you're the sun in my belly.

This past week was wonderful, if not a tad bit exhausting.

It all started with an early morning wake up Friday. My sister, along with her dog & roommate, came down from New York on Thursday. Friday morning we woke up crazy early to get on the road back to Georgia. After a long day of heavy traffic, we made it back home in time to grill some delicious food and collapse into bed, exhausted.

The rest of the weekend was predominantly about celebrating one of my favorite couples. A very dear friend of mine from middle and high school married an amazing man on Sunday. A few months ago they asked me if I would read at their wedding. I was beyond honored & flattered to play a role in their big day.

Saturday started with the bridal luncheon at Sun in My Belly in downtown Atlanta. The food was delicious and the company was even better! I had their Kirkwood breakfast: scrambled eggs loaded with yummy herbs & cheese, perfectly sticky, sweet, & salty honey glazed bacon, and a lovely lavender buttermilk biscuit.

While we were waiting for our food, the bride's sister had arranged a fantastic surprise for the bride-to-be. Each member of the wedding party, including myself & the other reader, was asked to send the sister of the bride a word that described our relationship with the bride. Each word was written on a tag attached to a flower. When the time came, we took turns standing up and presenting the bride with our flower & explain why we had chosen our word. After the luncheon the flowers were put together with some other greenery to make the bride's bouquet for the rehearsal that evening. I absolutely loved the idea! It was such a wonderful way for us to share with the bride how important she was to us and to share with the out of town family members a little bit of our relationship with the bride.

After lunch I had just enough time to run home and change before heading to the rehearsal. At the rehearsal I realized that the shoes I brought home to wear at the ceremony were not going to work on the uneven grassy terrain so I quickly ran to the store to pick up some wedges.

Wedges successfully purchased, I dashed off to the rehearsal dinner at Pasti's in the historic Roswell square area. The square is one of my favorite places back home. It's chock full of delicious restaurants and cute little boutiques.  Dinner was a buffet with tons of delicious Italian offerings, from pasta to salad to delicious steak fillets.

Much like at the luncheon, while the food was good, the company was even better. I greatly enjoyed getting to know some of the groom's friends from high school, along with one of the bridesmaids and her delightful husband. I ended up staying much later than I had planned, chatting away with everyone!

Sunday morning was a bit slow and that was just fine with me. Mom and I went to mass then came home to spend some time with Kara and her roommate. We decided to do a cookout in honor of Memorial Day on Monday so after a quick trip to Kroger, we grilled up some burgers & sat on the patio all afternoon.

After lunch it was time for the wedding!!

The wedding was hosted at The Garden at Great Oaks, a former plantation in Roswell. It was a Southern-themed affair. The ceremony took place outside behind the house and while it was simple, it was so beautiful and moving. The bride and the groom were absolutely glowing and both of them looked amazing! The bride's dress was absolutely stunning, as was her entire look.

There are some couples in this world who simply make each other better by just being in the same room. They light up any space they occupy. They make you believe in love again and remind you why people get married.

This is one of those couples.

That sort of love automatically makes a wedding that much more magical. Of course it didn't hurt that the setting was beautiful & the minister was so inspiring.

After the ceremony, all of the guests gathered in front of the house for a group photo! We formed a horseshoe around the bride and groom for one of the more unique photos I've seen at a wedding. Then, while the bridal party & family took more photos, the rest of the guests enjoyed some corn hole, cocktails, and appetizers on the lawn. The signature cocktail was a delicious cucumber basil lemonade mixed with vodka. The appetizers kept to the Southern theme and included some delicious shrimp & grits. After a vigorous game of corn hole, we took a rest in some rocking chairs as cocktail hour wound down.

With cocktail hour over, we went around back again for dinner and dancing! While the family and the bridal party sat outside under a tent, the rest of us were inside a cute little event space. Dinner was deliciously Southern: macaroni and cheese, corn & tomato salad, chicken, salmon, and all sorts of other yummy goodness. Instead of a buffet, dinner was served family style.

With dinner done, it was time for the toasts and then for dancing! The toasts were sweet, funny, and perfectly captured the bride & groom. After the toasts, the DJ got the party started for lots of dancing. While a string quartet had played at the ceremony, and the DJ stuck to Sinatra for cocktail hour, after dinner it was all fun, upbeat dance music. We had a blast dancing away, taking a quick break for some cake. The cake was delicious, much like everything else at the wedding.

Once the bouquet was tossed, the garter thrown, and the dancing all done, it was time for the big sendoff! We lined the path to a cute rented convertible, ready to send the happy couple off to their new life together. Instead of throwing anything, we were given the cutest little shakers: simple sticks with a bell tied on the end along with some lace and silk streamers. The whole wedding was packed full of darling little touches like that. The favors fell into the same unique Southern theme: each guest was given a box of two Krispy Kreme donuts!

The whole night was simply magical: the weather was perfect, the food delicious, & the company was amazing.

Sadly all good things must come to an end, and after brunch Monday it was time to head back home again. We loaded back into the car and started the drive back. We stayed at Hotel Strasburg in Strasburg, Virginia.  I highly recommend it; it's a quaint little independently owned hotel in a quaint little town that screams Americana. Plus they take dogs so little Lucy was right at home.

It was such a beautiful weekend from start to finish. The wedding, and everything associated with it, was simply magical. Equally magical was the time I got to spend with my family.

There's something just so magical about family and a loving wedding under the stars.