Wedding Weekend

A few weeks back, we had the pleasure of attending Katie and Cheese’s wedding. Cheese (known as Matt to some) has been a part of the Raves’ family since Brian and Jonathan were little kids. We call him Cheese, well, because frankly I’ve never seen anyone who likes cheese more than he does. In fact, they even had cheese curds with their cocktail hour! The ceremony itself took place on the beautiful shoreline of Lake Erie. It was a gorgeous wedding and the weather could not have been more beautiful! Here are some picture of Cheese and Katie on their special day:

The wedding party

The ceremony

As you can see, the setting could not have been more perfect. After the ceremony, we all enjoyed a cocktail hour outside while the Tyler Bender Band (yay) played some tunes for us. As usual, they were awesome. Here’s a picture of them playing in the gazebo:

Tyler Bender Band

Soon after the band was done playing, we went inside for the reception. I wish I had a picture of the empty hall to show you how gorgeous it was decorated. One of the best parts of the reception, besides eating and seeing the bride and groom, was Cheese’s mannequin. Yes, Cheese has his very own mannequin, Barbara. He brought her along for the big day to greet guests. She even got to wear her very own bridesmaid’s dress.

Barbara...need I say more

Another really neat idea that Katie and Cheese had was to set up a photo booth type area with a professional photographer. Here is the result:

The Raves and Woomers. I love these families!

Thank you so much Katie and Cheese for allowing us to be part of your special day, it was so much fun!

1 Year Anniversary

I cannot believe we have been married for a year.  It seems like just yesterday that I was walking down the aisle toward the man of my dreams.  That day is still so clear in my memory.  Before we were married people always told us that the wedding day is the best day of your life.  Well, I hate to tell them…that is a lie.  Life with Brian has gotten better and better with each passing day.  If you do want to read all about our wedding day click here.

The happy couple

This year has been the most amazing year of my life.  I thank God everyday for such an incredibly loving, thoughtful, fun, handsome, silly and sweet husband.  (The list could go on forever, but I will spare you from the mushy stuff.)  We have been through some ups and downs this year and have come out stronger than ever.  After losing my job, Brian worked over 60 hours a week between his two jobs to be able to provide for us.  He did not complain about the hours and time away even once.  He kept a positive attitude the entire time and focused our attention on God and each other.  Times like those is when I wonder how I got so lucky.

The Wedding Party

We created a lot of new memories this year.  We had our first Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter together.  If you look back on some of our other posts you can see the trips we have taken and the moments we have shared.  It is a little scary that it has already been a year.  I cannot believe how fast time has flown.

We are married

We are celebrating our anniversary by going to Fogo de Chao, a brazilian steakhouse in downtown Indy.  We are also going to eat the top part of our wedding cake.  Now I am not going to lie, this seems like such an odd tradition.  Eating a 1 year old, freezer burnt cake does not sound like that good of an idea.  But, it is traditions so we have to do it.  I will let you know if either of us end up in the hospital.

Mr. and Mrs.

Before I go, I thought it would be fun to share some video taken from The Flying Toasters concert we went to two weeks ago.  This was the band that played out our reception.  They made our reception a night that none of our friends or family will ever forget!  Hopefully we will have our wedding video done soon and can share all of the laughter, tears and just plain sillyness of the day.

Reception at the Music Mill

Nicki and Taylor’s Wedding

Last weekend Brian and I had the privilege of attending my good friend, Nicki’s, wedding. It was probably the nicest wedding we have ever been to. All of our friends have had unique weddings that seem to just fit them so well, and this was no exception. We flew into Orlando on Friday and stayed with my parents for an evening before heading to Bonita Springs (near Naples) on Saturday.

the kitchen in our room

our room

the living room

When we arrived at the hotel we were greeted with very nice gift bags including candles, cookies, chips, water bottles that had cute beer cozies with the wedding date, and golf balls/tees with the date on them. We knew right away we were in for a good night. After checking out our hotel room (which was quite nice as you can see from the pictures), we headed to the beach. Soon it was time to get ready for the wedding. On a side note: Thank you Leah for picking awesome dresses for your wedding because I got to wear it again! The coolest part of the weekend was that the bride and groom provided transportation to each place we visited so we did not have to drive. Brian and I jumped on the bus that took us to our next stop, the dock. We then took the ferry over to Big Hickory Island where the couple would wed.

just married

Once we arrived on the island it was a short walk to a beautiful deck over looking the ocean where the wedding took place. They had a three-piece string set and pre-wedding cocktails waiting for us upon arrival. Then it was finally time for Nicki to walk down the aisle. She looked amazing! For those who don’t know Nicki she has been through a lot in her life and is the most positive, sweetest people you could ever know. She deserved this happy day and I am so glad she got it because she is working so hard in med school. The wedding was short and sweet. As the bride and groom took their pictures, we got back on the ferry and the busses took us to the reception. Nicki planned everything so well we even had bottled water on the bus too. Now I know it might sound weird that I am pointing out almost every detail, having just planned a wedding myself I was amazed with everything she had done.

the happy couple

After arriving at Pelicans Nest reception hall, we found our seats and headed to where the food was. This reception had a full open bar and every appetizer you could ever imagine. We hung out and enjoyed the weather, food, and drinks while reminiscing with some of my old roommates and friends from UCF.  We heard the bridal party being announced so we headed inside to watch. Nicki and Taylor surprised everyone with a beautiful first dance. Once the live band started playing everyone ran out to the dance floor. After a few songs we were ready for dinner. The dinner started off with an ahi tuna appetizer, salad, bread, then a dinner of fish and prime rib. The food was over the top good. Brian and I hit the dance floor for a few hours and then headed home.

the beautiful bride!

The next morning we woke up and went to the wedding brunch. Again, we were provided with another delicious meal. It was sad to say goodbye because I am not sure when Nicki and I will get to see each other again. She is headed into her first year of residency. After brunch we drove back to Orlando. Brian and I spent the next 2 days straight in my parent’s pool. Before we knew it, it was time to come home. We were happy to come home and see our kitty, but sad that our vacation was over. This is our last wedding for a while. That means everyone will start having kids soon. Don’t ask Brian and I if we are doing the same, we are waiting for another 5 years before we take that plunge.

Noah and Leah’s Wedding

After 5 days of running around, I am finally sitting down.  Actually I have the computer on my lap and Timber curled up on my chest.  Needless to say it is a bit difficult to type, but totally worth it to have our kitty cuddling with me.  Since I have two weekends full of information to share, I am going to update you on the weekend of April 18th and 19th in this post.

Two weekends ago, I had the pleasure of being in my friend Leah’s wedding.  She married a great, loving, Christian man, Noah Golland.  The weekend turned out perfectly.  On Saturday, we met at Oak Hill Mansion for the rehearsal.  Tim made it fun and kept us laughing the entire time.

From there we went to Sahm’s for dinner.  We all pigged out on the fajita bar.  I do have to thank our lovely bride for picking out dresses that were not fitted in the waist so we could eat what we wanted.

Next thing we knew, it was the big day!  This is the day that all girls dream about and it went off without a hitch.  We met up in the morning to get our hair done by Ashley, one of the bridesmaids.  After we finished curling and pinning, we headed over to Oak Hill Mansion.  It was a beautiful place to celebrate this wonderful occasion.  Leah made her way down a beautiful staircase and into the grand ballroom with Noah looking at her adoringly.  The ceremony was lovely (minus an uncle who answered his phone at the beginning).  Noah played two worship songs and they shared in a time of prayer.  One of my favorite parts was when they walked down the aisle to the song from Married with Children!

The reception was a blast as well.  The entire place was beautifully decorated with flowers and ribbon.  This was the best part of the day because we got to eat and I was able to drag my husband out on the dance floor for a couple of songs. I have a few pics from the day so you can see all the fun we had!

The Bride

Mr. and Mrs. Golland

Uncle Cookie