midnight?  I wasn't paying much attention.  I was too busy having fun.

Alas, the fun had to end .  But it went out with a bang.  A bean throwin' bang!

and they lived happily ever after.

DIY: Hair Accessory Organization Edition

So today I solved a problem that has been driving me nutty for a while.  On the back of the door in my vanity room was this giant pink blob... complete with printed tiaras and beads dangling from the bottom...

I got that door organizer for my birthday when I was in middle school.  It was from Claire's. I distinctly remember wanting it.  I also got a matching comb and seat belt cushion/ cover thing that said "princess."

I . Was. Awesome.

For years the pink blob was full of every form of Bath and Body Works product in every scent imaginable.  They collected there for about 10 years before I cleaned it out this past summer.  Since then it has been a haven for my head band and hair clips.  I've been wanting something different though to display them better so I could see all my options at once instead of digging through the pouches.

Enter: an oatmeal canister!

I googled "DIY headband storage" and found an idea to cover an empty oatmeal container with paper and plop the head bands on...

so  I did...

 Freshly wrapped in paper

Then I took it upstairs to work some magic and now it looks like this  !

YAAAAAAY!

I also needed a new way to store my hair clips so I just pinned a wide ribbon to the wall and clipped them on...

The ribbon kind of blends in with the pink silk wall... er... sorry?

The most exciting part?  The back of the door now looks like this...

aaahh!

So now maybe my vanity room doesn't look like a 12 year old?  It still has a hot pink wall and shoe wall paper.  But I like it.

Wedding Bells: Hackemack Attack

So after whats seems like FOREVER Michael and Johanna finally tied the knot on Friday December 30 in my favorite place, College Station.

M&J are one of those couples that have just always been together, or so it seems.  I do distinctly remember one night freshman year in Studio 12 when I joined them in a sitting area to study... to realize about 20 minutes later that this was no normal studying situation.  All of a sudden they were laughing... and touching.... and flirting...! Color me a deer in the headlights.  After that it was all over. M&J have been going strong and with the help of their new sacrament the adventure has only begun.

The wedding was at St. Mary's in CS. Our jam.  We were seated in the back two rows of M's side (we came in as friends of both.. no discrimination here) which ended up being appropriate as we were behaving like bad school kids sent to the back of the classroom.  The CUTEST little boy sat in front of me and we chilled the whole wedding.  We're buds now.  

I saw M before the wedding when I ran back to get kleenex.  I always forget them, but I also always start crying before the wedding starts so I should probably remedy this situation.  Anyway, M was beaming.  He was so calm and peaceful yet overflowing with joy.  I even caught a glimpse of his beautiful bride before her main entrance and knew the waterworks were there to stay.

For some reason though I FREAKED out when I got to the back and thought it was too late for a kleenex run so I returned to my pew empty handed.  Luckily Baby Mama Kalina was sitting behind me and was of course packing.  Oh to have a baby bag of supplies.

Then Michael made his entrance.  The bridal party followed as they tend to do. And then we stood.

J was radiant. M's expression was perfection. If someone looks at me the way M looked a J someday, I'll be a lucky lady.   Oh, and he cried.  Which made me cry... more.

Father Charlie rocked the house with his general adorable-ness only to be trumped by his radiating holiness.  I'm pretty sure I become a better person by being in his presence. And he brought Jesus.  Overall he wins.

But this is about M&J.   They vowed. They knelt. They Jesus'd. They prayed. They kissed. 

THEY ARE WED!

then I stopped crying long enough to snap some shots... 

I warned you!

"oh, let me stare loving into your eyes..." (i'm. not. bitter) 

EPIC priest kissing altar shot!

LOVE!

Now it was time to party... don't mind if I do.

The reception was at the Bravos Valley Expo Center...so off we went.  Before the bride and groom arrived I had ample time to check out the room.  BUT I did suck at taking pictures of everything and I am kicking myself in the butt over it.  I now offer you the following as an opportunity to use your imaginations.  

When you walked into the building they had the table set up with engagement photos along with a frame to sign and my favorite, an heirloom wedding dress that her grandmother and mother wore (er, i think) 

Then through a set of doors you were in the reception hall.  We planted ourselves at a round table near the dance floor, I also strategically place myself in a chair facing the head table so I could see them whenever I wanted without straining and also have an epic view of the dance floor for the first dance and parent dances.  Doesn't everyone think about these things ? 

She had a photo booth set up (LOVE IT) complete with props that we took full advantage of in the back corner. Their favors were s'more packets stuffed in a M&J wedding koozie (LOVE IT) . But my favorite touches to the reception (besides M&J, duh) were these little guys ...

STAR WARS CAKE TOPPERS !!

I love them. I love them. I love them.  

I think it also shows how much J loves M too.  But mostly I just love them.  I think they are beyond fantastic. 

The rest of the cake was beautiful too.   It was so feminine and elegant... with just a touch of fiction.

M's groom's cake was pretty sweet also... alas I guess I was too Star Wars struck to think to take a picture of it.  Let me paint a picture for you... It was a chocolate iced round surrounded by chocolate covered strawberries and topped with a giant A&M seal molded out of chocolate.  I'd say... sounds like the perfect amount of chocolate, eh? 

M&J made their grand entrance which quickly moved us into the next phase of the reception... the grand march.  Say what you will about grand marches... I think they're great.  You gotta make it awesome, and it will be awesome!  So I grabbed myself a partner (like a lady) and marched we did.  This was my favorite grand march because it included concentric circles (boom, take that geometry) and a tunnel.  Everyone likes themselves a good tunnel every now and again.   OH and grand marches are also an EXCELLENT time to ham it up and make it on the wedding video.  My goal of wedding receptions is to make it on the video as much as possible.  Especially when I don't really know the bride and groom super well.  Because its funny.  Laugh with me here.  But I know M&J ... so hopefully in 20 years when their kids are watching their wedding video they won't say "oh that girl, the one who won't stop jumping in the camera.... we don't remember who she is."   

Moving on. I also got a boyfriend for about 45 seconds during the couples dance.  I refuse to sit down during them.  So technically were weren't in a relationship. Meh.  I don't need another reminder that I'm single while at a wedding.

not. bitter. 

Then we danced the night away... I also danced with my new bff... you may remember him as the cutest kid ever in the pew in front of us... 

 

I let KTC borrow him too 

And then took what I'm pretty sure is the first picture of me and Sister Rafaella.  This woman should be a saint just for what she put up with from me in the 3 years she was my Spiritual Director.  

Can you see the angels around her? I can .

We danced. We laughed. We were jolly.  

In a surprise turn of events M&J changed clothes before making a break for it.  J put on some super sassy jeans and blazer with even SASSIER and dare I say SEXY red heals.  Go. Michael. She put her garter on over her jeans for the garter toss, which alleviates some of the reservations people have around that whole situation.  So I thought it was a super creative solution.  Don't know if that's what they were going for.  But that's what I took away from it ! And he put the garter around a football before throwing it which is my new favorite idea. 

And then through a pathway lit by  sparklers they were off ! Driving away into their new life as man and wife.  

CONGRATULATIONS MICHAEL AND JOHANNA!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Holidays!!: Dance Tournament Edition

We started the holiday with a quick hop over to Biloxi to visit my grandparents ! They're adorable.  Feel free to "oooh" and "aaah" at will.  We hung out at their house during the day: gumbo, birthday cake and of course B&E's wedding video. CHECK! 

Then we dined at the Beau Rivage... twas beautiful!

Then all of a sudden we were back at the lake.   We spent the next few days getting ready for Christmas... meaning B&E did a lot of cooking while I made sure there was plenty of lounging happening.

The 23rd was Dad's real birthday (we threw him a big surprise party on the 18th) so we resurrected what was left of his cake and did it again!

Our makeshift 6 since the first was devoured!

 Then all of a sudden it was Christmas eve...




And the stockings were hung on the antlers
with care...

My gift tower from B&E!

Bennett rocking some chinese slippers!

Dad SHOCKED at the cutting board he picked out for himself!

 
 Then I made these...

 

With this...

Then the family started arriving for the festivities of Christmas day!  I made Grand Bet a cape... because she's our family super hero.  It was a hit ! I was so pumped. She wore it all day, and is obligated to wear it every time she comes out to the lake house.

She was very hesitant to open ...

but she got there!!

SUPER GRAND BET!!!

Then it was time for the first ever family dance tournament on the Kinect complete with a bracket.  Let's just say this was definitely a highlight of the day...   it was open to all ages....and all ages participated.  We started out of battle mode for the first two rounds.  The final round was regular dance mode to a song of your chooosing...

My victory bracket :o)

And to all... a GOOD NIGHT !